Category Archives: alternative-health

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Self Care Products to Avoid While Pregnant

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Photography by ElvisHuang

If you are pregnant, you are probably being careful about the foods you eat.  But how about your deodorant, shampoo, hair gel or face creme?  Your skin absorbs chemicals through your pores, and those which affect your hormones, and those of your baby, known as endocrine disruptors, can be potent at parts per billion or even parts per trillion. Your exposure is higher than that.

You should avoid a number of products or types of products.  First, look at anything with “fragrance” as an ingredient, or at anything that foams, or at anything that might extract the plastic from the bottles.  In 2002, three-quarters of the 72 products tested by the Environmental Working Group contained phthalates, plasticizing chemicals linked to birth defects, obesity, feminizing infant boys, liver and kidney damage,  infertility and premature breast development in both boys and girls.  These include both brand name cosmetics like L’Oreal, Dove, Cover Girl and Revlon and some “natural” brands .

In a recent study, 145 preschoolers whose mother’s prenatal urine was high in two common phthalates, their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, such as trucks and play fighting.  Girls, OTOH are more likely to become more aggressive with prenatal and postnatal exposure to BPA which can leach from hard plastics, especially #7. We know that the reproduction of other species is compromised by these chemicals, so the results on people are potentially profound.

One thing that has affected all of us, from the developing embryo to the adult is a category of chemicals named obesogens by researcher Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine.   These chemicals mimic hormones and upset the body’s homeostasis and disrupt the endocrine system in a way that increases appetites and stores fats.  There is evidence that they also affect developing fetuses.  Levels have been increasing since the 1950s.

Be suspicious of products marketed as “natural,” “organic,” “dermatologist-tested,” or “hypoallergenic.” The FDA doesn’t have standards for those claims and doesn’t require companies to substantiate them.  Even “fragrance-free” doesn’t always mean that it is: the product may contain dangerous ingredients that mask odors.

Here are specifics of what to avoid and why.

  • Heavy Fragrances frequently contain phthlates as carriers but are usually hidden under the name ‘Fragrances”, “Perfume” or “Parfum”.   That name also covers byproducts like formaldehyde.   If you smell it, either there are either volatile chemicals being released or a cloud of particulates.  Either way will get chemicals into your bloodstream.  Better to go without fragrance, but if you want some, dilute a few drops of a safe essential oil in an ounce jojoba oil.  Be sparing though as essential oils are much stronger than found in nature and will show up in the liver.  A spritz of organic rosewater or another hydrosol is best.
  • Hair Care products contain a variety of chemicals including sodium laureth sulfate, PEG,plasticizers that cause foaming or creaminess, nanoparticles which add reflectivity and shine, phthalates and parabens.  Hairspray is full of chemicals that enter through breathing them and causes penis malformations in the baby.  Hair dyes include lead, p-phenylenediamine; toluene-2; 5-diamine; p-aminophenol.  Henna often contains heavy metals accumulated by the plant or added after.  During pregnancy you should go natural or just use the lemon juice in the sun routine.  Wash with pure castile soap and rinse with vinegar or lemon juice.
  • Tattoos and black henna temporary tatts should be avoided during and a few months before pregnancy.  Most reputable tattoo artists won’t work on pregnant women and it is illegal in many states.  Aside from concerns about hepatitis or blood borne diseases, the ink may contain chemicals which cause activity for several months.  There isn’t enough known about effects that the ink, which is partly absorbed into the body, may have on the baby.  Further, the electric needles may cause miscarriage by conducting electrical current into the body.  Some hospitals have policies prohibiting epidurals through tattoos.  If you want an epidural and have a tattoo on your back, it still would be best to contact the hospital about its policies.  Black henna contains para-phenylendiamine (PPD) which can cause neurological problems for the baby: use neutral henna and not too much.
  • Sunscreens and tanners commonly contain avobenzone, benzphenone, ethoxycinnamate, PABA  that are known free radical generators and are believed to damage DNA or lead to cancers.  Thy often contain phthalates and nanoparticles.  The spray-on tanners are especially bad because you can inhale the ingredients, getting them into your bloodstream faster.  Those include the suspected mutagen Dihydroxyacetone (DHA).  If you want a tan, go out in the sun between 11:00 and 1:00 with a little sesame oil to get your Vitamin D which will help your baby, reduce the chance of toxemia in pregnancy and build up for your breastmilk, then cover up after 20 minutes.  Your pregnancy glow should make up for the rest.
  • Antibacterial Soaps and waterless cleaners often contain triclosan with chemical structure similar to Agent Orange.  The EPA registers it as a pesticide and it is a carcinogen.  New research also shows that triclosan in tap water can react with residual chlorine from water disinfection to form myriad chlorinated byproducts, including chloroform, a human carcinogen.  Ordinary soap and water cleans hands better than antibacterial soap and doesn’t kill off the good bacteria that protect you and your baby. You can make a waterless handcleaner out of aloe vera gel and essential oils to carry with you.  For disinfectant, use soap and water or a drinkable alcohol like vodka.
  • Acne products may contain  benzol peroxide, beta hydroxyl acid, salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid, which are not safe.  Prescription acne medications cause deformity and you usually need to sign that you are using a reliable form of birth control like the pill. Fully 25-35% of babies born to mothers using Accutane in the first trimester have some pattern of birth defects.  Retin-A can be expected to be similar to Accutane due to its molecular structure. Tetracycline is an antibiotic given for acne which inhibits bone development and causes gray teeth in the baby. Pregnancy is likely to clear up your acne without these, but it isn’t worth putting your baby at risk.  Use the loofa facial discs with Basis soap and water or soaked in rosewater or witch hazel for exfoliation.
  • Nail polish contains a variety of noxious chemicals including dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, toluene, tosylamide formaldehyde resin (sometimes causes eyelid rashes when people scratch their face).  The women who work in nail salons where they breathe in fumes all day, are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, stillbirths, birth defects, and developmental issues as well as respiratory diseases, so protecting yourself helps them.  Although no studies have been published on birth defects among nail workers, a North Carolina study found an increased risk of spontaneous abortion among nail salon employees.  Instead, buff your nails or have them buffed in a well-ventilated salon and get your salon to only stock safer polishes.
  • Eye makeup often contains parabens (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben); nickel; cobalt; chromate especially in nanoparticle form.  Probably more irritating to you than your baby.
  • Chemical hair removers contain thioglycolic acid which is untested but smells so bad that you wouldn’t want to use it while pregnant.  Shave instead, using soap as a lubricant.

