BreakFree Medicine’s Exclusive Monthly Headline Highlights in Nutrition, Health, & Drugs

I hope this blog post finds all my fantastic BreakFree Medicine readers cozied in and enjoying this holiday season. As you reflect on 2013, may you experience a sense of appreciation and pride in the fact that you have taken time to make your health a priority through the year. My desire for you all is that you have a beautiful ending to this year and an abundant, joy-filled, and peaceful start to 2014.

Whether you are surrounded by family and loved ones or if you find yourself in solitude, know the comforting thought that I am grateful for all of you. I have enjoyed our interactions on Facebook, our tweets, and your comments on my blogs. You have brought so many smiles to my face and I look forward to the interactions growing and “meeting” more of you!

My dream is to support everyone who wishes to BreakFree of their fears of disease and empower themselves with wellness. For this reason, I’ll be offering more teleseminars and workshops in the coming months. They will be focused on how to implement healthy tools to support you and your loved ones’ health through the new year. Who knows, I may even try radio or webinars! And, at long last, the book will be coming in 2014 to spread the word of BreakFree Medicine across the country!

So, without further ado, here it is …the last top reads of the month for 2013. Enjoy the skimming, reading, or researching for more within the headlines I’ve highlighted that made me pause and think, “Hey, my BreakFree friends would benefit from knowing this!”

Happy Holidays everyone!

HEALTH

An Apple or a Statin to Keep the Doctor Away?

This article brings the old adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” to a new level!

An interesting study reported in the British Medical Journal assessed the effect of adding in an apple a day on cardiovascular mortality outcomes compared to statin drug us. The researchers used routinely available UK population datasets for adults over 50 years of age and assumed a 70% compliance rate of statin and apple usage. 🙂

They found a comparable reduction in vascular mortality for both intervention and reported in their abstract conclusion:

Both nutritional and pharmaceutical approaches to the prevention of vascular disease may have the potential to reduce UK mortality significantly. With similar reductions in mortality, a 150 year old health promotion message is able to match modern medicine and is likely to have fewer side effects.

Briggs, A. A statin a day keeps the doctor away: comparative proverb assessment modelling study. BMJ 2013; 347. December 17, 2013. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f7267

Multivitamins and Selenium Improve HIV Infected Individuals Disease Progression

HealthDay reported on a study in the Nov. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, including approximately 900 HIV-infected patients in the African country of Botswana who were divided into four groups. The groups consisted of those who were given either a placebo, selenium, multivitamin (including B, C and E vitamins), or multivitamin along with selenium.

The results were reported as follows:

None of the treatments had a noticeable effect except the combination of multivitamin and selenium. After adjusting their statistics so they wouldn’t be thrown off by various factors, the researchers reported that those who took the combination were about half as likely to show signs over two years that their infection had progressed toward AIDS as those who took the placebo.

Sources:

Dotinga, R. Multivitamins May Help Fight HIV Progression, Study Suggests– But supplements tested only on those who hadn’t started medications. HealthDay. November 26, 2013.

Baum, M, et al. Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Disease Progression in Asymptomatic, Antiretroviral-Naive, HIV-Infected Adults in BotswanaA Randomized Clinical Trial (abstract). JAMA. 2013;310(20):2154-2163. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.280923.

Mindfulness Changes Gene Expression of Inflammation

But a new study conducted by researchers working in Wisconsin, Spain, and France shows that mindfulness can even affect your genes. Specifically, the study shows that mindfulness can limit the “expression” of genes associated with inflammation.

Howard, J. Mindfulness’ Meditation Alters Gene Expression, Study Suggests. The Huffington Post. December 9, 2013.

Craig Wetherby summarized how this occurs in the VitalChoice Newsletter:

“Most interestingly, the changes were observed in genes that are the current targets of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs,” added lead author Dr. Perla Kaliman of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona, Spain, where the molecular analyses were conducted (UWM 2013).

Mindfulness-based trainings have shown beneficial effects on inflammatory disorders in prior clinical studies and are endorsed by the American Heart Association as a preventative intervention.  

…

The affected genes include the pro-inflammatory genes RIPK2 and COX2 as well as several HDAC genes, which regulate the activity of other genes.

Weatherby, C. Meditation Yields Healthy Gene Changes. Mindful meditation is found to raise resilience to stress and dampen inflammation. VitalChoice Newsletter. December 9, 2013.

Is Medicine a Corrupt Industry?

You’ve heard of “death by medicine,” and that “medicine is a big business.” Dr. Mercola explains why he feels that medicine is a corrupt industry:

• “Institutional corruption” does not refer to any violation of existing rules or laws. Rather it refers to “a certain kind of influence, within an economy of influence, that has a certain effect”
• An activity is considered institutional corruption if it weakens the effectiveness of an institution, and/or weakens public trust in that institution. Institutional corruption is rife within the pharmaceutical industry and its regulatory agencies
• The consequences of institutional corruption include millions of adverse reactions each year, and at least 128,000 deaths as a direct result of adverse drug reactions within the hospital setting alone
• When deaths related to diagnostic errors, errors of omission, and failure to follow guidelines are included, the number skyrockets to an estimated 440,000 preventable hospital deaths each year
• That makes preventable medical errors the third-leading cause of death in the US, right after heart disease and cancer, and hospital-based lethal adverse drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death

Mercola, J. Institutional Corruption of Pharmaceuticals and the Drug Safety Myth. Mercola. Com. November 30, 2013.

