The One Advantage of Obesity Vanishes
October 8, 2009
For years it has been thought that obesity did have one single health advantage: less risk of osteoporosis. A study by Dr. Jean-Marc Kaufman of Gent University Hospital in Belgium has now debunked that notion.
Dr. Kaufman found that men with more fat actually had smaller, thinner bones than lean men with larger muscle mass. Researchers in Kaufman’s study found that lean muscle mass exerted a positive influence on bone size. In contrast, increased fat mass was associated with smaller bones (challenging the prevalent view of a high fat mass index as protective for osteoporosis).
The reason obesity seemed to offer any protection in the first place is that overweight individuals exert more energy than their less-laden counterparts in performing daily tasks. As a result, they develop larger muscle mass, which is the real protector against osteoporosis.
Dr. Kaufman’s team determined, however, that lean muscle mass (not fat mass) is the major determinant of bone size. Once again, exercise emerges as the crucial element in the prevention of osteoporosis! Both aerobic exercise and non-aerobic weight-bearing exercise are helpful in this regard. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, July 2009
Topics: Health News
10-day Depression Recovery Program Coming in October!
August 31, 2009
Dr. Nedley’s Residential Depression Recovery Program is scheduled to be held October 15-26, 2009. Space is limited, so call today to reserve your place.
Uncover the root causes of your depression and acquire the tools that you need for coping with real-life situations. This program includes:
* Personalized consultation with Dr. Nedley
* Comprehensive health history review
* Full laboratory services
* Hydrotherapy
* Massage treatments
* Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
* Daily interactive presentations
* Aerobic conditioning
* Flexibility training
* Delicious healthy meals
Learn how to:
* Understand nutritional secrets to improve mood
* Recognize and correct distorted thoughts
* Manage stress
* Overcome addictions
* Deal with loss
* Treat depression through lifestyle changes
* Improve spiritual health
Dr. Nedley has researched the epidemic of depression sweeping society. He has discovered that one in three patients seeking medical help is plagued by depression. Through his ongoing study of the current scientific research related to diseases of the mind, combined with years of clinical experience, Dr. Nedley committed himself to finding the root causes of depression rather than just anesthetizing the symptoms with medicine.
In the Nedley Depression Recovery Program, Dr. Nedley provides you with an insightful and in-depth comprehension of your body’s physical, mental, and spiritual functions.
You will enjoy personal one-on-one consultations with Dr. Nedley and benefit from his years of clinical experience designing individualized depression recovery plans for his patients. He will help you create a recovery plan tailored to heal the specific causes of your depression.
Dr. Neil Nedley is a full time physician who practices acute internal care medicine. He is the author of the Nedley Depression Recovery Program, the widely acclaimed and successful DVD series. He is an experienced national and international speaker.
You will be supported, encouraged and cared for by a team of highly qualified lifestyle medicine experts who are totally dedicated to discovering and healing the root causes of your depression.
Results that Matter
At the conclusion of the program, 95% of the participants reported significant improvements in their depression with 54% reporting no depression at all. Four months after the program, participants reported additional reduction of symptoms in both depression and anxiety. In April 2007, all depressed participants significantly improved in 10 days. Similar results have been achieved in 2008 and 2009.
What to do Next
Many people do not want to admit they are suffering from depression. The first step is to safely admit the truth to yourself, because there is hope.
For information and to register, call Paula Monday-Thursday 9pm - 5pm CST.
If you would like to be notified by e-mail of when the next program will be held, please sign up for the Nedley Health Report e-mail (click on the link located on the left side of this page).
Topics: Health News
Vitamin K for Liver and Pancreatic Cancer
August 31, 2009
Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Centre at Thomas Jefferson University at Philadelphia have found that vitamin K can help curb pancreatic and primary liver cancers when combined with the drug Nexavar. In the presence of vitamin K, the research team found they could use half the normal dose of Nexavar and still slow cancer growth.
The lower dose, which would have been ineffective alone, allowed the researchers to achieve the same results without as many side effects. In a second study, vitamin K enhanced the effects of the cancer treating drug in primary liver cancer. Based on these results, vitamin K should be considered as part of the treatment regimen for pancreatic and liver cancers, particularly where Nexavar is involved. (Side effects from Nexavar are normally so debilitating that many patients have to discontinue treatment).
By lowering the dose, the researchers hope that more patients will be able to complete the necessary treatment. Vitamin K has been shown to be helpful in treating many other diseases as well, including osteoporosis and mental disorders.
Topics: Health News
Green Tea Extract for Leukemia
August 31, 2009
Mayo Clinic researchers have reported positive results in leukemia-related research involving the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea. In the study, researchers found that lymphocyte count in study participants with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was reduced by one-third when higher doses of EGCG were administered in capsule form. According to Dr. Tait Shanafelt, hematologist and lead author of the study, the majority of study participants saw some degree of regression in their lymphocytic leukemia, with a decline in lymph node size of 50 percent or greater.
Currently there is no cure for CLL, which is the most common subtype of leukemia in the United States. About half of the patients with early stages of the disease have an aggressive fatal form. Researchers at Mayo Clinic found, however, that 76% of CLL patients stabilized in response to this regimen based on an extract of green tea. They were giving the patients Polyphenon E, which is available over the counter in 200 milligram capsules. The researchers, who tested dosages ranging from 400-2000 milligrams twice daily, found that the highest dose showed the greatest biological response.
Topics: Health News
Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Prostate Cancer
August 31, 2009
Current medical research has also shown that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids DHA protects against advanced prostate cancer–even in men more at risk of the disease. Researchers in Egypt found that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) reduces the accumulation of white blood cells at the molecular level.