Ingredients to avoid:

  • Phthalates are not only found in fragrances, but in all kinds of products.  The same phthalates that cause permanent harm of the male reproductive system in laboratory studies are also found in nail polish, hair spray, deodorant, and fragrances – well known products like Revlon, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, and Procter & Gamble.   The laboratory found phthalates in Pantene Pro V “Healthy Hold” and Aqua Net hair sprays, Arrid and Degree deodorants, and fragrances like Poison by Christian Dior and Coty’s Healing Garden Pure Joy Body Treatment, to name just a few.  It is also found in plastic bottles and may leach into cosmetics in that way.  Hairsprays, spray body mists and powders are easily inhaled.  Although found in 100% of the bloodstreams in pregnant women in a recent Maine test, the FDA has declined to ban it.
  • Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl) are also ubiquitous, used as preservatives.  They are found in deodorants and antiperspirants, hair care products,  lotions and facial serums.  They have been found in breast cancer tumors and are suspected carcinogens.   Parabens, as xenoestrogens (chemicals which fit into estrogen receptors), may contribute to sterility in males. Estrogen-like activity causes hormone imbalance in females and early puberty.
  • Phenoxyethanol is a preservative found even in organic cosmetics, although it is restricted in Japan and banned in Europe.  It can also cause reproductive defects and nervous system damage. In cosmetics, concentrations are typically less than 1 percent, but may be cumulative and could affect a developing fetus.
  • Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: Petroleum plastics act as surfactants (wetting agents, solvents). EPA considers PG so toxic it requires protective gloves, clothing, goggles and disposal by burying. Because PG penetrates skin so quickly, EPA warns against skin contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. There is NO warning label on products where concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.
  • Nanoparticles, very tiny particles that can get into your blood stream through your skin are found in sunscreen, bronzers, hair gels, eyeshadow and mineral makeup.  They are new and untested.  In the way that fine grinding of flour lead to increases in heart disease and sensitization to gluten, the effects of nanoparticles may be profound and pregnant women should avoid them.  Especially avoid them in forms that sit on your skin or are sprayed into the air.
  • Dioxins are unlisted ingredients related to Agent Orange and can come from the breakdown of chlorophenols like triclosan,emulsifiers, PEGs and ethoxylated cleansers like Sodium Laureth Sulfate.  Pesticide.   And responsible for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): Detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in 90 percent of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation–even death. SLS may also damage skin’s immune system by causing layers to separate, inflame and age.
  • DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (Triethanolamine): are foam boosters which irritate  skin and eyes and  cause contact dermatitis. These compounds are easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs, even passing the blood brain barrier. Repeated use resulted in major increases of liver and kidney cancer.
  • Quaternium-15 is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative.
  • Cocamidopropyl betaine is found in some bath preparations.
  • 1,4 dioxane, which is not technically an ingredient, but a byproduct of the carcinogen ethylene oxide.  Ethylene oxide is used in a process called ethoxylation, which is used to make harsh ingredients milder.

You do not need to be totally without self care products.  Castile soap, Dr. Bronner’s or an organic shampoo bar can take care of cleaning your skin and hair.  Witch hazel, rosewater or hydrosols of sandalwood make good toners.  Buttermilk makes a great masque. Organic mayonnaise makes a luxurious face masque or hair conditioner.  Vinegar rinses, perhaps infused with a sprig of fresh rosemary work as conditioners for normal to oily hair.  There are also product lines like Garden of Eve’s Expectantly Lovely line which are designed to be safe to mother and baby.  And many organic lines are also safe, but do check the ingredients.

