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By admin, March 5, 2010 2:27 pm

Chocolate is one of those items many love but are worried that it is unhealthy for them. You will be happy to learn that not all chocolate is bad for you and some can actually help your health out if ate in the right amounts.

Healthy chocolate is out there...

It seemed too good to be true when studies began to tell us, seven or so years ago, that dark chocolate actually is healthy… but since then additional research has made the claims sweeter yet. Cacao beans, the base of chocolate, contain flavonoids (antioxidant-containing plant pigments) that make the antioxidants in dark chocolate nearly eight times as abundant as those in strawberries, which are themselves considered an excellent source. And then we learned that cacao beans help lower blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol and that they can increase levels of serotonin, a natural antidepressant, as well.

With all that going for chocolate, it’s not surprising that there’s now a wide array of “healthy” chocolates for sale pretty much everywhere, from bustling national supermarkets to tiny, Zen-like health-food stores. Soon you will even be able to buy camel-milk chocolate, said (of course) to have health benefits unique to its unusual source. But what makes the difference between a healthful piece of chocolate and just a fattening indulgence? I called über nutritionist and weight-loss expert Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CDN, regular contributor to the “Today” show and author of several books, including her newest, Your Inner Skinny, to ask the question.

Healthy Chocolate

Bauer says the only way to be sure you are getting a reasonable amount of flavonoids in chocolate is to select those containing at least 70% cacao, noting that the health value escalates the higher that percentage climbs. She said that milk chocolate — including the camel-milk variety — can’t compete in the healthy sweepstakes, since the added milk reduces the body’s ability to absorb the antioxidants in cacao. Bauer gave a thumbs down to the heart-shaped boxes of Valentine’s chocolates that have those creamy or caramel centers — these are very heavy on sugar and should definitely be left in the box, she says. On the other hand, “mix-ins” made of nuts and berries are good. As for white chocolate — it isn’t a true chocolate and, not surprisingly, contains almost no flavonoids.

If you are looking for a healthy dark chocolate, Bauer says you don’t have to pay up for a premium brand. While upscale brands use very high-quality cacao beans and are “incredibly delicious,” she says that the health benefit is about the same no matter the price, noting this is true of mass-produced brands, such as Hershey’s and Dove (which is owned by M&M/Mars), and mid-priced brands, such as Lindt or Ghirardelli. And it must be said… allchocolate contains lots of calories along with the flavonoids — averaging 150 calories per ounce, says Bauer — so it is important to enjoy it in moderation.

Source(s):

Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CDN, Today show contributor, and author of several books, including her newest, Your Inner Skinny (William Morrow Cookbooks).

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By admin, March 4, 2010 2:16 pm

It sounds very serious when you hear that someone “needed” a blood transfusion. According to research I’ve recently read, what necessitates a transfusion varies dramatically from one hospital to the next. That’s surprising enough, but I also learned that receiving a transfusion of someone else’s blood lowers immunity to the point that it doubles the likelihood that a patient will suffer infection in the hospital.

Dangers of blood transfusions

I called Neil Blumberg, MD, director of the Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, to learn more. With an estimated five million Americans receiving blood transfusions each year, it seems to me that this is something we need to know more about.

Transfusion Impacts Your Immune System

Now that strict safety rules regulate the nation’s blood supply, the risk for direct infection (e.g., with the hepatitis B or C virus or HIV) from transfusions is very small, observes Dr. Blumberg — but, he said, many other serious risks persist. Though doctors don’t fully understand why, they know that transfusions dramatically affect your immune system, likely in both the short and the long term. Receiving another person’s blood increases the risk for harm to lung tissue and red blood cells and can trigger an array of allergic reactions. Also, in the immediate post-procedure period, transfusions raise the risk for bacterial infection due to decreased immune function, potential organ failure and possible clotting in key veins and arteries. These problems can lead to heart attack, stroke or deep vein thrombosis.

