Jun
08
2013

Breast Cancer Due To Stress

By | Cancer, Health, Hormones, Stress management, Women’s Diseases

The medical profession is of the opinion that breast cancer is multi-factorial, where genetics, body weight, hormonal and other factors play a role in causing it (details see Ref. 1). The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (United States) showed in May 2012 that girls from families of lower socioeconomic status have a higher risk of breast cancer later in life. The study also showed that girls from families with a higher socioeconomic status had a low risk of breast cancer later in life.

The same cohort of women was the subject of another study, which was just published in April of 2013. In this study the question was asked whether stress in career women could cause a higher rate of breast cancer. Using 1957–2011 data showed that 297 of the 3682 White non-Hispanic women of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study developed breast cancer. Details of the study showed that the peak of the age for breast cancer to develop was around 55 to 65. Women working with the lowest job authority had the lowest rate of breast cancer. High job authority, being the “boss”, was associated with a 1.57-fold (range 1.12 – 2.18-fold) increase in breast cancer. There was also a striking difference between the lengths of job stress exposure, 5 years versus 15 years with both groups, high and low job authority. The lowest risk of breast cancer was for the low stress group of women who worked under these conditions only for 5 years, followed by the same group who had worked there for 15 years. Slightly above that latter group was the breast cancer risk for the 5-year employed high job authority. The highest group of breast cancer risk, rising above all other groups, was the group with high job authority, exposed to this for type of stressful situation for 15 years (see Fig. 1 of the above link). The researchers interpreted their data to say that the majority of the breast cancer risk in these groups of women was due to the stress hormone (cortisol). Minor contributions were thought to be due to the carcinogenic effect of estrogens.

Breast Cancer Due To Stress

Breast Cancer Due To Stress

 

Review of the literature regarding this study

Dr. Lee had been publishing about estrogen dominance for many years (Ref. 2 and 3). When women age, their ovaries do not produce as much progesterone during the luteal phase as in younger years and above the age of 30 to 35 anovulatory cycles are common. During anovulatory cycles ovulation (=release of an egg) does not occur and there is no formation of a corpus luteum that would produce progesterone for 2 weeks. The end result is that there is a lack of progesterone as a woman ages. This has been discussed in detail in Ref. 3. Dr. Lee called this disbalance of estrogen and progesterone “estrogen dominance”. This is one of the important causes of breast cancer as explained in Ref.2. This can be caused by aging, xenoestrogens from exposure to artificial fertilizers, insecticides and cosmetics, but also taking the birth control pill for prolonged periods of time. However, stress by itself can also produce a state of estrogen dominance. Dr. Lee explained (page 180 of Ref. 2) that the cortisol-binding globulin (CBG), which binds both cortisol and progesterone, is a storage form for both of these hormones. As a person is under chronic stress the CBG is increased binding both cortisol and progesterone. This means that less of these hormones are preliminarily available in their free form for body consumption as CBG binding is a storage form for these hormones. The free progesterone, which is the only biologically active progesterone portion, is lowered as a result of stress causing estrogen dominance. If estrogen is not opposed by progesterone, it is cancer causing for breast tissue and the uterine lining, which translates into being at risk for breast and uterine cancer. Only supplementation with bioidentical progesterone cream as described in Ref. 3 will rebalance the hormones (progesterone/estrogen balance) and reduce the cancer risk. The symptoms of estrogen dominance according to Ref. 4 (p. 29) are fatigue, weight gain, less ability to handle stress, headaches, mood swings, loss of sex drive, irregular periods, uterine fibroids, fibrocystic breasts, fluid retention (particularly around the ankles), irritability and depression.

Practical recommendations for women in stressful jobs

Above the age of 35 it is wise to have a saliva hormone test done, checking the levels of 5 hormones (cortisol, DHEAS, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). This establishes the baseline values for these hormones. The relationship between the levels of these hormones determines whether they are balanced or not. For instance, if the ratio between progesterone and estrogen (divide the level of progesterone by the level of estrogen) is less than 1 in 200 the patient has estrogen dominance (see Ref. 5). You may need to get a naturopathic physician or an A4M physician who is knowledgeable in interpreting these results and treating the patient with bioidentical hormones. Some women may need to start bioidentical hormone replacement at this point if a hormone deficiency is noticed.

