Current Health News and Studies Concerning Nutrition & Exercise

March 30, 2010: According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), approximately 31 million Americans suffer from lower back pain at any given time. The ACA also estimates that Americans spend at least $50 billion annually for back treatments.

One common cause of lower back pain is sitting for long periods of time (I am guilty of that as I am constantly on my laptop updating this site.) Sitting for an extended time shortens your iliopsoas muscle that connects from the lumbar (lower back) region to the top of your femur.

When this muscle is shortened, it can cause excruciating pain when you stand. The pain results from the pull on your lumbar, forward.

Rather having a drastic medical procedure, or taking pain medication, the problem can be alleviated by having your lumbar massaged. This will cause the iliopsoas muscle to become released. This type of massage should only be performed by a qualified massage therapist.

You can treat back pain, or prevent it altogether, by strengthening your abdominal muscles. Having firm and toned abdominals is like wearing a corset. It keeps your gut tight which stabilizes your spine, vertabrae, and discs.

Acute back pain should be treated by a licensed chiropractor. The principle behind chiropractry is the emphasis on your body's innate healing ability. This is in stark contrast to going the conventional medical route which just 'treats' the problem without addressing the underlying cause.

Chiropractic, osteopathic, and naturopathic physicians receive extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate healthcare training, which typically lasts from 4-6 years.

April 1, 2010: For over ten years now the American government has stipulated that enriched grains be fortified with vitamin B9 (folic acid.) Vitamin B9 is also known as folate. Its synthetic form is called folic acid. Food manufacturers went even further. They've added it to breakfast cereals, nutrition bars, multivitamins, and beverages too.

Folic acid was added for only a segment of the population--prospective mothers. It was to protect unborn children from developing rare but tragic birth defects. Since 1998, the number of these types of birth defects dropped by about 19 percent.

New research has linked an excess of folic acid to colon, lung, and prostate cancers. A study which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that all the extra folic acid might increase an individual's odds of developing cancer. This concern applies to the synthetic version of vitamin B9 only--not the natural type--folate.

David Smith, Ph.D, professor of pharmacology at the University of Oxford in England, and folic acid researcher, says:

The more we learn about folic acid, the more it's clear that giving it to everyone has very real risks."

The recommended daily allowance of folic acid for women has been established at 400 mcg. But it is very easy to go much beyond the RDA (recommended daily allowance.) As noted above, it is present in many more products than just enriched grains.

Health officials in Chile have reported that hospitalization rates for colon cancer among men and women 45 years old and up more than doubled since folic acid fortification was introduced in the year 2000.

A has study suggested that colon cancer rates increased--following years of steady decline--paralleling the period in the late 90s when folic acid fortification was taking place. This study was described in 2007 by Joel Mason, MD, director of the Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory at the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Some other studies associate high doses of folic acid with lung and prostate cancer. Norway is a country which doesn't fortify their food products with folic acid. In a study performed there, participants supplemented their diets with 800 mcg of folic acid (along with B6 and B12) daily for over three years. Their risk of developing lung cancer jumped by 21 percent.

Another study revealed that the risk of developing prostate cancer more than doubled for men who were given folic acid over those who received a placebo. The folic acid group received 1,000 mcg of this nutrient daily.

Your liver has a limited ability to metabolize folic acid into folate. Any excess continues to circulate in the bloodstream.

The nutrient found in nature--folate--is completely safe no matter how much you eat. Natural folate can be found in leafy greens, citrus fruits, lentils, and dried beans. Cautioned should be exercised when eating breakfast cereals. The folic acid in them varies widely. You probably get more than what is specified on the label.

One study of 29 of the most popular cereals found that the actual content of folic acid and iron was up to three times higher than the amount listed on the label.

Try to get as much folate from food sources as possible. It will also help if you switch to eating whole grains as they are not required by the government to be fortified. Make certain that your cereal, flour, bread, pasta, and rice are whole grain. It should be the first ingredient listed on the label.