What Researchers Learned

To measure the health risks posed by transfusions, Dr. Blumberg and his colleagues examined the outcomes of a specific procedure that often involves a large transfusion of stored blood over two to six hours — cardiac bypass surgery. In nearly 25,000 people who underwent a cardiac bypass, they found that…

• About 30% of the variation in transfusion practices (the likelihood of whether or not a person would be transfused) was attributable to the hospital where the procedure was performed, a figure high enough that Dr. Blumberg calls it “striking.”
• Among patients who received another person’s blood, about twice as many suffered postoperative infections as did those who didn’t receive a transfusion.

Findings were published in the July 2009, issue of BMC Medicine.

Less is More

While guidelines regarding blood donation are safe and uniform, guidelines for when a transfusion is needed are imprecise, leaving doctors to make transfusion decisions based on prevailing practices at their own hospitals and on their own training and experience, rather than on scientific evidence, says Dr. Blumberg. He told me that some cardiac surgery programs transfuse almost all patients, others transfuse very few, and the rest are scattered along the spectrum in between.

One fact stands out, however — in most studies to date, fewer transfusions correlate with fewer complications and deaths in surgical patients. Dr. Blumberg believes these programs have better clinical outcomes becausethey are more conservative in their use of transfusion and have technically sophisticated surgeons who take various steps to minimize bleeding, such as using scalpels that clot blood as they cut tissue.

I also asked Dr. Blumberg about bloodless surgery, which uses new surgical techniques and equipment to minimize the use of blood and blood-related products during surgery. This was first developed in the 1960s to meet the needs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religious beliefs do not permit blood transfusion, but it has since become more widely available, as its medical advantages have become apparent. In Dr. Blumberg’s opinion, the presence of a bloodless surgery program or other blood-management program at a hospital is a quality indicator, suggesting that health-care providers pay more attention to transfusion issues. This might translate to better outcomes.

The Underused Safety Measure

There is a process that can dramatically reduce the risk for infection and death in transfusion patients, yet some hospitals still don’t use it. Calledleukoreduction, it is the removal of white blood cells from donated blood. This reduces risk by lowering immunologically driven problems. An array of evidence supports the efficacy of leukoreduction, and the cost is modest. Dr. Blumberg told me that he would like to see this process made universal in every hospital.

In the meantime, if you are going to have surgery, Dr. Blumberg advises that you protect yourself by asking in advance whether you might require a transfusion. If the answer is yes…

• Ask whether the hospital uses leukoreduced blood. If the answer is no, consider looking for a different hospital. Dr. Blumberg advises having surgery at hospitals that have 100% (universal) leukoreduction of transfusion blood — meaning that all the blood for transfusions has the leukocytes removed. “It’s just too risky otherwise,” says Dr. Blumberg.
• Donate your own blood for your exclusive use. This is called autologous donation and is the safest of all ways to receive blood. You can donate your blood in advance of the scheduled surgery, or your surgeon can collect your blood just before surgery and return it to your body at the end of the procedure.

By the way, there is no evidence that receiving blood donated by family members or friends is safer than receiving blood from the national blood supply.

Source(s):

Neil Blumberg, MD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, director, Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank, and director, clinical laboratories, Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.

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By admin, March 3, 2010 2:07 pm

Whenever a new food, drink or supplement hits the market with great fanfare about its health benefits, I’m suspicious… but I’m also curious. Recently, I’m seeing more and more people sipping coconut water out of bottles and boxes and sometimes even from straws stuck right into the fruit.

Coconut water making changes

I’ve seen health claims tout the ability of this elixir to cure dandruff and prevent acne, treat kidney stones and boost metabolism. I’ve even seen it called “nature’s sports drink,” due to its high electrolyte content.

Unsurprisingly — since they’re always on the alert for such an opportunity — beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola bought in. Pepsi bought Amacoco, the largest coconut-water company in Brazil, and Coke invested heavily in Zico, an up-and-coming US coconut-water company. Does the word “fad” come to mind? Let’s get some perspective.

How Good is it?

Don’t confuse coconut water with coconut milk, which is a lot richer and, in my opinion, far more flavorful. Coconut water is what you’d hear sloshing around if you shook a young coconut. In fact, the taste of coconut water is not much like coconut at all — it’s semisweet and slightly nutty. I found it pleasant and refreshing, though my friend, who also tried it, didn’t care for the flavor at all.