In order to counterbalance stress you need to schedule some time for yourself regularly where you can relax, do yoga exercises, meditation, and/or self-hypnosis. Make sure you get enough sleep. Avoid alcohol, if you can as it interferes with a restful sleep, or reduce alcohol to the absolute minimum. Alcohol causes decreased hormone production of both ovaries. It also weakens the adrenal glands contributing to hormone disbalance. Usually the first hormone to show a decline with stress and aging is progesterone. It has to be measured by the saliva test. Ref. 2 and 3 explain why: progesterone is fat-soluble and is transported through the blood in its free form through red blood cells. However, a progesterone blood test measures the serum progesterone level after the red blood cells have been spun down in the centrifuge, which leads to misleading results; only the saliva test gives reliable results in terms of bio-available progesterone levels. Many conservative physicians blindly insist on blood progesterone levels, which will lead to false results. This is why you need a naturopathic physician or A4M physician to help you with the proper interpretation of the test results.

If saliva progesterone levels are low, progesterone cream (bio-identical, as explained below) is applied daily in a concentration that will normalize the levels. Physicians who have been influenced by drug company representatives may suggest to use Provera (or another progestin, which are synthetic hormone substances) as a “supplement”, but this is known from the Women’s’ Health Initiative to cause breast cancer, heart attacks and strokes.

Do the proper monitoring tests with saliva testing and only substitute what is missing with bioidentical hormone creams. Otherwise a low fat, low refined carbohydrate diet, exercise and other good health habits as I have summarized in this link will be very beneficial to prevent stress as a cause of breast cancer. Ref. 6 is also a useful text written for the layperson explaining what to do when stress leads to adrenal fatigue.

References

  1. A review of the causes of breast cancer: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/causesofbreastcancer.php
  2. Dr. John R. Lee, David Zava, Ph.D. and Virginia Hopkins: “What your doctor may not tell you about breast cancer”. 2002 Hachette Book Group, New York,NY, USA.
  3. Dr. John R. Lee: “Natural Progesterone”.  2nd edition. Jon Carpenter Publishing, 1999 Charlbury, England.
  4. George Gillson, M.D., Ph.D.: “You’ve hit menopause. Now what? 3 simple steps to restoring hormone balance” 2nd edition, 2004, Rocky Mountain Analytical Corp., Calgary, AB, Canada.
  5.  John R. Lee, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins: “Dr. John Lee’s Hormone Balance Made Simple- The Essential How-to Guide to Symptoms, Dosage, Timing, and More”. Wellness Central Hachette Group USA, New York, NY 10017. Published 2006. Page 57 discusses saliva testing and states: “The healthy ratio of progesterone to estradiol is at least 200 to 1 and can go up to 1,000 to 1 in women using transdermal (delivered through the skin with cream, gels, oils) progesterone.”
  6. James L. Wilson, ND, DC, PhD: “Adrenal Fatigue, the 21sty Century Stress Syndrome – what is it and how you can recover”; Second printing 2002 by Smart Publications, Petaluma, Ca, USA

Last edited Nov. 6, 2014

May
18
2013

Treatment For Alzheimer’s Failed, But Prevention Succeeds

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Fitness, Health, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Hormones, Mental Health, Nutrition, Prevention, Vitamins and supplements

Recently another news story about a failed drug against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) went through the news media as shown in this link.

Donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine are the most common drugs used to attempt to treat Alzheimer’s as this review explains. None of these drugs are a real breakthrough with regard to truly curing AD, as the drugs only achieve a few months of delay in the eventual deterioration of the AD patient’s symptoms. On the other hand there is an overwhelming accumulation of data in the last few years showing that many different factors can prevent AD and dementia. Below I am reviewing all these preventative factors and steps.

Genetic and epigenetic factors in Alzheimer’s disease

Early onset Alzheimer’s disease occurs between 30 and 60 years of age. It is due to a genetic predisposition (mutations on genes of chromosomes 1, 14 and 21). Only about 5% of all AD cases are caused this way. The remaining 95% of Alzheimer’s cases are due to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Here the causation is due to a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. One genetic risk factor in this group is important, namely the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE), which is located on chromosome 19. There are several forms of APOE as this review explains. It also states that there is so much variation between the various APOE forms and even the worst form of this does not necessarily mean that the person who has this will come down with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. So APOE is presently only used in research projects. Your doctor will only order genetic tests in people who have a strong family history of early onset AD.

There is another genetic marker, the CYP46 gene that was found to be present in some late-onset AD patients. If it is combined in a patient with the APOE gene, there is a much higher chance of developing AD as this review shows.

Epigenetic factors are probably more important than genetic factors for most cases of late-onset AD, as this review explains. Another review came to the same conclusion.