See Also:

Vitamin D Reduces Pre-Eclampsia in Pregnancy

How to Get Vitamin D from the Sun

Nursing Mothers, Infants and Vitamin D

Chemicals and Obesity: What if it Isn’t Your Fault? Obesity and Endocrine Disruptors

How to Make Waterless Handcleaner

Sources:
  1. Wikipedia  Endocrine disruptors, Plasticizer
  2. Ester John et. al. Spontaneous Abortion Among Cosmetologists
  3. Stacy Malkin  Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry
  4. Environmental Working Group.  Not Too Pretty:  Cosmetics and the FDA
  5. Endocrine Disruptors in the Workplace, Hair Spray, Folate Supplementation, and Risk of Hypospadias: Case–Control Study
  6. Don’t let your cosmetics cause health problems (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
  7. Acne Treatments During Pregnancy
  8. ScienceBlog Daily  Pilot study relates phthalate exposure to less masculine play by boys
  9. BISPHENOL A Plastic exposure in pregnancy linked to aggressive girls: study
  10. Jana Ballinger  “The Toxic 12” Beauty Ingredients
  11. Christine Lepisto 10 beauty ingredients that you must ditch during pregnancy
  12. Muddle, S. Tattoo or not to do? J Obstet Anesth. 2006 Jul;15(3):259-60. PMID: 1679846
  13. Kuczkowski KM. Labor analgesia for the parturient with lumbar tattoos: what does an obstetrician need to know? IArch Gynecol Obstet. 2006 Aug;274(5):310-2. Epub 2006 Feb 21.

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Niacin Outperforms Drug At Lowering Cholesterol

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In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a time release version of an inexpensive Vitamin B (Niacin- not niacinamide) was compared to a common cholesterol drug, ezetimibe (trade name Zetia), made by Merck.  The vitamin gave superior results.

In 2008, 9 million Americans were taking Zetia versus just 2.5 who were taking niacin, putting the majority at higher risk for stroke and spending more money for their treatment.

Niacin is easier on the blood vessel walls. Niacin had a beneficial effect on the plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the brain, while Zetia caused a slight worsening.  Nine patients taking  Zetia had heart attacks, stroke, or died from heart disease, versus just two patients taking niacin.

Niaspan, the niacin used in the study is a prescription product that has a special timed-release formulation, which may cut down on the hot flashes that are associated with niacin use.  It does still cause flushing in some people however.

Zetia reduced LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol by 20%.  But unlike Zetia,  niacin boosts HDL, or good cholesterol by 20%, as well as reducing LDL by 16%, total cholesterol by 10% and triglycerides by 28%.

The prescription version of niacin is Niaspan, a 500mg-1000mg version taken at two tablets in the evening.  The vitamin does cause flushing, but less so than straight niacin.  Niacinamide (also called nicotinamide or “no flush niacin”) does not work the same way, although it is often used as a substitute for niacin in multivitamins.

Niacin can cause blood sugar to rise, may be contraindicated for people with gout, bleeding, stomach ulcers, liver disease, kidney problems and shouldn’t be taken by heavy drinkers or people on blood thinners. IT has not been studied on pregnant or nursing women but most likely does get into the breastmilk and should be monitored.  The most common side effects include flushing, headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, increased cough, and itching.  It may interact with aspirin. I suspect that it may increase hot flashes for menopausal women due to the similarity of the symptoms and Chinese medicine interpretations, but Abbot has not mentioned that side effect.   If you take other cholesterol medication take it 4 hours apart.

While the form used in the study is only available by prescription, Natrol sells a 500mg time release niacin for $7.33 for 100 pills and there are likely many other vendors.  The Abbot Labs site says that there may be liver problems when changing to a long-term time release from a non or intermediate time release niacin, so if you are changing brands of niacin, spend a few days without it.  Start at 500mg once a day and go up slowly.  Do not exceed 2000mg.  Women may need lower doses than men.

If you are severely yin deficient this may make things worse and it should be combined with shatavari, or the Rhemannia 6 herbal formula (Liu wei di huang wan).  Speak with your acupuncturist or herbalist.

If you are on a statin, there is no extra benefit to taking niacin or vice versa.  Incidentally the anti-inflammatory effect of two cups of coffee a day or a half pint of blueberries is the same as a statin, but the latter do not deplete your muscles of Coenzyme Q10.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDiseaseNews/cheap-niacin-beats-pricier-zetia-heart-patients/story?id=9092855

http://blogs.healthfreedomalliance.org/blog/2010/02/05/vitamin-proves-better-then-big-pharma-drug/

http://rxabbott.com/pdf/niaspan.pdf

http://www.niaspan.com/AboutNiaspan/Default.aspx#isi

See Also:

Coffee Beats Statin in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

Vitamin D, Niacin and Red Yeast Rice

Herbs and Hypertension

alternative-health

Vinegar or Acid Food Helps Blood Sugar Go Down

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David Mendosa has for some time been suggesting that using lemon juice or vinegar will benefit blood sugar spikes.  Lemon juice, vinegar, even lactic acid fermented foods as suggested in Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions, will lower blood sugar spikes.  And the fermentation process by lactic acid bacteria lowers carbohydrates in the food that was fermented, which is why plain yogurt is less harmful than the same amount of unfermented milk.  And it adds probiotics to boot, which helps you digest better.

Researcher Carol Johnston f rom the University of Arizona recovered data from the 1940’s and found that 2 tablespoons of vinegar reduces blood sugar spikes at an equivalent rate to much diabetes medication.  It works better with the insulin resistant, but also lowers blood sugar for diabetics.   And it even caused weight loss.

