Once thought to be a disease of the ear only, research indicates that tinnitus has a neurological component as well. The brain tries to fill in sounds that the ears can’t pick up. However, often this compensation is faulty, and the tinnitus sufferer is left hearing sounds he or she shouldn’t hear at high decibels and for prolonged periods of time.

If this continues for a while, the patient can also experience a stress response. While a “Fight or flight” response is helpful when faced with a real threat, in this case, it does more harm than good. Instead of sending a message to the brain to stop filling in the missing noise, it does the opposite. The internal noises get louder, thereby contributing to additional neurological and physiological responses. This further explains why patients report anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, and so forth.

Tinnitus is often triggered by loud noises. For example, many soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to gunfire and explosions without proper ear protection. Over the past ten years, MRIs of the brain (imaging of the brain) have been able to pick up differences that can be attributed to tinnitus. It is possible that brain images taken before and after combat will help doctors diagnose and treat tinnitus in years to come. 

Currently, there is no standard treatment for tinnitus. Some doctors prescribe medication, even though none has been approved specifically for the condition. If you seek medical help for tinnitus, your treatment may include: sound therapy, acupuncture, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrical brain stimulation, mindfulness training, and neck exercises. Here are some highlights:

•    Electrical Brain Stimulation
Jay Piccirillo, a professor of otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis, has conducted research with electromagnets to keep the brain from overcompensating when hearing loss is present. He told National Public Radio (NPR), “We think that perhaps that electrical stimulation just clears away that pathological, or that faulty, connection,” Piccirillo says, “with the hope that the reconnections are more normal and more healthy.” (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/138163304/tinnitus-why-wont-my-ears-stop-ringing)

•    Sound Therapy
A man who was suffering from extreme tinnitus symptoms and unable to work was interviewed by NPR, after an unsuccessful trial of electromagnetic therapy. He went on to try a form of sound therapy that involved listening to radio static. Although it was annoying at first, after a while, he was able to tune out the radio static. As time went on, the phantom sounds he heard as part of his tinnitus faded to background noise, like the radio static. Although it didn’t go away, he experienced enough relief that his quality of life improved. 

•    Neuromonics—Sound and Neural Stimulation
Neuromonics, www.neuromonics.com, makes a device that has been approved by the FDA. It addresses the neurological component of tinnitus, but delivers treatment via sound. According to their Web site, “The treatment utilizes a customized neural stimulus combined with specific music, delivered according to a coordinated program. The treatment is designed to interact, interrupt, and desensitize tinnitus disturbance for long-term benefit.” Each treatment is unique to the patient and each teaches the brain to filter out the extraneous, “inner” sounds.

The therapy usually takes place daily, for two or more hours, during the times of day when the sufferer is most affected. Treatment typically takes six months and can be done when relaxing, reading, working on the computer, cooking, and during other activities. The best results have been achieved when the patient follows a multi-stage process.

•    Mindfulness Training
Mindfulness training, which includes the practice of being present and of meditation, has been used very successfully for pain management. As I said in my first blog, there is often a similarity in the mindsets of chronic pain sufferers and tinnitus patients. The lack of control over their lives and the disease creates psychological struggles, such as anxiety and depression.

Currently, phase 2 of the “Mindfulness Based Tinnitus Reduction (MBTR): A Symptom Perception Shift Program” is being conducted. In Phase 1, researchers verified that cognitive behavior therapy and MBTR relieved distress and reduced symptoms caused by tinnitus. The researchers believe that mindfulness training alone will also benefit participants significantly. (http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT01229709)

•    Nutritional Supplements
Several nutritional supplements have been found helpful for people with tinnitus.
Ginkgo biloba has been found in seven studies to show clear improvement over placebo. It is believed that Ginkgo's mechanism of action is because of glutamate antagonism and neuroprotection. In addition, ginkgo increases circulation because it acts as a vasodilator allowing the capillaries to carry more blood.

Zinc is one of the most important mineral supplements. In one study in January 2003 patients treated with zinc daily for three months had a significant improvement in their tinnitus. This was true for people without or with zinc deficiency. Its benefit is thought to be due to the antioxidant properties of zinc.

Deodorized Garlic improves blood circulation and helps prevent arteriosclerosis. It is a natural antibiotic and antiviral. Several studies have shown that garlic reduces plaque and improves blood flow. It is also natural antioxidant.

***
At the time this blog was written, the Fifth Tinnitus Research Initiative Conference, “The Neuroscience of Tinnitus,” was being held. Scientists were expected to introduce a new drug, which had been used effectively to treat tinnitus in animals.

I will keep you posted as I learn more.

As most of my readers know I took a six-week intensive training course in the spring of this year at Cornell University (online) called "Whole Food Plant Based Nutrition." This course was taught by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and several other prominent physicians who have been leading the charge for documenting the benefit of a whole food, plant-based diet.

After taking the course I changed my own diet from being a vegetarian for the last 39 years to being a pure vegan. It has helped my own energy and vitality. And even though I am quite slender it helped me reduce the belly fat, which had accumulated over the last several years.

In August of this year a new study was published in Lancet magazine entitled "Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK.” Researchers point out that excessive weight gain in populations forecast an increased burden from several diseases, most especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers. They use a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences for the next two decades from the continuing rise in obesity in the United States and the UK.

The researchers project an additional 65 million obese adults in the United States and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by the year 2030. This is expected to lead to an additional 6.0 to 8.5 million cases of diabetes, 5.7 to 7.3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 492,000 to 699,000 additional cases of cancer. They predict that this will lead to  a loss of an additional 26 to 55 million quality—adjusted life years for the United States and England combined.

The researchers also predict that the medical costs associated with these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48 to $66 billion per year in the United States by the year 2030. They recommend that effective policies to promote healthier weight be put in place as soon as possible because of the economic benefits.

It is because of all these statistics and studies that I urge you to watch Forks Over Knives. It is a simple way to learn the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet, which has been documented to help improve ALL of the conditions mentioned in this article.

I can also recommend that you read the book associated with the movie, because it is loaded with recipes to help you get started on this diet.

The DVD for the movie is available at Amazon.com, as is the book. Also check out the Forks over Knives website HERE

Those of you with a Netflix account can watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix for free.

Let me know what you think about the movie and/or the book. Is it possible for you to implement this for even two or three months to see if it makes a change in your lives? What are your stumbling blocks? What are your roadblocks?

You can leave a comment here, e-mail me at questions@askDrSoram.com, or leave me a voicemail message at 310-499-0275. I look forward to hearing from you.

LANCET ARTICLE

Tinnitus affects patients differently. Some notice changes in cognitive abilities, equilibrium, and ability to sleep soundly. Although patients do not typically experience pain with tinnitus, like pain syndromes, there is a feeling of helplessness associated with the condition. This often leads to secondary medical problems, such as depression, anxiety, and exacerbated stress levels.

Obviously, these primary and secondary conditions can impact one’s personal and professional relationships and one’s ability work—even inside the home.

For some, the ringing, whooshing, and/or buzzing, which can occur in one or both ears, is caused by an event. The actor William Shatner has suffered from tinnitus since an explosion on the set of Star Trek occurred decades ago. He is now a spokesperson for the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), helping to raise awareness of the disease and funding for research.

Shatner and others (including me) are particularly concerned for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Respected tinnitus researcher Richard Salvi, Ph.D., of the University of Buffalo says, “As many as 50 percent of combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who come back have tinnitus. In 2010, the Veterans Administration paid out more than $1 billion for tinnitus disability claims alone. It’s become a huge problem for military and VA hospitals.” (http://www.buffalo.edu/news/12768)

You don’t have to go to war or be around an explosion, though. Some individuals develop tinnitus for no apparent reason. Others will experience it after an ear infection, especially a severe one. Tinnitus is very prevalent in younger people. In fact, 75% of people aged 18 to 30 experience tinnitus from listening to very loud music at live venues or through headphones. (Holmes S, Padgham N. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; 18(21): 2927.)

To date, there is no cure for tinnitus, no pill to take, although there are some treatments which provide relief. I will discuss these options and an exciting new treatment in my next blog.
 

The study followed nearly 1,100 pregnant women and more than 800 infants in Mexico. The women were given either 400 mg of DHA or a placebo from 18 to 22 weeks gestation through the end of their pregnancy.

After childbirth, the mothers were asked to keep a diary about any symptom of illness their baby had for the first six months of life. They also completed questionnaires about their baby’s health at one, three, and six months of age.

