Vitamin D Gets Its Day in the Sun
Researchers struggle to balance the potential benefits of the “sunshine” vitamin with proven skin cancer risks.
For years now, dermatologists have taught us to slather on sunscreen at ever-higher SPF levels, don hats, and dodge deadly solar rays. Recently, however, the scientific community has been split by a debate over a startling claim: Maybe a little sunshine is good for us, because those same ultraviolet rays we’ve been warned against also enable the skin to make Vitamin D. And Vitamin D, which can be difficult to obtain in adequate amounts from food or pills, has been linked to possible protection from colon and prostate cancer, as well as osteoporosis.
In a single issue of the National Cancer Institute’s Journal (Feb, 2005), two epidemiological studies suggested that sunlight may reduce the risk of non-Hodgins Lymphoma and may be associated with increased survival rates in patients with – of all things – early stage melanoma. At least a dozen studies are under way to test vitamin D’s effectiveness at cancer prevention, according to Peter Greenwald, M.D., chief of cancer prevention for the NCI. Other researchers are looking at vitamin D as a potential treatment for prostate and lung cancer.
It’s far too soon to declare vitamin D a wonder drug. However, Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a professor of medicine and nutrition at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, co-authored an NCI-funded study that found a relationship between blood levels of vitamin D and subsequent risk of colon cancer among older women. The women, ages 60 and up, with the highest level of vitamin D showed a 46% lower risk than those with the lowest levels of the vitamin.
Does that mean it’s OK to – cautiously – venture back out into the sun for a natural dose vitamin D? According to the dermatology academy, the answer is still a resounding “No!” According to Vincent DeLeo, M.D., a dermatologist at Columbia University, “Under no circumstances should anyone be misled into thinking that natural sunlight or tanning beds are better sources of vitamin D than nutritional supplements.”
Some researchers, and even a few dermatologists, are cautiously disagreeing because dietary sources of vitamin D are relatively scarce. They include fortified milk, fortified brands of cereals and orange juice, and only fish such salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines. Vitamin D is one reason you may have been made to take cod-liver oil as a kid.
An eight-ounce glass of fortified glass of fruit or juice contains only about 100 IUs of vitamin D. The National Academy of Sciences’ recommended daily dietary intake of vitamin D varies by age: 200 IU for ages 19 to 50; 400 IU for ages 51 to 70; and 600 IU for 70 and older. Many experts also think those levels should be set higher. Dr. Giovannucci, for example, says his research show as much as 1,500 IU daily might be needed to have an anti-cancer effect.
Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D., director of Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts’ Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, suggests older adults need at least 800 IUs of vitamin D as part of a program of osteoporosis prevention. “Vitamin D promotes the absorption of dietary calcium,” she explains. “You need an adequate vitamin D level to make use of calcium.”
Supplements can help, but they’re no panacea. Taking “extra” multivitamins to boost vitamin D can mean getting too much vitamin A. Also, taking too much vitamin D in pill form can cause an unhealthy build-up of calcium in the body.
There’s no such limit on the body’s natural vitamin D, which the skin makes from cholesterol when exposed to ultraviolet light. So, Dawson-Hughes is among those who think it’s a good idea to get a little sun – up to 15 minutes – before applying sunscreen. “It doesn’t take a lot of sun to get vitamin D protection, without getting so much as to be toxic in terms of skin cancer.”
Whether you side with the dermatology establishment or are persuaded by researchers like Dr. Giavannucci, a few things are clear: First, avoid sunburn, a known risk factor for melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer. Second, there’s no prescription for tanning beds. Ultimately, more research will be needed to answer the questions about vitamin D. According to William J. Blot, Ph.D, of the International Epidemiology Institute, “In view of the major potential public health consequence of these results, further studies of sunlight and the vitamin D connection to cancer are certainly warranted.”
Source: TUFTS UNIVERSITY HEALTH & NUTRITION LETTER
Aug. 2005, Vol. 23, No. 6 pp4
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Do HEPA Air Purifiers Help Allergies & Asthma?
Unusual and Promising Approaches to Allergy Prevention and Treatment
As strange as it may seem, a child's exposure to peanuts, pets, and intestinal worms might actually be good for the immune system. Doctors are trying to make use of novel approaches to retrain the immune system once it's too late and allergies set in.