If you supplement with a multivitamin, check the amount of folic acid it contains. Most have 400 mcg. A recent study by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) found that half of supplement users who took supplements containing over 400 mcg of folic acid, exceeded 1,000 mcg daily.
Source: Prevention magazine.

April 2, 2010: There is real long-term damage to getting mammograms. The following warning can be found on the Cancer Prevention Coalition website:

"Radiation from routine mammography poses significant cumulative risks of initiating and promoting breast cancer. Contrary to conventional assurances that radiation exposure from mammography is trivial— and similar to that from a chest X-ray or spending one week in Denver, about 1/ 1,000 of a rad (radiation-absorbed dose)— the routine practice of taking four films for each breast results in some 1,000-fold greater exposure, 1 rad, focused on each breast rather than the entire chest.

Furthermore, breast cancer risks from mammography are up to fourfold higher for the 1 to 2 percent of women who are silent carriers of the A-T (ataxia-telangiectasia) gene and thus highly sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of radiation; by some estimates this accounts for up to 20 percent of all breast cancers annually in the United States."

April 3, 2010: Is your multivitamin/mineral supplement failing you? I've been taking multivitamins/minerals and other supplements for decades now. Unfortunately when I started I was not supplement-literite as I am now.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have asked the following questions. Are the vitamins and minerals natural or synthetic? How long will it take before the capsule dissolves, or will it indeed dissolve completely in my gut? Is the capsule loaded with binders and fillers? Is it full of artificial ingredients? Is the manufacturer sincerely interested in health, or is he out to make a quick buck? Is there quality control for the product?

As you see, there are many factors to consider in choosing the right supplement. What's the sense of spending your hard-earned money on a supplement which is not being absorbed by your body? Or is composed of synthetic ingredients which your body has a difficult time metabolizing?

Most commercial vitamins and other supplements are made from synthetic ingredients. These natural wannabees are not as readily digested by your body as are supplements made from natural ingredients.

Let me illustrate the difference between synthetic and natural. A few years ago a study was performed on beta carotene to see its effect on cancer reduction. The results showed that beta carotene actually increased the risk of cancer development. But a further evaluation showed this result came about because a synthetic form of beta carotene was used. These is no such association with natural beta carotene.

The gold standard of any vitamin supplement is that composed of food. You see, your body is designed to process food. As long as you're feeding it whole, natural food--the kind found in nature--you are guaranteed to receive optimum nutrition. See...

Whole food vitamins can be equated to putting high grade fuel into your car's gas tank. You will be guaranteed engine efficiency and peak performance for the vehicle's lifetime.

Keep in mind these products are called supplements for a reason. They are not to be used as your primary source of nutrients. They are designed to 'supplement' your regular food intake.

In a practical sense, today's culture usually doesn't allow you to always eat the way you should. And even if it did, our food supply is not as nutritious as it was say in your grandparents' time.

Fruits and vegetables grown today come from soil which is severely depleted of nutrients. This results in produce which has only a fraction of the vitamins and phytochemicals (plant nutrients) that it had in the early to mid-20th century.

In addition to a lower vitamin/mineral content which means that more fruits and vegetables must be eaten in order to get the same nutritional content that one or two provided in years past, there is the environmental concern. Your body must defend against toxic substances in the air and water. These substances produce inflammation and free radicals which can lead to chronic disease. Poor nutrition leaves your immune system practically defenseless against this onslaught.

The absolute worst vitamins you can take in my opinion are those produced by the large chain stores like Wal-Mart and Walgreens. You can be absolutely sure these products are made from synthetic ingredients. You may save a couple of bucks by purchasing these inferior vitamins but you lose in the long-term because they are doing absolutely nothing to support your health. As a matter of fact, they may be doing you harm.

Synthetic vitamins and minerals are known as isolates. That's because they are formulated in total isolation from other nutrients. This is contrary to what your body needs in order to thrive and remain strong. Whole foods contain vitamins and minerals which complement each other. They all work together as a whole--a unit.