Nutritionist Jonny Bowden, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, told me that he considers coconut water to be a “perfectly good option” for people who want to stay hydrated. “It’s high in heart-healthy potassium, with most brands providing about 700 mg in an 11-ounce serving — that’s lots more than you get in a banana,” he noted. “It also has only about 60 calories per 11-ounce serving.”

It’s valid to use coconut water as a sports drink, because it contains plentiful electrolytes (such as the potassium and sodium). I did a comparison to Gatorade, and found that eight ounces of coconut water has fewer calories than Orange Gatorade (44 versus 50)… way more potassium (487 mg versus 30 mg)… and slightly less sugar (10 grams versus 14 grams).

Coconut water is available in supermarkets, health-food stores and even in some vending machines in single-serving sizes (average price, $1.70). “Coconut water is a nice refreshing option,” Bowden said. “But as far as I am concerned, with zero calories, water is still the ultimate rehydration drink.” So coconut water is fun and tasty, but it’s not going to change your life.

Source(s):

Jonny Bowden, CNS, author, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth and The Healthiest Meals on Earth (both published by Fair Winds Press). www.jonnybowden.com.

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By admin, March 2, 2010 9:55 am

If you have diabetes and heart disease — and many Americans do, or will, since the two tend to go hand in hand — it is important to be aware of special considerations regarding your treatment, especially when it comes to invasive heart procedures.

Heart surgery causing conflicts with diabetics

A Landmark Study

Surprisingly, there is no clear consensus on how to treat diabetic patients with heart disease. That, coupled with concern about the exorbitant cost of treating diabetes (it now accounts for one out of every five federal health-care dollars spent), led researchers to undertake the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI 2D) trial, which is a comparative effectiveness study of two different treatments for diabetic patients with heart disease.

In the five-year randomized, clinical trial of 2,368 diabetics with heart disease at 49 sites in six countries, researchers compared optimal medical therapy (medications and lifestyle counseling) with the same plus surgery to see which worked best in preventing a cardiovascular event and/or early death. These patients were generally considered to be at low risk for heart attack and stroke based on the extent of their coronary artery disease and symptoms, such as their degree of angina (chest pain), when the study began. The “optimal medical therapy” (e.g., medications such as beta-blockers and statins) was given to all participants to control blood pressure and cholesterol, and participants were also counseled, as appropriate, to quit smoking and/or lose weight, notes William E. Boden, MD, FACC, clinical chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine and professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo Schools of Medicine & Public Health.

For the group that received medical therapy plus surgery, half the participants were randomly assigned to either undergo stent angioplasty or coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Over the five-year period following the intervention, Dr. Boden and his colleagues found that…

• There was little or no difference in outcome between those who underwent angioplasty versus only optimal medical therapy — angioplasty patients had a 10.8% death rate, compared with a 10.2% death rate among those on optimal medical therapy.
• In the bypass group — which included individuals with more severe heart disease — surgery was more effective than optimal medical therapy. Bypass recipients had a 22.4% chance of having a heart attack or stroke or dying in the next five years, compared with 30.5% of participants who only took medications.

These results were published in the June 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

High Tech is Not Always the Answer

We’re often inclined to believe that high-tech devices and interventions are superior, Dr. Boden observes. This is not always the case — sometimes conservative medical therapy is more effective, since it is less invasive and therefore less dangerous, and it costs less, too. The BARI 2D results confirm that intensive medical (non-surgical) therapy can be an effective first line of treatment for diabetics with heart disease, particularly for those with less severe disease.

Source(s):

William E. Boden, MD, FACC, clinical chief, division of cardiovascular medicine, professor of medicine and preventive medicine, University at Buffalo Schools of Medicine & Public Health, medical director, cardiovascular services, Kaleida Health chief of cardiology, Buffalo General and Millard Fillmore Hospitals, Buffalo, New York.