Allergy shots work, but they're costly and often must be continued for years. Then the protection fades over time. There are two new strategies being developed that may improve treatment.
One strategy, pioneered by researchers in Berkeley California, involves disguising a key ragweed protein with DNA from a bacterium. The goal is to create a short course of allergy shots that tricks the immune system into permanently thinking that ragweed is a bacterium, so it will attack it like a germ and not mount an allergic response.
A second strategy being developed at UCLA involves fusing a cat allergen with a snippet of a powerful antibody call IgG. Researchers hope the combo will turn off histamine-producing cells, eventually retraining the immune system to accept that cats are harmless. Other researchers believe a low-grade infection with intestinal worms - pig whipworms because they cannot reproduce in humans - can restore the immune system.
Whether it is endotoxin or worms, scientists continue to investigate all of the factors that can confer protection against allergy and other immune diseases. For less extreme measures, or at least ones that are proven, choosing a HEPA air filter can reduce the allergens in your home, thus lowering triggers of allergic reactions.
(Summarized from: USA TODAY, March 19, 2006, article by: Steve Sternberg; Copyright© 2006 USA TODAY. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. March 19, 2006.)
As strange as it may seem, a child's exposure to peanuts, pets, and intestinal worms might actually be good for the immune system. Doctors are trying to make use of novel approaches to retrain the immune system once it's too late and allergies set in.
Allergy shots work, but they're costly and often must be continued for years. Then the protection fades over time. There are two new strategies being developed that may improve treatment.
One strategy, pioneered by researchers in Berkeley California, involves disguising a key ragweed protein with DNA from a bacterium. The goal is to create a short course of allergy shots that tricks the immune system into permanently thinking that ragweed is a bacterium, so it will attack it like a germ and not mount an allergic response.
A second strategy being developed at UCLA involves fusing a cat allergen with a snippet of a powerful antibody call IgG. Researchers hope the combo will turn off histamine-producing cells, eventually retraining the immune system to accept that cats are harmless. Other researchers believe a low-grade infection with intestinal worms - pig whipworms because they cannot reproduce in humans - can restore the immune system.
Whether it is endotoxin or worms, scientists continue to investigate all of the factors that can confer protection against allergy and other immune diseases. For less extreme measures, or at least ones that are proven, choosing a HEPA air filter can reduce the allergens in your home, thus lowering triggers of allergic reactions.
(Summarized from: USA TODAY, March 19, 2006, article by: Steve Sternberg; Copyright© 2006 USA TODAY. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. March 19, 2006.)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Sleep Monster
A lot of patients have been complaining about lack of sleep or inability to get deep restful sleep. This is really a bugger of a problem:::::: "Please let me escape the sleep monster". How can we get the sleep that refreshes, beautifies, cleanses, nurishes, and really lets us wake up feeling GREAT?
Here are a few bullet point tips:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1) Absolutely no caffeine after 2:00 PM
2) Find a way to unwind - reading, walking, yoga, meditation, even a hot bath with a candle
3) AT LEAST - 10 MIN of Exercise - even if push-ups/jumping jacks in the house
4) Turn off TV - constant bombardment of STUFF = more stress
5) Air purifier in the bedroom
6) Get rid of CARPET - lots of dust=less O2 to the lungs
7) Dont oversleep or undersleep (I think 6-8 hrs is ideal)
Wishing you all great health and prosperity - Let these simple changes get your body back
to that deep sleep that we all require for optimal rejuvination!!!
Dont let the sleep monster get the best of you!
Here are a few bullet point tips:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1) Absolutely no caffeine after 2:00 PM
2) Find a way to unwind - reading, walking, yoga, meditation, even a hot bath with a candle
3) AT LEAST - 10 MIN of Exercise - even if push-ups/jumping jacks in the house
4) Turn off TV - constant bombardment of STUFF = more stress
5) Air purifier in the bedroom
6) Get rid of CARPET - lots of dust=less O2 to the lungs
7) Dont oversleep or undersleep (I think 6-8 hrs is ideal)
Wishing you all great health and prosperity - Let these simple changes get your body back
to that deep sleep that we all require for optimal rejuvination!!!
Dont let the sleep monster get the best of you!
Does Magnet Therapy Really Work?
