The countdown has started! This Wednesday evening I will be making my way to the sunny sky of Arizona for more functional medicine certification training. Soon I’ll be bathed in studies from the experts on the biochemical and genetic mechanisms involved to support healthier immune system function. The most enjoyable part for me will be when I scribble down various clients’ names and apply the knowledge I receive to their unique bio-individuality to be used upon my return. This will be in order to offer additional dietary, supplement, and lifestyle suggestions or tweaks for greater optimization of their overall wellness.
However, before I head out, I wanted to provide you all with your own reading and educational opportunities in a few ways:
1. My monthly top reads below- feel free to skim through for headlines that interest you. If my summary isn’t enough, the link or the full reference source information is provided.
2. My essential oils teleseminars– live on 1/27 with recording available.
3. Essential oils gatherings:
Sherry Saben, RN will be hosting an introductory meeting in Weedsport, NY on February 9th.
Terry Quigley, MS will be providing monthly gatherings at Healing Garden in Rexford, NY. February 17th is the next workshop and I will be joining her.
4. My latest post on Saratoga.com on 2 recent studies of essential oils for immune health and wellness.
I also want to remind you about the upcoming release of my book, BreakFree Medicine: A Systematic and Integrated Guide to Balancing Your Body. BreakFree Medicine offers you the opportunity to have in one place all the general information I’ve compiled on this website together with some of the wellness knowledge I offer my clients at a typical visit.
And now, your top news for January 2014 in health, nutrigenomics, and drug updates…
HEALTH
Two Free Educational Webcasts:
1. The Future of Nutrition Conference
From January 27th-January 31st, Marc David’s Institute for the Psychology of Eating is sponsoring the Future of Nutrition Conference with over 50 nutritional experts and leaders for the field. The conference is free for the week and available at this link.
2. Why Save the Bees (Urging you to not swat)
The 1 hour and 22 minute documentary, Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?, is available for free until February 2nd from mercola.com. This film looks at the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the phenomenon of unprecedented amounts of honey bees disappearing, and how our monoculture, pesticide use, and lifestyle contribute to the problem. Without bees, we would not have the food diversity we have. I urge you all to watch or read through what you can do to help save our little yellow-jacketed friends.
Mercola, J. Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us? mercola.com.January 25, 2014.
Green Living as an Antidepressant?
Speaking of outdoors and buzzing, here’s a study from UK researchers showing how moving to a green space had longer lasting positive impact on people’s emotional well-being then short term boosts like pay rises.
Kinver, M. Green spaces have lasting positive effect on well-being. BBC News. January 11, 2014.
Updated Women’s Health Guidelines as Reported by Medscape
Similar to prior recommendations for hormonal therapy, more evidence to support non-hormonal alternatives, such as antidepressant drugs and newer agents for managing women’s menopausal symptoms are discussed.
Medscape reports that hot flashes affect 50-82% of US women in natural menopause and 10-40% experience vaginal atrophy. They offered their summary that included the following points:
1. A 2013 study confirming that risks outweigh benefits of conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate.
2. Evidence that transdermal delivery is safer than oral administration of hormone therapy.
3. Not to stop hormonal replacement at 65 years, because some women have hot flushes longer.
4. Two new drugs for hot flashes and vaginal atrophy management
5. Urges to avoid progestin alone (breast cancer risk) and testosterone.
6. The need for more research for compounded bioidentical hormones, phytoestrogens, herbal remedies, and exercise as possible treatments.
Lewis, R. ACOG Revises Guidelines on Treating Menopause Symptoms. Medscape Medical News. medscape.com. December 23, 2013.
GalaxoKline to Change Compensation Plan to Physicians
Drug giant will no longer pay health care professionals to promote their products and will no longer compensate reps by number of prescriptions written.
Mercola, J. Glaxo Says It Will Stop Paying Doctors to Promote Drugs.mercola.com. January 8, 2013.
Cheerios Became a Little Cheerier for the Health Conscious Consumer
General Mills announced that Cheerios will be free of genetically modified (GM) ingredients.
Mercola, J. Cheerios Go Non-GMO. mercola.com. January 18, 2014.
The Problem with Codes
ICD-10 increased the number of diagnoses and procedure codes from 16,000 to as many as 155,000. Is this specificity necessary? There is now a specific code for treating one who has walked into a lamppost.