What are epigenetic factors? Exercising, replacing missing hormones, using a calorie restricted, only 15-20% fat containing diet; and taking supplements as listed below that will keep harmful genes in the “off” position and protective genes in the “on” position. Taking these preventative steps is probably more powerful than using any of the presently available medications mentioned above.

Treatment For Alzheimer’s Failed, But Prevention Succeeds

Treatment For Alzheimer’s Failed, But Prevention Succeeds

Exercise, diet, control blood pressure

As already mentioned, these are some of the powerful epigenetic factors that will prevent AD down the road. Controlling blood pressure has long been known to improve cognitive function. It is now evident that there seems to be a problem with microcirculation in brain tissue before it comes to neurodegenerative changes of AD and the underlying deficiency in nitric oxide production in the lining of the diseased arteries. Other research has shown that a lack of nitric oxide (NO) production is also the underlying problem with hypertension.

Green vegetables such as kale, spinach, also cabbage varieties and red beets are a source of nitric oxide and have also been shown to prevent AD at the same time.

Add to this exercise and you have a winning combination for the prevention of AD. You guessed right: exercise increases NO production from he lining of your arteries. When people age their lining of the arteries does not produce as much NO as in younger years. However, there is a supplement available, Neo40 Daily, that can be taken twice a day to compensate for this.

Here is another report about a 30% to 40% reduction in the incidence of AD when people do regular, simple exercises.

More good news about fruit and vegetables: tomatoes, watermelons, pink guava, pink grapefruit, papaya, apricot and other fruit all contain lycopenes, which have been shown to prevent AD.

Recently a new testing tool in combination with a PET scan of the brain has been developed, which may help the treating physicians to assess improvement or deterioration of an AD patient objectively using this method. However, this is still considered to be only a research tool at this time.

Supplements to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

The following brain-specific nutrients play a part in the prevention and treatment of AD (according to Ref.1):

1. B-vitamins: they are important to support the energy metabolism of brain cells.

2. Vitamin C: this has antioxidant properties and prevents brain cells and supportive glia cells from oxidizing.

3. Vitamin E in the form of mixed tocopherols: together with vitamin C has been shown to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

4. Phosphatidylserine (PS), with an intake of up to 300mg/day: counteracts and prevents memory loss.

5. Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone), 100mg/day (it would be safe to take 400 mg per day, which is also cardio protective): stabilizes the mitochondria of brain cells and heart muscle cells. It is a powerful neuroprotective agent and supports ATP production (energy metabolism of brain cells).

6. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), at a dose up to 240mg/day: increases micro vascular circulation, neutralizes free radicals from oxidation and improves short-term memory.

7. Omega-3 fatty acid and DHA, 1500mg/day: has anti-inflammatory properties.

Other nutrients that hold promise are:

8. Huperzine A, 100 to 200mg/day: natural anticholinesterase inhibitor, derived from the Chinese club moss, surpasses donezepil according to studies by doctors in China

9. Vinpocetine, 2.5 to 10mg/day: comes from the periwinkle plant, increases cerebral blood flow and stimulates brain cell metabolism

10. Turmeric extract (curcumin) is very beneficial in reducing tau protein deposits in AD.

All these statements and dosages are cited from Ref.1.

Hormones to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

According to Ref. 1 there are certain hormones that can prevent AD: DHEA, pregnenolone, estrogen (bioidentical estrogen only).

  1. DHEA is persistently low in AD patients and replacement with DHEA at 50 mg daily has shown improvements in muscle strength and energy of AD patients.
  2. Pregnenolone has been shown to be a powerful memory enhancer in animals and humans alike.
  3. Estrogen, if taken as bioidentical estrogen cream (Bi-Est) can improve brain function. Estrogen is a strong epigenetic switch that keeps a woman mentally younger for longer, but has to be balanced with bioidentical progesterone cream to prevent breast cancer and uterine cancer. A study showed that estrogen replacement early in menopause will cut down on the heart attack rates, but it is also known, particularly when given as bioidentical hormone cream to prevent AD.
  4. In addition progesterone has been described to be of value in the aging woman to preserve brain metabolism.
  5. Testosterone is known to protect against Alzheimer’s disease in the aging male.
  6. Melatonin at a starting dose of 1 mg to 3 mg at bedtime often helps to restore the disturbed sleep pattern, but also augments the effects of the other hormones (Ref.1).