All the infants were breastfed. Not surprisingly, the mothers who took DHA had more of it in their breast milk than the moms in the group given a placebo.

Researchers determined that the infants whose mothers took DHA supplements were 24% less likely to have cold symptoms at one month of age. The authors concluded, “DHA supplementation during pregnancy decreased the occurrence of colds in children at one month and influenced illness symptom duration at one, three, and six months.”

Here is a summary of the findings. When compared to the placebo group:

•    At one month of age: 24% fewer colds; shorter duration of cough, phlegm, and wheezing.
•    At three months of age: 14% less time showing signs of illness.
•    At six months: shorter duration of fever, runny nose, difficult breathing, rash, and “other illness.”

It was not all positive results for the DHA group, though. These babies suffered slightly more rashes and significantly more vomiting.
 
According to lead author Usha Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., “This is a large scale, robust study that underscores the importance of good nutrition during pregnancy. Our findings indicate that pregnant women taking 400 mg of DHA are more likely to deliver healthier infants.”

Dr. Ramakrishnan previously reported on research showing that the birth weight and head circumference was greater in babies whose mothers took 400 mg of DHA during the pregnancy with their first child. These same children were also taller at 18 months.

I have known for decades that eating a healthy diet during pregnancy is good for both the baby’s and mother’s health. Twenty or thirty years ago, research proved the importance of getting enough calcium during pregnancy to protect mom’s bones, especially long-term. More recent studies have shown the importance of getting enough folic acid (for prevention of birth defects) and iron (for keeping the blood oxygenated and nutrient-rich)..

I began prescribing DHA to pregnant women in the late 1990’s as the evidence in the medical literature was already strong then. Thank goodness that in the last ten years, many more studies have  shown that one of the active ingredients in fish oil or algae, DHA, is good for babies brain, eye, and immune system development. This is why baby formulas are finally being supplemented with DHA now. DHA has also been show to support immune function. This is the first study to link a mother’s intake of DHA during pregnancy to her child’s immune system, though.

If you are pregnant, I strongly recommend you speak with your physician and obstetrician about the benefits of supplementing with fish oil. Start now eating right and taking the right supplements for your baby. You will be glad you did. 

References:

Beth Imhoff-Kunsch, Aryeh D. Stein, Reynaldo Martorell, Socorro Parra-Cabrera, Isabelle Romieu, and Usha Ramakrishnan. Prenatal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation and Infant Morbidity: Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics, September, 2011, published online August 1, 2011: 10.1542/peds.2010-1386.

Ramakrishnan U, Stein AD, Parra-Cabrera S, Wang M, Imhoff-Kunsch B, Juárez-Márquez S, Rivera J, Martorell R. Effects of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy on gestational age and size at birth: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Mexico. Food Nutr Bull. 2010 Jun;31(2 Suppl):S108-16.

There are few diseases as disruptive and debilitating as multiple sclerosis. MS affects your ability to walk, speak, and see. When you have MS, the protective coating around the nerves, called the myelin sheath, is damaged. This causes your nerve impulses to act irregularly and also for the nerves to be inflamed. In addition to being painful, this inflammation triggers an autoimmune dysfunction, resulting in more nerve damage.

Doctors have determined that, like many other medical diseases, if you have a family history of MS, your likelihood of developing the disease is higher than someone who does not have the same medical background.

Scotland has the highest incidence of MS in the world; in Africa there is virtually no one with t he disease. This phenomenon doesn’t have as much to do with one’s DNA, though, as it does to one’s exposure to sunlight.

George C. Ebers, M.D., of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and a member of the American Academy of Neurology reported on a prospective study (mentioned above) conducted in hospitals all over the United Kingdom (where the prevalence of MS is high). After fellow researchers identified 56,681 cases of multiple sclerosis and 14,621 cases of infectious mononucleosis, they found that 61 percent of all patients with MS had low vitamin D; 72 percent had both a low vitamin D and a history of Epstein-Barr.

Exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus causes no symptoms in some and infectious mononucleosis (mono) in others. Often called the kissing disease, mono presents with a high fever, swollen glands, and extreme fatigue. Regardless of whether someone’s experience with mono is symptomatic or non-symptomatic, an individual will carry antibodies for the virus.

Dr. Doug Brown, head of biomedical research at the MS Society notes, “Vitamin D has been closely studied in recent years and is thought to be a key factor in the development of MS.” Other well-respected researchers, including J.J. Cannell. M.D., of the Vitamin D Council, concur that low vitamin D levels put one at a higher risk for MS (and many, many other conditions).

Dr. Ebers concluded, “It’s possible that vitamin D deficiency may lead to an abnormal response to the Epstein-Barr virus,” Ebers said. Based on this study, it seems likely that this response could also increase your risk of MS.

Reference: Ramagopalan, S.V., et al. Relationship of UV exposure to prevalence of multiple sclerosis in England, Neurology, April 19, 2011; Pages: 1410-1414
 

Watch as Heather Shows you how: [simple_video]

A study published in November 2010 in the European Journal of Dermatology examined the diets of 783 Koreans with acne to see if their outbreaks were aggravated by certain foods. Researchers concluded “A high glycemic load diet, dairy food intake, high fat diet, and iodine in Korean foods appear to play a role in acne exacerbation.”

It seems that avoiding pizza and chocolate bars was sage advice after all.

Why is this? The answer may be in an article published by B.C. Melnik and G. Schmidt, which Dr. McDougall referenced in his e-letter. These researchers explained the systemic changes which result from eating high-glycemic foods as well as foods containing dairy.

When you eat a diet high in sugar, it causes your insulin levels to rise. These foods include highly processed foods, including junk food, which convert to sugar and cause surges of insulin in the blood stream. High levels of insulin create inflammation throughout the body. Since acne is an inflammatory disease of the skin, anything that increases inflammation should be avoided.

These same highly processed foods (sometimes called refined carbohydrates) cause an increase in the growth hormone “insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).” An increase in IGF-1 has also been shown to encourage acne growth.

Dairy products affect hormones in two ways that contribute to skin problems. First, dairy contains a milk protein that causes IGF-1 to rise. Fat is not to blame, because studies show there are increases in insulin-like growth factor regardless of whether you drink whole milk or a low-fat version.

The same milk protein promotes a rise in androgen levels. Although a male hormone, androgens are present in women and men (girls and boys). Androgens cause an increase in oils and sebum (a greasy substance in the pores)—a perfect environment for bacteria growth, which often leads to breakouts and acne.

If you are concerned about your skin, particularly if you are plagued by teen or adult acne, consider removing dairy from your diet. Know that if you are eating a Western diet, which is high in fat, sugar, meat, dairy, and junk food, its inflammatory properties are likely affecting the condition of your skin.

References:

1. Jung JY, Yoon MY, Min SU, Hong JS, Choi YS, Suh DH. The influence of dietary patterns on acne vulgaris in Koreans. Eur J Dermatol. 2010 Nov-Dec;20(6):768-72.
2. Melnik BC, Schmitz G. Role of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, hyperglycaemic food and milk consumption in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Exp Dermatol. 2009 Oct;18(10):833-41.

This is exactly what happened to rats who ate fish oil contaminated with high levels of chemical pollutants. Although we look nothing alike, our makeup (as humans) has a lot in common with rats, which is why rats are studied so often. There have been numerous studies linking environmental toxins to weight gain in humans (and rats). However, the study I’m about to tell you about is the first to associate high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the onset of insulin resistance.
A little over a year ago, European researchers published a very interesting paper in Environmental Health Perspectives. Theses scientists fed male rats for 28 days with fish oil from farmed Atlantic salmon. Half of the fish oil was free of chemical pollutants; the other half contained persistent organic pollutants.

Within 28 days, the rats who were fed the fish oil laden with chemical pollutants gained weight (belly fat), became insulin resistant (a precursor of diabetes), and had higher cholesterol, triglyceride, and other fat levels that affect the liver. Not only were these rats less able to process fat and sugar, scientists noted that a number of the genes that regulate metabolism were also altered.

For many years, POPs have been shown to negatively affect the health of people and animals. This is why POPs were banned in Europe and in the U.S. roughly 30 years ago. POPs include organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furans.

Although called “organic,” they are nothing like a health-enhancing piece of organic fruit. Plus, POPs can remain in the environment—and your fat cells—for years. So they can still be found both in water in polluted areas and in some fatty foods, including dairy and fish. 

