Doctors Urge Their Colleagues To Quit Doing Worthless Tests

April 6, 2012

NPR

By Richard Knox

“There is only one reason that doctors make people go through worthless tests – can we say Cha-Ching.” –KTRN

Nine national medical groups are launching a campaign called Choosing Wisely to get U.S. doctors to back off on 45 diagnostic tests, procedures and treatments that often may do patients no good.

Many involve imaging tests such as CT scans, MRIs and X-rays. Stop doing them, the groups say, for most cases of back pain, or on patients who come into the emergency room with a headache or after a fainting spell, or just because somebody’s about to undergo surgery.

A child with low belly pain and suspected appendicitis? Don’t rush her to the CT scanner. Do an ultrasound first. That will give the answer 94 percent of the time, is cheaper and doesn’t expose the child to radiation.

Don’t put heartburn patients on high doses of acid-suppressing drugs when lower doses and shorter courses will do, they say. You might just be making their symptoms worse when they try to stop the medicine.

An apparently healthy middle-aged guy with few cardiac risk factors comes in for a yearly exam and wants to know how his ticker is. Don’t give him a full cardiac workup, with a treadmill test and fancy imaging. This kind of patient accounts for almost half of unnecessary cardiac screening.

Postpone repeat colonoscopies for 10 years if the first one is negative, or if it found and removed one or two early-stage colon polyps, the guidelines state. And stop prescribing antibiotics for mild-to-moderate sinus infections.

And here’s one that raises some tricky questions: Most patients who are debilitated with advanced cancer shouldn’t get more chemotherapy.

Click here for the report.

Seven Reasons To Eat More Dark Chocolate

February 22, 2012

Natural News

By PF Louis

“When people say healthy food doesn’t taste good, you ask them if they have heard of chocolate?” –KTRN

More and more health reasons for eating dark chocolate keep coming in. Many will be pointed out here, then explained further in the sources indicated by numbers in parenthesis. But first, understand that organic dark chocolate brought into the market place under fair trade agreements is best.

Some of the major cheap chocolate producers use child slaves in Africa to pick cacao. The more dark the chocolate with less sugar, milk, and other ingredients, the closer it is to cacao. A range of at least 70% to 90% cacao in dark chocolate is both tasty and healthy.

Milk chocolate contains milk, which negates the health benefits, and sugar, which feeds cancer cells. Avoid it.

According to Dr. Debra Miller’s statement in Chemistry Central Journal , “Cacao seeds are a ‘Super Fruit’ providing nutritive value beyond that of their macronutrient composition.” (1)

Interestingly, one doesn’t have to gorge lots of chocolate every day to get the health benefits. A little treat, like a square or two daily will support good health.

A study of almost 20,000 participants in Germany concluded that those who ate 7.5 grams of dark chocolate a day received most of the heart protection benefits of chocolate. Organic dark chocolate bars are usually 100 grams. (1)

Benefits of dark chocolate
Cardiac and stroke protection : Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, which lowers risks of heart attacks and strokes. (1)

Reduces risk of colon cancer : Cocoa polyphenols from dark chocolate reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. This was determined in a study by the Science and Technology Institute of Food and Nutrition in Spain, which was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition. (2)

Click here for the full report.

Regular Vitamin And Mineral Supplementation Lowers Colon Cancer Risk More Than Eighty Percent

February 8th, 2012

Natural News

By John Phillip

Researchers publishing in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) have found that a diet enhanced with vitamin and mineral supplementation can lower the risk of developing precancerous colon cancer lesions by up to 84%. Colon cancer is the second most common form of the disease affecting men and women in the US, with nearly 150,000 new diagnoses each year.

Nutrition experts and alternative practitioners understand that cancer is largely a disease caused by poor lifestyle behaviors including a diet lacking an optimal intake of vitamins and minerals. Chronic illnesses including colon cancer are the result of many years and decades of low nutritional status, as support for a healthy immune response is suppressed. Scientists now provide compelling evidence in support of whole-food based vitamin and mineral supplementation to dramatically lower the risk of colorectal cancer.