Removal of toxins, particularly mercury

Mercury is extremely toxic in minute amounts and affects brain cells preferentially. Intravenous vitamin C/glutathione treatments as described in this blog will remove mercury from your system including the brain.

It may take 20 to 30 such treatments in weekly intervals followed by a maintenance program every two to three weeks to remove mercury from the body.

Other heavy metals can accumulate in the brain as well and must be removed. This is described here in more detail.

Conclusion

There have been major breakthroughs in prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia over the past few years, many unnoticed by the media. The search is still on for an effective drug that would treat AD when it is present. However, this may be 10 or 15 years away and we cannot afford to wait that long. Instead I suggest that people should embrace the concept of preventing AD by using as many of the factors described above. Both at the 2011 and the 2012 Anti-Aging Conferences in Las Vegas several speakers pointed out that a combination of several preventative factors will be much more effective than one factor alone and they estimated that about 80% of AD could be prevented this way.

References

Ref.1. Rakel: Integrative Medicine, 3rd ed., Copyright © 2012 Saunders, An Imprint of Elsevier. Chapter 9 – Alzheimer Disease. Integrative Medicine: “Kirtan Kriya, Telomeres, and Prevention of Alzheimer Disease”, by Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD

Last edited Dec. 18, 2014

Dec
11
2012

What a Wonderful World

By | Anti-aging medicine, Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Men's Health, Nutrition, Prevention, Stroke, Weight loss, Women’s Diseases

Recently I traveled from Palm Springs to the Caribbean and back and I had to think: what a wonderful world! There were connecting flights and there was waiting at various airports. I had lots of time to watch people and to observe what was happening around me.  Louis Armstrong’s song (1967) “What a Wonderful World“ came to mind. I thought that this would be a fitting title for this Blog. Earlier we had come from Canada escaping the winter. The deep blue sky of Southern California and the sight of palm trees (instead of pine trees) is something that makes our hearts beat faster.

The desert is a special place

The desert is a special place. We had friends join us for a week and we had visited Joshua Tree Park with the grotesque looking rock formations. During the flight it was interesting to see the landscape, as we crossed the desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico, seeing what difference people make when large areas are irrigated and the desert transforms into lush, green areas. It is also very visible, where the desert has taken back the land that no longer is irrigated.

Travel to Dallas Fort Worth and Miami

We came to Dallas Fort Worth and the sky was clear. We traveled on to Miami and the sky was showing signs of pollution, although it was a sunny day. After our take-off from Miami we saw the ocean. I have flown over that region many times before, but this time I detected oil slicks on the surface of the ocean of the Gulf of Mexico, leftovers from previous oil spills. So, the Armstrong song of a “wonderful world” came back to me in a different context. I looked at the landscape and what industries can do to it. Erroneously we had just seen several BP commercials while waiting for our plane at the airport where BP was congratulating itself for the role it plays in cleaning up the environment having spent several billion dollars. But there are still oil slicks…

What a Wonderful World

What a Wonderful World

Watching people on the plane

I looked at the people around me in the plane. More than 35% of them were obese; many of their faces looked sagging and prematurely aged, particularly in women. Males, even middle aged ones looked like they were pregnant (abdominal fat) and often their hair was receding, thinning on top and quite a few were bald. All of the texts I had read about anti-aging medicine came back to me. Too bad that people were eating the wrong foods and obviously did nothing to counter their built-in aging clock from depleting hormones as we age.

Menu of the airline

I looked at the menu of the airline. I won’t mention the name of the airline, but I can assure you that 10 different airlines would have almost the same menus. There would only have been one chicken salad that I could have eaten. In the past I tried to order this and I was told that due to popular demand this item was sold out. Instead they wanted to offer me potato chips, cheese and crackers. My wife and I had anticipated this scenario and we had bought a chicken salad and water before we boarded the plane. We also had packed healthy organic energy bars and a trail mix consisting of nuts and raisins to use as snacks during the trip.

Cutting out starchy foods, eating fresh vegetables and lean meat instead

While travelling we stuck to the same principal of cutting out starches, bread, rice, pasta and only eating fresh vegetables, salads and lean meat (chicken, grass fed beef, ribs, lean pork and veal), which we always do since the fall of 2001.  We also avoid all alcoholic beverages and sugar containing sodas. When we returned to Southern California we were delighted to see that our body compositions when measured with the body composition scales were identical to what they were before the trip.

I think we can all contribute to this wonderful world, if we participate in whatever we can do such as these steps.

