February 2009 Health in the News Archive

[ Monthly Index of New Briefs ]

Fewer Women Are Having Mammograms

One might expect that if mammography is a good tool, and if fewer women are using it, then cancer rates would have gone up. But the rates went down.

The CDC study states that "Breast cancer incidence and mortality rates have declined." Their data show that breast cancer rates fell in 50 states between 2000 and 2004.

I think women are getting smarter. They hear from their friends about the number of false positives leading to unnecessary and frightening biopsies. They hear about the number of cancers missed. More women are questioning whether an annual dose of radiation encourages the growth of cancer. And more women are learning that the compression applied during a mammogram can actually rupture small blood vessels that support the cancer, causing the cancer to spread.

Thermography has no radiation, no painful compression of the breast, and thermography can detect suspicions of cancer 8-10 years earlier than mammography. If a tumor is large enough to be detected by a mammogram, it is usually in an advanced stage. If early detection is your goal, thermography is clearly the better choice.

The study says, "Mammography is currently the most effective way to detect breast cancer at an early stage when it is most treatable." But that simply isn't true. The CDC and even the Susan G. Komen organization dish out the old dogma about mammograms. No nation other than the U.S. recommends routine mammography for premenopausal women. This is a clear case of marketing and money winning out over health, not unlike the American Dental Association which still recommends mercury fillings, even though they have been banned elsewhere in the world. But women are wising up and seeing for themselves that thermography is a better alternative. Thermography's use is growing.

Read more about thermography.

America reverses course on environmental mercury

We talk of needing to lower health care costs – this is definitely a move in the right direction. I find elevated levels of mercury in almost everyone I test. One man recently came to me for chelation after a minor heart attack; his mercury level was literally off the chart. He is about to have his mercury fillings removed. We know mercury is a factor in heart disease and it feeds chronic inflammation which fuels so many chronic diseases.

Mercury is a heavy metal known to damage the human nervous system and cause liver damage and memory loss. Children and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to mercury poisoning; it can cause birth defects, brain damage and peeling skin. Mercury toxicity gave rise to the phrase, "Mad as a hatter" because a century ago, mercury was used in making felt hats. Hatters and mill workers often suffered neurological damage - confused speech and distorted vision – from breathing mercury fumes. Many died early as a result of mercury poisoning.

I applaud this effort to lessen the amount of mercury in our environment. Perhaps now we can begin to shift the conversation about the toxicity of mercury in vaccines.

Artificial sweeteners linked to weight gain

The pitfalls of trying to fool Mother Nature. Here is yet another study showing that artificial sugar substitutes are hurting, not helping the obesity epidemic.

And it is not just an issue of weight. Artificial sweeteners have been shown to invite a host of problems ranging from seizures to cancer.

The consumer education group Citizens for Health follows each study and is demanding that the FDA revoke its approval of sucralose, marketed as Splenda, because it suppresses beneficial bacteria and directly affects the expression of isozymes that are known to interfere with the bioavailability of drugs and nutrients.

Asparatame has generated more complaints to the FDA than any other food additive.

Stopping the sugar habit isn't something most people can do cold turkey because it is addictive. Scientists have found the brain responds to sugar not unlike how it responds to heroin and cocaine.

If you have candida, it is almost impossible to kick the sugar habit until you knock down the fungus. Call us to help you fight the impediments to stopping sugar and sugar substitutes.

Court ruling finds absolutely no autism- vaccine connection

I think we are still in a stage of denial as has happened throughout the history of medicine. In a classic case, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis recognized the transmission of infection from one maternity patient to another by the physicians who carried "something" from one delivery room to another in the 1840s. Despite his extraordinary success by simply cleaning his hands before going from one room to the next, he was met with intense ostracism from his peers. Semmelweis' claims were thought to lack scientific basis; Pasteur had not come along yet.

More recently, every doctor knew stomach ulcers were caused by too much acid, too much stress. Milk and radical surgeries were the answer for decades. Australian scientists hypothesized that most stomach ulcers were caused by the bacteria H. pylori; their peers sneered. Some 20 years later, the pair was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. And there are many, many such stories in between.

Today the National Vaccine Information Center published an editorial that says, in part, "drug companies marketing vaccines have a major influence on what gets published and is said about vaccines in medical journals. It is no wonder that there are almost no studies published in the medical literature that call into question vaccine safety."

Today's brash interpretation of "the science" is disappointing. This ruling assumes that every infant's immune system is comparable, yet in the Hannah Poling case decided last year, the court found that she had an underlying disorder of the mitochondria whereby she was not able to detox the mercury. The government acknowledged that low cellular energy can increase the risk of immune system overdrive, and regression into autism.

Not all children have robust detoxification systems. Why is that so difficult to comprehend?

For an interesting perspective on how mercury was linked to autism decades ago, read this UPI article.

Mediterranean diet may reduce risk of mild cognitive impairment

Let's hear it for diet and lifestyle! So when there is mild cognitive impairment – memory loss – the risk of developing true Alzheimer's dementia is significantly reduced if a healthy diet is followed. And if we also do brain training to increase the blood supply and neural connections in the frontal lobes, then we can even begin to reverse the cognitive impairment – no longer just a holding action, but an actual improvement.