And these nutrients working together do it in a certain balance and ratio. The proportions are exact. Many synthetic vitamins provide either mega-doses or doses too small to matter. One can be potentially hazardous while the other has no effect at all.

Your body will only absorb a fraction of an isolate; whole food vitamins are absorbed much more efficiently.

I used to take synthetic multivitamins which had a hard outer shell. I doubt that it was ever completely dissolved once I swallowed it. And as you age, your digestive enzymes are not as efficient as they were in your youth. The vitamin you take must be as digestive-friendly as possible.

Of whole food vitamins, the best is sourced from raw, living foods. There is nothing man-made which can match raw foods bioavailibility (ability to be metabolized by your body.) Raw foods have not been cooked, or any heat applied to them. When foods are cooked or heated in any way, the following can happen:

• Essential nutrients are depleted, altered or destroyed altogether
• Toxic substances can be created and may burden the immune system
• Enzymes, which are important to digestion, are destroyed
• Your body metabolizes cooked food much differently

The amino acid chelate form of minerals is one of the best. This increases the bioavailibility of the mineral so that it can easily pass through your intestinal walls. Other than the familiar vitamins and minerals, whole foods contain many phytonutrients which have not been identified by science. Synthetic vitamins are missing these important phytonutrients. This leaves an enormous gap in the supplement's reliability.

Whole food multivitamins/minerals are also loaded with antioxidants and enzymes. Again, synthetics with their isolated vitamins are lacking in these vital substances.

Your multivitamin/mineral should be free of binders and fillers, should not have heat or pressure applied, should be all natural, 100 percent additive-free, amino acid chelated, allergen-free, organic, and completely vegetarian. Does your multivitamin meet these qualifications? If not, you should reevaluate it.
The timing of your multi is important too.

April 5, 2010: Did you know that your body weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in a 24-hour period? It's true. And if you weigh yourself immediately after drinking a 1 liter bottle of soda, you will find that you've gained about 2 pounds.

About 2 pounds of water is lost in a day just through breathing and sweating. And by going to the bathroom, you can lose anywhere from 1 to 1-1/2 pounds.

When tracking weight loss, trend, not what is gained or lost on a particular day, rules. If over a period of time your weight is decreasing, you are on the right track. If, however, your weight is slowly increasing, you need to examine your diet.

April 6, 2010: A study conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester reveals that vigorous exercise causes an increase in the flow of blood thereby boosting the body's supply of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is critical in obtaining an erection.

As men age, their supply of nitric oxide decreases. Many of today's popular prescription drugs such as Viagra work by increasing nitric oxide supply by increasing blood flow.

According to Jim Pfaus, Ph.D, a professor at the University of Montreal who studies the biology of sex, a vigorous workout can prime your body for sex.

"When you increase your blood flow, you have a much easier time getting aroused."

The take home message is that a man doesn't have to turn to prescription drugs with their side effects in order to perform in the bedroom. A natural program of exercise will solve the problem without any side effects.

The best type of exercise to perform is high intensity exercise or interval training.

April 6, 2010: Vitamin B6 which is also known as pyridoxamine is helpful in the prevention and treatment of diseases and conditions as diverse as cancer, anemia, carpal tunnel syndrome, seizures, schizophrenia, and more. This natural form, Pyridoxamine, was just recently taken off the market by the FDA.

The reason? The pharmaceutical company BioStratum wanted sole and exclusive right to use pyridoxamine in a drug which may or may not ever be produced. BioStratum filed a 'citizens petition' to which the FDA agreed.

It seems ludicrous that a pharmaceutical company can petition that a natural supplement, one that benefits mankind, can be set aside for the exclusive right to market in a drug. And this drug, it it ever comes to fruition, will cost an 'arm and a leg.'

The bioavailable form of vitamin B6 is P5P (pyridoxal 5-phosphate). All forms of B6 whether natural or synthetic must be broken down by the body into P5P. Drug company Medicure wants to have P5P taken off the market so that it may have the right to use it exclusively in a drug.

