By Sarah LoBisco, ND

Welcome to the beginning of 2012’s Top Reads!

For 5 years now, I’ve been highlighting and summarizing some of the most talked about health topics in Integrative, Naturopathic, and Functional Medicine. I’ve also been giving you some very  important updates in conventional medicine.

It continues to be my intention to synergize all of these medical viewpoints monthly, under the topics of Nutrigenomics, Health, and Pharmaceutical Updates. It’s the best mix of  modern medicine! The beginning of this New Year is no different.

Here are some of the most not-to-miss highlights for this month:

1. A continued discussion from last week’s blog on breast health including an abstract about the sensitivity of mammograms in breast cancer detection and a discussion on calcium supplements and heart disease links!
2. The safety of Naturopathic and Chiropractic Modalities (discussed by Dr. Mercola).
3. Potent Nutrigenomic effects of Milk Thistle on Cancer, Vitamin C on Asthma, and Zinc for Bone health
4. Various Drug updates such as Dr. Northrup’s blog on HRT and safety studies on MS medications.

And…Be sure to check out my informational blog on Saratoga.com which includes:

A new blog: Calcium Supplementation for Women- Does it really stand the test for bone health or heart health?

There’s also more news on latest happenings, Dr. Oz’s Sharecare, updated links, and so much more! Enjoy!

HEALTH

Are NDs and DCs Safe  (Dr. Mercola)

Even with the success of the Wilkes Case, the AMA has continued to wage war against natural medicine for the past 20 years—but in more covert ways. It’s the “Cold War” phase of this battle, but every bit as fierce. And now the AMA has rallied up a few significant allies, including:

• The American Dental Association (ADA)
• The American Cancer Society (ACS)
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and
• The American Psychiatric Association (APA)

… not to mention governmental regulatory agencies; all willing to march toward a common goal—a monopoly on medical care in this country. Together, they form a formidable lobbying force that controls just about every regulatory and legislative body in America. The truth is that chiropractic, naturopathic, and osteopathic medicine have PROVEN to be medically effective and cost effective for the patient, and the AMA can’t stomach this, viewing natural medicine as a huge threat to their bottom line.

In 1987, the federal courts found the AMA and several other medical groups guilty of seeking to create a healthcare monopoly. Specifically, they were found guilty of the following actions (published in the January 1988 issue of JAMA):

1. Systematic defamation of naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians
2. Publishing and distribution of propaganda specifically intended to ruin other healthcare professionals’ reputations
3. Forcing MDs to refuse collaboration with naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians in the co-management of patients
4. Denying hospital access to naturopathic, chiropractic, and osteopathic physicians

The attack on osteopathic medicine has largely faded away since then, but chiropractic and naturopathic practitioners, as well as other legitimate natural medicine practitioners, continue to be the targets of suppression and misrepresentation. The war isn’t over, but the rules of engagement have changed.

Likelihood That a Woman With Screen-Detected Breast Cancer Has Had Her “Life Saved” by That Screening (Arch Intern Med. Published online October 24, 2011. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.476)

Background: Perhaps the most persuasive messages promoting screening mammography come from women who argue that the test “saved my life.” Because other possibilities exist, we sought to determine how often lives were actually saved by mammography screening. Methods: We created a simple method to estimate the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer has had her life saved because of screening. We used DevCan, the National Cancer Institute’s software for analyzing Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data, to estimate the 10-year risk of diagnosis and the 20-year risk of death—a time horizon long enough to capture the downstream benefits of screening. Using a range of estimates on the ability of screening mammography to reduce breast cancer mortality (relative risk reduction [RRR], 5%-25%), we estimated the risk of dying from breast cancer in the presence and absence of mammography in women of various ages (ages 40, 50, 60, and 70 years). Results: We found that for a 50-year-old woman, the estimated risk of having a screen-detected breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1910 per 100 000. Her observed 20-year risk of breast cancer death is 990 per 100 000. Assuming that mammography has already reduced this risk by 20%, the risk of death in the absence of screening would be 1240 per 100 000, which suggests that the mortality benefit accrued to 250 per 100 000. Thus, the probability that a woman with screen-detected breast cancer avoids a breast cancer death because of mammography is 13% (250/1910). This number falls to 3% if screening mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 5%. Similar analyses of women of different ages all yield probability estimates below 25%. Conclusions: Most women with screen-detected breast cancer have not had their life saved by screening. They are instead either diagnosed early (with no effect on their mortality) or over diagnosed.

