Niacin may help improve neurological function after stroke

An early study suggests that vitamin B3, or niacin, a common water-soluble vitamin, may help improve neurological function after stroke.

When rats with ischemic stroke were given niacin, their brains showed growth of new blood vessels, and sprouting of nerve cells which greatly improved neurological outcome.

Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in America and a leading cause of disability. Ischemic strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 87 percent of all cases.

One underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty cholesterol deposits lining the vessel walls. Niacin is known to be the most effective medicine in current clinical use for increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which helps get rid of those fatty deposits.

Sources:

  Science Daily February 24, 2010

Asbestos Exposure : The working's man killer

As what have been written about Mesothelioma on the previous post, the most harmful cause is Asbestos. Asbestos is a natural fiber that has been used extensively in myriad industries for the last century.

Asbestos can be found in various sizes and shapes around the world.

It has three most common types : white asbestos (chrysotile), brown asbestos (armosite) and blue asbestos (corcidolite). All three of these silica have been associated with lung diseases - both non-cancerous as well as cancerous.

Asbestos is much used in the construction of many buildings and places of business. Asbestos is prized for its heat and flame resistance, soundproofing, and insulating properties, it also poses significant threats to human health. Unknowing workers worked in these structures each day not know that there was danger lurking in the walls and ceiling. The building and construction industry uses Asbestos for strengthening cement and plastics as well as for heat insulation, fireproofing, and sound absorption. The shipbuilding industry has used asbestos to insulate boilers, steam- pipes, hot water pipes, and nuclear reactors in ships.

Those who worked at any one of these jobsites were likely exposed to a number of asbestos-containing products and are now at risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses. When people are exposed to asbestos then three different types of lung diseases can develop: 1) asbestosis; 2) lung cancer; and 3) disease of the pleura - the lining of the lung.

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1899921_23.html?ktrack=kcplink

Placebos Work Better Than Anti-Depressants

Twenty-plus years of research on antidepressants, from the old tricyclics to the newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) show that their benefit is hardly more than what patients get when they take a placebo.

More and more scientists who study depression and the drugs that treat it are concluding that antidepressants are basically expensive Tic Tacs.

Research has found that patients do improve, often substantially, on SSRIs, tricyclics, and even MAO inhibitors. This improvement is the basis for the ubiquitous claim that antidepressants work.

But when researchers compare the improvement in patients taking the drugs with the improvement in those taking dummy pills, they find that the difference is minuscule.

Nonetheless, the number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled in a decade, from 13.3 million in 1996 to 27 million in 2005.

This is a very important point, folks.  In many cases, your beliefs are as or more effective than pills when it comes to achieving health.

The second article linked below frowns on the notion of homeopathy, because some people think it may work as a placebo.  But the article shouldn't be so dismissive.  The placebo effect is very powerful.  Thousands of clinical studies have found that the placebo effect can aid in healing or even cure disease.

What it comes down to is the crucial mind-body connection.  Those who have hope and belief in the solutions they try will likely find them working.  That's why it is so key to keep your health freedom, and pay attention to the huge corporations that continually discredit alternative methods.

Typically, more natural healing techniques won't harm you, and many of the drugs will.  In time, energy medicine will be better understood, and perhaps this placebo element will be utilized in such a way that no pill will ever be necessary -- your mind will be stimulated to heal on its own.  Similarly, those who pray or meditate for healing should not be ridiculed either.

Simply labeling something as a placebo and not pursuing it any further misses a key point.  The so-called "placebo effect" may very well point the way to the future or medicine.

Sources:

  Newsweek January 29, 2010

  New Scientist February 1, 2010

  The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) January 6, 2010; 303(1):47-53

What is mesothelioma ?

Mesothelioma is a real rare type of cancer that develop in the outer membrane of some internal organs of the human body.

It is a rare type of cancer that can attack some parts in the body and causing malignant tumors in those parts, the parts that can develop mesothelioma cancer can be parted into three parts, It develops in the outer membrane of the lungs which known as the pleura, and it also develop in the outer membrane of the internal organs in the abdominal cavity and may develop in the outer membrane of the heart which known as the pericardium.

Usually the cancer will mould the exterior protective lining of the lungs or along the chest cavity. In some cases it may form around the exterior of the heart.

Mesothelioma basically consists of three types : Pleural Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium surrounding the lungs), Peritoneal Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium surrounding the stomach), and Pericardial Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium surrounding the heart).


The cause from this mesothelioma cancer is asbestos. Asbestos is a class of minerals appearing naturally in fibrous form. Asbestos found extensive usage in building material, insulation material, and many other uses due to its excellent properties of tensile strength, flexibility, and heat / corrosion / chemical resistance.


Literally millions of Americans were exposed to it. Asbestos insulation was a common form of its use up through the 1960s. Popcorn ceilings, very popular in the early 60’s as a way to give texture to a ceiling, also contained asbestos. Household products like oven mittens were and heating pads were in nearly every home and all contained asbestos.

More Evidence Linking Cell Phones And Cancer

A recent study could change the debate over cell phones and cancer. A research group has reported a sharp increase in the incidence of parotid gland tumors over the last 30 years, with the steepest increase happening after 2001.

The research was carried out at Hebrew University in Jerusalem at the Hadassah School of Dental Medicine by Rakefet Czerninski, Avi Zini and Harold Sgan-Cohen.

For many years now, skeptics have argued that the epidemiological studies pointing to a tumor risk from cell phones must be wrong, because no one has seen an increase in cell-phone related tumors in the general population.

But one of these earlier epidemiological studies found that heavy users of cell phones "showed significantly elevated risks" of parotid gland tumors. (Sadetzki et al showed 49 percent increased risk of parotid gland tumors. Another, by Lonn et al, in 2006, found parotid gland increase of 160 percent (borderline significance).