If Medicure is successful in this petition before the FDA, any individual unable to naturally convert B6 into P5P will have to depend on a proposed drug. Here's how this drug company justifies its position:

"Pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs must be protected from companies that may seek to market the ingredients in those drugs as dietary supplements. The marketing of such products has the potential to undermine the incentive for the development of new drugs because many people may choose to purchase the supplements rather than the drugs."

The pharmaceutical companies' lifeblood is enormous profits from prescription drugs. Getting a nutrient to be called a 'drug' moves it from an inexpensive, natural supplement which cannot be patented to the lofty regions of an expensive, patentable prescription drug.

The FDA has yet to rule on Medicure's petition. And if it does rule in Medicure's favor, what natural supplement is next? Let your voice be heard. Go here to voice your opposition to Medicure's petition.

April 7, 2010: Researchers at the University of California at Davis in partnership with those from the United States Department of Agriculture Western Regional Research Center found that walnuts could reduce the size and growth rate of prostate cancer. The study's lead researcher stated: "Walnuts should be part of a prostate-healthy diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables."

People with prostate cancer have high levels of endothelin, a substance that increases the inflammation of blood vessels, and is a factor in heart disease. Walnuts reduce levels of endothelin as well as levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Researchers fed laboratory rats which were genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer the equivalent of 14 shelled walnuts a day for four months. These rats developed prostate cancer that was 50 percent smaller than that in rats which were in the control group. This cancer grew 30 percent slower.

The walnut-fed rats had lower levels of a particular protein that increases the risk of developing prostate cancer too. Walnuts had beneficial effects of multiple genes related to tumor growth.

April 13, 2010: In agreement over the issue of breastfeeding infants, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all say that breastfeeding should be the exclusive method of feeding for the first six months of life.

The world Health Organization says that breastfeeding should be the only feeding method for the first six months of an infant's life in order to achieve optimum health, growth, and development.

According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, if the majority of new mothers would breastfeed their infants for the first six months it would save almost 1,000 lives and billions of dollars annually.

The report said, in part: "The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations..."

In 2009 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluated the state of breastfeeding in the United States. It found that only 74 percent of women begin breastfeeding, 33 percent were yet breastfeeding exclusively at the three month mark, and only 14 percent were continuing to breastfeed at six months.

Most of the costs of babies who were not breastfed were due to premature deaths. Nearly all of these deaths are attributable to three causes: (1) sudden infant death syndrome (2) necrotizing enterocolitis, seen primarily in preterm babies and in which the lining of the intestinal wall dies and (3) pneumonia and other lower respiratory illnesses.

The study's authors found that these and seven other illnesses looked at could have their risk reduced by breastfeeding.

The lead author of the new study says that many factors contribute to America's low breastfeeding percentage. Mothers receive mixed messages concerning breastfeeding, and no support from the moment their child is born.

In 2007 the CDC rleased a report on hospitals and birthing centers. In its survey they scored these institutions on how well they complied with recommendations meant to encourage women to breastfeed. The hospitals received a score of 63--a D.
Source: CNN.com

April 14, 2010: Dr. Joseph Mercola says that two-thirds of breast cancer could very likely be prevented!

The 7th European Breast Cancer Conference was held in Barcelona, Spain March 24-27, 2010. During the conference, researchers stated that up to one-third of breast cancer cases in Western nations could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more. The key to eliminating the possibility of developing breast cancer is to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. Statistically speaking, you have a one in eight lifetime chance of developing breast cancer.

Obesity shoots the odds much higher. Obese women are up to 60 percent more likely to develop this killer than a woman of normal weight.

Researchers tell us that most breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a female hormone. Experts suspect the more weight a woman carries, the more estrogen she's likely to produce. This can cause the development of cancerous cells in the breast. Even if you are slim, exercise will reduce fat stores and build muscle tissue. This will reduce cancer risk.

After undertaking the largest review of research into breast cancer and lifestyle, the American Institute of Cancer Research concluded that approximately 40 percent of breast cancer cases (about 70,000 a year) could be prevented by making lifestyle changes.