The study authors used rats that were fed a high fat diet (20% fat intake) for a period of 32 weeks. Rats are commonly used for this type of research because they develop colon cancer polyps and tumors in a manner parallel to humans. The rats were divided into six groups and were subsequently exposed to different combinations of carcinogens and nutritional supplements.

The researchers found that the animals fed a high-fat, low fiber diet and exposed to a carcinogen developed pre-cancerous lesions of the colon along a pathway similar to that found in humans. The group of animals that underwent a similar treatment and diet, but were supplemented with a daily vitamin and mineral supplement showed an 84% reduction in the formation of pre-cancerous lesions and did not develop tumors.

This study is key as it demonstrates the importance of building a solid nutrient base over time to saturate cells and tissues in order to prevent common diseases such as colon cancer. The research authors concluded “multivitamin and mineral supplements synergistically contribute to the cancer chemo-preventative potential, and hence, regular supplements of multivitamins and minerals could reduce the risk of colon cancer.”

Health-minded individuals know the importance of obtaining a full range of vitamins and minerals from fresh, raw or minimally cooked foods to promote health. Extensive research is now mounting to suggest that higher amounts of nutrients obtained from a whole food organic vitamin and mineral supplement may be necessary to achieve optimal health and convey maximum protection against colon cancer.

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Regular Vitamin And Mineral Supplementation Lowers Colon Cancer Risk More Than Eighty Percent

February 8, 2012

Natural News

By John Phillip

“Remember to take those vitamins. But not Centrum. Be smart.” –KTRN

Researchers publishing in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) have found that a diet enhanced with vitamin and mineral supplementation can lower the risk of developing precancerous colon cancer lesions by up to 84%. Colon cancer is the second most common form of the disease affecting men and women in the US, with nearly 150,000 new diagnoses each year.

Nutrition experts and alternative practitioners understand that cancer is largely a disease caused by poor lifestyle behaviors including a diet lacking an optimal intake of vitamins and minerals. Chronic illnesses including colon cancer are the result of many years and decades of low nutritional status, as support for a healthy immune response is suppressed. Scientists now provide compelling evidence in support of whole-food based vitamin and mineral supplementation to dramatically lower the risk of colorectal cancer.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Help Significantly Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk
The study authors used rats that were fed a high fat diet (20% fat intake) for a period of 32 weeks. Rats are commonly used for this type of research because they develop colon cancer polyps and tumors in a manner parallel to humans. The rats were divided into six groups and were subsequently exposed to different combinations of carcinogens and nutritional supplements.

The researchers found that the animals fed a high-fat, low fiber diet and exposed to a carcinogen developed pre-cancerous lesions of the colon along a pathway similar to that found in humans. The group of animals that underwent a similar treatment and diet, but were supplemented with a daily vitamin and mineral supplement showed an 84% reduction in the formation of pre-cancerous lesions and did not develop tumors.

Click here for the full report.

The Best Way to Detox

November 15, 2011

DrAxe.Com

By Dr. Josh Axe

“Detoxing is key to good health. You should really consider doing some type of detox program twice a year. It’s easy and you’ll feel better.” –KTRN

Have you ever been constipated? Felt bloated? Had excess gas? Felt like something just wasn’t right? Many people don’t realize that some of the physical ailments they feel on a daily basis are a result of a body that is loaded with toxins in desperate need of detox.

If you’ve ever heard the saying, “Death Begins in the Colon,” you might also know that many coroners, upon autopsy, discover diseased, toxin-laden colons. Constipation, which is related directly to a sluggish or in many cases toxin filled colon, accounts for more than 2 million doctor visits a year. And according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Americans (NIDDK) alone spend $725 million on laxatives annually. (What these suffering consumers don’t know is that these laxatives may only make their problem worse in the long run.)

