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January 2008 Health in the News Archive[ Monthly Index of New Briefs ]Dietary Strategies for Cardiovascular Health – a new approach January 2008 According to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the highly processed, calorie-dense, nutrient-depleted diet favored in the current American culture frequently leads to exaggerated supraphysiological post-prandial spikes in blood glucose and lipids. This state, called post-prandial dysmetabolism, induces immediate oxidant stress, which increases in direct proportion to the increases in glucose and triglycerides after a meal. The transient increase in free radicals acutely triggers atherogenic changes including inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, hypercoagulability, and sympathetic hyperactivity. Post-prandial dysmetabolism is an independent predictor of future cardiovascular events even in nondiabetic individuals. Improvements in diet exert profound and immediate favorable changes in the post-prandial dysmetabolism. Specifically, a diet high in minimally processed, high-fiber, plant-based foods such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts will markedly blunt the post-meal increase in glucose, triglycerides, and inflammation. Additionally, lean protein, vinegar, fish oil, tea, cinnamon, calorie restriction, weight loss, exercise, and low-dose to moderate-dose alcohol each positively impact post-prandial dysmetabolism. Experimental and epidemiological studies indicate that eating patterns, such as the traditional Mediterranean or Okinawan diets, that incorporate these types of foods and beverages reduce inflammation and cardiovascular risk. This anti-inflammatory diet should be considered for the primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease and diabetes. Dr. Grout's Comment: In laymen's language, this new paper describes how the typical American diet - high in calories and low in nutrients – starts a chain reaction that eventually causes heart disease and diabetes. Key in that chain reaction is the profuse production of free radicals and a heightened state of inflammation in the arteries. What stands out about this paper is that it tells mainstream cardiologists what doctors like me have said for years: an anti-inflammatory diet should be considered for the primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease and diabetes. Diet, not drugs, is the best medicine. Diabetes costs Americans $174 billion each year – More than the war in Iraq January 2008 According to a study by the American Diabetes Association, America's "unchecked diabetes epidemic exacts a heavy financial toll," about "$174 billion a year. The annual cost of diabetes equals the amounts spent on "the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the global war on terrorism combined," and it exceeds the $150 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. The study indicates that as more Americans become overweight or obese, the number of diabetes cases has also increased significantly, so that "there are one million new cases a year." Consequently, both "direct medical care and lost productivity" due to diabetes have grown by 32 percent since 2002. Diabetes deaths have jumped 45 percent in the past two decades. More than 200,000 Americans die from diabetes each year. Dr. Grout's Comment: How sad that so many people are affected, when it would be so easy to treat. A nutritional program starting in infancy, based on FirstLineTherapy™, and adequate supplies of vitamins and nutrients, particularly Vitamin D, chromium, and manganese could save everyone a great deal of time and money – although it would probably cause hospitals and drug manufacturers to lose money. Oh well… we could handle it. Prevention costs very little, even if you take into account the weekly grocery bill. Sublingual flu vaccine better than shots? January 2008 According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "[a]dministering flu vaccines under the tongue may be more effective and offer[s] more protection than injecting, or inhaling the drug." Researchers at South Korea's Seoul National University discovered that the sublingual area of the mouth contains "very good absorbent and competent tissue," which may make it easier to present said vaccine to mucous membranes, generating an immune response. Unlike injected vaccines, which induce antibody production mainly in the blood, the sublingual method "induced antibodies in both lungs (mucosal lining) and the blood," said Cecil Czerkinsky, M.D, director of Vanderbilt University's International Vaccine Institute. "Influenza is a mucosal disease. That (sublingual method) is better because then you tackle the infection at the very early stage before the infection (goes to the blood)." The study also suggested that this method may be safer than the nasal flu sprays. There are nerve fibers in the nose, which opens up the possibility, however rare, that viruses in vaccines could enter the central nervous system, the researchers said. Control groups of mice were given vaccines intranasally. The scientists later detected virus in the olfactory nerves of mice that were given vaccines containing killed