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By admin, March 1, 2010 12:40 pm

January is probably the busiest month for psychics, since everyone wonders what the new year holds. But there’s another way to get a view of what lies ahead, one that doesn’t cost a dime but pays off handsomely by improving the quality of your life… it’s your intuition.

Make Intuition Apart of Your Life

We all have intuitive skills, and you don’t have to be psychic to use them. I’ve learned from experience that once you learn how to tap into this valuable resource, you can be far more effective at work, home and play.

I spoke recently with Judith Orloff, MD, a psychiatrist and author of several books, including her newest New York Times best-seller, Emotional Freedom. She told me that intuition is not as mysterious as it sounds. “Intuition,” says Dr. Orloff, “is a talent some people are born with — like math or music. Some have more of a propensity for it, but everyone can learn to develop powerful intuitive skills to serve them in their lives.” She describes intuition as what we feel rather than think. It’s a continuum that runs all the way from trusting your gut to seeing the future. The intuitive process can be used to help you make all types of decisions, including setting goals, resolving relationship issues, solving career problems and controlling your finances. Intuition can even help prevent illness by warning you when something is just starting to be “off.” It’s the body’s way of telling you it’s time to pay attention.

What Does Intuition Feel Like?

You don’t have to have a high IQ to read your intuition. On the contrary, Dr. Orloff often finds that highly intelligent people have more trouble stepping outside their reasoning minds. Intuition is as simple as feeling up or down in a certain situation, with a particular person or when considering a decision. The energetic feeling you have when you meet a dear friend for lunch is your intuition affirming the circumstances — and if you find yourself stepping back and crossing your arms in a tough business negotiation, that’s your unthinking self sending signals of caution.

How do you know if your intuition is working? From Dr. Orloff’s bookEmotional Freedom, here are some simple signals that your intuition is at work:

Signs that your intuition is saying “yes”…

• Your shoulders are relaxed.
• You find yourself leaning toward the person you are talking to.
• You breathe normally.
• You have goose bumps. (Interestingly, goose bumps can indicate that your intuition knows you have hit the mark perfectly.)

Signs that your intuition is saying “no”…

• You feel your gut tighten and you notice a somewhat sinking feeling.
• You feel a lump or constriction in your throat.
• You find that you are holding your breath — a sign that you’re afraid.
• Your skin crawls or you feel chills.
• Your shoulders tighten or you feel knots in them.
• The hair on the back of your neck stands up.
• You feel drained, with a sense of malaise.
• Existing aches and pains feel aggravated.

Turning Myth of Reality

Dr. Orloff told me that when it comes to learning how to be more intuitive, a common challenge is convincing people that intuition really exists and that it is a power we all have… and getting them to let go of their misconceptions and presumptions about all that “touchy-feely stuff.” In particular, she talked about four common myths and how to overcome them…

Myth: You have it or you don’t.

Truth: Though many call it a “gift,” in reality, Dr. Orloff says, we all have intuitive powers but it takes practice to learn how to use them. The more often you use your intuitive powers, the better you will get at making them work for you. Her pointers:

• Turn off the phones, the TVs, the computers. Dr. Orloff says that you have to tune out the external world to tune in to your internal wisdom. She told me that many people find that listening to music they love helps them get out of their heads.
• Get comfortable. Sit quietly for at least five minutes.
• Relax, focus on your breathing.
• Be neutral.
• Feel your body’s subtle energies.

Myth: Dreams symbolize truth.

Truth: While dreams only sometimes represent actual wishes, they always contain information you can learn from, but it is fairly straightforward. Intuitive dreams are neutral, crisp and clean. They don’t involve much emotion, but information does come through. For example, you might be standing naked in front of a classroom and everyone is looking and laughing at you. Though you aren’t aware of feeling anxious in the dream, such a dream reveals that you do have anxiety.

Myth: Dreams are unconscious — they just happen.