Herbalist David Winston has for years taught that taking bitters before meals will stimulate the liver to produce bile, the gall bladder to release it and the digestive juices to be produced.  It is the taste of the bitters that signals the body from the tongue- taste is more than an aesthetic experience.  What I suggest is that you take a half lime, bite into the bitter peel and squeeze the juice into your water before dinner, which gives you both essential tastes.  Bitterness requires a much smaller amount than sourness to do its work.

Alternatively you can make a salad of bitter greens like radicchio or endive and then dress it with vinegar.  Or take some bitters and eat a pickle before meals.  (The Italians say salt should start a meal to enhance digestion, so you get a two-fer here as well.)

Johnston believes that drinking vinegar is too difficult.  I have found several ways around that since I believe that taste, not just chemical reaction, is involved.  For instance, I mix the unsweetened juice concentrates of blueberry or tart cherry with apple cider vinegar, which makes a decent tasting sour drink.  Balsamic vinegar is also less objectionable, although you must account for the extra carbs as with the juice concentrations.  (Or make your own balsamic vinegar by soaking white pine needles in an equal amount of apple cider vinegar and let sit for a month before using it.)
From Diabetes in Control:

A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Sugar Go Down
2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal even as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal.
A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Sugar Go Down
Carol Johnston is a professor of nutrition at Arizona State University’s East campus. When she started developing menus to help prevent and control diabetes, she began with a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The diet worked amazingly well, but it involved major changes from the way people usually eat. Johnston feared they would give up and start downing Twinkies in no time. She wondered if there was an alternative.

Johnston struck gold while reading through some older studies on diabetes. Actually, she struck vinegar.

Her studies indicate that 2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal—perhaps, as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal. In people with type 2 diabetes, these spikes can be excessive and can foster complications, including heart disease

In Johnston’s initial study, about one-third of the 29 volunteers had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, another third had signs that they could become diabetic, and the rest were healthy. The scientists gave each participant the vinegar dose or a placebo to drink immediately before they ate a high-carbohydrate breakfast consisting of orange juice, a bagel, and butter. A week later, each volunteer came back for the opposite premeal treatment and then the same breakfast. After both meals, the researchers sampled blood from the participants.

Although all three groups in the study had better blood readings after meals begun with vinegar cocktails, the people with signs of future diabetes—prediabetic symptoms—reaped the biggest gains. For instance, vinegar cut their blood-glucose rise in the first hour after a meal by about half, compared with readings after a placebo premeal drink.


A few tablespoons of vinegar prior to a meal—such as part of an oil-and-vinegar salad dressing—could benefit people with diabetes or at high risk of developing the disease.PhotoDisc

In contrast, blood-glucose concentrations were only about 25 percent better after people with diabetes drank vinegar. In addition, people with prediabetic symptoms ended up with lower blood glucose than even healthy volunteers, after both groups drank vinegar.

In these tests, vinegar had an effect on volunteers’ blood comparable to what might be expected from antidiabetes drugs, such as metformin, the researchers reported January in Diabetes Care. A follow-up study has now turned up an added—and totally unexpected—benefit from vinegar: moderate weight loss.

Both findings should come as welcome news during this season when sweet and caloric treats taunt diabetics, who face true health risks from indulging in too many carbs.

Johnston was looking for possible diet modifications that would make meals less risky for people with diabetes. While reviewing research published earlier by others, she ran across reports from about 2 decades ago that suggesting that vinegar limits glucose and insulin spikes in a person’s blood after a meal.

A few research groups had conducted limited follow-up trials. For instance, Johnston points to a 2001 paper in which researchers at Lund University in Sweden evaluated pickles—cucumbers preserved in vinegar—as a dietary supplement to lower the blood-sugar rise in healthy people after a meal. The Swedish team, led by Elin M. Östman, reported that pickles dramatically blunted the blood-sugar spike after a high-carb breakfast. Fresh cukes didn’t.

“I became really intrigued,” Johnston says, because adding vinegar to the diet would be simple “and wouldn’t require counting how many carbs you ate.” At first, she attempted to replicate findings by others, focusing specifically on people with diabetes or prediabetic symptoms.

When these individuals showed clear benefits from vinegar after a single meal, Johnston’ group initiated a trial to evaluate longer-term effects. It also explored vinegar’ effect on cholesterol concentrations in blood. The Arizona State scientists had hypothesized that by preventing digestion of carbs in the stomach, vinegar might cause carbohydrate molecules to instead ferment in the colon, a process that signals the liver to synthesize less cholesterol.

So, in one trial, Johnston had half of the volunteers take a 2-tablespoon dose of vinegar prior to each of two meals daily for 4 weeks. The others were told to avoid vinegar. All were weighed before and after the trial.

As it turns out, cholesterol values didn’t change in either group. To Johnston’ surprise, however, “here was actually about a 2-pound weight loss, on average, over the 4 weeks in the vinegar group.” In fact, unlike the control group, none in the vinegar cohort gained any weight, and a few people lost up to 4 pounds. Average weight remained constant in the group not drinking vinegar.

Johnston would now like to repeat the trial in a larger group of individuals to confirm the finding, but that study is currently on hold.

Why? To no one’s astonishment, the study volunteers didn’t like drinking vinegar straight—even flavored, apple-cider vinegar. Indeed, Johnston says, “I would prefer eating pickled foods or getting . . . vinegar in a salad dressing.”