Dr. Mercola believes the odds of developing breast cancer to be even lower if you follow a healthy lifestyle. "It is my strong belief that these estimates are seriously low, and it is more likely that at least two-thirds - or even greater than 90 percent of breast cancers can be avoided..."

Why do Dr. Mercola and other alternative medicine practitioners believe a healthy lifestyle to be much more effective than do conventional or mainsream health professionals? Simply because natural and alternative health professionals rely much less on pharmaceutical drugs, and instead focus on addressing underlying causes.

But the fact that mainstream organizations are coming to the realization that lifestyle factors are foundational to drastically reducing the risk of developing breast cancer is a giant step in the right direction.

How much does family history matter?

You've heard that family history plays a role in the development of breast cancer. But it is not as great a factor as you may have been led to suspect.

But, again according to statistics, only 20 to 30 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of it. Your genes do not hold you captive.

It is not genes but their expression which influences chronic disease such as breast cancer. Your emotional state and lifestyle choices can turn genes on or off. These factors are under your control.

For example, vitamin D regulates the expression of one out of every ten of your genes.

Chronic stress will cause your genes to have a different expression than stress which is kept under control; a diet which includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and organic meat will result in a different gene expression than a diet consisting primarily of processed food.

What you can do to positively influence your genes' expression

First and foremost you must optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is the number one cancer fighter.

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone which influences almost every cell in your body. Vitamin D receptors have been discovered in nearly every type of human cell--from bones to brain.

"It is my impression that it is criminal malpractice not to recommend vitamin D and aggressively monitor a breast cancer patient's vitamin D level to get it between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I am aware of and has no adverse effects" (Dr. Mercola.)

According to a landmark study, about 600,000 global cases of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented annually if vitamin D levels among populations were increased. That's just two out of 16 cancers that vitamin D has been proven to prevent.

In adition to vitamin D, you must adhere to a healthy lifestyle. This includes whole, natural and organic food, and exercise. I cannot overemphasize the importance of a disciplined exercise program. It is not an option.

Be careful of excessive iron levels. Iron is an oxidant which increases free radical creation in your body. Free radicals promote cancer and other chronic disease.

Iron levels become an issue once you stop menstruating. Postmenopausal women should have their Ferritin level drawn. Ferritin is an iron transport protein. The level should not be above 80. Donating blood is a great way to reduce iron levels.

The following steps should also be put in place:

• maintain a healthy body weight
• get plenty of animal-based omega-3 fatty acids; krill oil is an excellent choice
• avoid or minimize drinking alcohol (no more than one a day if you are a woman)
• breastfeed exclusively for six months (research shows that breastfeeding will reduce breast cancer risk)
• substitute thermography for mammograms; read about the risks of mammograms here.

Thermography is an alternate, but safe option to screen for breast cancer. It doesn't involve any tissue compression, it is non-invasive, and it doesn't emit any deadly radiation.

Thermography uses an infrared camera to graphically depict your skin temperature by means of a color image. Degrees of heat appear as different colors on the image.

Conventional diagnostic tests such as mammography, X-rays, MRI's, CAT and ultrasound scans are designed to test your anatomy. Thermography however tests for physiological change and metabolic processes.

Thermography can very well be viewed as the proverbial ounce of prevention. It can be used to detect, control, and even prevent serious disease that otherwise would be diagnosed until it has reached an advanced stage.

April 16, 2010: At Naperville Central High School located west of Chicago, an amazing new program has been implemented. Students who struggle with reading and math go to physical education class before any academic class.

Traditionally, schools have kept brains and brawn or physical education and academic education separate. This may be a thing of the past.

Exercise isn't confined to the gym at Naperville Central High. Classrooms contain bikes and balls.

Paul Zientarski, chairman of the Physical Education Department at Naperville says, "What we're trying to do here is jump start their brain..."

The results at the school are astounding. Reading scores doubled and math scores rose by a factor of 20.

Comments John Ratey of the Harvard Medial School, "Exercise, good fitness-based exercise, makes our brain more ready to learn."