viruses, which raised safety questions. Dr. Grout's Comment: What I find really interesting about this announcement is that many insurance companies do not cover allergy testing when it is performed sublingually, on the grounds that the testing is "experimental" and "not proven effective." In fact, the allopathic allergy community as a whole does not agree that sublingual testing and treatment are effective, despite the large amount of published literature. Perhaps this report will help open their eyes. FDA approves cloned animals January 2008 After years of debate, the Food and Drug Administration this week declared that food from cloned cows, pigs, and goats and their progeny is safe to eat, clearing the way for milk and meat derived from genetic copies of prized animals to be sold at the grocery store. "This is a huge milestone," said Mark Walton, president of ViaGen, a leading livestock cloning company in Austin, Texas. Farmers had long observed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring into the food supply. The FDA on Tuesday effectively lifted that for clone offspring. But another government agency, the Agriculture Department, asked farmers to continue withholding clones themselves from the food supply, saying the department wanted time to allay concerns among retailers and overseas trading partners. Animal breeding takes time, so even with Tuesday's actions, it is likely to be several years before products from the offspring of clones are at the grocery store in appreciable quantity. "When you buy a box of Cheerios in New York and one in Champaign, Illinois, you know they are going to be the same," said Jon Fisher, president and owner of Prairie State Semen in Illinois. "By shortening the genetic pool using clones, you can do a similar thing. It could improve the quality of meat in the supermarket. It depends if customers allow it." Consumer groups immediately lambasted the FDA's report, saying the science remains inadequate and that many consumers oppose cloning for religious or ethical reasons. Dr. Grout's Comment: One argument says: A clone is simply a genetic copy. People are afraid of what they don't understand. The public is woefully ignorant about the science. The scientific community's technological advancement outpaced the public's understanding. Prescription Drugs are 4th Cause of Death in USA January 2008 According to an editorial by Christopher Kent, D.C., J.D., drugs are dangerous, whether pushed or prescribed. "The desire to solve problems by taking drugs is a product of our culture," he wrote. "When a child is taught by loving parents that the appropriate response to pain or discomfort is taking a pill, it is obvious that such a child, when faced with the challenges of adolescence, will seek comfort by taking drugs. While approximately 10,000 per year die from the effects of illegal drugs, an estimated 106,000 hospitalized patients die each year from drugs which, by medical standards, are properly prescribed and properly administered. More than two million suffer serious side effects. Adverse drug reactions, from "properly" prescribed drugs, are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Only heart disease, cancer, and stroke kill more Americans than drugs prescribed by medical doctors. Reactions to prescription drugs kill more than twice as many Americans as HIV/AIDS or suicide. Fewer die from accidents or diabetes than adverse drug reactions. Dr. Grout's Comment: Christopher Kent is both a chiropractor and an attorney. Dr. Kent was selected "Chiropractor of the Year" in 1998 by the International Chiropractors Association and co-founder of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance. Kudos for his leadership, his willingness to stand up and talk straight. France Moves to Ban GMO Foods January 2008 The President of France suspended authorization to cultivate a strain of genetically-modified corn produced by Monsanto. The company has 15 days to present its defense and Monsanto has vowed to "defend our customers' right to choose.' The product is marketed as YieldGard, also called Mon 810, and has been engineered to produce a naturally-occurring toxin, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), that kills a pest called the corn borer. France decided to act on the "principle of precaution" after a watchdog authority's findings. France's Provisional High Authority on GM Organisms said Wednesday it had "serious doubts" as to the safety of Mon 810, the only GM crop grown in France. It pointed to what it described as "a certain number of new scientific facts relating to a negative impact on flora and fauna." There was also concern that wind-borne pollen from Mon 810 could travel much further than previously thought -- perhaps as much as hundreds of miles. In a surprise development however, 12 of the 15 scientists who compiled the authority's report issued a statement Thursday complaining that their findings had been misrepresented by the government. They said their initial report had not used the words "serious doubts" or "negative" concerning the latest evidence on GM crops. While GMO crops are common in the United States, France — Europe's biggest grain producer — along with other European nations remain