Truth: Dr. Orloff says that you can actively use dreaming to help you make decisions or to resolve difficulties. She suggests posing a question to your dreaming self before you go to sleep. Then, immediately upon waking, write down your dream (some keep a dream journal for this) and ask your intuition how your dream applies to your question. If you dreamed of a lonely situation, for example, search for how you might be feeling abandoned in your life. If you dreamed of sadness, consider what losses may bother you more deeply than you realize. When you have an intense reaction to a dream, it likely points to psychological issues in your life. One way to open yourself to a different perspective is to challenge yourself to be in the role of each and every character in your dream, asking what is relevant to your life.

Myth: Intense focus is key to feeling your intuitive powers.

Truth: The opposite is true — you must be relaxed and open to be in touch with your intuition. Dr. Orloff says that some of the best times to tap into your intuition are “hypnagogic” times — the stage between sleep and wakefulness when you haven’t yet organized your thoughts on a particular topic or activity. Insights that arrive to you in this state are important and truthful ones that come from deep within and aren’t as likely to be shaped by outside forces.

For Non-Intuitive Types

I asked Dr. Orloff how those not accustomed to making intuitive decisions could manage to get in touch with their intuition. She pointed out that most of us here in the Western world are conditioned to live from the neck up, ignoring the rest of our body — but that’s where our intuitive powers live. She advises intense thinkers to practice getting quiet instead of over-thinking. She also advises starting with easy decisions.

If you’re not sure, she said, just try it. Don’t let your logic talk you out of the existence of intuition. Trust yourself and take the risk. Keep on trying — it may take two or three attempts. Learning to use your intuition is a process, she said, and, like any process, you’ll learn from your mistakes.

In the end, Dr.Orloff says, both intuitive and analytical decision making are valid, so she suggests blending them for maximum effect. Listen to your gutand your head.

Source(s):

Judith Orloff, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, www.drjudithorloff.com. Dr. Orloff’s popular best-seller, Second Sight, will be published in a new paperback edition by Three Rivers Press in March 2010.

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By admin, February 28, 2010 9:29 am

It can be hard knowing whether or not statins will help you survive the flu season and we are going to clarify what can help you through this flu season.

Avoid the flu season now

At a recent meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, researchers in Oregon made a surprising announcement: Among patients hospitalized with the flu, those who take cholesterol-lowering drugs are less likely to die than those who don’t take them. To me that sounded like a bit of a non sequitur… so I decided to learn more.

Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew Rubman, ND, told me he wasn’t surprised to hear about the results of the study — but that no one should interpret this as a reason to take a statin drug. He pointed out that since profits are plunging for pharmaceutical companies as statin after statin goes off patent, they would love to find a new revenue generator amidst this particular family of drugs. As we well know, these potent medications have equally potent and worrisome side effects. Dr. Rubman told me that there are far better ways to achieve the same immune-bolstering effect.

Anti-Inflammatory? Yes. Safe? No.

In the study at the Oregon Public Health Division in Portland, scientists analyzed data on 2,800 flu patients as part of the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. They found that during the 2007-2008 flu season, of 801 hospitalized patients who had been taking statins to lower cholesterol, 17 (2.1%) died in the hospital or within the next 30 days. Of the 1,999 patients who had not been taking statins, 64 (3.2%) died.

This makes sense, says Dr. Rubman, since statins have an anti-inflammatory impact which may help destroy flu-infected cells. The problem is, many people on statins also experience troubling side effects, such as muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, fatigue and memory loss. The longer you take these drugs, the higher the risk of these side effects. Additionally, as even the researchers themselves noted, there were some serious shortcomings in the Oregon study. It was observational rather than randomized and controlled… it did not distinguish among different statin drugs and dosages… and results were presented at a conference rather than published in a more rigorous peer-reviewed journal.

A Better Way

By lowering inflammation, statins may incidentally strengthen your ability to resist the flu, yet there are smarter ways to do this. Dr. Rubman recommends that you enhance immunity, calm inflammation and stave off the flu the safe and natural way — follow a healthful diet, exercise regularly and get as close to eight hours of sleep each night as you possibly can. He also suggests the following…

• Use omega-3 fatty acid supplements. These strengthen immune function and guard against inflammation in your mucous membranes, where flu germs initially take hold. Doses of one gram daily of the combined omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid may be clinically effective.
• Go fish. Two to three times a week, feast on fatty fish from the ocean, such as wild salmon, herring, sardines and sablefish. These are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and low in contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs. Other good dietary sources of omega-3s are walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil.
• See your doctor. Your best bet is a physician who has training in and experience with supplements, and who can prescribe an anti-flu program to fit your individual needs. Supplements Dr. Rubman typically prescribes include vitamin C, vitamin D, antioxidants, zinc, elderberry, echinacea, goldenseal and NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine).