End wars

End wars because on the long-term they do not lead anywhere to solve conflicts (in my lifetime I am thinking about the Vietnam war, long-winded Ireland crisis, the Korean war and the German reunification at the end of the Cold War). Right now there is the Middle East conflict, which screams for a peaceful solution. As we are conscious about the devastation that is caused by wars, we have to start with ourselves. We have to resolve our own conflicts that may be present in our own lives. Tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness are the tools.

Address pollution 

Pollution needs to be addressed by the US and all of the world’s countries (including Canada where I live most of the time). This means that anti-pollution devices need to be installed in industrial plants and chimneys. Recycling needs to be done on a larger scale. China and India and other emerging market countries need to be taught how these new anti-pollution measures work. This is an ongoing project, but we need more co-operations between government, industry and countries all around the globe. Also we have to start with our own behavior: we can become more aware of reusing and recycling instead of creating more waste in our landfills.

Become better caretakers of our bodies

What can we do to make us part of this wonderful world? We need to become better caretakers of our bodies. Instead of looking at quantity we must look at quality in choosing  natural food wherever possible. Growing up in Germany after the Second World War in the 1960’s and early 1970’s made me witness that high consumption of fat, sugar and starchy foods (potatoes, pasta and bread) caused people to age prematurely and get heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, arthritis, obesity, diabetes and cancer. At that time the “Wirtschaftswunder” (translated into English it means “economic miracle”) had propelled Germany into a nation of  high consumers. During the war they had been poor and often went hungry, they were slim and heart attacks were at an all-time low.

Unhealthy foods and snacks

After the war they made up for times of deprivation and overindulged:  pretzels, buns, bread, butter, French fries, sweets, cakes, cookies, jams, chocolates, pralines-everything was consumed with gusto!  What happened to Germany in the 1960’s and 1970’s is happening again right now in front of our eyes with the obesity wave in the US, Canada and all the other civilized countries around the world. Food companies have been very successful with their advertising through the media. Already kids get hooked to the wrong foods! Hyperinsulinism will ensure that we get hungry every two or three hours. Refined carbs and extra calories are turned into fatty acids by the liver and stored as fat. It shows that we have to resist the wrong food temptation and cut out all refined carbs.

Healthier alternatives

It is healthier to stick to salads and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and spinach and eat a small piece of lean meat with it. Have probiotics as plain yoghurt (0% to 2% fat). If you need a sweetener, use a small amount of Stevia, which is a natural sweetener that leaves your body chemistry untouched. Have some fruit as a dessert like blueberries, cherries or strawberries. Eat an apple, the occasional grape. Drink lots of purified water or mineral water.

Buy organic food

Buy ORGANIC food whenever possible. Farmers treat most of the vegetables and fruit with insecticides, which contain residuals in them. When these are ingested, they act like estrogenic substances causing breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. The safest in our society is to stick to organic foods. More expensive, but the best insurance against future disease. Question politicians whenever possible to make yourself heard. You want unadulterated food and water. And as I’m writing about water, have a water filter under the kitchen sink with a carbon filter. In addition, it is good to have reverse osmosis to get rid of chloride or fluoride from the city water. This is what you use to cook your food. You may want to take an iodine tablet once or twice a day to counteract the negative effects of chlorine from having a bath or shower (the skin absorbs chlorine). Why? Because chlorine and fluoride can displace the iodine of the thyroid hormones and make you hypothyroid.

Regular exercise

Exercise every day. Nobody gets fit in their muscles from sitting in front of the TV for hours. You also don’t get fit from spending hours and hours of computer work. If you have to, counterbalance this with an exercise program of 1 hour per day. Walk 30 minutes on a treadmill and do 30 minutes of weights or use specific exercise machines in a gym to strengthen your upper and lower extremity muscles.

Replace missing hormones with bioidentical ones

Did I mention hormones? Yes, I did above when I mentioned depleting hormones as we age. We know for some time that each hormone of the body has its own peak in life and then it declines in production as we age. Or should I rather say, we age when these hormones decline? I like the latter way of wording it, because we can measure hormone levels and when one of the hormones is too low, we can replace it with a bio-identical hormone and the person’s energy comes back and whatever function was missing is restored. This is in essence what anti-aging medicine does. Many conservative physicians and clinics do not like to hear this. Big Pharma does not like to hear this when I am talking about replacing hormones in the body with bio-identical hormones. But the patented cheap copies that are mass manufactured and sold at inflated prices are no fit to the hormone receptors in the body and therefore are dangerous. The artificial drugs cause heart attacks, strokes and cancer as the Women’s Health Initiative has shown in 2002.