Now, the scientists are developing a less objectionable, encapsulated form of vinegar and testing its efficacy. Although there are commercially available vinegar dietary supplements, Johnston notes that they “don’t appear to contain acetic acid,” and based on studies by others, she suspects that’s the antidiabetic ingredient in the vinegar.
Diabetes Care Jan, 2005

Sources:

Diabetes in Control.  A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Blood Sugar Go Down

David Mendosa. Acidic Foods: Another Way to Control Your Blood Sugar

Liljeberg H, Bjorck I. “Delayed gastric emptying rate may explain improved glycaemia in healthy subjects to a starchy meal with added vinegar.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998 May;52(5):368-71.

Liljeberg HG, Lonner CH, Bjorck IM. “Sourdough fermentation or addition of organic acids or corresponding salts to bread improves nutritional properties of starch in healthy humans.” J Nutr. 1995 Jun;125(6):1503-11.

Brighenti F, Castellani G, Benini L, Casiraghi MC, Leopardi E, Crovetti R, Testolin G. “Effect of neutralized and native vinegar on blood glucose and acetate responses to a mixed meal in healthy subjects.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Apr;49(4):242-7.

……………………….

See Also:

Fermented Blueberry Drink Prevents Diabetes

Our Symbionts, Ourselves

Natural Remedies for Indigestion

How to Make Miso

See Also:

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Fewer Serious or Lethal Prostate Cancers in Male Coffee Drinkers

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I have been writing for some time about the positive benefits of coffee.  Coffee is not caffeine, it is a complex aqueous herbal beverage with flavanoids, bitters, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, polysaccharides, ogliosaccharides, essential oils, 5% of the daily magnesium and 2% of the daily potassium needs, plus vitamin E and niacin.  There is also caffeine, which varies range from 58 to 75 mg in a typical espresso, and from 70 to 130 mg in a small coffee. In boiled but not filtered coffee there are also the cholesterol-raising kahweol and cafestol. We know that the chlorogenic acid is significantly anti-inflammatory and two cups a day reduces C Reactive protein by approximately the same amount as a statin drug.

Life Extension Email December 11, 2009

Less advanced and lethal prostate cancers in male coffee drinkers

The American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference held December 6-9, 2009 in Houston was the site of a presentation of the finding that men with a high daily intake of coffee have a significantly lower risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer. The beverage contains antioxidants and minerals as well as caffeine, all of which could impact cancer risk.

Postdoctoral fellow Kathryn M. Wilson, PhD of Harvard School of Public
Health and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School’s Channing Laboratory and McGill University in Montreal evaluated data from nearly 50,000 participants in the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Regular and decaffeinated coffee intake was assessed for 1986 and every four years thereafter until 2006. During this time period, 4,975 men developed prostate cancer.

While coffee drinking appeared to have a small protective effect on the
overall risk of prostate cancer, with those who consumed 6 or more cups per day having a 19 percent lower risk compared with those who did not drink coffee, when advanced and fatal cancers were separately analyzed, the risk of each was 59 percent lower in men who consumed the most coffee, and among men who had never smoked, the risk was 89 percent lower. Similar results were observed for both regular and decaffeinated coffee. “Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes,” noted Dr Wilson. “We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced versus localized cancers or high-grade versus low-grade cancers.”

“Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies,” she remarked.

In an analysis involving a subset of the current study’s subjects for whom blood samples were collected between 1993 and 1995, greater coffee intake was found to be associated with higher levels of testosterone and serum hormone binding globulin and with lower plasma levels of C-peptide.

“The strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers is potentially important and should be confirmed in other populations,” the authors conclude. “The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee and may be mediated through effects on insulin metabolism and/or sex hormone levels.”
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See Related Posts:

Coffee Herbs

November Herbal Blog Party on Morning Wake Up Beverages

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimer’s

Simple Ways to Support Brain Function

Health Myths About Hydration

Coffee Beats Statins in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

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Baking Soda, the Immune System and the Flu

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Baking soda alkalizes the body and may prevent disease:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks.”

The article below by Mark Sirius, OMD who has written a book on sodium bicarbonate,  is drawn from the booklet that Arm and Hammer wrote on baking soda and disease.  It also includes information on when best to take it.  I suggest taking the baking soda on an empty stomach, as most people over the age of 30 have low stomach acid, even if they think they get acid reflux or acid stomach (which has the same symptoms but is worse with antacids.)

Mercola suggests using Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum-Free Baking Soda instead of Arm and Hammer.  According to the product ingredients, only bicarbonate of soda is included in any baking soda.  (Baking powder does sometimes contain aluminum salts.)

Mercola’s site also contains articles referencing baking soda as a

Few people realize that baking soda also has potent medicinal properties. Taken internally, it helps maintain the pH balance in your bloodstream without resorting to taking calcium from bones. This is likely the basic premise behind its recommended uses against both colds and influenza symptoms, and even cancer.

Alkalinized water is also suggested as a way of alkalizing the body as is eating a diet high in vegetables and fruits.  But if you don’t get enough and can stomach the taste, then using baking soda is an inexpensive idea.