Now, I’m not recommending that you don’t eat fish or take fish oil. Both confer enormous health benefits and are available from pure, uncontaminated sources. However, you should be aware that any food which isn’t pure can put your health at risk by exposing your body to toxins. I also encourage you to have your doctor check your blood mercury level if you are eating a lot of fish to be sure you are not getting mercury toxic. I see so many of my own patients with mercury toxicity from eating fish, that I now discourage my patients from eating much fish of any type at all.

If you notice unexplained weight gain or if you go to your doctor and he or she tells you that you are becoming insulin resistant, consider whether environmental toxins could be to blame. If so, consider seeing a doctor who specializes in environmental medicine and can help you clear your system of these hidden health-robbers.  

Reference:

Ruzzin, J., et. al., Persistent organic pollutant exposure leads to insulin resistance syndrome Environmental Health Perspectives, Apr 2010 118(4),

Organophosphate pesticide metabolites is a fancy phrase for an organic compound containing phosphorous. Organophosphates are used in insecticides and pesticides. 

Researchers started with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2002-2004) on a cross-section of children. At the time, this group was thought to be representative of all children in the United States. Parents of these 1,193 children were interviewed, and based on their input 119 met the criteria for ADHD. An additional 29 were being medicated for ADHD, bringing the total studied to 148—roughly 10 percent of the original cohort. 
Six concentrations of urinary dialkyl phosphate (DAP) were measured to determine body burden. One or more metabolites were detected in roughly 94 percent of the children tested.

A common chemical called dimethyl alkylphosphate (DMAP) was present in 64 percent of the children studied. Those with the highest concentrations, especially of DMAP, were twice as likely to have ADHD than those with undetectable levels. 

Maryse F. Bouchard, Ph.D., of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada and the first author of the study, was interviewed by Medscape Psychiatry.  She said, “Each 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of organophosphate metabolites was associated with a 55 percent to 72 percent increase in the odds of ADHD.” This means that the children with a higher concentration of the chemicals were 55 to 72 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.

Organophosphate pesticides have been linked to neurodevelopmental issues in the past, including memory, concentration, and hyperactivity. Researchers, including Dr. Bouchard, have done similar studies on children regularly exposed to pesticides, like those living on or near commercial farms. This study was a first of its kind in that it did not isolate its research on children with a known exposure.

An interesting wrinkle to note is that DAPs are typically eliminated from the body after three to six days. The results of this study would indicate that many children are exposed to pesticides on an ongoing basis. A likely source is the pesticide residues found in many foods.

The bottom line here is that mothers during pregnancy need to be more careful of the quality of the food they are eating. In addition we need to pay closer attention to the chemicals that their children are getting both in their food as well as in personal care products.

Reference:
Bouchard, M. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and urinary metabolites of organophosphate pesticides, Pediatrics, Vol. 125 No. 6 June 2010, pp. e1270-e1277 Published online May 17, 2010 (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3058)

The study was conducted on 525 Swedes under the age of 80, who had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Some of these men had tumors that were localized; in others the cancer was more widespread.

Men were asked to join the study as early as January 1989 and as late as July 1994. When the study’s results were analyzed in 2010, some of the men had been followed for 20 years, and the average was 6.4 years.

Each participant was given a questionnaire, which included 68 common foods eaten by Swedes. The men identified how often they ate the foods, and the scientists determined how much zinc was in their diet. None of the men were taking zinc supplements.

At the study’s conclusion:
•    218 men (42%) died of prostate cancer
•    257 men (49%) died of other causes
•    50 men were still alive

Among all cases of prostate cancer, patients  whose diets included the highest amounts of zinc were 36% less likely to die from prostate cancer than those ingesting the least amount of zinc.
Further, Mara Meyer, the study’s author and researcher at the Harvard School of Health, said, “Among men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (as opposed to more advanced cancer) , men in the top quartile of zinc intake were 76% less likely to die from prostate cancer, compared to men in the bottom quartile.

The group with the highest levels of dietary zinc (the top quartile) had 15.6-20.1 mg of zinc per day, whereas the lowest group had 9.0-12.8 mg per day. Not much of a difference, and easy to adjust one’s diet for. 

Zinc is a naturally occurring, essential element. The body cannot produce zinc; it’s only obtainable through food or supplements. There is more zinc in the prostate tissue than in any other tissue in the body. When doctors compare zinc levels in tissue with prostate cancer to tissue nearby that is not cancerous, they find more zinc in the healthy tissue.

Zinc is an antioxidant, and as such, likely assists the body in ridding itself of unhealthy cells. Zinc also plays a role in repairing cell and DNA damage. These are some of the reasons why I’ve recommended zinc to my prostate cancer patients for decades.

Prostate cancer takes the lives of more men in industrialized nations than any other cancer. In Sweden, 22% of all cancer deaths in men are deaths from prostate cancer. This research affirms the protective effect of zinc. Implementing this study’s findings may improve men’s health across the globe. I give all my male patients over age 50 a prostate support supplement with zinc in it.

Note: Eating foods rich in zinc was not connected to any of the deaths by other causes.

Epstein, M.M., et al. Dietary zinc and prostate cancer survival in a Swedish cohort, Am J Clin Nutr, 2011 Jan 12.

I have gotten many calls from patients concerned about the tragedy in Japan, and of course concerned how it could affect their own health.

I am sending out this blanket e-mail to tell everyone to RELAX.  The radiation that is coming from the nuclear power plants in Japan is thousands of miles away from the United States.

Before sending you this e-mail, I have spoken with Donna Earley, the Radiation Safety Director at Cedars Sinai Hospital, and I have spoken with a radiologist.  They have both reiterated to me what I already know, which is there is no risk to us in this country.

Donna Earley specifically gave me an example of the amount of radiation that we could expect to receive in the United States from the disaster in Japan.  She said it is analogous to a multi-millionaire finding a penny on the street and picking it up. The amount that penny would add to his fortune is analogous to the amount of extra radiation that we will be getting compared to the background radiation that we get every day from just being alive. She also reminded me that this was NOT a nuclear bomb that would have a large amount of scatter.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to take potassium iodide.  As I have already said, there is no risk from this radiation, and in fact, taking potassium iodide unnecessarily could actually be harmful to your thyroid, or activate a thyroid problem.

In further conversations with the Radiation Safety Director, she told me that really we should use this shocking awakening of our realization of just how small our planet is, and how a disaster could strike, to prepare ourselves, our homes, our family for a possible REAL disaster in the United States and especially for the West coast of our country. Use your energy to get a stockpile of supplies and equipment for the possibility of needing them for a REAL disaster in our country.

Also please note that even with immediate exposure to radiation, potassium iodide ONLY protects against thyroid cancer.  It does not protect against any of the many other cancers that radiation would induce.

In summary, there is no need to worry about the radiation from Japan affecting you or your family in the United States.  The best thing we can do now is to support the people that are directly involved with this tragedy with our money, love, and prayers.

Many midlife women take soy supplements and eat foods containing soy to alleviate menopausal symptoms. They prefer this to taking traditional hormone therapy.

Soy contains phytoestrogens, which are plant compounds that have structural similarity with estrogen. Soy contains an active substance called soy isoflavones, which is very unique because it adapts to the body’s needs for estrogen.

People who worry about soy’s safety are concerned about its estrogenic activity. Certain tissues, like breast and uterine, have estrogen receptors.  If these receptors are over-stimulated, it may increase your risk of cancer.

Integrative physicians believe that, because these phytoestrogens are only weakly estrogenic, they will actually bind to your estrogen receptors and prevent your own body from producing too much estradiol. Estradiol is a form of estrogen that can over-stimulate these receptors. Therefore, soy’s phytoestrogens may confer a protective effect against breast cancer.
Soy is Safe for Women to Take Long-Term
In February 2011, the results of a two-year, double-blind, placebo controlled study was published in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition. Four hundred three (403) healthy, postmenopausal women ages 40 to 60 were assigned to receive either: 80 mg soy hypocotyl, 120 mg soy hypocotyl, or a placebo. Numerous tests, including blood tests, mammograms, Pap smears, and uterine ultrasounds (given to about a third) were administered at the start of the study (for a baseline), after one year, and after two years.