What people need to do

What did I think the people I watched on the plane should have done? Their physicians should have tested the hormones of many of them. Many of the overweight or obese patients would likely have had high fasting insulin levels. The extra fat does not just sit there; it is a hormone producing factory for inflammatory compounds and estrogen-like substances. This causes heart attacks and strokes in women. It causes prostate cancer and hair loss in males as well as impotence (“erectile dysfunction”). What I said above would help these people that I met. When you lose fat through changes in the diet and when you start an exercise program, the body mass index slowly comes down as fat melts away. The estrogen production comes down, the inflammatory substances abate. The person feels more energetic and may even think straighter. This is when you realize what a wonderful world it is.

Saliva hormone test

One special test is a saliva hormone test that looks at 5 steroid hormones: DHEA-S (storage form of DHEA), testosterone, estradiol, progesterone and cortisol. Every man and every woman needs a certain balance between these hormones and this test should be done when there is a change in energy or appearance (hair loss) somewhere when we are 35 to 40 years. In women it is important that the progesterone level is 200 times fold higher than the estradiol level (progesterone/estradiol ratio) or she is at risk of developing breast cancer and other cancers (ovary, colon etc.). In a man it is important that his testosterone to estradiol ratio is higher than 20 to 1. This protects him from cancer of the prostate or other cancers.

Bioidentical hormone creams

The physician or a knowledgeable naturopath can prescribe whatever hormones are missing. The health care provider needs to be familiar with the use of bio-identical hormone creams. This program can prevent diseases like osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer and arthritis. It also prevents disabilities.

With this I leave 2012 behind and I am looking forward to a new year (2013). I am looking forward to the time when more people can see Louis Armstrong’s vision of a “What a wonderful world”.

More information on:

1. Pollution: https://www.askdrray.com/protecting-yourself-from-environmental-toxins/

2. Obesity: https://www.askdrray.com/stop-obesity/

3. Processed food: https://www.askdrray.com/caution-processed-food-ahead/

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Dec
01
2008

Climb Stairs And Stay Healthy

By | Fitness, Health, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Men's Health, Prevention, Women’s Diseases

Everybody knows that walking from the TV to the fridge does not qualify as exercise, and those few steps to the mailbox don’t do the trick either, when it comes to staying fit. But by the same token it is also a fallacy to believe that only the work-out in the gym will reap benefits and improve aerobic capacity. According to Dr. Philippe Meyer and colleagues at Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland, the mundane task of taking the stairs can show statistically significant changes in aerobic capacity, decrease in body weight, decrease in fat mass, waist circumference, decrease in diastolic blood pressure and increase in heart healthy HDL cholesterol. Dr. Meyer asked 77 healthy hospital workers including 20 physicians to exclusively use the stairs at the 12-storey hospital. During this 12 week quest for more fitness promotional signs encouraged stair climbing. All of those 77 participants were a sedentary group of individuals. Nevertheless they had to walk…the cafeteria was on the twelfth floor! At the baseline the participants walked up and down an average of 4.5 storeys per day, and at the end of the twelve weeks they were walking about 20.6 storeys per day.

Climb Stairs and Stay Healthy

Climb stairs and stay healthy

The tangible results showed that aerobic capacity and fat mass remained significantly improved, even though the participants walked less storeys after 12 weeks. It seems that initial change of habits-walking instead of taking the elevator- had made the difference in the transformation from couch potato to more active individual.

Stair climbing is an excellent exercise for healthy individuals in the general population. This high intensity exercise cannot be recommended to heart patients that are not entirely stable or to a patient who has angina. In these cases caution and a supervised exercise program is needed.

More information about fitness: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/fitness/

The Medical Post, November 18, 2008, page 17

Last updated Nov. 6, 2014

Oct
01
2008

Lifestyle Can Be A Killer For Middle Age Women

By | Cancer, Fitness, Heart Disease, Nutrition, Vitamins and supplements, Weight loss, Women’s Diseases

Generally it is assumed that persons in their thirties and forties should be in their prime, and health concerns are cropping up in the higher middle age or only in old age.
Also, women were thought to generally enjoy better health and life expectancy, but the large Nurses’ Health Study on 77,782 women in the age group of 34 to 59 years shows other aspects.
Even in females who had no heart problems and no cancer at the onset of the study, lifestyle choices can make it or break it. At the end of the study that spanned 24 years, it became obvious that a total of 28% of all the mortalities could be attributed to smoking. If risky lifestyle choices were combined in the form of smoking, being overweight, having a lack of physical activity and a qualitatively poor diet, this number jumped to 55%. Alcohol intake did not change this estimate significantly.