Goldberg, D. Ready for ICD-10? Capital Pro. December 29, 2013.
2 in 3 Little Girls Fear Weight Gain
A study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIR) at the University of Bristol demonstrated our society’s obsession with thinness is trickling down to our children, affecting their emotional health. The study consisted of data from over 7,000 participants from the Children of the 90s study. The results demonstrated that six in ten 13-year-old girls and four in ten boys are afraid of gaining weight or getting fat. It showed that girls were more than twice as likely as boys to be ‘extremely worried’ of gaining weight or getting fat and that a quarter of girls (26%) and one in seven boys (14.5%) had restricted their food intake (by fasting, skipping meals or throwing away food) in the previous three months.
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children. Two in three 13-year-old girls afraid of gaining weight. December 17, 2013. Children of the 90s, School of Social and Community Medicine, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol. BS8 2BN, UK.
MRI Dye Linked to Brain and Kidney Health Issues
Researchers have confirmed an association between a common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and abnormalities on brain MRI.
Radiological Society of North America. Breaking News: MRI Agent Linked to Brain Abnormalities. BioScience Technology.December 17, 2013.
Why Filter Your Water (Bottled Water Doesn’t Count)
Recently, more chemicals were found in our water, specifically anti-fungal medication from dandruff shampoo. More than 1/3rd of the U.S. drinking water contains traces of 18 unregulated chemicals including 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal,and an antidepressant.
Bienkowsk, B and Environmental Health News. Unregulated Chemicals Found in Drinking Water. Scientific America. December 5, 2014.
Source Article:Elisabeth Richter, Arne Wick, Thomas A. Ternes, Anja Coors. Ecotoxicity of climbazole, a fungicide contained in antidandruff shampoo. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 32 (12): 2816–2825, December 2013. DOI: 10.1002/etc.2367
Facebook Time in Teen Girls Linked to More Body Dissatisfaction
Facebook (FB) usage and its link to body dissatisfaction was studied via a questionnaire of 103 middle and high school females for measures of total FB time. Elevated appearance exposure was significantly correlated with weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, thin ideal internalization, and self-objectification.
Evelyn P. Meier and James Gray. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking: Facebook Photo Activity Associated with Body Image Disturbance in Adolescent Girls. Liebert.pub. Online Ahead of Print. November 16, 2013. doi:10.1089/cyber.2013.0305.
Most Medicine Intervention Guidelines Rooted in Low Quality Evidence
Mayo Clinic Proceedings report on the quality analysis of medicine guidelines proposed through studies.
Feuerstein, J. et al. Systematic Analysis Underlying the Quality of the Scientific Evidence and Conflicts of Interest in Interventional Medicine Subspecialty Guidelines. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 89(1): 16-24, January 2014
NUTRIGENOMICS
Move Over Omega 3…Make Room for the Odd Ball 7
We’ve heard of Omega 3’s, but recent evidence is demonstrating that omega 7’s (found in Macadamia Nut Oil) are associated with lowered body fat, improved lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers.
Otrompke. J. Odd Omegas an Important Part of the Heart Health Picture. Holistic Primary Care, December 2013 UpShots.
Fish Oil May Decrease Diabetes
However, the University of Eastern Finland study published still touts fish oil, high in omega 3’s as potential diabetes deterrents.
Science Daily.Fish Derived Serum Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Reduce Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. sciencedaily.com. January 14, 2014.
Blueberries Improve Blood Flow for Heart Health in Study
Researchers from England and Germany have shown that wild blueberries can positively affect how well your vascular system is circulating blood, as measured through “flow mediated dilation” (FMD).
King, M. Wild Blueberry Polyphenols Improve Vascular Function.GreenMedInfo.com. January 4, 2014. http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/wild-blueberry-polyphenols-improve-vascular-function
Could Black Seeds Help Women with Metabolic Syndrome?
A study with thirty menopausal women demonstrated significant (p<0.05) improvement in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and blood glucose (p<0.05) using a Nigella sativa exert.
Ibrahim, R, Hamdan, N, Ismail, M et al. Protective Effects of Nigella sativa on Metabolic Syndrome in Menopausal Women. Adv Pharm Bull. 2014; 4(1): 29–33. December 23 2014. doi: 10.5681/apb.2014.005
An Apple a Day or Statin May Be Explained with This Rodent Study (quercetin is in apples)
Quercetin, a flavonol found in apples and onions among other foods, was shown to lower circulating lipids in rats.