Head researcher Dr. Francene Steinberg reported these encouraging findings:

•    Breast density, fibroids and uterine thickness, and Pap smears results remained the same.
•    Thyroid hormones remained the same.
•    Blood pressure and other heart-related markers remained the same.
•    All blood tests came back within normal ranges.
•    A slight increase in immune function.

Only one woman developed breast cancer and one woman developed uterine cancer during the two-year study. This is considered well below what one would have expected in the general population with no intervention at all.  In addition, there were slight increases in blood urea nitrogen, a test of kidney function.

I feel very comfortable advising my patients to eat three to four servings of non-GMO soy foods per week. It is also safe to take 80 mg of soy isoflavones every day. However, if you have concerns, despite this article and other literature showing soy’s safety, then feel free to talk with your own physician for their recommendation.

Steinberg, F.M., Clinical outcomes of a 2-y soy isoflavone supplementation in menopausal women, Am J Clin Nutr., 2011 Feb;93(2):356-67. Epub 2010 Dec 22.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):356-67. Epub 2010 Dec 22.

Years of overeating sweets, fats, and excess calories impair the body’s ability to process blood sugar and utilize insulin. This is called insulin resistance, and is a precursor to diabetes. When one is insulin resistant, excess sugar is stored as fat in the midsection and muscles. This is a vicious cycle. The more laden the muscles become with fat, the more insulin resistant one becomes.

In addition to supporting overall health, most people know that diet and exercise helps lower the risk of diabetes. Now, there is evidence that exercising before breakfast may limit weight gain and lessen insulin resistance—even if one overeats. [1]

Researchers in Belgium studied 28 healthy, active men for six weeks. The men were split into two groups: one was sedentary; the other active. Both groups were fed “supersize-like” diets comprised of 50% fat and 30% more calories than usual.

The active group was also broken into two, and then given identical, taxing, weekly exercise protocols. This involved running and cycling two days for 90 minutes and two days for 60 minutes. The first active group exercised after a carbohydrate-rich breakfast and continued to consume carbs, such as a sports drink, during their workout. The second active group exercised on an empty stomach.

After six weeks, the group who exercised on an empty stomach logged some impressive results, especially when compared to the active group. Here is a summary of the remarkable findings:

•    The sedentary group gained an average of six pounds, developed insulin resistance, and began storing fat within and between their muscle’s cells.
•    The men who had breakfast before exercising gained an average of three pounds, became more insulin resistant, and began storing fat in their muscles.
•    The men who exercised before breakfast gained almost no weight, showed no signs of insulin resistance, and showed increased levels of a muscle protein that encourages the body to burn fat and utilize sugar.

I am not suggesting you overeat! I share this important insight to help you lose weight and lower your risk of obesity related diseases like diabetes. It is hard to make lifestyle changes, even at the beginning of a new year. Knowing this tip, you may get the results you are after.

Note: The number of people with diabetes has skyrocketed to 23.6 million in the U.S., with 1.6 million new cases per year. A staggering 57 million have pre-diabetes. This is largely due to obesity. Unlike type-1 diabetes, which one is born with, type-2 diabetes is most often linked to lifestyle choices. [2]

References:
1. Van Proeyen, K, et al. Training in the fasted state improves glucose tolerance during fat-rich diet, J Physiol, 2010 Nov 1;588(Pt 21):4289-302.
2. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/
.

Now a new study has come out in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that shows a direct link between adolescent obesity and the risk of severe obesity in adulthood.

In this study, almost 9000 young people, aged 12 to 21 were followed from 1996 to the present.

In this study 70% of the adolescents who were obese remained severely obese in adulthood. In addition another almost 8% of adolescents who were not severely obese became severely obese when they reached adulthood.
In summary, obese adolescents were 16 times more likely to become severely obesity in young adulthood, than adolescents who were normal or merely overweight.

These are startling numbers! They prove that the obesity epidemic in our society begins in adolescence. That is when we must begin to pay attention to this problem. Waiting until these adolescents are grown really makes it too late. The eating habits that adolescents adopt will carry them through the rest of their lives.

When we combine this information with another study that looked at Vitamin D levels in school children, we realize the importance of preventing obesity even more.

In this study, children with higher body weight and fat content were much more likely to also be Vitamin D insufficient.

What this means is that obesity in children not only increases their risk for many diseases in adulthood, but also increases their risk for all the vitamin D deficiency conditions as well. This includes an increased risk to 17 types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and many other conditions I discuss in my book.

Let me know if your community has any obesity prevention programs? Does the school where your children go have any programs to help children who are becoming obese? We must begin to change this epidemic.

Reference 1

Reference 2

Now I am delighted to see that Dr. Hypponen has recently published
another landmark study that looks at vitamin D and heart disease.
Specifically, in this article she was studying how and why people
with deficient vitamin D have over a 200% higher risk of heart attack
compared to those with normal vitamin D levels.

We know that there are vitamin D receptors in many aspects of the
cardiovascular system. This includes the blood vessels on the inside
of the coronary arteries as well as heart muscle cells themselves,
and the inner muscle lining of the coronary arteries.

In this article she specifically looks at some of the underlying
biochemical markers that predispose to heart disease, and their
relationship with vitamin D. In this study she used the information
from the nationwide 1958 British birth group. This consisted of over
6500 now middle-aged people.

Dr. Hypponen looked at the individual's blood levels of five
markers*  that predispose to heart disease. Some of these markers
were associated with inflammation which is known to be related to
heart disease. Other of the markers had to do with stickiness of the
blood, which affects the creation of blood clots that can lead to a
heart attack.

In summary the findings showed that current vitamin D status was
associated with three of the five markers that were evaluated. The
conclusion of the article was that this data suggests that vitamin D
status/intake may be important for maintaining the body's ability to
to prevent blood clots that lead to heart attack.

In this seminal study, I believe we are now beginning to understand
the mechanism of action and biochemistry of how this amazing molecule
we call vitamin D produces its benefit in protecting us from heart
attacks.

If you have people in your family who have heart disease or who have
had a heart attack, do you know if they have had their vitamin D
levels measured? How were their vitamin D levels? Are your loved ones
with heart disease taking vitamin D every day? Let me know your
thoughts.
*The 5 markers that were followed in this study are C-reactive
protein (CRP), fibrinogen, D-dimer, tissue plasminogen activator
(tPA) antigen, and von Willebrand factor (vWF)

Reference

In this article Dr Zava clarifies the differences between the chemical hormones and the bio-identical hormones. He shows that real human progesterone does not "have a cancer-promoting effect on breast cancer".

Please open the article links to the medical literature in his article and give copies of these articles to your doctors!

Here is Dr Zava's article:

Hormones and Breast Cancer: The Latest Findings from WHI
by Dr David Zava
 
I was sent a link to the Today Show, broadcast on October 20th which featured an interview with Dr. Nancy Snyderman, discussing further findings from the Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week. This news may confuse your patients and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain the study and assure you this study does not include natural hormones, but refers to the combination of Premarin and Provera.

The experts stated that there is an increase in risk of death from breast cancer when you are taking the combination of estrogen and progestin. In this case, the drugs that were used were Premarin and Provera. Premarin is known as conjugated equine estrogens and is horse estrogen which has some similarities to human estrogen but is not the same. Provera is a progestin known as medroxyprogesterone acetate and is very different in function from natural progesterone.

"Experts" who are saying that synthetic progestins increase breast cancer risk are right, but, we've known that since 2002. Unfortunately, these same "experts" are now claiming an association of natural progesterone with breast cancer by default. They espouse that there is no clinical evidence to show natural progesterone is any safer than synthetic progestins. Unfortunately, this is an incorrect assumption and they have not done their homework. Natural progesterone has a much safer profile than all forms of synthetic progestins, not only for the breasts, but for nearly all tissues of the body, including the reproductive tissues, the cardiovascular systems, and the brain. There is a plethora of published literature on this subject.

For those who are unsure about the striking differences in safety profiles of synthetic progestins versus natural progesterone as regards breast cancer risk, several clinical trials have clearly shown the superiority of natural progesterone.

In a 2005 review of clinical studies comparing synthetic progestins to natural progesterone, Campagnoli and coauthors (J Steriod Biochem Mol Biol 96, 95-108)concluded that: "The balance of the in vivo evidence is that progesterone does not have a cancer-promoting effect on breast tissue. …..We therefore suggest that when HRT is indicated, preparations containing progesterone and not a synthetic progestin should be used, according to a sequential or cyclic-combined regimen. In this way the risk of endometrial cancer is minimized without increasing the risk of BC."