According to the American Cancer Society, this year alone, 569,490 Americans will die from cancer. That’s about 1,500 people per day suffering and dying from cancer. Sadly, the past few decades have seen a significant increase in cancer diagnosis and death from cancer despite our highly advanced medical technology and early detection initiatives.

It’s vital that all Americans wake up to these deadly facts and take action. The question remains for many, “If we have the most advanced medical care in the world and early detection has become a focus of most, then why are cancer rates soaring and death from cancers killing off so many?”

Check out the following symptoms to see if your body is sending you the signals that you need to detox – soon!

Signs of Toxic Overload that a Detox can Improve:

Constipation
Bloating
Gas
Headaches
Fatigue
Aches and pains
Nausea
Belly fat (hard to lose)
Skin problems
Food cravings (especially for ‘fake foods’)
Low energy
Bad breath
Irritability, mood swings

Death Begins in the Colon

The colon is the body’s sewage system. But like all healthy and properly functioning sewage systems it needs to be cleaned, emptied, and maintained to function properly.

When we eat highly processed, refined, or what I call ‘fake,’ foods our colons become laden with the unhealthy debris from these foods. As you know if you’ve visited my site before, I highly advocate the removal of all fake foods from your diet for just this reason (plus a few more).

These fake foods so many Westerners consuming in huge quantities are filled with toxins in the form of high fructose syrups, hydrogenated oils, dangerous food dyes, seasonings with unknown ingredients, MSG, preservatives and other ingredients that not only do our bodies not need but really do damage to our vital organs and entire body systems.

I strongly recommend that if you (or your loved ones) currently eat a mainly fake food diet to begin to eliminate these fake foods and replace them with real foods. These are any foods from nature; as close to the source as you can get; fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, pure water, and more organic foods that are grown locally and have no processing involved before they reach your mouth.

But many times this isn’t enough if you’ve been eating a highly processed, fake food diet for any period of time.

Click here for the full report.

Which is the Healthiest Tea?

October 18, 2011

DrAxe.com

By: Dr. Axe

According to a 2009 study at Kingston University, white tea was found to have high anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-collagenase, and anti-elastase properties. This could potentially reduce the risks of developing rheumatoid arthritis, some cancers, heart disease and slow the enzymatic break-down of elastin and collagen, traits which accompany aging. If that isn’t good reason to drink a couple a cups of white tea a day I don’t know what would be.

White tea originates from China from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Its buds and leaves are allowed to wither in the sun during the plants growth. They are harvested prematurely and the delicate buds and leaves are processed to prevent oxidation. They say this preserves the distinct flavor of this aromatic tea. Camellia Sinensis plant is abundant with what is called polyphenols, a phytonutrient which is responsible for the tea’s health benefits.

Improved Cardiovascular Function
White tea has a substance known as Catechins, a group of antioxidants that have been shown to reduce cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, repair vein tissue, and improve overall cardiovascular function.

Immune System Booster
Studies have shown that animals that were given white tea were more resistant to the bacteria Salmonella. Furthermore, the antioxidants that is abundant in white tea helps to booster the immune system in animals and humans. And there’s more good news: A study conducted by the Pace University in 1984 revealed that white tea may in fact slow down viruses and the growth of bacteria, reducing the incidence of staphylococcus and streptococcus infections, pneumonia, fungus growth, and even dental plaque.

Cancer Prevention
Amazingly, white tea has been shown to work as well as prescription drugs in providing the body with antioxidants and preventing many types of cancer, such as colon, prostate, and stomach cancers. Flavonoids, a group of antioxidants present in this tea reduce the growth of cancer cells, and help new ones to grow!
It would seem a good idea to drink this tea often throughout the day. Not a tea-lover? Well, how about adding a teaspoon of raw honey and a squeeze of a lemon or lime to your tea for an added zest?