Elise F. Hoek-van den Hil, et al. Quercetin Induces Hepatic Lipid Omega-Oxidation and Lowers Serum Lipid Levels in Mice. January 24, 2013. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051588
Flax Seeds Help with Blood Pressure
After six months in a human trial of 110 patients, the results of 30 grams (approximately 4 tablespoons) of milled flax seeds a day for 6 months demonstrated positive benefit in lowering blood pressure. Specifically, participants enjoyed blood pressure reductions by 10 mm Hg lower systolic blood pressure and 7 mmHg lower diastolic blood pressure.
Ji, S. Artery-Dilating Flaxseed Proven A Potent Healer. greenmedinfo.com. January 20, 2014.
DRUG UPDATES
FDA Asks Docs to Stop Prescribing Combination Pain Relievers with High Dose Acetaminophen
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked practitioners to avoid prescribing combination prescription pain relievers that contain more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule, or other dosage unit, due to risk for liver damage.
Brooks, M. FDA Asks Docs to Limit Acetaminophen in Prescription Meds. News Alerts > Medscape Medical News. January 15, 2014.
Which Drug Causes More C. Diff?
Clindamycin and cephalosporin pose the greatest risk for hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (HA-CDI), researchers from Australia have found when reviewing 14 studies. Antibiotic exposure in general was linked to a 60% increased risk of CDI.
Reuters Health Staff. Hospital-Acquired C. diff Risk Still Highest for Cephalosporins, Clindamycin. Medscape.com. December 27, 2013.
Will HPV Vaccine Work Well for All Ethnicities?
The current HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, were found to offer less protection in black women due to the fact that they don’t target the types of HPV infection found most often in this population, a recent study reported.
Health Day News.HPV Vaccines May Be Less Effective for Black Women: Study. Medline Plus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141967.html. October 28, 2013.
National Cancer Institute. Report to the Nation shows U.S. cancer death rates continue to drop; Special feature highlights trends in HPV-associated cancers and HPV vaccination coverage levels. http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2013/ReportNation. Accessed January 13, 2014.
Ji, S. Breaking Report: HPV Cancers Rising In Spite of Vaccination. GreenMedInfo.com. January 9, 2013.
The Liver Problem with Antidepressants
Antidepressants, even at recommended doses, may potentially cause liver injury, as reported December 20 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Brooks, M. Antidepressant-Induced Liver Injury Underestimated. Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry. Medscape.com. December 31, 2013
Decline in Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Over Time
Two European studies report the ineffectiveness of flu vaccine for prevention over time.
Castilla J, Martínez-Baz I, Martínez-Artola V, Reina G, Pozo F, García Cenoz M, Guevara M, Morán J, Irisarri F, Arriazu M, Albéniz E, Ezpeleta C, Barricarte A, Primary Health Care Sentinel Network, Network for Influenza Surveillance in Hospitals of Navarre. Decline in influenza vaccine effectiveness with time after vaccination, Navarre, Spain, season 2011/12. Euro Surveill. 2013;18(5):pii=20388.
Pebody RG, Andrews N, McMenamin J, Durnall H, Ellis J, Thompson CI, Robertson C, Cottrell S, Smyth B, Zambon M, Moore C, Fleming DM, Watson JM. Vaccine effectiveness of 2011/12 trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza in primary care in the United Kingdom: evidence of waning intra-seasonal protection . Euro Surveill. 2013;18(5):pii=20389.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug May Interfere with Influenza Vaccine
Rituximab severely reduced antibody responses for those on rheumatoid arthritis medications, according to a January article published online in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Kelly, J. Rituximab, Abatacept May Interfere With Influenza Vaccine. Medscape Medical News. Medscape.com. January 14, 2014.
Clinical Evidence for Drug Approvals Poor
The quality of clinical trial evidence used by the FDA for new drug approvals between 2005 and 2012 varied widely across indications, according to a recent analysis in the Journal of American Medical Association.
Downing, N, et al. Clinical Trial Evidence Supporting FDA Approval of Novel Therapeutic Agents, 2005-2012.JAMA. 2014;311(4):368-377. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.282034.