In another 2005 clinical trial comparing synthetic progestins to the natural progesterone, Fournier and coworkers (Int J Cancer 114, 448-454) found that: "The risk was significantly greater than p0.001 with HRT containing synthetic progestins than with HRT containing micronized progesterone, the relative risk being 1.4 and 0.9, respectively." Yes, that's right; progesterone users had a lower risk.

So why are the news media confusing synthetic progestins with natural progesterone? Too often information such as this is streamlined in mainstream media by those who have power, money and the ability to shout through the megaphone the loudest. We know all too often that large pharmaceutical companies have a strangle hold on funding for universities, who gets grants, what gets published, whose opinions get press, the success of women's health organizations and journals they represent. Unfortunately, because of this ability to present one-sided research in such a commanding way, it is not unusual that the news media doesn't spend much time researching the science and the evidence based data and studies that are available; and in this case, available about the difference between progestins and natural progesterone as well as the benefits of natural progesterone.

The decision on natural hormone therapy is one between a patient and physician; you cannot extrapolate what happens in the body using Premarin and Provera to discuss what happens in the body with its own natural hormones. Natural hormones, when properly balanced, allow the body to function at its optimal level.

Thank goodness for women's intuition that senses right from wrong.

Dr Zava's Original Article from his ZRT website

The Centers for Disease Control currently estimate that one in 10 Americans have diabetes currently. This amounts to 24 million Americans.

Now a new article that was published by the journal Population Health Metrics  is estimating that by the year 2050, one in three Americans could be diabetic if the current trends continue.

As most of my readers know, diabetes is a disorder of the body's blood sugar. In diabetes, the body cannot regulate the sugar level and blood sugar levels go up.  Long-term elevated sugar levels lead to increasing damage to many organs from the eyes to the kidneys to the nerves. Diabetics often die of one of the complications of this chronically elevated blood sugar.
Overweight is one of the leading causes of diabetes in our country.

When we look at the obesity rates in our country it is easy to understand why diabetes is increasing so rapidly. Over the last 20 years there has been a remarkable increase in obesity in the United States. Last year in 2009 only the District of Columbia and Colorado had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. 33 states had prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 25% of their population. In California, where I live for example, the obesity rate is 24.8% of our population. When you combine that number with the number of overweight individuals we get a combined total of 62.6% of Americans who are now either overweight or obese.

Other diseases including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and even cancer are associated with obesity. In this time, when our healthcare finances are in crisis, it is essential that we pay attention to the increasing number of people who are overweight or obese. It is now known that obesity adds an estimated $147 billion a year in cost to our health care system.

These increasing numbers are directly linked to the "junk food" diet of Americans and the lack of exercise. For example soft drinks make up about 7% of all calories consumed in the United States. In one article from Reuters it was recently proposed that US obesity rates could fall if soda pop prices were to rise. They quote a recent study that raising the price of a can of soda by 35% cut soft drinks sales in the hospital cafeteria by 26%.

I always talk with my patients about optimizing their weight and increasing their exercise. I encourage all of my readers to also eat a healthier diet and exercise more.

If you are interested in knowing what your Body Mass Index (BMI) is you can click this link and put in your height and weight and you will get your BMI. For reference, the definition of overweight is a BMI greater than 25. Obesity is defined as a BMI over 30.

Let me know what you think. What has been your experience with your own weight loss program and your own exercise program? Have you found any motivators to exercise or exercise programs that you especially enjoy? Please let me know so that I may share it with my other readers.

REFERENCES:

Diabetes in the US

Soda Pop Sales Tax

Obesity in the US

Dr. F Hosseinpanah and colleagues, took a cross-section of 200 free living housewives with ages between 20 and 55 years old. They looked at the vitamin D levels in the women living in Tehran (a highly polluted area of Iran) and the women living in Ghazvin (a low pollution area of Iran).

The researchers then measured the ground level of UVB by using a Haze meter as a way of measuring air pollution.

The findings confirmed what I have discussed in my book about the importance of pollution blocking the UVB needed for the skin to make vitamin D.

The frequency of vitamin D levels less than 10 ng/ml was 36% in Tehran and 31% in Ghazvin. The frequency of vitamin D levels between 10 and 20 ng/ml were also higher in women in Tehran specifically 54% of the women compared to only 32% of the women in Ghazvin.

The conclusion of the authors was that living in a polluted area plays an independent and significant role in vitamin D deficiency. Therefore location of residency can be one of the main reasons of Vitamin D deficiency in women.

This study looked at women housewives. I am sure it will also apply to men in polluted cities.

This is yet another reason for all of us to get our blood levels tested at least once a year and to keep our levels at an optimal level.

Do you live in a smoggy city? When was the last time your levels were tested? What about your family?

REFERENCE

Before about 10 years ago, patients who presented with these symptoms with told that they were depressed and should take a SSRI drug. These patients realized it was not depression, but they were told it was all in their mind. Within the last years the American College of Rheumatology has finally acknowledged this diagnosisand even given it an ICD-9 code.

In my office we see and treat many patients with this fibromyalgia. We usually use an interdisciplinary approach to helping them. We give the patients anti-inflammatory natural supplements as well as change them to  an anti-inflammatory diet. We also give them support for their adrenals and other stress organs, as well as liver support. In addition, the patients will get acupuncture and bodywork. Bodywork is especially important because often these patients have poor posture and "backwards breathing" and need to learn how to stand and walk sit and breathe in a correct way.

Now I am delighted to see a randomized trial of Tai Chi for fibromyalgia being published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. For those of my readers who do not know, Tai Chi is a mind-body practice which began in China as a martial art. It includes meditation along with slow, gentle, graceful movements as well as deep breathing and relaxation. The idea of it is to move the body's life force called "Chi" throughout the body. The beauty of it is that integrates physical psychosocial, emotional, spiritual and behavioral components. It was thought that because of its mind and body attributes that tai chi would be especially well-suited to the treatment of fibromyalgia.
In the study the authors conducted a trial to compare the physical and psychological benefits of tai chi with those of the control intervention that consisted of wellness education and stretching. The study was12 weeks in duration. In all, 66 patients were in the study.

In the study, all patients filled out the  Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). They also used a sleep quality Index, as well as a Depression Index. In addition they used a Chronic Pain Self-efficacy Scale test. They also used the Short Form Health survey (SF — 36), which is a general measure or a persons complaints. In addition to be sure any results were long-lasting they also measured all the scales at 24 weeks after the study was completed.

When all the data was evaluated, it showed that the group of fibromyalgia patients who were in the Tai Chi group had very statistically significant improvement compared with the control group. The Tai Chi group consistently did better on all the various measurements that were taken.

Another nice finding is that at 12 weeks, more of the patients in the Tai Chi group had been able to stop the pharmaceutical medication that they were using to treat fibromyalgia. The number was greater but this difference was not statistically significant.

In my opinion this is a seminal study. The data is so strong that the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine approved it and has published it.

This sets a new bellwether for the management of fibromyalgia, and I hope that more and more patients with this condition will begin to practice Tai Chi.

On a personal note, as a long-time practitioner of yoga, I would like to see if similar results could be obtained with yoga classes instead of Tai Chi.

Do you have fibromyalgia? What have you done to help yourself? Have you tried Tai Chi?  Did it help? Do you have family or friends who could benefit from using Tai Chi to help address their fibromyalgia?.

Let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.
 

Reference

Now a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has  been published showing the importance of vitamin A and its relationship to lung development in the womb.

In this study, that was led by Wiliam Checkley, M.D., over 1600 children in Nepal were evaluated. Some of the mothers were given vitamin A pills during pregnancy and others were given placebo. An additional set of women was given beta-carotene which is a derivative of vitamin A.
The findings were that the children whose mothers had received vitamin A had significantly better lung function than those whose mothers who were given placebo or beta-carotene during pregnancy. These benefits were even measurable at age 9 in the children.

This study allows us to see the benefit of another nutrient, in this case vitamin A,  and, and it's importance for optimal fetal development.

It is estimated that 190 million preschool age children and 19 million pregnant women have vitamin A deficiency worldwide. This deficiency can cause health problems during the development of the child, including lung issues.

Dr. Wiliam Checkley, the author of this study, was quoted as saying "Early interventions involving vitamin A supplementation in communities where undernutrition is highly prevalent may have long-lasting consequences for lung health". He went on to say     "The magnitude of the effect observed in this study is slightly greater than that associated with preventing exposure to parental smoking in school-aged children."