Cumulative probability of false-positive recall or biopsy recommendation after 10 years of screening mammography: a cohort study. (Ann of Internal Medicine)

After 10 years of annual screening, more than half of women will receive at least 1 false-positive recall, and 7% to 9% will receive a false-positive biopsy recommendation. Biennial screening appears to reduce the cumulative probability of false-positive results after 10 years but may be associated with a small absolute increase in the probability of late-stage cancer diagnosis.

How to Kick the Sugar Habit and Yummy Recipes for Blood Type (D’Adamo Newsletter)

• Stay hydrated. When you become dehydrated you tend to crave glucose, instead of going for the candy, drink a large glass of water.
• Avoid juice. Juice is LOADED with sugar. If you like your water with a little flavor, add a teaspoon of Proberry Syrup to your water. It’s sugar free, provides a light berry flavor and gives you a boost of anti-oxidant protection during cold and flu season.
• Exercise. Exercise oxygenates the body and increases endorphins and those mood boosting hormones tend to give us the strength to say no to sugary snacks.
• Sleep. Getting enough sleep gives you the energy that you need to get through your day. When you’re feeling sluggish in the afternoon, you may tend to reach for a candy bar or leftover donut from the office conference room – while it may appear that they give you a slight boost in energy, they are actually doing the opposite – setting you up for a big crash that will leave you feeling even more exhausted than you were before.
• Eat fruits and vegetables. Eating plenty of right for your type fruits and vegetables fills you up with fiber, and the natural sugars give you the sweet taste that you are craving without all the empty calories that you don’t need.
• Avoid foods labeled “fat free” or “low fat.” These foods normally contain more sugar than their full fat counterparts.
• If you absolutely must have something sweet, go for dark chocolate that is at least 70% cocoa and limit yourself to one square or make a hot cocoa by swirling a tablespoon of Dr. D’Adamo’s Carob Extract into warm almond, soy or rice milk (according to your blood type).
• Find sweetness in your life; when you are fulfilled and happy you are less likely to crave sweets.

World Health Organization Urges Phasing Out of Dental Amalgam (Dr. Mercola)

Many hoped that the FDA would reconsider this foolish stance after the World Health Organization called for the phasing-out of amalgam in their 2011 report: Future Use of Materials for Dental Restoration. In May 2011, the Council of Europe also issued a proclamation calling for restrictions and prohibitions of mercury fillings, which are already banned in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Health Canada also stopped endorsing amalgam for use in children, pregnant women, and people with impaired kidney function, all the way back in 1996!

The World Health Organization noted the following three reasons for its new position:

1. Amalgam releases a “significant amount of mercury” into the environment, including the atmosphere, surface water, groundwater, and soil. WHO reports:“When released from dental amalgam use into the environment through these pathways, mercury is transported globally and deposited. Mercury releases may then enter the human food chain especially via fish consumption.”
2. WHO determines that amalgam raises “general health concerns”: While the report acknowledges that a few dental trade groups still believe amalgam is safe for all, the WHO report reaches a very different conclusion: “Amalgam has been associated with general health concerns.” The report observes:“According to the Norwegian Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit, the majority of cases of side-effects of dental filling materials are linked with dental amalgam.”
3. WHO concludes “materials alternative to dental amalgam are available” and cites studies indicating they are superior to amalgam. For example, WHO says “recent data suggest that RBCs [resin-based composites] perform equally well” as amalgam. And compomers have a higher survival rate, says WHO, citing a study finding that 95% of compomers and 92% of amalgams survive after 4 years.In particular, WHO explains that “Alternative restorative materials of sufficient quality are available for use in the deciduous [baby] dentition of children” – the population whose developing neurological systems are most susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of dental mercury. Perhaps more important than the survival of the filling, WHO asserts that:“Adhesive resin materials allow for less tooth destruction and, as a result, a longer survival of the tooth itself.”

The report also included mention of the known toxic effects of mercury exposure, stating that:

“Mercury is highly toxic and harmful to health. Approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the blood through the lungs, causing damages to lungs, kidneys and the nervous, digestive, respiratory and immune systems. Health effects from excessive mercury exposure include tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental deficits during fetal development, and attention deficit anddevelopmental delays during childhood.”

Why Exercise is Good for your Brain. (Dr. Mercola)

• A review of 14 studies has demonstrated that the more physically active schoolchildren are, the better they do academically.
• One US test program at Naperville Central High School powerfully illustrated this point two years ago. Students who participated in a dynamic morning exercise program nearly doubled their reading scores while math scores increased 20-fold.
• Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage. This is true for all age groups.
• To get your kids moving, limit the amount of time your child spends watching TV or playing computer and video games, and to replace these sedentary activities with active ones. Overweight and obese children need at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, and may benefit from closer to 60 minutes.