Lifestyle Can Be A Killer For Middle Age Women

Lifestyle Can Be A Killer For Middle Age Women

It is obvious that for the benefit of better health and less mortality in middle age women, diet, exercise, a healthy body weight and eradicating smoking are key factors.

Reference: BMJ 2008;337:a1440

Comment on Nov. 18, 2012: So how many years longer will a woman live, if she quits at age 30? The Million Women Study found out that she will live 10 years longer than the control group of smoking women (see link). Nothing has changed since 2008. Lifestyle issues remain at the forefront.

Last edited December 3, 2012

Sep
01
2008

Runners Live Healthier Lives

By | Arthritis, Fitness, Heart Disease, Nutrition, Weight loss

It has been known for some time that exercise is healthy for you. But how do runners do on the long-term? This has been investigated in a recent study spanning 21 years from 1984 to 2003 published in the August edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. 538 members 50 years or older of a nationwide running club were compared to a sample of 423 healthy controls. In the beginning of the study the members (all males) were 50 years or older. Disability levels were assessed with a health questionnaire and classified into a scale from 0 (no disability) to 3 (unable to perform). Death rates were also determined.The results showed that disability scores were always lower in runners (0.17) than in controls that did not run (0.36), which translated into 39% less disability. In 2003 the death rate was 34% in the controls, but only 15% in the runner group, in other words a 38% better survival of runners compared to the controls. In 2005 a further follow-up showed that the survival curve was still increasing for the runners who had now entered their eighties.

Runners Live Healthier Lives

Runners Live Healthier Lives

The authors of this study pointed out that length of life, health status and disability status can all be significantly improved with regular moderate exercise such as running. Other studies have suggested this as well, but none has followed this up over such a long period (21 years). Increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors will also reduce health care costs and prevent disabilities from chronic diseases.

Choose your fitness activity as reviewed here: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/fitness/

Reference: Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1638-1646

Last edited November 5, 2014

Jun
01
2008

Diabetes Onset Can be Delayed

By | Diabetes, Fitness, Nutrition, Prevention

Diabetes delayed by diet and exercise

Prevention is the buzzword in healthcare, but often medicine has to embark on the curative avenues. With the onset of a health problem patients are often tempted to throw in the towel: it’s too late now anyways. There is nothing I can do. It’s up to medication, pills or shots to get a handle on my problem. Nothing could be further from the truth, as major clinical trials have shown, when it comes to intervention to prevent the onset of diabetes. There is a stage where lab tests show that a patient has impaired glucose tolerance. He or she is”pre-diabetic”. Without intervention the development of diabetes is more or less imminent. But this does not mean that “it is too late “. It is exactly at that point, where lifestyle intervention can make a difference. How long do these post-intervention studies remain effective? Professor Guangwei Li at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, China and Dr. Ping Zhang from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed up patients 20 years after enrolment. In 1986, 577 adults from 33 clinics in China were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three lifestyle intervention groups (diet, exercise or diet and exercise combined).

Diabetes Onset Can be Delayed

Diabetes Onset Can be Delayed

All of the patients had impaired glucose tolerance. There was an active intervention program until 1992, and in 2006 participants were assessed for the long-term effect of the interventions. The results showed that the combined lifestyle interventions reduced the incidence of diabetes by about half during the active intervention period of 6 years. Over the 20 year duration the reduction was 43 %. At the end of the 20 year period 80% of the intervention group had developed diabetes, whereas 93% of the control group that had not followed a lifestyle intervention program were diabetic. The researchers reported that lifestyle intervention programs for patients with impaired glucose tolerance can indeed make a difference. A six year intervention program can delay the onset of diabetes by 14 years.

More information about diabetes: http://nethealthbook.com/hormones/diabetes/

Reference: Lancet 2008;371:1783-1789; 1731-1733.

Last edited November 3, 2014

Nov
01
2006

Body Can Fight Weight Loss

By | Nutrition, Obesity, Weight loss

Embarking on a weight loss program needs long-term commitment and persistence. Many dieters have experienced the yo-yo effect of good initial results in losing weight, after which the weight loss stopped, and gradually the weight was gained back. Often dieters blame themselves for their lack of success or are criticized for a lack of self-control.
The “plateau effect” has been discussed and documented before, and now an Australian study has found that “it is not just you”. After initial success and weight loss the human body is designed to strongly resist attempts to lose weight. Dr. Neil King from Queensland University of Technology does research on appetite regulation and energy balance. He conducted studies on groups of people who were overweight and obese people. He found that weight loss from exercise and calorie restriction stops at a certain point, and this plateau remains firmly in place for a prolonged time, despite continuing dieting and exercise.