Magnetic Therapy
Magnetic therapy is defined as the use of magnets to relieve pain in various areas of the body. Magnetic therapy dates as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Magnets have long been believed to have healing powers associated with muscle pain and stiffness. Chinese healers as early as 200 B.C. were said to use magnetic lodestones on the body to correct unhealthy imbalances in the flow of qi, or energy. The ancient Chinese medical text known as The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine, describes this procedure.
The word “lodestone” or leading stone, came from the use of these stones as compasses. The word “magnet” probably stems from the Greek Magnes lithos, or “stone form Magnesia”, a region of Greece rich in magnetic stones.
Sir William Gilbert’s 1600 treatise, De Magnete, was the first scholarly attempt to explain the nature of magnetism and how it differed from the attractive force of static electricity. Gilbert allegedly used magnets to relieve the arthritic pains of Queen Elizabeth I. Contemporary American interest in magnetic therapy began in the 1990’s, as several professional golfers and football players offered testimony that the devices seemed to cure their nagging pains and aches.
There are two theories that are used to explain magnetic therapy. One theory maintains that magnets produce a slight electric current. When magnets are applied to a painful area of the body, the nerves in that area are stimulated, thus releasing the body’s natural painkillers. The other theory maintains that when magnets are applied to a painful area of the body, all the cells in that area react to increase blood circulation, ion exchange, and oxygen flow to the area. Magnetic fields attract and repel charged particles in the bloodstream, increasing blood flow and producing heat. Increased oxygen in the tissue and blood stream is thought to make a considerable difference in the speed of healing.
Some of the benefits that magnetic therapy claims to provide include: pain relief; reduction of swelling; improved tissue alkalinization; more restful sleep; increased cellular and tissue oxygenation; relief of stress; improved blood circulation; and anti-infective activity.
It is an interesting fact that many centuries ago, the earth was surrounded by a much stronger magnetic field than it is today. Over the past 155 years, scientists have been studying the decline of this magnetic field and its effect on human health. When the first cosmonauts and astronauts were going into space, physicians noted that they experienced bone calcium loss and muscle cramps when they were out of Earth’s magnetic field for an extended period of time. After this discovery, artificial magnetic fields were placed in space capsule
SOURCE: Magnetic Therapy - Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Kim Sharp
Magnetic therapy is defined as the use of magnets to relieve pain in various areas of the body. Magnetic therapy dates as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Magnets have long been believed to have healing powers associated with muscle pain and stiffness. Chinese healers as early as 200 B.C. were said to use magnetic lodestones on the body to correct unhealthy imbalances in the flow of qi, or energy. The ancient Chinese medical text known as The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine, describes this procedure.
The word “lodestone” or leading stone, came from the use of these stones as compasses. The word “magnet” probably stems from the Greek Magnes lithos, or “stone form Magnesia”, a region of Greece rich in magnetic stones.
Sir William Gilbert’s 1600 treatise, De Magnete, was the first scholarly attempt to explain the nature of magnetism and how it differed from the attractive force of static electricity. Gilbert allegedly used magnets to relieve the arthritic pains of Queen Elizabeth I. Contemporary American interest in magnetic therapy began in the 1990’s, as several professional golfers and football players offered testimony that the devices seemed to cure their nagging pains and aches.
There are two theories that are used to explain magnetic therapy. One theory maintains that magnets produce a slight electric current. When magnets are applied to a painful area of the body, the nerves in that area are stimulated, thus releasing the body’s natural painkillers. The other theory maintains that when magnets are applied to a painful area of the body, all the cells in that area react to increase blood circulation, ion exchange, and oxygen flow to the area. Magnetic fields attract and repel charged particles in the bloodstream, increasing blood flow and producing heat. Increased oxygen in the tissue and blood stream is thought to make a considerable difference in the speed of healing.
Some of the benefits that magnetic therapy claims to provide include: pain relief; reduction of swelling; improved tissue alkalinization; more restful sleep; increased cellular and tissue oxygenation; relief of stress; improved blood circulation; and anti-infective activity.
It is an interesting fact that many centuries ago, the earth was surrounded by a much stronger magnetic field than it is today. Over the past 155 years, scientists have been studying the decline of this magnetic field and its effect on human health. When the first cosmonauts and astronauts were going into space, physicians noted that they experienced bone calcium loss and muscle cramps when they were out of Earth’s magnetic field for an extended period of time. After this discovery, artificial magnetic fields were placed in space capsule
SOURCE: Magnetic Therapy - Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Kim Sharp
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