Whatever you do, don’t let drug companies scare you into taking powerful drugs with powerful side effects when safer alternatives exist. There are better ways to stay healthy this flu season and beyond.

Source(s):

Andrew Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

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By admin, February 27, 2010 2:19 pm

Anxiety is not something anyone enjoys dealing with and when you always seem to be affected by it finding a way to help may be necessary. There are many ways you can soothe your anxiety and now probiotices are becoming a good option for this.

Soothe anxiety easily now

You already know that chocolate can do wonders for a dark mood — but…yogurt? If you buy the kind that contains active probiotics, it may indeed brighten your spirits. A new study from Canada demonstrated that probiotics can help modulate anxiety.

The study involved 35 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who experienced a host of gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation. Participants were divided randomly into two groups, one taking a probiotic drink containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LaS), and the other taking a placebo that was identical in taste and appearance but had no probiotics. Results: After two months, the probiotic group had a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms, while the placebo group did not. The probiotic group also showed a significant increase inBifidobacteria, which are beneficial for gastrointestinal health, compared with the placebo group.

Intestinal Flora and Your Brain

A. Venketeshwer Rao, MSc, PhD, the study author and professor emeritus of nutritional science at University of Toronto, says that there has been skepticism in the medical world about the role intestinal flora plays in the system of gut-brain communication (the enteric nervous system, often called “the second brain”). He said that this study provides evidence that through their metabolism in the gut, probiotic bacteria can boost levels of the mood-elevating chemicals tryptophan (an amino acid) and serotonin (a neurotransmitter). He added that the regions of the brain affected by CFS also house anxiety and depression. “These parts of the brain seem to respond to changes in the microflora, and most of our behavior patterns are controlled by these areas,” he says.

Dr. Rao says there still is much to learn about the role of gut flora. But many, if not most people, could improve their health by taking probiotics. The study used a probiotic drink, but Dr. Rao says that probiotic supplements may be even more effective, depending on what types and how many of the live microbes they contain. He advises looking for a product that contains Lactobacillus Shirota and Bifidobacteria, with 100 to 120 billion live probiotic bacteria.

Source(s):

A. Venketeshwer Rao, MSc, PhD, professor emeritus of nutritional science, University of Toronto.

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By admin, February 26, 2010 3:11 pm

Your brain and heart are very important parts of your body, but what happens if one is not working as good as the other. Heart surgery has been shown to hurt the brain. Let’s see why…

Avoid hurting your brain now

When arteries become blocked, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery often is the treatment of choice. Since its introduction in the 1950s, the number of patients undergoing the procedure has grown, and today it is one of the most common surgical procedures in the US, with about a half million procedures performed yearly.

CABG surgery can improve quality of life and, in many cases, it’s necessary for survival — but it is not without risk. A recent report in the online journalMedLink Neurology focused on one of the most common neurological complications of heart surgery — cognitive impairment, which includes disturbances in learning, memory, attention, concentration and speed of mental responses. “Recovering cognition may take six weeks or more,” says Harlan Krumholz, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology and public health (cardiology) at Yale University School of Medicine. He emphasizes that many patients do ultimately recover completely.

Understanding the Risks

Even so, there is a high risk for cognitive decline during the five years after CABG surgery. While much of the variance depends on the patient’s condition before surgery, by and large, most such problems have been attributed to use of the bypass pump, which diverts blood from the heart and creates turbulence in the blood during the course of the surgery. This can result in emboli (blood clots or bubbles or plaque) and/or cause preexisting ones to dislodge. These may then flow up the carotid artery and into the blood vessels in the brain, potentially causing stroke. Some studies suggest this risk is reduced with off-pump CABG surgery, but according to Dr. Krumholz, the data is unclear on this issue.