The same researchers also found that DHA reduced the size of tumors in mice and made a chemotherapy drug (cisplatin) more potent while limiting its harmful effects. The DHA fatty acid reduced toxicity and injury to kidney tissue caused by the cisplatin. (Plant-based sources of DHA include underwater plants such as algae).
Topics: Health News
Mistletoe Extract for Bladder Cancer
August 31, 2009
Bladder cancer, which is one of the more difficult cancers to treat, is normally confronted with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) injections. (BCG is an old tuberculosis vaccine that can produce an immune system response). While BCG injections have been shown to decrease post-surgery tumor recurrence, serious side effects (such as crippling arthritis) and even death have prompted an ongoing search for alternative therapies.
Recent studies have suggested that mistletoe extract may be just as effective at reducing tumor occurrence as BCG. In a study reported in the Journal of Urology, thirty patients with superficial bladder cancer received six weekly installations of a standardized water-based mistletoe extract beginning about four weeks after surgery. Recurrence rate was 33%, which is comparable to recurrence rate in similar cases treated with BCG. And the good news is, of course, that none of the difficult side effects that so often accompany BCG were present with mistletoe extract.
Topics: Health News
Pomegranate Juice for Prostate Cancer
August 31, 2009
Pomegranate juice may slow the progression of post-treatment prostate cancer, according to a clinical trial which followed 48 prostate cancer patients over six years. Following cancer treatment, researchers tracked how long it took for PSA levels in the men to double. (PSA is a biomarker which indicates the presence of cancer. Doubling times are crucial because those whose PSAs double the fastest are most likely to die from the cancer).
Immediately after prostate cancer treatment, PSA levels should be undetectable. PSA detected indicates an aggressive cancer that is likely to progress. All of the men enrolled in the study had detectable PSA following treatment, and more than 80 percent experienced improvement in PSA doubling times in conjunction with pomegranate juice consumption. PSA levels remained stable nearly four times longer for men who drank the pomegranate juice.
Pomegranate juice contains a number of antioxidants thought to have anti-cancer effects. It also contains estrogen-like plant substances called phytoestrogens that could be useful in combating prostate cancer. (Allan J. Pantuck, UCLA, American Urological Association in San Antonio, May 2005)
In addition, lowering the blood cholesterol levels through natural means can also significantly help prostate cancer. While cholesterol does not cause prostate cancer, it does fuel tumor growth. As a result, prostate cancer growth slows significantly or even halts when blood cholesterol is lowered. (Dr. Michael Freeman Journal of Clinical Investigation March 2005)
Topics: Health News
Vitamin D for Breast Cancer
August 31, 2009
Breast cancer patients who were deficient in vitamin D were 94% more likely to have their cancer spread, and 73% more likely to die, than women with normal levels, according to a study led by Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
In the study, the cases of 512 women (who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1989 and 1995) were followed until 2006. More than three-quarters of the women had a vitamin D deficiency when diagnosed. The researchers found that those with the lowest levels of vitamin D had the highest risk of dying from the disease. Women with lower vitamin D levels also were more likely to develop cancer before menopause, be overweight, and have more aggressive tumors than women with adequate vitamin D.
Ten years after their diagnosis, 85% of the women with normal vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis were still alive. For the vast majority of those women, the cancer had neither spread nor come back. In contrast, only 69% of the women with low vitamin D levels were cancer-free 10 years later, with 74% still living. The apparent connection between vitamin D and breast cancer is in addition to other research results linking vitamin D deficiency to colon cancer, blood malignancies, and heart disease. These findings were presented by Dr. Richard Schilsky of the University of Chicago at the 2008 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Topics: Health News
Resveratrol for Pancreatic Cancer
August 31, 2009
Researchers at Rochester University have shown, for the first time, that resveratrol (a natural antioxidant) can help destroy pancreatic cancer.
Researchers led by Dr. Paul Okunieff, chief of Radiation Oncology at the university, gave resveratrol to patients with pancreatic cancer prior to radiation treatment. Dr. Okunieff’s team found that when pancreatic cancer cells were doubly assaulted (e.g. pre-treated with resveratrol then irradiated), they were much more likely to self-destruct. The result was apoptosis, a type of cell death which is an important goal of cancer therapy.
Dr. Okunieff’s research showed there is little evidence to support the fear that antioxidants may protect tumors, by showing that resveratrol injures the nexus of malignant cells while protecting normal tissue from the harmful effects of radiation. Resveratrol is most abundant in the skin of red grapes. Raspberries, blueberries, and peanuts are also excellent sources.
Topics: Health News
Tumeric Compound for Breast Cancer
August 31, 2009
Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, led by Dr. Bharat Bhushan Aggarwal, have reported that the main ingredient of turmeric inhibits the spread of breast cancer and improves the effectiveness of current remedies. Scientists believe this compound, Curcumin, could lead to a new way of treating people in the advanced stages of the disease. The study, which was published in Clinical Cancer Research, reports that the spice appears to shut down a protein active in the spread of breast cancer.
Dr. Aggarwal and his team studied the cases of 60 mice that had human breast cancer. The cancer was allowed to grow in the mice for some time, after which a mastectomy was performed.
96% of the mice that received no cancer treatment at all went on to develop visible signs of breast cancer that metastasized to the lungs. Once that happens, breast cancer is virtually fatal. Mice that were treated with the chemotherapy drug Taxol did somewhat better: only 75% of them developed lung metastasis. (Taxol, which is currently the front-line chemotherapeutic agent in breast cancers, frequently induces drug resistance after prolonged use). Only 22% of the mice who were given Taxol in conjunction with Tumeric (curcumin) went on to develop lung metastasis, however. Curcumin, which is non-toxic, repelled progression of the disease to the lungs and also appeared to curtail the side effects of Taxol. This is good news in the war against advanced breast cancer, since there have been few proven treatments available after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Topics: Health News
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