Calcium & Increased Risk of Breast Cancer & Cardiovascular Disease! (Dr. Mercola)

• Taking elemental calcium supplements (with or without vitamin D) in amounts of 500 mg or more may actually increase your relative risk of heart attack by up to 27 percent, and may even increase your risk of stroke
• Taking the wrong type of calcium and in isolation, without complementary nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K, which help keep your body in balance, can have adverse effects, such as calcium building up in coronary arteries and causing heart attacks
• Osteoporosis, as defined by DXA bone screenings using the T-score, are highly misleading, because they compare your bone density to a 25-year old (and not your age group) as the standard of normality. Bone density and bone strength are two different things, and having highly dense bones may increase your risk of breast cancer as a woman by 300% or more.
• Evidence that supplementing with calcium safely prevents fractures is lacking, but plentiful research suggests calcium deposits are major contributors and even causative factors in many health conditions
• In order for calcium to do your body good, it must be in a biologically appropriate form and balanced out with vitamins D and K and other important trace minerals, as part of a total nutritional plan
• Bone density, while an excellent measurement of compressive strength, does not reveal tensile strength, i.e. whether or not your bone will resist breaking from being pulled or stretched, as commonly occurs in a fall or similar trauma. Moreover, “osteoporosis,” as presently defined by bone scans (DXA scan) using the T-score, inappropriately defines “normal bone density” according to the standard of a 25-year old, young adult.  In other words, if you are 40, 50, or even 100, the T-score-based system says your bones are not normal, or even diseased if they are not as dense as they were when you were a young adult. If in fact they used the age-appropriate Z-score, most cases of “osteopenia,” and many cases of “osteoporosis,” would suddenly disappear because they were inappropriately classified from the start.

DRUGS

To Use or Not to Use: HRT (Dr. Christiane Northrup)

Too many women see the hormone therapy decision as an either/or, yes/no decision. It is important for you to know that you don’t necessarily have to choose between traditional HT and alternatives. Think of your perimenopausal support as a smorgasbord. You get to choose what appeals to you at the moment and leave what doesn’t.

Every day more and more studies are showing how effective modalities such as dietary change (in particular, a low-sugar diet), food supplements, exercise, and herbs can be in supporting a woman through her menopausal transition. Though some doctors still don’t know about these approaches and may not mention them to you, they often work as well or better than hormone therapy (HT). They can also be used in addition to hormone therapy, to reduce dosage levels, side effects, and potential risk.

Safety Announcement with Gilenya (FDA)

[12-20-2011] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received a report of a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) who died within 24 hours of taking the first dose of Gilenya (fingolimod). At this time, FDA cannot conclude whether the drug resulted in the patient’s death. FDA is continuing to evaluate the case and will communicate any new information that results from this investigation.Gilenya may cause serious side effects, such as slow heart rate (bradycardia), which may be related to slowed conduction of electrical impulses from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers of the heart. These effects usually do not cause symptoms, but they can cause dizziness, fatigue, and palpitations.

MS Drugs related to Brain Infection, Immune System Problems and More (Dr. Mercola)

Tysabri is a type of drug known as a monoclonal antibody, meaning it is derived from a mouse antibody that has been genetically engineered to mirror a human antibody (antibodies are proteins that help your body fight infection). Unlike Gilenya, which is taken orally, Tysabri is given every four weeks by infusion directly into a vein, where the antibodies bind to immune system cells, inhibiting them from crossing over from the bloodstream to the brain.

However, if destructive immune system cells break free of the bloodstream, they can reach your brain, gastrointestinal tract and joints and cause severe damage, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain infection that results in death or severe disablement. The drug was pulled from the market after just three months because of this deadly risk – but years later the FDA allowed it to return!

Other toxic MS medications include:

• Prednisone, a steroid hormone that can significantly impair your immune system, and cause diseases like osteoporosis and cataracts
• Interferon. This drug is quite deceptive, because even though it’s a natural substance, it’s typically given in a dose that shuts down your body’s natural feedback loop. As a result, it tends to do more harm than good

So what, then, are your options other than drugs if you’re struggling with MS? Many conventional physicians would have you believe there are none, but they obviously have not heard Dr. Terry Wahls’ inspiring story of how she reversed her multiple sclerosis by switching to a Paleo-style diet focused on fresh raw foods, high in specific nutrients needed for proper function of myelin and mitochondria.