Dr. Charles Hillman's research at the University of Illinois shows that after a 30-minute session on the treadmill, students actually do up to 10 percent better at problem solving."
Source: ABCNews.com

April 21, 2010: You can pretty much be certain that just about anything can be contradicted by further study--even if it has been popular for decades. This can and has occurred in the areas of nutrition and exercise/fitness. The 'cooling down' period after a rigorous exercise session is no exception.

Exercise physiologist Hirofumi Tanaka of the University of Texas at Austin says that the old 'cooling down' adage has pretty much no science behind it. He added that it is an "understudied topic."

There is no consensus among those who advocate cooling down as to how to go about it, or what it is exactly. In reference to running, some say that you have to keep moving for a few minutes. Walk to your car rather than coming to an abrupt stop. Others say that you have to spend 5 to 10 minutes doing the same exercise--only slower. Still others say that a cooldown should include stretching.

It is thought that the cooling down period originated with another debunked exercise belief--lactic acid. It was once thought that lactic acid produced the extreme muscle soreness after an intense exercise session. It is now known that lactic acid is a fuel.

Lactic acid, we now know, is a normal part of exercise and has nothing to do with muscle soreness. It was thought that by slowly reducing the intensity of the exercise, lactic acid has a chance to dissipate, thereby reducing muscle soreness.

Dr. Tanaka says that there is no physiological reason for muscle soreness to go away through a cooling down period. Studies have shown that it doesn't, contrary to what many people, including myself, believe or once believed.

Having lifted weights for over 30 years, I am very familiar with extreme muscle soreness. I have always believed that it was due to the accumulation of lactic acid. It was what exercise science taught years ago.

I never consciously cooled down though. After a bodybuilding session, I make my way to the showers. I did it then, and I continue to do it now. Cooling down has never entered my mind.

April 23, 2010: To many people, a certain sign of a starving person is an emaciated look-- ribs showing through paper thin skin and a drawn face. Many would never suspect that a person who is overweight can possibly be starving or malnourished.

Not only can a person be overweight or fat and yet malnourished, but it is reality for many right here in America.

Due to America's high consumption of processed, nutrient deficient food, many are not getting the minerals, vitamins, fiber, and phytonutrients necessary for good health and a strong immune system. As a consequence, your body must rob Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

Your body will obtain the nutrients it needs to survive by stealing minerals from your bones and by hoarding fat. In other words it will feed upon itself in an extreme measure to stay alive.

ABC news presented a story on America's love affair with soft drinks the other day. The television report specifically targeted soda. The research shows that the majority of soda is composed of water. Water was followed by sugar and flavoring.

The report stated that the stance and belief of soda manufacturers is that soda taken in moderation can be a part of a healthy diet. This is utter nonsense.

In order for any food or beverage to be a part of a healthy diet, it would have to supply nutrients needed by your body. Water although needed for survival doesn't qualify. You don't need to drink soda in order to obtain it.

Soda has no redeeming value whatsoever; it doesn't even quench your thirst.

This ABC news story pointed out that 16 percent of America's calories come from soda. I point out this media report to illustrate the fact that much of what is eaten and drunk is essentially calorie-dense, nutrient deficient junk.

Soft drinks and processed foods are fueling the global obesity epidemic. Protein can be an essential macro nutrient in the war against obesity.

Without adequate dietary protein, your body will hoard fat. You body has a built-in mechanism for survival. If it perceives that it is not receiving the nutrients it needs to survive, it will stubbornly store fat as a hedge against starvation.

Unfortunately today's glut of processed foods is causing the global community to accelerate towards higher and higher rates of obesity. Instead of burning fat for energy, the body hoards and stores it because it is not receiving adequate protein and other nutrients.

This cycle can be broken. Ensure that your body receives adequate protein. Eat 5 to 6 meals a day making certain to have a good source of protein at every meal!

What I mean by a good source of protein is protein, whether meat or a whey supplement, that comes from grass-fed, free-ranged, and organic beef. When your body is fed the nutrients that it needs, it will no longer sense a need to store fat. It will burn it for energy, and you will lose weight.