In the first study 30 obese men and women from Britain took part in a 12-week, laboratory based exercise program in which they exercised five times a week. The second study observed the weight loss in 200 Australian men who were enrolled in a commercial weight loss program, which involved both an exercise program and dietary advice. Although both groups followed different plans, their weight loss still plateaued. The first group averaged a loss of 3 kg during the first 8 weeks, and weight loss in the next 4 weeks was markedly reduced (0.7 kg). The second group had a variable pattern of weight loss, but it, too, showed a plateau.

Body Can Fight Weight Loss

Body Can Fight Weight Loss

Researchers believe that the human body is designed to cope with famine. As a result there is a built-in mechanism responsible for weight loss resistance. It may be a source of frustration to people on a weight loss program in a society where there are no food shortages, but it is meant to be a lifesaver in times when there was a shortage of food.
For the person who wants to lose weight it involves taking a closer look at the caloric output. Longer exercise times, higher intensity or cross training can combat the plateau effect, but patience is also needed along with the determination to carry on with the program.

More information about weight loss: http://nethealthbook.com/health-nutrition-and-fitness/weight-loss-and-diet/

Reference: The Medical Post, October 10, 2006, page 19

Last edited November 1, 2014

May
01
2006

Life Extension Through Calorie Restriction

By | Anti-aging medicine, Fitness, Nutrition

Animal experiments in the past have pointed out that overfeeding resulted in less life expectancy of the animal. Experiments with primates showed that withholding food did not compromise the health and vitality. To the contrary: the chimp lived well and even lived longer. Experiments with rodents are still very much removed from the application to humans, and to get closer to the facts, new research has enlisted the help of humans. Participants were randomized to 1 of four groups in a study that went on for half a year. The first group received caloric restriction of 25% of baseline requirement. A second group had 12.5 % caloric restriction, group three 12.5% more exercise with a structured program. A fourth group consumed a very low-calorie diet of 890 kcal until 15% weight reduction, which was followed by a weight maintenance diet.
At 6 months, fasting insulin levels were significantly reduced from baseline in the intervention groups. Core body temperature was reduced in the group with calorie restriction and the group with calorie restriction with exercise.
These findings suggest that 2 biomarkers of longevity (fasting insulin level and body temperature) are decreased by prolonged calorie restriction in humans. The metabolic rate is lowered as a result. DNA damage was also researched, and in the intervention groups (calorie restricted diets) it was lower. The 6-month study suggests, that calorie restriction may not mean deprivation, but less “wear and tear” on the metabolism.

Life Extension Through Calorie Restriction

Life Extension Through Calorie Restriction

Studies of longer duration are required to determine if calorie restriction has the capability to slow down aging in humans.

More on calorie restriction: http://nethealthbook.com/news/calorie-restriction-makes-live-longer/

Reference: JAMA. 2006; 295:1539-1548

Last edited Oct. 31, 2014

Mar
01
2006

Daily Tea Lowers Ovarian Cancer Risk

By | Cancer, Nutrition

Due to the fact that ovarian cancer is silent and as a result often diagnosed at a later stage, it is one of the killing cancers in women. New treatments have made a big difference in the survival rate of patients, but the need for prevention remains an important point. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption represents a risk factor for ovarian cancer. It is also true that healthy lifestyle habits in the form of healthy eating and exercise are very useful for prevention.
Swedish research has come up with more news. They examined the association of tea consumption as a risk-lowering factor in 61,057 women 40 to 76 years of age. These participants completed a validated 67-item food frequency questionnaire between 1987 and 1990. They were followed for cancer incidence through December 2004.
The researchers found a 46% lower risk of ovarian cancer in women who drank two or more cups of tea a day, compared to those who did not drink tea.

Daily Tea Lowers Ovarian Cancer Risk

Daily Tea Lowers Ovarian Cancer Risk

The tea was primarily black tea. Each additional cup of tea was associated with an 18% decreased risk of ovarian cancer.

More information on ovarian cancer: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/ovarian-cancer/

References: The Medical Post, February21, 2006, page 23.

Last edited Oct. 30, 2014