So the long- term trend data recently reported by Hebrew University is not surprising.

According to Microwave News:

"The parotid gland is a type of salivary gland -- the one that is closest to the cheek next to where most people hold their cell phones. Interestingly, the new ... data show no similar increases in the two other major types of salivary glands, the submandibular and sublingual glands that are further away from the phone."

In related news, another study by Hardell et al in Sweden has confirmed that design flaws in the Interphone study (published May 2010) caused the risk of brain tumors (gliomas) to be underestimated.
The Interphone study claimed that use of a digital cell phone for more than 10 years led to a 118 percent increase in the risk of brain cancer. But an analysis by Hardell et al in 2006, which experts consider a very well designed study, revealed that the increased risk of malignant brain tumors could be as high as 180 percent.

A recent re-analysis of the Hardell data by the Hardell team, published December 17, 2010 in the International Journal of Epidemiology, finally now explains the difference in brain tumor risk found in the two studies.

It shows the difference to be related to differences in methodology: 1) a difference in the age ranges selected for the two analyses, and 2) due to the Interphone study inaccurate classification of portable phone users as 'unexposed' to microwave radiation.

When the Hardell data was recast by the Hardell team using the more limited protocol used by the Interphone study -- i.e. considering subjects who were between 30-59 years instead of 20-80 years used by the Hardell team originally, and classifying any subject who used a cordless phone as 'unexposed,' as the Interphone study had inexplicably done -- the two data sets revealed essentially the same risk of brain tumors.

This demonstrates the lesser risk of brain cancers from cell phone use reported in the Interphone study was a result of the Interphone study's design flaws.

Camilla Rees of ElectromagneticHealth.org says:

"Were a wider age range used, as in the original Hardell research (ages 20 to 80), and subjects properly classify as 'exposed' to microwave radiation if they used portable (including cordless) phones emitting microwave radiation, the risk of brain tumors would be as was found in the original Hardell research: a 180% increased risk of malignant brain cancers."

Sources:

  Epidemiology January 2011; 22(1): 130-131

  Electromagnetic Health December 12, 2010

  Microwave News

  International Journal of Epidemiology December 17, 2010

Vegetable Juice For Weight Loss

Drinking at least one glass of low-sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight dieters lose more weight.

In a study, adults who drank at least 8 ounces of vegetable juice as part of a diet lost 4 pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the juice lost only 1 pound. The vegetable juice drinkers also significantly increased their intake of vitamin C and potassium, while decreasing their overall carbohydrate intake.

It's possible that vegetable juice helps reduce appetite. In addition, vegetable juice drinkers are more likely to get the recommended 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily.

No doubt about it, vegetable juice can help you to lose weight.

This weight loss is experienced not only by people who have that as a goal, but also by those who do not. Many -- in fact, the majority -- of people start juicing as a way to improve their health and energy. But even these folks have noticed the pounds “falling off.”

This may be a result of the fact that acids are stored in fat cells, and when the pH becomes better balanced with alkaline foods such as vegetable juices, your body will let go of fat cells and the acids they contain.

Additionally, people who are juicing are likely eating less processed food and junk food, feeling better and having more energy, and as a result are more active, which would contribute to shedding excess pounds.

But weight loss is just one benefit of juicing. Others include:

• Boosting your immune system. Juicing can supercharge your immune system with its concentration of beneficial phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are the substances plants contain that protect them from disease, injury and pollution. Research has shown that people whose diets are highest in phytonutrients (ie, plants) have the lowest incidence of cancer and other diseases.

• Increasing your energy. When your body has an abundance of the nutrients it needs, and your pH is optimally balanced, you feel energized.

• Supporting your brain health. People who drank juices (fruit and vegetable) more than three times per week, compared to less than once a week, were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Kame Project.  

High Fructose Corn Syrup May Lead To Liver Failure

One of principal arguments food corporations have used to defend high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is that it is chemically similar to table sugar.

Manufacturers have stated repeatedly that HFCS contains at most 55 percent fructose, little different from white sugar's 50 percent fructose makeup.

But as it turns out, the specific amount of fructose in HFCS for any particular food product has never been officially tested. And when researchers tested brand-name sodas, they found that the fructose content is actually 65 percent.

According to Grist:

"Why is this important?
It's because research has shown fructose to be particularly harmful to human health. Unlike excess glucose, which passes through our digestive tract and is excreted, 100 percent of fructose that's consumed is taken up by the liver. Once there, fructose causes increased fat deposition in the abdominal cavity and increased blood levels of triglycerides -- both of which are risk factors for heart disease and diabetes."

Sources:

  Grist October 26, 2010

 

Why Higher Fructose Content is More Harmful to Your Health

It's been clearly established that fructose is far more dangerous than other forms of sugar, mainly due to the fact that your body metabolizes fructose differently.
When metabolizing fructose, the entire burden falls on your liver.
This is why fructose is a hepatotoxin -- it can severely tax and overload your liver. This metabolic pathway leads to the creation of a number of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
Most experts now believe fructose to be the primary reason for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease which can lead to liver failure.
Elevated uric acid levels are also associated with heart- and kidney disease.
Interestingly, the connection between fructose, uric acid, hypertension, insulin resistance and kidney disease is now so clear that your uric acid level can actually be used as a marker for fructose toxicity.
According to the latest research in this area, the safest range of uric acid is between 3 and 5.5 milligrams per deciliter, and there appears to be a steady relationship between uric acid levels and blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, even down to the range of 3 to 4 mg/dl.
If your uric acid level is higher than that, it's a clear indication that you are particularly sensitive to the detrimental health impacts of fructose.