April 24, 2010: The gold standard of all drug trials is the double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. One study group is given the real drug which is being tested while another group is given a placebo--a sugar pill. Neither group is aware what they have been given. The study is completely random.

Countless trials and studies are vindicating the placebo effect as a powerful alternative against pharmaceutical drugs and surgery. Wired magazine reports that new drugs are losing the battle going head to head with the placebo effect.

Wired continued by saying between 2001 and 2006, the percentage of new products dropped from development after Phase II clinical trials grew by 20 percent. Phase II is when new drugs are tested against the placebo effect. The failure rate in more extensive Phase III trials rose by 11 percent, primarily due to poor showings against placebos.

The magazine says that even drugs which have been on the market for decades like Prozac are showing signs of weakness in recent follow-ups. The placebo effect is dominating. Pharmaceutical manufacturers say that the placebo effect seems to be growing rather than old drugs getting weaker.

The power of the mind may be new to medical science, but it is a Biblical principle in existence for thousands of years.

The placebo effect is just as effective if you undergo fake surgery or a sham acupuncture, as when you take a sugar pill in a randomized drug study. Your belief system will provide a cure or healing without any drug-induced side effect.

As a matter of fact, countless studies published in prestigious medical journals show time and time again that placebos work better than expensive drugs and unnecessay surgeries.

Dr. Bruce Lipton is on the cutting-edge of mind-body biology. Your mind is capable of curing or creating disease because thoughts affect the expression of your genes. Diseases ranging from Parkinson's to irritable bowel syndrome have been proven to get better because of placebo pills or treatments.

An article from Scientific American stated in part:

"In recent decades reports have confirmed the efficacy of various sham treatments in nearly all areas of medicine. Placebos have helped alleviate pain, depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, inflammatory disorders and even cancer.

Placebo effects can arise not only from a conscious belief in a drug but also from subconscious associations between recovery and the experience of being treated—from the pinch of a shot to a doctor's white coat. Such subliminal conditioning can control bodily processes of which we are unaware, such as immune responses and the release of hormones."

In 1955 anesthetist Henry Beecher wrote a paper entitled The Powerful Placebo. It was subsequently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Beecher was the first to suggest that just a belief in a 'fake' pill or treatment could prompt the body to heal itself.

That paper resulted in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to be amended to require that drug trials include placebo control groups. In order for a new drug to win FDA approval today, it must beat the placebo in a minimum of two authenticated trials.

One area where the placebo effect dominates is antidepressant drugs. Two hundred thirty million prescriptions for antidepressants are filled in the United States every year. This makes antidepressants one of the most prescribed drugs ever.

Antidepressant drugs have been proven to be no more effective than sugar pills. Some studies have even found that sugar pills may produce better results than antidepressants!

The January, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association carried a study which concluded that there is little evidence that SSRIs (a popular class of antidepressants heavily marketed on television which includes Zoloft and Prozac) benefits anyone with mild to moderate depression. They work no better than a placebo.

A 2008 meta-analysis published in PLoS Medicine concluded that the difference between antidepressants and placebos is very small. Neither is effective for the majority of depressed people.

"Given these results, the researchers conclude that there is little reason to prescribe new-generation antidepressant medications to any but the most severely depressed patients unless alternative treatments have been ineffective."

With results like this, pharmaceutical companies should be getting paranoid. As opposed to their drugs, the placebo effect is dirt cheap (free) and without any side effects whatsoever.

The placebo effects works. And finally science has caught up.

April 27, 2010: According to a new study, kidney stone cases more than doubled in children in South Carolina between 1997 and 2006. This trend has Dr. David J. Sas, a pediatric kidney specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina, concerned.

Dr. Sas and colleagues searched state hospital emergency data for kidney stone diagnoses for children from birth to 18 years of age. They discovered that the number of cases per 100,000 children escalated from 7.9 to 18.5 during the study's 12 years.