I certainly urge you to speak with all your friends and relatives about being sure that the pregnant women in their life are taking a prenatal vitamin containing vitamin A.

Studies like this one, along with the many studies of the role of vitamin D during pregnancy that I have discussed here,  make me wonder what would the health of the planet be like, if fetuses received an optimal degree of nutrition while in the womb? Given the epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and combining it with this information on vitamin A makes me wonder if these deficiencies are associated with the asthma epidemic we now see in American children

Let me know your thoughts? Do your friends and family take a prenatal and vitamin A while they were pregnant?

Reference

Recently after an enormous amount of data in the medical literature many prescription prenatal vitamins have start to add an essential fatty acid capsule that is necessary for brain development of the fetus in the uterus.

Integrative medicine doctors have been prescribing this essential fatty acid known as DHA for over 20 years. The information has been in the medical literature but not that literature that is commonly read by obstetricians. More and more studies have shown that DHA during pregnancy and in the first four years of a child's life are necessary to optimize the child's neurological and brain development.

There are other nutrients that the medical literature shows that are essential for pregnancy, and one that has been overlooked by all of the prescription prenatal vitamins that I have seen, is called CHOLINE.

Choline is an essential nutrient and it is usually considered part of the vitamin B complex. It is found in the fat that makes up cell membranes and in certain neurotransmitters. Choline has been found to be essential for the normal functioning of all cells, liver metabolism and the transportation of nutrients throughout the body. Choline can be produced within the body but the amount the body makes is often not sufficient to meet the individuals needs. Therefore choline must be consumed in the diet. Recent research has shown that only 10% or less of older children, men, women, and pregnant women in America are getting sufficient levels of choline on a daily basis.

High amounts of choline is found in foods such as eggs, chicken liver, beef liver, beef steak, cod, broccoli, peanut butter, and milk. I am happy to see that because choline is especially high in egg yokes, the Egg Industry has created a website that talks about choline.

In a pregnant woman choline works with folic acid to help promote brain and memory development in growing fetuses and newborn infants.
Now a new study has been published that shows in mice that a diet low in choline and vitamin B2, during pregnancy influenced the development of the fetus' heart. Specifically the mice that were born to choline deficient mothers had more heart defects, which were specifically ventricular septal defects. The vitamin B2 deficient mothers gave birth to  late embryos and smaller embryos. In addition, vitamin B2 deficiency resulted in decreased thickness of the offsprings' left ventricle in the heart.

The conclusion of the authors of this article were: "Low dietary choline and riboflavin affect embryonic growth and cardiac development in mice. Adequate choline and riboflavin may also play a role in the prevention of these pregnancy complications in women."

Given the increasing preponderance of evidence that choline is essential during pregnancy I have been using a specific prenatal vitamin that is fortified with choline. I believe that choline is the next nutrient that will be found to be essential for all pregnancies. I can only guess how many years it will be until the prescription prenatal vitamins will contain this nutrient. But I am happy to be using one that does contain this nutrient for all my pregnant patients. I like it so much that I have begun to private label it under my name.

Does your prenatal or your family's prenatal's include choline or are you making and sure enough that you are eating enough of the choline containing foods to get enough for the fetus? Let me know if you think I should make my Prenatal vitamin available on my website for the public?

REFERENCE

Other resources and articles:

Egg Nutrition Center

Choline: Critical Role During Fetal Development and Dietary Requirements in Adults

USDA Database for the Choline Content
of Common Foods

The recent study by Kristin AV and others, has recently been published in the medical journal Heart.

In this specific study they looked at congestive heart failure. This is a condition where the heart, due to illness is unable to pump sufficient blood to the rest of the body. It can vary from very mild, to the extreme that a person is unable to walk without oxygen. 4.8 million Americans have this condition. This includes 10% of people over the age of 70.

In this study the authors took 17 patients who were stable with congestive heart failure. All of them were already receiving an optimized medication program for  their heart failure when they entered the study.

The study is all the more impressive because they did use a control group. One group of patients got real acupuncture in the other group received "sham" acupuncture.

After the series of acupuncture treatments, the group that received the real acupuncture significantly increased their ability to walk with less symptoms,. In addition in this group, they found a significant improvement in their "recovery" in regards to their ability to breathe after the exercise.

Furthermore heart rate variability which is a sign of the health of the heart increased after the real acupuncture but actually decreased after the "sham" acupuncture

In addition the "general health" score and "body pain" score improved after the real acupuncture.

In a press statement the research group noted that heart failure is recognized to be much more complex than had previously been assumed. Specifically it involves an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, as well as in various neurotransmitters.

In a press release the authors were quoted as saying "This is precisely where acupuncture may intervene, by bringing these processes back into balance — it influences the autonomic sympathetic nervous system (excitation), boosts the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation), and also has an anti-inflammatory affect,"

Furthermore, Dr.Arnt Kristen, one of the authors of the study stated "The blood level of a certain messenger, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) actually drops after the real acupuncture treatment. Since TNF alpha leads to a reduction of muscle mass and muscle strength among other things, this would explain the positive effect (of acupuncture) on skeletal muscle function"

I've been using acupuncture in my practice on a regular basis for the last 30 years. I've seen remarkable results in almost every medical condition with acupuncture over and over again. It is wonderful that these types of studies are now coming out that objectively show the benefits of acupuncture for much more than just pain control. This will encourage conventional doctors to begin to be open to the use of acupuncture in congestive heart failure.

Let me know — do you have loved ones who have congestive heart failure? Have they tried acupuncture as an adjunct to their medications? I look forward to hearing from you.

REFERENCE

I was delighted to address the 41 graduating Naturopathic Doctors (ND) as well as their several hundred family members at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Phoenix Arizona.

I worked very hard on my speech, and I am  delighted to say that it was extremely well received. In addition to a standing ovation for my talk, I was welcomed by the graduates as well as their families afterwards with many thanks for the inspiration and encouragement that I gave them.

 The College has made my 20 minute presentation available for everyone to enjoy!  Click  here to view it now.

From the article on the school's website the following summary of my talk was given:

"The graduates were honored to have Dr. Soram Khalsa as their Commencement Speaker. Dr. Khalsa, a well-respected physician, integrates phytotherapeutics, homeopathy, acupuncture and environmental medicine with traditional internal medicine in his private practice. Dr. Khalsa is a member of the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine Advisory Council for the State of California and serves as Medical Director for the East-West Medical Research Institute. Dr. Khalsa expressed that these men and women could not be graduating at a better, more exciting time."

"You are the leaders of our medical future. Why? Because doctors today all need to be medically multilingual, and that's what you are. I do not refer to holistic, alternative, naturopathic, or integrative medicine as separate divisions of medicine. I regard it as what is best medically for our country.

Only seven percent of graduating medical doctors goes into primary care. In 2020, it is projected that there will be 40,000 too few primary care doctors. This is where NDs are needed.

Three things to remember, however, when it comes to seeing your patients is kindness, compassion, and caring. If you show these three things to them they will enrich your lives and you will love your patients. Be positive and let your presence begin their healing process."

It is my personal belief that Naturopathic (Integrative) Medicine will be growing rapidly in the years ahead and more and more people want a complement of natural modalities and less drugs. Naturopathic medical schools teach all about drugs (pharmacology) as well so their graduates are knowledgeable about both.

I think you'll find my speech both educational and inspiring!

More to come on the School where I teach…..
Let me know what you think!
 

Now biologist Dr. Roger Payne has released new information about the toxicity that he found in almost 1000 whales from all over the world. Dr. Payne set out on his boat in March 2000 from San Diego to document the health of the ocean. He used a small harmless dart gun to collect specimens from almost 1000 whales over 87,000 miles of the ocean.
The samples were sent for analysis and the findings were astonishing. He originally set out to measure persistent organic pollutants (POP's). They found significant amounts of these in the whales.

However, he also looked at heavy metals and what he found was that the whales averaged 2.4 ppm (parts per million) of mercury. He noted that the whales' internal organs would probably have a much higher level than the skin samples they collected. They also found significant levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, silver, and titanium in the tissue samples.

Dr. Payne said in an interview "The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings."

He noted that these contaminates can jeopardize seafood, which is a primary source of protein for over 1 billion people in the world.