Emboli can be especially dangerous at particular times. Most preexisting emboli are dislodged into the bloodstream immediately after releasing the aortic clamp at the end of surgery, when the force of blood coursing through the aorta can be likened to water flowing full-force through a garden hose. Emboli can also be formed as a result of arrhythmia(disruption in the normal heart rhythm), which can occur during or after surgery.

Another potential cause of cognitive problems, unrelated to emboli, is the chemical residue of anesthesia, of which the body must clear itself after surgery, Dr. Krumholz said. Having impaired circulation, which of course is common in heart patients, means that this isn’t likely to be done efficiently or easily, and the longer the anesthesia chemicals and their by-products remain in the blood, the more likely they are to cross the blood-brain barrier and impair cognition. According to Daily Health News contributing medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, “when anesthesia is incompletely processed, it’s more likely to affect the central nervous system over the longer term.”

Who is at Risk?

Reiterating that many of the people who require heart surgery have vascular disease, Dr. Krumholz told me that it can be tough to tease out whether subsequent cognitive impairment is a result of the preexisting condition or the surgery. He said that even though age increases risk for post-op neurological problems, the reality is that CABG is often performed on patients who are quite old and quite sick. Vascular disease — including high blood pressure, diabetes, a blocked carotid artery, significant plaque in the aorta, kidney problems, a clot in the heart or prior strokes — boosts risk as well, exponentially. Other factors, including the length of time that a patient is on a bypass pump and whether or not a particular kind (an intra-aortic balloon pump, which is the most widely used mechanical circulatory support) is used contributes to risk for cognitive deficit as well.

Natural Therapies Can Help

“There are several ways that you can help your body to be less affected by the challenges of the surgery,” says Dr. Rubman, noting that “the more prepared you are, the less likely that you’ll develop either short- or long-term cognitive deficiency.”

To prepare for CABG, Dr. Rubman suggests starting as soon as possible to take…

• Omega -3 fatty acids, found in the oils of fatty fish, such as salmon, or as a supplement, for their anti-inflammatory effects.
• Vitamin E supplements to prevent emboli formation.
• L-carnitine, an amino acid in capsule form, to help the heart and brain burn fat as a fuel. This allows the brain to function better should oxygen levels be reduced due to the surgical process or complications. Optimally, this should be started at least three days before surgery.
• Neprinol, a product that breaks down fibrin, thereby reducing the likelihood clots will develop. Start a few weeks before surgery.

Dr. Rubman emphasizes that dosages and timing for these supplements must be individualized and should be done with expert oversight. It is best if your treatment team includes a naturopathic physician who specializes in diet, nutrition and supplement therapy.

For people who have already had CABG: If you weren’t able to take these supplements before surgery, it’s not too late to improve your outcome, Dr. Rubman says. Start right away, and remember that it is absolutely vital that your cardiologist and surgeon be involved, as these interventions are not only not appropriate for all patients, but may be harmful to some.

The Good News

According to Dr. Krumholz, technological advances in CABG surgery have been “huge” and surgeons are also now able to utilize strategies to reduce the risk of stroke, including filters that prevent emboli from recirculating in the blood. “CABG surgery can be accomplished with excellent results, but the expertise of the surgical team is critical, and the institution you choose should have extensive experience with this type of surgery,” he said.

Source(s):

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology and public health (cardiology), section of cardiovascular medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

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By admin, February 25, 2010 12:05 pm

Ginger has long been recognized as a natural antidote to nausea, and now a new study affirms its value in soothing nausea for those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

Have ginger help you with your chemo

The Study

The study, from the University of Rochester Medical Center, involved 644 patients nationwide in various cancer centers who had undergone chemotherapy that had made them nauseous and who were scheduled to have at least three additional chemo treatments. Patients were separated into four groups — three took varying dosages of ginger (0.5 gram, 1 gram or 1.5 grams per day) while the fourth took placebo capsules, all in addition to standard antinausea medication (e.g., Zofran, Kyrtil). Unlike in other trials, these patients started taking the ginger (or placebo) three days before chemo began, as well as on the day of chemo, and for two days after chemo, for a total of six days.