The total number of children who were diagnosed with this very painful malady was 1,535. A report in the Journal of Pediatrics said that white adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 saw the greastest increase.

The breakdown between boys and girls was especially of concern to researchers. Says Dr. Sas:

"In the 90s, the rate of stone formation was the same between boys and girls. However, over the last decade and a half, the girls have outpaced the boys and are now about 50 percent more likely to form stones than boys."

Even though the South Carolina pediatric kidney stone study is the largest to date, it didn't attempt to find out the reason for the alarming rise among South Carolina's youth. Dr. Sas says that finding a specific reason is difficult to do. And while obesity might be a likely suspect, Dr. Sas says that the majority of kidney stones form in relatively physically fit children.

There are a few suspects in kidney stone formation. Excessive sodium intake is one. According to Dr. Sas and colleagues, about 92 percent of American children consume too much salt.

Another suspected cause is the decline in milk consumption. Lower calcium intake is believed to influence the production of kidney stones.

This study considered only the state of South Carolina. South Carolina forms a part of what has been terminated the 'stone belt.' This is a region stretching from Virginia to Florida to Texas where there exists especially high adult kidney stone rates. To date no other state or region has looked at pediatric data.

Dr. Sas believes that South Carolina's statistics may be reflected in the rest of the stone belt and throughout the United States. If true, that adds to the urgency of discovering the reason rates are rising among our youth.

Parents can reduce the risk of their child having kidney stones by making certain they drink enough water. Dehydration is recognized as a leading factor in stone formation.
Source: Journal of Pediatrics (online)

April 27, 2010: A study conducted by researchers at Lund University and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden found that there is a substance in breast milk that can kill cancer cells. This substance is known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumour cells.)

HAMLET was actually discovered several years ago. It was only recently that it has been able to test it on human beings though.

When HAMLET was given to patients with bladder cancer, dead cancer cells were passed through the urine after each treatment. Researchers hope that this substance can be processed into a medication for future cancer care.

HAMLET was discovered by accident. This occurred when researchers were studying the antibacterial properties of breast milk.

Naturally occuring protein and a fatty acid form the basis of HAMLET in breast milk. Laboratory experiements show that HAMLET is able to kill 40 types of cancer.

Like many other natural cancer cures, HAMLET targets only cancerous cells; it totally bypasses healthy cells.
Source: ScienceDaily.

May 1, 2010: There exists an antioxidant which leaves all others in the dust as far as potency is concerned. It is a key to longevity.

The name of this super antioxidant is SOD or superoxide dismutase. Its ability to destroy free radicals is unparalleled.

Free radicals are destructive molecules which are at the root of chronic disease and shortened lifespans.

SOD is 3500 times as powerful as vitamin C, another antioxidant. As opposed to antioxidants like vitamins C and E, SOD is produced in your body.

While engaged in aging studies, researchers discovered that mammals with the highest levels of SOD lived the longest. When fruit flies were genetically engineered to produce twice the normal amount of SOD, they lived twice as long.

SOD is also known as the master guardian. Sadly, as is true with many other nutrients produced by your body, levels of SOD decline with age. Levels can vary as much as 50 percent between individuals too.

This may also help to explain why some people live lengthy lives without developing chronic disease or disbilities.

Up to now, supplements of SOD have been ineffective. They were destroyed in the stomach and GI (gastrointestinal tract) before being absorbed by the body.

But a solution to this problem has been found. Melon growers noticed that certain kinds of cantaloupe remained ripe 3 to 4 times longer than the average fully-ripened melon. After much study they discovered that these cantaloupes had much higher levels of SOD.

After years of experimenting, they combined SOD from a melon with a type of protein to make a form of SOD your body can use.

This newly discovered SOD was then wrapped in a protective coating to protect it from the harsh environment of the stomach. It can now reach your small intestine, and be completely absorbed.

Your body's production of SOD begins while you are still in your mother's womb. It is that vital. This is your primary antioxidant. The antioxidants that your get from your diet are secondary lines of defense.