Bicarbonate Treatment for Swine Flu (1924)

Using Bicarbonate Against the Swine Flu

by Mark Sircus, OMD

image

Over 150 years ago Dr. Austin Church formed a business to produce and distribute Baking Soda. ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda is derived from a natural occurring mineral called trona. It is 100% pure, safe, and natural. Baking Soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate) is a substance that is found naturally in all living things. Its purpose is to maintain pH balance in the bloodstream, which is necessary to sustain life. Due to its chemical and physical properties, sodium bicarbonate has unique medicinal capabilities that every healthcare practitioner, doctor and patient needs to know about.

The only problem is that Arm & Hammer Baking Soda can replace many more expensive medicines and this does not make the medical industrial complex happy.

In today’s modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense and approved as a drug. But this was not always the case and as we can see in the information in this chapter, which is from a 1924 booklet, [1] published by the Arm & Hammer Soda Company. On page 12 the company starts off saying, “The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks. I have since that time treated all cases of ‘Cold,’ Influenza and LaGripe by first giving generous doses of Bicarbonate of Soda, and in many, many instances within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated. Further, within my own household, before Woman’s Clubs and Parent-Teachers’ Associations, I have advocated the use of Bicarbonate of Soda as a preventive for “Colds,” with the result that now many reports are coming in stating that those who took “Soda” were not affected, while nearly every one around them had the “Flu.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:
During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals.

During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals.

During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured.

“Well the sodium bicarbonate cure for colds and sore throats.
A friend called as I was reading about it, I told her to try it.
She is rapt! Relief in a few hours, and she went to work the
following day! And she was miserable and could hardly talk,[2]
had just woken with it full on, and was planning on missing work.”

In order to secure the best results with Arm & Hammer Pure Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) when taken internally, certain simple rules must be observed. Materia Medica, pharmacology and Therapeutics (Bastedo, Page 88) clearly outlines these rules to follows:

“The effect of an alkali in the stomach will vary according to the nature of the stomach contents at the time of administration. In the resting period (after food is digested) sodium bicarbonate merely dissolves mucus and is absorbed as bicarbonate into the blood, to increase its alkalinity directly.

“In the digestive period it reduces the secretion of gastric juice, neutralizes a portion of the hydrochloric acid, liberates the carminative carbon dioxide gas, and is absorbed as sodium chloride.

“In cases of fermentation or ‘sour stomach’ it may neutralize the organic acids and so result in the opening of a spasmodically closed pylorus (the opening between the stomach and the small intestine); while at the same time it acts to overcome flatulency (accumulation of gas in the stomach and bowels).

“The time of administration must, therefore, be chosen with a definite purpose. Usually for hyperchlohydria (excess of acid) one hour or two hours after meals will be the period of harmful excess of acid.

“In continuous hyperacidity and in fermentative conditions a dose an hour before meals will tend to prepare the stomach for the next meal; or sometimes a dose will be necessary immediately after eating, because of abnormal acid or base having been present at the commencement of the meal. (For the average person one-half hour after meals is recommended).

“A dose at bedtime tends to check the early morning acidity, or a dose on arising cleans the stomach of acid and mucus before breakfast.”

Whenever taking a bicarbonate solution internally the soda should be dissolved on cold water.

This is all very valuable information coming from the horses own mouth, the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Company, which sells aluminum free baking soda. Clearly they knew what they had in their hands one hundred years ago; and its long use in medicine sustains the companies published medical views:

“Besides doing good in respiratory affections, bicarbonate of soda is of inestimable value in the treatment of Alimentary Intoxication, Pyelitis (inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney), Hyper-Acidity of Urine, Uric Acid disturbances, Rheumatism and Burns. An occasional three-day course of Bicarbonate of Soda increases the alkalinity of the blood, assists elimination and increases the resisting power of the body to all Infectious Diseases.”

Magnesium chloride is the only form of magnesium that has been reported to increase immune system strength though all forms of magnesium need to be counted in this regard. When one adds magnesium chloride to ones baths, puts it on the skin like suntan screen, or takes it orally with sodium bicarbonate one supercharges their defensive perimeter or what is called the anti-pathogen factor in Chinese Medicine. Add Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin C and some healthy sun exposure or Vitamin D and we have the heart of army we need to array against viral invaders. Magnesium Bicarbonate – Ultimate Mitochondrial Cocktail is the name of one of my chapters that explains why both these essential mineral ions need to be present in sufficient concentrations.

Testimonials:

(for more, see the article here)

Sources:

http://sodiumbicarbonate.imva.info/index.php/administration-methods/arm-hammer-soda-company/#arrive

And the article by Mercola

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alternative-health, coffee, herbal-preparations

November Herbal Blog Party on Morning Wake Up Beverages

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coffee-cup-cupperTansy hosted November’s herbal blog party.   The subject was morning beverages…be it coffee, mate, or some herbal concoction.  Herbalists  share our  morning beverage rituals.   Here is the blogroll:

Karen Vaughan writes about the benefits of coffee and talks about mixing it with herbs

Lisl writes all about chai and includes a recipe for her favorite blend

Susan Lubbers writes about waking up with a holy cuppa…holy basil!

Chai massalaDarcey Blue French shares her chocamatamatelatte recipe

Kiva Rose writes of the wild woodlands morning brew, with a combination of herbs that you might never have thought of trying

Need a little caffeine in your morning ritual? Try Rosalee de la Foret’s suggestions for black tea

Tansy’s idea of a great caffeine free morning beverage: roasted root chai

Aquarian Bath’s secret to a great cup of earl grey tea

Stephany shares some great recipes for all sorts of moods!