Reduce Blood Pressure
Chances are that you or someone you know personally has high blood pressure. Well, the good news is studies have proven that white tea can actually thin the blood and drastically improve artery function. Drinking white tea several times a day on a consistent basis can actually lower the pressure of your blood and protect the body against one of its common health enemies, stroke. This only works when you drink the tea every day, a couple of times a day. Bring it to work with you and share the health benefits with your coworkers.

Stronger Bones and Teeth, and Healthier Skin
Numerous studies have shown that regular drinkers of white tea had greater bone density than non drinkers of white tea. If you suffer from arthritis or osteoporosis, better grab yourself some white tea and have a couple of cups a day. White tea has small amounts of fluoride which help to keep the teeth and gums healthy too.

This remarkable tea has also been shown to fight free radicals from sun, stress and poor diet, and reverse some of the signs of aging. According to a study by Kingston University in London, it seems that white tea may be an interesting option for reducing and preventing wrinkles. Out of 21 different compounds tested, white tea was found to contain by far the highest concentration of antioxidants.

Is there anything this tea doesn’t help improve? Well, let’s see here, white tea may also reduce blood sugar and lessen the symptoms of diabetes. This astounding tea has shown to reduce stress and yet increase energy levels. Now who doesn’t want to have more energy throughout the day?

How to Brew White Tea
Boiling hot water can diminish the distinct flavor as well as deplete the nutrients of the tea. Experts all agree that water for white tea should be no hotter than 170-185 degrees Fahrenheit (76 to 85 degrees Celsius). For best results bring the water to a roaring boil and then let sit for a couple of minutes and then pour onto the tea leaves. This should be done for all types of teas.

Because white tea leaves are not as dense and compact as other teas you should use at least two teaspoons of white tea leaves for every cup (8 ounces) of water. The longer you brew the tea for the stronger the flavor and the more nutritional value you will be receiving. Some people recommend steeping the tea for up to 15 minutes.

White tea sounds like the king of teas and the health benefits are awesome! But with any natural health remedy or healing product out there they always work best when we do other things to take care of our body. White tea works well in conjunction with other ways to keep healthy and fit.

For an example: someone who eats a poor diet, is overweight, and leads a sedentary lifestyle will not see the health benefits from white tea as well as someone who already eats a well balanced diet, and who regularly exercises. The fact of the matter is, you have to take care of your body by doing everything you can to protect it from disease and illness.

Provide your body with clean whole foods, pure water, adequate amounts of exercise, and sufficient amounts of sunshine, and lead a stress free lifestyle as much as possible. You are your body’s best friend when it comes to health so treat it well and you will enjoy your life that much more. And of course, incorporating white tea into your diet would be a wonderful idea. Here’s to your health!

Click here for the full report from DrAxe.com

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Effectively Lowers Colon Cancer Risk

October 4th, 2011

Natural News

By: John Phillip

Health-minded individuals are well aware that a diet high in natural fruits and vegetables equate to vibrant health and dramatically lowered risk of many chronic diseases. The result of a new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association provides details on how specific fruit and vegetable consumption lowers the incidence of many types of colon cancer, the third most prevalent form of the disease. Foods such as apples, broccoli and cauliflower each lower the risk of cancer initiation in different parts of the colon while high sugar, fiber-void fruit juices are shown to increase risk of the illness. Nutrition scientists from Australia provide important documentation to confirm the importance of eating a colorful selection of fruits and vegetables to lower colon cancer risk.

Nutrition researchers have designed studies to examine the effect of healthy diet on colon cancer risk in the past, but the protective effect has been debatable as they do not provide specific results for different foods on the key regions or subsites of the colon. Professor Lin Fritschi, PhD, head of the Epidemiology Group at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, and her research team set out to investigate the link between fruit and vegetables and three cancers in different parts of the bowel: proximal colon cancer, distal colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Colon Cancer Risk Lowered by Eating a Wide Variety of Brightly Colored Fruits and Vegetables

The controlled study included 918 participants with a confirmed colon cancer diagnosis and compared them with 1021 individuals with no history of the digestive disease. All participants completed extensive nutritional and demographic questionnaires to account for potential conflicts such as socioeconomic status. Analysis of the data showed that specific fruit and vegetables from similar varietal families affect risk for colon cancer in different portions of the digestive tract.