New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Shows Disappointing Results (Medscape)

Apilimod mesylate, which inhibits interleukin-12 and IL-23, was shown earlier to have no benefit in Crohn’s disease. The new study tested the safety and effectiveness of the drug in 29 patients with active RA, with a 3:1 ratio of drug:placebo. Although there were slight improvements in DAS28 (disease activity scores in 28 joints), none of the changes could be classified as a response – and ACR20 responses (at least a 20% improvement on American College of Rheumatology criteria) were rare.

Moreover, apilimod did not decrease IL-12 or IL-23 expression, nor did it decrease other biomarkers in synovial tissue. Fifteen of 17 patients (88%) treated with 100 mg once a day for four or eight weeks had mild, mainly gastrointestinal, adverse events. But when the dosage was doubled to 100 mg twice a day for eight weeks, all five treated patients had headaches and nausea. (All seven placebo-treated patients reported side effects, too.)

NUTRIGENOMICS

Vitamin C & Asthma (Medical News Today)

The interaction between environmental toxins, age, and condition:

Depending on the age of asthmatic children, on their exposure to molds or dampness in their bedroom, and on the severity of their asthma, vitamin C has greater or smaller beneficial effect against asthma, according to a study published in the Clinical and Translational Allergy.

Drs Mohammed Al-Biltagi from the Tanta University in Egypt and Harri Hemila from the University of Helsinki in Finland analyzed the effect of 0.2 grams per day of vitamin C on 60 asthmatic children aged 7 to 10 years. The effect of vitamin C on the forced expiratory volume per one second (FEV1) was modified by age and exposure to molds or dampness. In the younger children aged 7.0 to 8.2 years with no exposure to molds or dampness, vitamin C administration increased the FEV1 level by 37%. In the older children aged 8.3 to 10 years with exposure to molds or dampness in their bedroom more than one year before the study, vitamin C increased the FEV1 level by only 21%.

Key Nutrients Boost Brain Ability (VitalChoice)

The Oregon study links higher blood levels of omega-3s from fish (EPA and DHA) and vitamins B, C, D, and E to better performance on tests of mental acuity (thinking and memory). Higher blood levels of omega-3s and vitamins B, C, D, and E were also linked to having less brain shrinkage. (Brain shrinkage both promotes and characterizes Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.)

In contrast, the participants who had the lowest blood levels of nutrients did the worst on mental acuity tests and showed the most brain shrinkage. Low blood levels of the key nutrients in question suggest that a person is eating lots of “empty-calorie” foods … such as the processed, refined foods that predominate in the standard American diet.

The results of prior studies comparing people’s diets to their brain health – most of which used nutrient-intake estimates based on diet surveys – have been mixed and inconclusive.

Vitamin E represents a family of compounds that is divided into two subgroups called tocopherols and tocotrienols, which act as important antioxidants that regulate peroxidation reactions and control free-radical production within the body. However, many of the biological effects of vitamin E are mediated independently of its antioxidant activity. Although tocopherols and tocotrienols have the same basic chemical structure characterized by a long phytyl chain attached to a chromane ring, only tocotrienols display potent anticancer activity, by modulating multiple intracellular signaling pathways associated with tumor cell proliferation and survival, and combination therapy with other chemotherapeutic agents result in a synergistic anticancer response. Combination therapy is most effective when tocotrienols are combined with agents that have complementary anticancer mechanisms of action. These findings strongly suggest that the synergistic antiproliferative and apoptotic effects demonstrated by combined low dose treatment of ?-tocotrienol with other chemotherapeutic agents may provide significant health benefits in the prevention and/or treatment of breast cancer in women, while at the same time avoiding tumor resistance and toxic side effects associated with high dose monotherapy.

Lung Cancer(Molecular Carcinogenesis): Consistent with these observations, silibinin caused a reduction in kinase activity of CDK4 and 2 in all cell lines except no effect on CDK4 kinase activity in H460 cells, and concomitantly reduced Rb phosphorylation. Together, for the first time, these results identify potential molecular targets and anticancer effects of silibinin in NSCLC cells representing different NSCLC subtypes.

Prostate Cancer (Molecular Carcinogenesis): Overall, our results demonstrated that isosilybin A activates apoptotic machinery in PCA cells via targeting Akt–NF-?B–AR axis; thereby, indicating a promising role for this phytochemical in the management of clinical PCA.

Therefore, antioxidants like NAC represent a potential additional treatment option that could be considered in the case of an influenza A virus pandemic.