Dr. Payne further said "You could make a fairly tight argument to say that it is the single greatest health threat that has ever faced the human species. I suspect this will shorten lives, if it turns out that this is what's going on".

Dr. Payne further noted that "When you're working with a synthetic chemical (POPs) which never existed in nature before and you find it in a whale which came from the Arctic or Antarctic, it tells you that it was made by people and it got into the whale."

Chromium which is an industrial pollutant known to cause cancer in humans was found in all but two of the 361 sperm whale samples. Chromium was the toxic chemical that was the focus of the movie "Erin Brockovich".

Dr. Payne pointed out that the consequences of metals could be "horrific for both whale and man".

In my opinion, this report is of major importance for all people. In my own practice of medicine, I routinely check my patients for mercury in their blood. I find many people with blood levels of mercury higher than the government says is safe. This comes from their eating fish. In addition, this mercury accumulates in the organs and tissues of the person and unfortunately it is released from a pregnant mother's tissues during pregnancy into the fetus. I always encourage my female patients to detoxify out the heavy metals in their body before they conceive.

Another thing Dr Payne said was " "I don't see any future for whale species except extinction.This is not on anybody's radar, no government's radar anywhere, and I think it should be."

I do too ! To say nothing of the effects on humans.

Have you had a blood mercury level measured lately? Do you eat fish that are high in mercury? Let me know what you think about all this information and how you will apply it to your life?

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The following are health impacts that have been linked to low level exposure to BPA in either animals or humans:
-Obesity
-Low sperm count
-Damage to developing eggs
-Miscarriage
-Placental cell death
-Infertility
-Heart disease
-Diabetes
-Changes in brain development
-Predisposition to breast and prostate cancer.

A new report called No Silver Lining — An Investigation into Bisphenol A in Canned foods has recently been released by the National Workgroup for Safe Markets which is a coalition of US public health and environmental health focused NGOs.

This report reviews the data on BPA. It points out that Canada,Denmark and five US states have already restricted the use of BPA in certain children's products like baby bottles and infant formula can linings.

In this report that Workgroup was looking at the amount of BPA that could be consumed from eating canned food and drinks that are commonly available in the United States and Canada. For this study they collected and tested the food and beverage contents of 50 cans that were collected from 19 United States and Ontario, Canada.
The report finds that BPA is a routine contaminant in canned foods. They specifically looked at the potential exposure to BPA from meals that are prepared with canned food and drink that an ordinary American person might consume over the course of the day.

The authors of the report found 20 people from 19 different states and Ontario, Canada. and asked them to donate 50 food and beverage containers from their home cupboards and from local groceries. A wide variety of products was selected including fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, soups, tomato products, sodas and milks, which are commonly eaten foods.

The results of the study showed that BPA was detected in 46 of 50, or 92%, of the canned food samples. They also found that there was no relationship between the age of the product and the amount of BPA in the food.

BPA exposure is especially of concern for pregnant women and babies and children. For that reason the authors looked at how much BPA a typical pregnant woman would ingest in a day from a typical diet. They found that from eating the foods on that diet, a pregnant woman could easily raise her BPA intake to levels that are known to cause health problems in animals.

The authors point out that they were only looking at one source of BPA exposure — canned foods. They point out that other routes of exposure to BPA include air, dust, and water along with common products like polycarbonate water and baby bottles, 5 gallon water coolers, and printer inks, toners and even thermal receipt paper.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in the urine of 93% of the United States population. In addition, the Environmental Working Group found BPA in umbilical cord blood of newborn babies as I have reported before.

I urge you to download this report and review it for yourself. Please try to minimize your exposure to canned foods and exposure to water bottles and other containers that have BPA. I see many of my patients walking in with plastic bottles now which have stamped right on the plastic "This product contains no BPA". Hopefully soon we will be able to say that about our canned foods as well.

Please let me know what you think. Do you check to be sure your bottles do not have BPA? Have you heard any other reports or information about BPA that are worth sharing? I look forward to being in dialogue with you about this.

Click Here for Article

This report points out that in 2009 approximately 1.5 million American men women and children were diagnosed with cancer and 562,000 died from the disease. Approximately 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives and approximately 21% will die from cancer.

This report was brought about because of the growing body of evidence that links environmental exposures to cancer. The report points out that the" public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures they could have been prevented through appropriate national action."

One of the findings of the panel that particularly concerned them was the finding that the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been "grossly underestimated". They point out that nearly 80,000 chemicals are on the market in United States that are being used by millions of Americans in their daily lives. These chemicals have either been understudied or unregulated. They point out that one such chemical, BPA, is still found in many consumer products and remains unregulated in our country.
The panel also points out that most people are not aware that children are far more vulnerable to environmental toxins than adults. They recommend to the president that efforts should be made to inform the public of such harmful exposures and how to prevent them.

This extensive report looks at exposures to contaminants from many sources including industrial and manufacturing sources, agricultural services, from medical sources, and from exposures related to our modern lifestyle.

The conclusions of the panel offer extensive recommendations. One of the most important ones is in their words "a precautionary, prevention oriented approach should replace current reactionary approaches to environmental contaminants in which human harm must be proven before action is taken to reduce or eliminate exposure." Very few of the chemicals that are in modern use have ever been tested thoroughly before they were released and the committee is advocating that products be tested for their safety before they are allowed to be used on the public.

There are a few wonderful quotes from the report that I would like to give you here:

"Low levels of exposure at a specific point in the development of an organism… Could have really, really significant changes in ways that the classical idea about genetics would not predict." William Chameides Duke Untiversity.

" Our science looks at a substance-by-substance exposure and doesn't take into account the multitude of exposures we experience in daily life. If we did, it might change our risk paradigm. The potential risks associated with extremely low-level exposure may be underestimated or missed entirely."
Heather Logan, Canadian Cancer Society.

"…industry has a lot of data on these chemicals. They just don't have to give it to anybody." Richard Wiles Environmental Working Group.

"We are exposed to many pollutants, many at the same time or in sequences that [cause them to] interact with one another. And yet our policies and most of our research… for the most part [address] one pollutant, one exposure at a time." Winfred  Hamilton, Baylor College of Medicine

… [breast cancer] incidence has stabilized in the U.S., but it's stabilized at one of the highest rates in the world, and as women move from lower risk regions of the world to the U.S., their incidence goes up and continues to rise over a couple of generations. So we know that that's not genes and there's something about industrial society that's playing an important role." Julia Brody, Silent Spring Institute.

I encourage all of my readers for your own sake as well as the sake of your family and children especially to "go green" as much as you possibly can. This applies to everything from the paints you use in your house to the household cleaning products you use, as well as the nail polish and perfume you wear.

 Please let me know if you have questions about what I have written. Leave a message about how you are changing your life "Go Green". Do you know anyone that has developed a cancer that they feel is related to some sort of environmental pollution?
I look forward to being in discussion with you.

You can download the full report here

This report points out that in 2009 approximately 1.5 million American men women and children were diagnosed with cancer and 562,000 died from the disease. Approximately 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives and approximately 21% will die from cancer.

This report was brought about because of the growing body of evidence that links environmental exposures to cancer. The report points out that the" public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures they could have been prevented through appropriate national action."

One of the findings of the panel that particularly concerned them was the finding that the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been "grossly underestimated". They point out that nearly 80,000 chemicals are on the market in United States that are being used by millions of Americans in their daily lives. These chemicals have either been understudied or unregulated. They point out that one such chemical, BPA, is still found in many consumer products and remains unregulated in our country.
The panel also points out that most people are not aware that children are far more vulnerable to environmental toxins than adults. They recommend to the president that efforts should be made to inform the public of such harmful exposures and how to prevent them.

This extensive report looks at exposures to contaminants from many sources including industrial and manufacturing sources, agricultural services, from medical sources, and from exposures related to our modern lifestyle.

The conclusions of the panel offer extensive recommendations. One of the most important ones is in their words "a precautionary, prevention oriented approach should replace current reactionary approaches to environmental contaminants in which human harm must be proven before action is taken to reduce or eliminate exposure." Very few of the chemicals that are in modern use have ever been tested thoroughly before they were released and the committee is advocating that products be tested for their safety before they are allowed to be used on the public.

There are a few wonderful quotes from the report that I would like to give you here:

"Low levels of exposure at a specific point in the development of an organism… Could have really, really significant changes in ways that the classical idea about genetics would not predict." William Chameides Duke Untiversity.