With respect to different fruit and vegetable consumption, the researchers found a reduced rate of proximal colon cancer linked to eating brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. In addition, both total vegetable intake and total vegetable and fruit intake were linked to a lower risk of distal colon cancer. And finally a significant reduction in distal colon cancer risk was linked to dark yellow vegetables and apples.

There should be no doubt that natural fruits and vegetables consumed raw or minimally cooked to retain the active enzymes is a critical factor in digestive health that dramatically lowers the risk of colon cancer and other chronic conditions as well. This study conveys the important nature of eating a wide variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, high in phytonutrient content, to provide a protective shield at different colon subsites and throughout the body.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Sauerkraut Offers A Spectrum Of Health Benefits

September 23rd, 2011

Natural News

By: Tara Green

Sauerkraut combines the health benefits offered by all cruciferous vegetables (a category which includes cauliflowers and brussel sprouts as well as cabbage) with the probiotic advantages derived from the fermentation process.

Cabbage offers a host of health benefits. It is high in vitamins A and C. Studies have shown the cruciferous vegetables can help lower cholesterol levels. Cabbage also provides a rich source of phytonutrient antioxidants. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties, and some studies indicate it may help combat some cancers. However, this already helpful vegetable becomes a superfood when it is pickled.

The fermentation process used to make sauerkraut was probably first developed centuries ago simply as a means of preserving vegetables for easy consumption throughout the winter. The health benefits derived from pickling vegetables were already well-known to early civilizations. Historical evidence suggests laborers on the Great Wall of China consumed a version of the pickled cabbage dish 2,000 years ago.

Traditional Chinese has long prescribed sauerkraut juice as a home remedy for many common ailments . The armies of Genghis Khan most likely first brought the dish to Europe. The Roman army traveled with barrels of sauerkraut, using it to prevent intestinal infections among the troops during long excursions.

In periods and cultures when natural healing methods fell into disuse, people consumed fewer fermented foods and were subject to more illness. Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) killed many British sailors during the 1700s, especially on longer voyages. In the late 1770s, Captain James Cook circumnavigated the world without losing a single sailor to scurvy, thanks to the foods his ship carried, including sixty barrels of sauerkraut.

Mainstream health experts began to pay renewed attention to sauerkraut after a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002. Finnish researchers reported that in laboratory studies,a substance produced by fermented cabbage, isothiocyanates, helped prevent the growth of cancer.

Even before the laboratory study, however, alternative health experts extolled the healing benefits of sauerkraut because of the lactic acid bacteria produced as a side-effect of the pickling process.

Healthy human colons contain many beneficial bacteria which feed on the waste left over from our digestion, creating lactic acid. Without these beneficial bacteria the human digestive system becomes home to harmful parasites and yeasts, resulting in the condition of candida.

Sauerkraut provides a high density source of a wide range of beneficial live bacteria which assist in the digestive process. Consuming a serving of sauerkraut can give your body as much of a health boost as many of the expensive probiotic drinks and supplements sold in stores. However, most commercially sold sauerkraut have lost most of their beneficial bacterial organisms. To gain the most benefits from sauerkraut, you may want to purchase it freshly made, or learn how to make your own.

If you want to explore recipes for making sauerkraut and other fermented dishes, an excellent place to start is with Sandor Ellis Katz’s Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live Culture Foods.

In his book, Katz points out that “Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more digestible forms.” Katz, who also wrote The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movements, recommends not only eating sauerkraut but drinking the juice which he calls “a rare delicacy and unparalleled digestive tonic.”