Sales reports suggest Americans turn to junk food in hard times

• "McDonald's to Expand, Posting Strong Results," Wall Street Journal, 1/27/09
• "Campbell Soup sees boon in tight budgets," Bloomberg News, 11/23/08
• "Spam sales up as economy heads down," UPI, 11/16/08
• "Soup, cereal, and ramen manufacturers are high-fiving each other for every dip in the stock market. Packaged food sells well during these troubled economic times," New York Magazine, September 2008

Meanwhile, the new inhabitants of the White House have brought their own chef with them, Sam Kass, a culinary artist who wants to make a statement to the nation about healthy food.

Kass is said to have a particular interest in healthy food and local food. He is one of the new breed of chefs concerned about the environment and about Americans' poor eating habits. He has been quoted as saying people in his profession should take the lead in tackling public health issues. "Not only is there an unconscionable amount of people who remain hungry," he told "In These Times" magazine last year, "there's even a larger population, mostly poor, who are faced with obesity, diabetes and various other problems from overabundance."

I would clarify that to be an overabundance of processed food, not an overabundance of presticide-free vegetables, farm-fresh eggs naturally high in omega-3, and naturally raised meats. Kass has spoken about the high levels of fried fat and sugar in school lunches and the need for change.

For those who don't have a personal chef to teach about healthy food, and don’t want to bulk up on the kinds of foods that feed chronic inflammation, there is FirstLine Therapy at the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine. Give us 12 weeks and we will literally hold your hand while you learn how to eat economically, and create a dietary lifestyle that reduces the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other disorders that have their roots in chronic inflammation. You will learn how an anti-inflammatory diet is both good food, and good medicine. It is an investment whose time has come.

The battle over irradiation of foods heats up

Living food has enzymes, vitamins and other components that give us life. Irradiation destroys the "aliveness" of food. Irradiation may sound protective, but the E. coli problem will still fester in commercial feedlots where animals are fed an unnatural diet that turns their meat acid. An acid environment - in cattle and in people - breeds disease. Irradiation does nothing about the commercial feedlot reduction of the good CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and omega-3 content found in more naturally raised grass-fed beef. Zapping E. coli does not address the fundamental issues of healthy food. And as Michael Pollen, author of the Omnivore's Dilemma pointed out, super strains of E. coli are breeding in commercial feedlots.

The FDA's position is that irradiation has no effect on the nutritional value of the food; the destruction of phytonutrients is not of concern. However, the California producers of leafy greens saw it differently, thank goodness. In the aftermath of the contaminated spinach, they formed a voluntary group and developed a food safety protocol for its members. The approved business practices range from accommodating fieldworker sanitation to preventing animal contamination of leafy green vegetables. Good food = good health.

The high cost of health care is joined at the hip with problems in the diet. Most of today's chronic diseases stem from the Standard American Diet which has too few nutrients and too many unnatural elements like high fructose corn syrup, synthetic sweeteners, and trans fats. Irradiation is a band aid on a problem that needs a completely different fix.

Students who eat well perform much better in school

Way to go Jamie Oliver! Over on this side of the pond, we have some of the same results to report. The most documented case is probably that of Central Alternative High School in Appleton, Wisconsin. They had all kinds of discipline problems, low grades, kids bringing guns to school, etc. In 1997 they embarked on an experiment in their cafeteria. It was out with the French fries and sugar and soda, in with the fresh fruits, vegetables, flax seed and fresh smoothies. After the first year, the school reported dramatic decreases in the number of drop-outs, expulsions, use of drugs, and incidents of suicide. Grades went up. School officials say, "School districts across the nation are looking for ways to improve their schools, but they often overlook an important influence on learning - good nutrition. The connection between nutrition, chronic disease, and learning is well established among scientists, and they are clearly aware that inadequate food intake limits children's ability to learn about their world. Researchers know that chronically undernourished children must use their energy for tasks in order of most importance: first for maintenance of critical organ functions, second for growth, and last for social interaction and overall cognitive functioning."

Eating healthier food improves the ability of the mind to concentrate. Food is information. Doing away with the typical "kid food" and adding omega-3s and vegetables is good for the brain.

Brain exercises develop fitness above the neck

Vanity is being able to remember people's names and what you were talking about 5 minutes ago? I don't think so. Memory is fundamental to life. How much we can accomplish in our work and our everyday life often depends on our memory. Memory is an essential part of our attention span. We all know how annoying it can be, to talk with someone who can't "keep their mind" on one subject for longer than 30 seconds. It becomes almost impossible to make decisions and carry out plans – whether those decisions have to do with going to the grocery store or which scientific experiment we are in the middle of.

Brain function is hugely important for all of us – and particularly for the Baby Boomers who are approaching the age when unfortunate lifestyle choices begin to show their results – choices leading to heart disease, diabetes, poor circulation of blood to the brain, and early problems with memory. BrainAdvantage™ is a patented program we use to help patients with issues ranging from age-related memory loss to ADHD and traumatic brain injury. We have seen some dramatic results with the use of BrainAdvantage's hemoencephalography biofeedback.