Aartiana writes about her favorite morning infusions

See Related Posts:

Coffee Herbs

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimer’s

Simple Ways to Support Brain Function

Health Myths About Hydration

Coffee Beats Statins in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

Fewer Serious or Lethal Prostate Cancers in Male Coffee Drinkers

alternative-health, cancer, sunlight, vitamin-d

How To Get Vitamin D from the Sun

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How do you get enough Vitamin D from the sun?  If you can fulfill the following, you might get enough:vitamin-d

  1. You live south of Atlanta in the winter.
  2. You are in the sun from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
  3. Your body is mostly uncovered.
  4. You go without sunscreen for at least 15-20 minutes.
  5. You don’t use soap for 48 hours.
  6. You repeat the process in 72 hours.
  7. Your skin is not dark, either from genetics or suntanning. (You may need six times as much exposure if your skin is dark.)

Unless you fit all of these conditions, you need to supplement.  And a multi-vitamin or calcium plus D supplement will NOT have enough Vitamin D, nor will your milk.  You need to supplement with high iu Vitamin D3, preferably above 4000 iu.  If your blood 25 hydroxy D test is below 70 (ignore “high”, “medium” and “low” because that is based on the averages of a D-deficient population,) then supplement it.  The exception is if you have scleroderma or similar abnormal calcium metabolism.

Other ways to supplement:  frequent consumption of liver, preferably from organic animals.  Shitake or other mushrooms dried gill side up in the sun on a daily dose of about one ounce dry weight, cooked long and low.

Calculations from studies on Vitamin D show that, for every person who dies of skin cancer from UV overexposure, more than two hundred will die from other cancers, like lung, breast, prostate and colon, as a result of low vitamin D levels.

See Related Posts:

Vitamin D Regulates the Immune System

Nursing Mothers, Infants and Vitamin D

And More On Vitamin D

Vitamin D Prevents Cancer, Type 1 Diabetes, MS, Heart Attack and Pain

alternative-health, liver, vitamin-d

And more on Vitamin D

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This is a very funny and informative video on Vitamin D, with images that will stick with you.  (I especially liked his publication strategy to get new patients.)

  • Infant chimps, which we have already seen need similar Vitamin D to humans can take 5000 iu per day.
  • Collagen without sufficient Vitamin D is like putting Jello in water- it gets softer and can’t support the bones.
  • Iguana owners have a better idea of Vitamin D needs than most doctors. (And the pictures of Vitamin D deficient iguanas will stick with you.)
  • Vitamin D is responsible for regulating the blood pressure hormone rennin, and for combating elevated levels of C-reactive protein in your body.
  • Malignant melanoma usually appears in areas without exposure to sun, and working out of doors lowers your malignant melanoma rate.
  • Squamous cell skin cancer is the only cancer that occurs more in sunbathers, the ones that will kill you are lower.
  • Vitamin D toxicity occurred in a Florida lawyer who was taking 1 million iu of Vitamin D for two years due to a manufacturing accident.  When they gave him a diuretic and kept him out of the sun for a month, it reversed.
  • While tanning bed enthusiasts get more cancer, they also have higher bone density.

Lots more and hard information:

See Related Posts:

Vitamin D Regulates the Immune System

Nursing Mothers, Infants and Vitamin D

How to Get Vitamin D from the Sun

Vitamin D Prevents Cancer, Type 1 Diabetes, MS, Heart Attack and Pain

alternative-health, diabetes, flu, pregnancy, vitamin-d

Vitamin D Prevents Cancer, Type 1 Diabetes, MS, Heart Attack and Pain

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Watching this You-Tube video from the University of California at San Diego might be one of the best things you can do for your health. It explains clearly and in detail which levels of vitamin D3 are necessary to prevent a great variety of diseases. Rickets, the disease our woefully inadequate RDA was designed to prevent, needs very little Vitamin D.    Cancers, diabetes, heart attack, falls, fractures, hypertension, neurological impairment, even pain will be prevented by raising your blood Vitamin D levels to the recommended range.

I have been taking 10,000 iu of Vitamin D3 daily for the last year and am only in the low end of the recommended range.

You can find the charts shown in the video at http://www.grassrootshealth.net

A blood level of Vitamin D (have your doctor test it) should be 40-60 ng/ml, which is likely higher than the reference range of the test. You would need to reach 200 ng/ml to suffer from toxicity. The amount you need to supplement will vary, but is way way higher than you find in any multi.  Unless you seek out a special high concentration vitamin D supplement, you are not getting enough, at least above the Mason-Dixon line (and usually below as well.)

This video puts together the Vitamin D research and offers a public health program designed to raise Vitamin D3 and calcium to levels that would prevent 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer annually in the US and Canada within the next five years. The researchers model also predicted that 75% of deaths from these cancers could be prevented with adequate intake of vitamin D3 and calcium.

In Finland, in the 1960s, mothers gave babies 4500 iu of Vitamin D daily.  When the dosage was lowered to 2000 iu, type 1 diabetes rates began to rise and when the dosage was lowered to 400 iu, the level we usually find in a US multi-vitamin, type 1 diabetes skyrocketed.   With sufficient supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood you can prevent 8/10 cases of type 1 diabetes.  You will rarely find the higher level of Vitamin D recommended for children in the US because we have only focused on the association of Vitamin D and rickets.