highly suspicious of them. French anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove -- who has been convicted of ripping up GM crops in southern France -- had launched a hunger strike last week to press for a year-long ban on genetically modified crops. Dr. Grout's Comment: Under European Union laws, a member state can invoke a safeguard clause, enabling it to bar a GM crop that has otherwise been given EU-wide authorization, provided it has scientific evidence to back this decision. Six other EU members have already invoked this clause. FDA goes after bio-identical hormones January 2008 Seven pharmacy operators were warned by the FDA that their claims about the safety and effectiveness of "bio-identical" hormones were false, misleading, and not supported by medical evidence. Drugmaker Wyeth, which sells FDA-approved hormone replacement therapy, had petitioned the agency to take action against makers of bio-identical hormones. The pharmacies claimed their hormone products were superior to approved menopause therapies and could be used to prevent and treat serious conditions such as Alzheimer's, strokes and cancer, said the FDA. Bio-identical hormones are made by so-called compounding pharmacies that tailor medicines to particular patients when doctors deem FDA-approved versions inappropriate. The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists said the FDA action would deny many women access to products that may help them when approved therapies do not. "Thousands of doctors are making patient-by-patient decisions that compounded hormones are medically appropriate ... This is a decision that should be left to doctors," L.D. King, executive director of the pharmacists' group, said in a statement. Dr. Grout's Comment: I get a big whiff of a fox in the henhouse. To support your local compounding pharmacy, see www.savemymedicine.org. California autism rates up despite January 2008 According to a study published in this month's Archives of General Psychiatry, a California Department of Public Health research team has found that "autism rates in that state have continued to rise despite the removal of the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from most childhood vaccines." In 1999, federal health officials "recommended the elimination of thimerosal from children's vaccines on concerns about a possible link to rising autism rates seen in the 1990s." An analysis found that from 2004 to 2007, when exposure to thimerosal dropped significantly for three- to five-year-olds, the rate of autism continued to increase in that group from 3.0 to 4.1 per 1,000 children. The study "was based on data from the California Department of Developmental Services, which provides services to about 36,000 people with autism, and has one of the country's best reporting systems." Robert Schechter, M.D., lead author of the study, noted, "If mercury exposure in vaccines was a major cause of autism, then the number of...affected kids should have diminished once they were no longer exposed to thimerosal." Yet, Dr. Schechter said, "That is not what we found." Drugmakers working with U.S. regulators reformulated most vaccines in 2001 to remove the preservative thimerosal, which contains mercury. Sally Bernard, co-founder and executive director of SafeMinds, an organization for ending mercury-induced neurological disorders, says, "It may still be too soon to draw conclusions from the California data." Bernard points out that the study's "conclusions rely on the younger age group of three- to five-year-olds," and "if you are looking at trends, it is premature to make such conclusions." Dr. Grout's Comment: For several years, many of us have suspected that mercury may not be the only factor in the development of autism. There is more to a vaccine than mercury. Vaccines can also contain bits of bacteria and measurable amounts of aluminum, gelatin, polysorbate 80, MSG, and other chemicals. This study looked at mercury, but not aluminum or MSG, both of which can produce profound neurological damage. Additionally, we know that supposedly healthy people have fairly high levels of toxic chemicals stored in their bodies, a high "body burden." We know that many of these chemicals are neurotoxic. We also know that the fetus tends to concentrate many chemicals, including heavy metals, while it is still in the womb. We know that many children appear to regress and develop the characteristic of autism within a short period (a few weeks) of receiving multiple immunizations. It is hard for me to believe that this is simply coincidence. I agree with the focus of the news story, to the extent that I feel that these children most likely have some defect in detoxification issues. However, whatever the status of the genetics, it is still incumbent upon us to identify and remove toxins, including foods, genetically modified foods, heavy metals, and any exposure to heavy metals. Spenda Goes on Trial January 2008 A federal court in Los Angeles ruled last month that the lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson and its unit McNeil Nutritionals by U.S. sugar farmers can proceed. The trial is scheduled to begin on Jan 29, 2008. "The central issue before the court is the deceptive nature of the advertising of Splenda - a chemical sweetener - to make consumers believe it is a natural product, including the use of the taglines, 'Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar' and 'Good for the Whole Family,'" the Sugar Association statement said. Johnson & Johnson had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that the plaintiffs had unreasonably delayed bringing suit. Dr. Grout's Comment:
Early puberty is earlier than ever – is it normal? January 2008 The first visible sign of puberty, breast budding, is arriving ever earlier in American girls as the Los Angeles Times reports. Some parents and activists suspect environmental chemicals. Most pediatricians and endocrinologists say that, though they have suspicions about the environment, the only scientific evidence points to the obesity epidemic. Earlier breast development is now so typical that the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society urged changing the definition of "normal" development. Until 10 years ago, breast development at age 8 was considered an abnormal event that should be investigated by an endocrinologist. Then a landmark study in the April 1997 journal Pediatrics written by Marcia Herman-Giddens, adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, found that among 17,000 girls in North Carolina, almost half of African Americans and 15% of whites had begun breast development by age 8. Two years later, the society suggested changing what it considered medically normal. Dr. Grout's Comment: Experts like Theo Colborn, author of Our Stolen Future, and Dr. Doris Rapp, author of Our Toxic World, have shown how environmental chemicals are altering the reproductive nature of many species, including humans. (See news brief of 2-5-08.) The medical community only wants to acknowledge that obesity is part of the cause - fatty tissue is a source of estrogen, so chubbier girls are exposed to more estrogen. But fatty tissue also holds toxic chemicals, what is called the Body Burden. The medical community may decide to declare precocious puberty "normal," but explain that to the mother whose 8-year old girl is still playing with dolls and now needs to be told the fundamentals of sex. Majority do not benefit from statins – high cholesterol problem overstated January 2008 James M. Wright, professor at the University of British Columbia and director of the government-funded Therapeutics Initiative, analyzed evidence from years of trials with statins. According to Business Week magazine, Wright found no benefit in people over the age of 65, no matter how much their cholesterol declines, and no benefit in women of any age. He did see a small reduction in the number of heart attacks for middle-aged men taking statins in clinical trials. But even for these men, there was no overall reduction in total deaths or illnesses requiring hospitalization—despite big reductions in "bad" cholesterol. "Most people are taking something with no chance of benefit and a risk of harm," says Wright. To statin critics, Americans have come to rely too much on easy-to-grasp health markers. People like to have a metric, such as cholesterol levels, that can be monitored and altered. "Once you tell people a number, they will be fixated on the number and try to get it better," says Dr. Howard Brody, professor of family medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. "The American cultural norm is that doing something makes us feel better than just watching and waiting," says Barry. That applies to doctors as well. They are being pushed by the national guidelines, by patients' own requests, and by pay-for- performance rules that reward physicians for checking and reducing cholesterol. "I bought into it," Brody says. Not to do so is almost impossible, he adds. "If a physician suggested not checking a cholesterol level, many patients would stomp out of the office claiming the guy was a quack." Yet Brody changed his mind. "I now see it as myth that everyone should have their cholesterol checked," he says. "In hindsight it was obvious. Duh! Why didn't I see it before?" Dr. Grout's Comment: It is the purpose of the Theraputic Initiative to pore over the data on particular drugs and figure out how well they work. It is extremely heartening to see that finally the word is getting out in the media that high cholesterol does not usually need to be treated with drugs of very questionable value. Meanwhile, many people have reported debilitating problems with statins, including muscle weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and lessened cognitive function. When high cholesterol is a sign of inflammation in the arteries, better to reduce the trans fats, sugars, and environmental toxins that feed the inflammation. |
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The chemical sucralose, marketed as "Splenda," is replacing aspartame as the leading artificial sweetener in foods and beverages. Aspartame is being forced out by increasing public awareness that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness worldwide.Serving the Phoenix metro area including Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Tempe,
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