" Our science looks at a substance-by-substance exposure and doesn't take into account the multitude of exposures we experience in daily life. If we did, it might change our risk paradigm. The potential risks associated with extremely low-level exposure may be underestimated or missed entirely."
Heather Logan, Canadian Cancer Society.

"…industry has a lot of data on these chemicals. They just don't have to give it to anybody." Richard Wiles Environmental Working Group.

"We are exposed to many pollutants, many at the same time or in sequences that [cause them to] interact with one another. And yet our policies and most of our research… for the most part [address] one pollutant, one exposure at a time." Winfred  Hamilton, Baylor College of Medicine

… [breast cancer] incidence has stabilized in the U.S., but it's stabilized at one of the highest rates in the world, and as women move from lower risk regions of the world to the U.S., their incidence goes up and continues to rise over a couple of generations. So we know that that's not genes and there's something about industrial society that's playing an important role." Julia Brody, Silent Spring Institute.

I encourage all of my readers for your own sake as well as the sake of your family and children especially to "go green" as much as you possibly can. This applies to everything from the paints you use in your house to the household cleaning products you use, as well as the nail polish and perfume you wear.

 Please let me know if you have questions about what I have written. Leave a message about how you are changing your life "Go Green". Do you know anyone that has developed a cancer that they feel is related to some sort of environmental pollution?
I look forward to being in discussion with you.

You can download the full report here

This 120 page report looks at the current epidemic of childhood obesity. Some of the statistics are overwhelming. Currently one in every three child ages to 19 is overweight or obese. Obesity is estimated to cost 112,000 deaths per year in the United States. One third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes in their lifetime. In addition, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine has pointed out that for the first time the current generation of children may be on a course of having a shorter life span than their parents.

There has been a consistent increase in the growth of childhood obesity from 1971 until about the year 2000, at which time childhood obesity levels off.

This very thorough report looks at many aspects of the cause of this epidemic and is full of amazing information. A few of these are
1)    Obese adults in current estimated $1429 more in medical expenses than their normal weight years.
2)    Medical spending on adults that was attributed just to obesity was over $40 billion in 1998. But in 2008 this had increased to an estimated $147 billion.
3)    During childhood excess weight costs an estimated $3 billion per year in direct medical costs.
4)    At least $1.6 billion is spent annually on food advertising directed to children and adolescents.
5)    13% of the daily caloric intake for 12 to 19-year-olds now comes from sugar- sweetened beverages.
6)    On average, children consumed only 64% of the recommended level of fruit and 46% of the recommended level of vegetables in 2003 to 2004.
7)    A mother's preconception weight and weight gain during pregnancy are two of the most important prenatal determinants of childhood obesity. Another way to say this is overweight mothers give birth to overweight children.
8)    Maternal smoking girly pregnancy is associated with a 500% greater risk of obesity at age 5.
9)    Research shows that it is possible that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy play a role in the development of childhood obesity. Scientists have coined the term "obesogins" for chemicals that they believe may promote weight gain and obesity.
10)    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimated that in 2006 the food, beverage, and quick serve restaurant companies spent more than $1.6 billion to promote their products to young people.

The statistics in this article go on and on but it is clear that our entire country must change its direction in eating, exercise and focused in order for us to be first the obesity epidemic that we are living with.

The report focuses on five basic things that we can all do together to help this epidemic:
1) Create a healthy start on life for our children, from pregnancy through early childhood;
2) Empower parents and caregivers to make healthy choices for their families;
3) Serve healthier foods in schools;
4) Ensure access to healthy, affordable food;
5) Increase opportunities for physical activity.

I encourage you to read the whole article which can be gotten at this website.
Let me know what you think. Do you talk to your overweight friends about diet and exercise? What do you think can be done to improve this obesity epidemic?

The Government's Food Pyramid

This 120 page report looks at the current epidemic of childhood obesity. Some of the statistics are overwhelming. Currently one in every three child ages to 19 is overweight or obese. Obesity is estimated to cost 112,000 deaths per year in the United States. One third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes in their lifetime. In addition, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine has pointed out that for the first time the current generation of children may be on a course of having a shorter life span than their parents.

There has been a consistent increase in the growth of childhood obesity from 1971 until about the year 2000, at which time childhood obesity levels off.

This very thorough report looks at many aspects of the cause of this epidemic and is full of amazing information. A few of these are
1)    Obese adults in current estimated $1429 more in medical expenses than their normal weight years.
2)    Medical spending on adults that was attributed just to obesity was over $40 billion in 1998. But in 2008 this had increased to an estimated $147 billion.
3)    During childhood excess weight costs an estimated $3 billion per year in direct medical costs.
4)    At least $1.6 billion is spent annually on food advertising directed to children and adolescents.
5)    13% of the daily caloric intake for 12 to 19-year-olds now comes from sugar- sweetened beverages.
6)    On average, children consumed only 64% of the recommended level of fruit and 46% of the recommended level of vegetables in 2003 to 2004.
7)    A mother's preconception weight and weight gain during pregnancy are two of the most important prenatal determinants of childhood obesity. Another way to say this is overweight mothers give birth to overweight children.
8)    Maternal smoking girly pregnancy is associated with a 500% greater risk of obesity at age 5.
9)    Research shows that it is possible that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy play a role in the development of childhood obesity. Scientists have coined the term "obesogins" for chemicals that they believe may promote weight gain and obesity.
10)    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimated that in 2006 the food, beverage, and quick serve restaurant companies spent more than $1.6 billion to promote their products to young people.

The statistics in this article go on and on but it is clear that our entire country must change its direction in eating, exercise and focused in order for us to be first the obesity epidemic that we are living with.

The report focuses on five basic things that we can all do together to help this epidemic:
1) Create a healthy start on life for our children, from pregnancy through early childhood;
2) Empower parents and caregivers to make healthy choices for their families;
3) Serve healthier foods in schools;
4) Ensure access to healthy, affordable food;
5) Increase opportunities for physical activity.

I encourage you to read the whole article which can be gotten at this website.
Let me know what you think. Do you talk to your overweight friends about diet and exercise? What do you think can be done to improve this obesity epidemic?

The Government's Food Pyramid

In a new article by Dr Ames and his colleague, Joyce McCann, the authors discuss this new theory. This theory is based on the question "Is micronutrient inadequacy linked to diseases of aging"? Micronutrients include everything from zinc and selenium to vitamin D and vitamin K, all of  which we get in small quantities in our diet.

In this article, they specifically look at vitamin K. What they propose is that when  our body has a limited amount of a given nutrient e.g. vitamin K, it shunts the nutrient to the biochemical processes that are most needed for immediate survival. The theory is that when there is not enough of the nutrient over many years, other biochemical processes that are important, but which do not lead to an acute problem, do not receive a sufficient amount of the nutrient over a long period of time. This insufficiency does not produce immediate problems. But what this theory says is that this long term deficiency of the nutrient neededfor these other essential biochemical processes leads to chronic degenerative diseases, rather than an acute medical problem.

In this article they specifically look at vitamin K. Vitamin K's immediate use is to allow our blood to coagulate. So if you only have a small amount of vitamin K it will be used primarily to allow your blood to coagulate so you do not bleed to death. However what they point out in this study, is that long-term relative deficiency of vitamin K is linked to several age associated conditions. These include bone fragility after menopause, and arterial calcification which is linked to cardiovascular disease. Also in animal models an increased incidence in  cancer has been observed in long term vitamin K deficiency.

This theory is completely compatible with Dr. Robert Heaney's concept of "long latency deficiency diseases" which is discussed extensively in my book on vitamin D. In the case of vitamin D, an immediate deficiency will lead to rickets. However from all the research, it appears that a long term low-level deficiency of vitamin D leads to increased risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes high blood pressure, osteoporosis etc.

I really like this theory! Whether we call it "triage theory" or "long latency deficiency disease theory," this concept makes enormous sense to me. The profound changes I have seen in my own practice of medicine as well as in my own health, from optimizing vitamin D levels, has shown me that vitamin D in higher levels bestows many additional benefits besides the prevention of rickets. It makes total sense to me that  our current epidemic of chronic diseases and fast food, can be linked to a relative insufficiency of many of the micronutrients that we all will get if we eat a healthy diet.

I have attempted to explain these complex concepts in a way that is understandable for you my readers. Please let me know if you have questions? Please let me know what your thoughts are on these concepts? I look forward to hearing back from you.

REFERENCE