Vitamin D helps maintain tight junctions between cells so that signaling is better and viruses or other infectious agents cannot get in between the cells.  Some of those agents will trigger autoimmune reactions.

The chart linked below shows why higher doses are needed for cancer, type 1 diabetes, MS, and a variety of other diseases than rickets- the MDR was based on preventing rickets which responds well enough to low doses of vitamin D.  Note that 35% of all cancers were prevented with at a level of 1000 iu daily, giving a blood level of 38 that is below the recommended range -perhaps much higher prevention would be found if they had tested higher ranges.  Most disease tested were prevented in the 40-60 range, with toxicity not found below 200.   It is all based upon good research:

Disease Incidence Chart

See Related Posts:

Vitamin D Regulates the Immune System

Nursing Mothers, Infants and Vitamin D

How to Get Vitamin D from the Sun

And More On Vitamin D

alternative-health, alzheimers, blood-sugar, coffee, fluids-and-electrolytes

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimers

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More research showing that coffee is not the brew of the devil. Not only does it prevent Alzheimer’s, it stopped the progression of the disease.  But a few caveats: it was caffeine, not coffee; it’s an awfully lot; it was mice, not people and no one asked them if they were jittery.Coffee mouse

From the Times of London:

Daily caffeine dose may delay progress of Alzheimer’s, researchers say

Hannah Devlin

Three large cups of coffee a day could help to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease and even reverse the condition, researchers say.

A daily dose of caffeine can suppress the degenerative processes in the brain that can lead to confusion and memory loss, a study in mice suggests.

Although drinking coffee has previously been linked to a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, this is the first study to suggest that caffeine can directly target the disease itself.

Alzheimer’s occurs when sticky clumps of abnormal protein in the brain called beta-amyloid build up to form plaques, impairing cognitive function. But mice with a rodent equivalent of the disease showed a 50 per cent reduction in levels of amyloid protein in their brains after scientists spiked their drinking water with caffeine.

The change was reflected in their behaviour as they developed better memories and quicker thinking. In the study, published today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers from the University of South Florida studied 55 mice that had been genetically engineered to develop dementia symptoms identical to those of Alzheimer’s as they aged. Before treatment the mice, which were aged 18 to 19 months — about 70 years in human terms — had performed poorly in the memory tests.

Half the animals were given a daily dose of caffeine in their drinking water — equivalent to a human consuming about six espresso shots or 500mg of pure caffeine — while the other half continued to drink ordinary water. By the end of the two-month study, the caffeine-drinking mice were performing far better on tests of memory and thinking than mice given water. Their memories were as sharp as those of healthy older mice without dementia.

The scientists found that when the mice drank caffeinated water their blood levels of beta amyloid protein fell quickly. More importantly, the same effect occurred in the brain. Almost half the abnormal protein previously seen when the brains of Alzheimer’s mice were examined had vanished after two months.

The researchers hope that caffeine could present a safe, inexpensive treatment for dementia.

Professor Gary Arendash, a memory and ageing specialist who led the latest research, said that he wished to conduct human patient trials as soon as possible.

“The findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable treatment for established Alzheimer’s disease and not simply a protective strategy,” he said.

A study in 2002 found that people who consumed caffeine in mid-life were 60 per cent less likely to develop the disease.

About 417,000 people in the UK suffer from Alzheimer’s, and numbers are steadily rising. There is currently no cure and although drugs can help stabilise the condition, they are not widely available on the NHS until patients have advanced-stage disease and their effectiveness is relatively unpredictable from person to person.

Taking 500mg of caffeine in tablet form would be safe for most patients and would have relatively few side-effects, Professor Arendash said, although it is not clear how the dosage would translate from mice to humans.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said that it was too early to say whether coffee or caffeine supplements could help Alzheimer’s patients.

“With no cure yet, research into treatments that could help people with Alzheimer’s is vital. [But] we need to do more research to find out whether this effect will be seen in people,” she said.

Getting perked up

How to get 500mg of caffeine a day:

2 x 250mg caffeine pills

3 x large espresso-based coffees

6 x cans of Red Bull

14 x cans of Coca-Cola

15 x cups of tea

7kg (16 lb) of chocolate

Source: US Food and Drug Administration, University of South Florida

See also:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8132122.stm
 Excerpt:

When the mice were tested again after two months, those who were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills and performed as well as mice of the same age without dementia. Those drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests.

In addition, the brains of the mice given caffeine showed nearly a 50% reduction in levels of the beta amyloid protein, which forms destructive clumps in the brains of dementia patients. Further tests suggested caffeine affects the production of both the enzymes needed to produce beta amyloid. The researchers also suggest that caffeine suppresses inflammatory changes in the brain that lead to an overabundance of the protein.

See also:  Science Daily article with citations and the mouse picture above.

See Related Posts:

Coffee Herbs

November Herbal Blog Party on Morning Wake Up Beverages

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimer’s

Simple Ways to Support Brain Function

Health Myths About Hydration

Coffee Beats Statins in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

Fewer Serious or Lethal Prostate Cancers in Male Coffee Drinkers