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Green Tea Could Help Halt Leukemia

October 8th, 2010

Natural News

By: David Gutierrez

An extract from green tea may slow the progression of the most common form of leukemia, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic and presented at the annual meeting of the “American Society of Clinical Oncology.”

The study was conducted on 42 patients suffering from early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Because CLL typically develops slowly with periods of remission, patients are only treated when the disease is actively spreading. None of the study participants were yet undergoing any cancer treatment, including radiation or chemotherapy.

The participants were treated with an extract of epigallocatechin galeate (EGCG), an antioxidant in the catechin family, leading to a significant drop in leukemia cell count in more than two-thirds of participants. In more than one-third of participants, the number of cancerous cells in the blood dropped by a full 20 percent. Additionally, 70 percent of patients who were suffering from enlarged lymph nodes underwent a 50 percent reduction in lymph node size.

“Although only a comparative phase III trial can determine whether EGCG can delay progression of CLL, the benefits we have seen in most CLL patients who use the chemical suggest that it has modest clinical activity and may be useful for stabilizing this form of leukemia, potentially slowing it down,” said lead author Tait Shanafelt.

Prior studies have suggested that green tea and its compounds may help fight off cancers of the bladder, colon, esophagus, stomach and pancreas. More recent studies have suggested that it may help fend off tooth decay and aid in weight loss.

Green tea consumption has also been associated with a lowered risk of heart disease, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis and impaired immune disease. In addition to helping prevent these chronic diseases, green tea may also help slow their progression. Advocates of the beverage also claim that it can help cleanse the body of toxins.

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Olive Oil Can Prevent Ulcerative Colitis

May 19, 2010

Natural News

By S. L. Baker

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that brings untold pain and misery to about 120,000 people of all ages in the UK and over a million in the US. It produces inflammation and sores in the lining of the rectum and colon that bleed, produce pus and cause frequent diarrhea. This is a serious disease that often causes hospitalization. In fact, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), 25 to 40 percent of people suffering from ulcerative colitis eventually have their colons removed because of massive bleeding, severe illness, rupture of the colon, or risk of cancer.

Powerful side effect-laden drugs like steroids are used to dampen down symptoms but there’s no cure. However, scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have discovered there could be a way to stop ulcerative colitis from developing in the first place. The preventative treatment is simple, healthy, inexpensive and easy to find — olive oil.

UEA researchers announced this news recently at the Digestive Disease Week conference held in New Orleans. Their findings revealed that people with a diet rich in oleic acid are far less likely to develop ulcerative colitis. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid found in abundance in olive oil. It is also a component of peanut oil, grapeseed oil and butter.

The research team, led by Dr. Andrew Hart of UEA’s School of Medicine, studied over 25,000 people between the ages of 40 and 65 who lived in Norfolk, in the UK. The research participants were part of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Diet and Cancer) study between 1993 and 1997. None of these EPIC participants were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the beginning of the study. They all kept detailed food diaries which were later studied by nutritionists who analyzed exactly what nutrients and fatty acids the study participants were consuming.

By 2004, 22 of the research subjects had developed ulcerative colitis. When the researchers compared the diets of these people to those who did not develop the disease, they found the study participants with the highest intake of oleic acid had a 90 per cent lower risk of developing ulcerative colitis.

“Oleic acid seems to help prevent the development of ulcerative colitis by blocking chemicals in the bowel that aggravate the inflammation found in this illness,” Dr. Hart said in a statement to the media.”We estimate that around half of the cases of ulcerative colitis could be prevented if larger amounts of oleic acid were consumed. Two-to-three tablespoons of olive oil per day would have a protective effect.”

Additional studies are underway in several countries to further document the potential of oleic acid to prevent colitis, the UEA researchers stated. In addition, they noted that oleic acid should also be assessed in the future as a possible treatment for those already suffering from the disease.

Click here for the full report.

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