Results: All those taking ginger reported improvement in nausea on their first day of chemotherapy (as much as 40% less than in their previous treatments). Those taking the lowest (0.5 gram daily) and middle-range (1 gram daily) doses had a greater reduction in nausea than those in the high-dose (1.5 grams daily) group. Patients in the placebo group did not experience any reduction of symptoms.

I spoke with Julie Ryan, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in dermatology and radiation oncology, who was the study leader. She attributed the effectiveness of the smaller dosage to the fact that one gram of ginger is the maximum the stomach can absorb, adding that it probably works because ginger has an antispasmodic effect on the stomach lining. (Note:Excessive amounts can be irritating to some individuals.)

What to Do

Dr. Ryan suggests that chemo patients can ease their nausea by taking between 0.5 gram and 1.0 gram (500 mg to 1,000 mg) daily of purified gingerroot, starting at least two days before the first day of chemo and continuing for at least a day afterward. Ginger-flavored sodas, cookies and other foods aren’t potent enough to be of use.

The capsules used in the study contained a purified gingerroot liquid extract which is equivalent to 250 mg of fresh or dried gingerroot. Ginger tea made with this amount of gingerroot may be helpful as well. Note: Ginger has not been shown to inhibit the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs, but in extremely large doses it does have blood-thinning properties. It is generally regarded as safe, and there is no evidence of danger with long-term use, but check with your oncologist whether it might be appropriate for you.

Source(s):

Julie Ryan, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in dermatology and radiation oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center.

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By admin, February 24, 2010 6:56 pm

People will do everything they can to avoid cancer so why not find all the preventions possible. Can garlic actually help you prevent cancer? Find out now…

Preventing cancer with garlic... does it work?

Traditional healers and modern scientists often see things differently, but when it comes to garlic, there has seemed to be consensus about its health-promoting properties. So what are we to make of a new meta-analysis of 19 published studies that found no credible evidence of a link between garlic intake and reduced risk for a wide number of cancers? While it did acknowledge “very limited” evidence linking garlic intake to reduced risk for colon, prostate and ovarian cancer, that’s faint praise indeed.

When I spoke with Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew Rubman, ND, about this surprising finding, he pointed out that an issue with meta-analyses — studies that evaluate data from numerous others to reach a conclusion — is that researchers are able to pick and choose among previous studies to skew their findings in a particular direction. This is a particular issue with single-factor studies, when researchers look at a variable in isolation. Dr. Rubman is not saying this is necessarily the case here, but to evaluate how worthy its findings are would require careful investigation of the studies used. It is possible, he says, that the studies showing no discernable effects of garlic used products that were relatively weak or garlic processed at high temperatures, which would diminish its healthful properties.

Dr. Rubman continues to support garlic as one among many cancer-prevention tools when it is part of a healthy diet. He told me that preliminary human studies, evaluated by Natural Standard (http://www.naturalstandard.com/), a clinical database that evaluates evidence-based natural therapies, suggest that regular consumption of garlic, particularly unprocessed, may reduce the risk of developing several types of cancer, including gastric and colorectal. “More studies are necessary to better evaluate preventative or curative capacity,” he said.

Dr. Rubman noted that it is best to crush raw garlic to release its health-benefitting enzymes and then let it rest for 10 or so minutes to “bloom.” Most people start a dish by heating garlic in oil, which is fine, but Dr. Rubman advises adding some at the end of the cooking process as well to ensure that you’ll get the full health value, since some of its healthful properties are reduced — even destroyed — by heat. Another possible solution is to take capsules of cold-pressed extraction of garlic (he recommends those made by a Japanese company called Kyolic,http://www.kyolic.com/). However, with such excellent garlic in markets today, Dr. Rubman says he sees no reason not to consume it fresh in your favorite dishes.

Source(s):

Andrew Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, CT. www.naturopath.org.

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