Patient Harm in Hospitals

Is there evidence for this corruption in a real, scientific journal? Unfortunately, there is. Here’s the abstract conclusion (the full article link is included if you want the number break down J):

The epidemic of patient harm in hospitals must be taken more seriously if it is to be curtailed. Fully engaging patients and their advocates during hospital care, systematically seeking the patients’ voice in identifying harms, transparent accountability for harm, and intentional correction of root causes of harm will be necessary to accomplish this goal.

James, JT. A new, evidence-based estimate of patient harms associated with hospital care. Medline Abstract. J Patient Saf.  2013; 9(3):122-8 (ISSN: 1549-8425). PreMedline Identifier: 23860193

So….this makes you wonder…

Is the Cost of Doing Nothing Better?

Mayo Clinic Proceedings has an opinion on this that may surprise you:

How many contemporary medical practices are not any better than or are worse than doing nothing or doing something else that is simpler or less expensive? This is an important question, given the negative repercussions for patients and the health care system of continuing to endorse futile, inefficient, expensive, or harmful interventions, tests, or management strategies. In this issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Prasad et al1 describe the frequency and spectrum of medical reversals determined from a review of all the articles published over a decade (2001-2010) in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

John P.A. Ioannidis. How Many Contemporary Medical Practices Are Worse Than Doing Nothing or Doing Less? Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Volume 88, Issue 8 , Pages 779-781, August 2013. published online 22 July 2013.

Meat Labeling In Effect

Now, we will know where our meat came from:

As of late November 2013, however, you will be able to track all stages of your meat’s whereabouts, from birth to slaughter, a major victory for consumers who wish to know where their food comes from. And already, the rule is prompting significant changes for the meat industry…

Mercola, J. Good News: Meat Labels Will Now Show You Where Your Meat Came From. Mercola.com. December 10, 2013.

Are Gut Bugs Needed to Make Chemo Work?

A research study in Science demonstrated the need to look at the importance of an intact gut microbiome (“gut bugs”) for optimal treatment outcomes in a mice study:

Thus, optimal responses to cancer therapy require an intact commensal microbiota that mediates its effects by modulating myeloid-derived cell functions in the tumor microenvironment. These findings underscore the importance of the microbiota in the outcome of disease treatment.

Iida, N., et al. Commensal bacteria control cancer response to therapy by modulating the tumor microenvironment. Science. 2013 Nov 22;342(6161):967-70. doi: 10.1126/science.1240527.PMID 24264989

Sleeping Away Pounds in Kids

How sleeping patterns affect children’s weight, food intake, and appetite regulation was studied in 37 children aged 8 to 11 years. The researchers assigned the children to change their sleeping pattern by increasing or decreasing time spent shut-eye by 1.5 hours. The results are reported below:

Compared with decreased sleep, increased sleep duration in school-age children resulted in lower reported food intake, lower fasting leptin levels, and lower weight. The potential role of sleep duration in pediatric obesity prevention and treatment warrants further study.

Hart, C, Carskadon, M, Considene R, Flava, J, Lawton, J, Raynor, H, et al. Changes in Children’s Sleep Duration on Food Intake, Weight, and Leptin (abstract). Pediatrics. November 4, 2013. (doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-1274)

NUTRIGENOMICS

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Chemosensesitizers

Another important study using omega 3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) shed light on how nutrition impacts cancer outcomes. The researchers used both human colon cancer cells sensitive to and resistant to multiple conventional chemotherapeutic agents. The results indicated that omega 3 fatty acids positively affected resistant cells.

Given the growing prevalence of ‘multidrug resistant’ tumors, alternative and/or complementary solutions are gaining increased interest within the medical community.

Ji, S. Omega-3 Fats Help Overcome Multi-Drug Resistant Cancer. Greenmedinfo.com. November 19, 2013.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Help Alzheimer’s Brain

Another study on healthy fats:

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that omega-3 fatty acids in dietary supplements can cross the blood brain barrier in people with Alzheimer’s disease, affecting known markers for both the disease itself and inflammation. The findings are presented in the Journal of Internal Medicine, and strengthen the evidence that omega-3 may benefit certain forms of this seriously debilitating disease.

Science Daily.Omega-3 Dietary Supplements Pass Blood-Brain Barrier. sciencedaily.com. December 4, 2013.

Fake Supplements on Amazon.com

Buyer Beware!

A Natural News investigation has confirmed that Amazon.com (AMZN) is functioning as a retail “front” for a rapidly-expanding list of dietary supplement counterfeiters who profit by exploiting the Amazon.com trust factor to sell fake products to unsuspecting Amazon customers. This counterfeit operation does not appear to be the intention of Amazon.com itself, which is a widely-celebrated online retailer, but rather a result of Amazon’s inability to adequately police the tens of thousands of third-party sellers who sell products through the site.

Adams, M. Natural News Exclusive: Amazon.com (AMZN) sells fake, counterfeit nutritional products to unsuspecting consumers. November 26, 2013.

 Highlights on “Natural Medicine”

–Read these highlights at Saratoga.com

DRUGS

Chelation Could be Helpful for Diabetic Heart Disease Outcomes

Getting toxic metals out of the body was found to protect the heart of 633 diabetic patients:

The report, from the NIH-funded Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT), was based on outcomes in 633 diabetic patients randomized to an EDTA-based chelation solution or a placebo. TACT showed a clear 15% reduction in absolute risk of CV events, which included a 40% reduction in total mortality, and a 40% reduction in recurrent MI…

A mainstay in many “anti-aging” practices, chelation has met with vehement opposition from the mainstream cardiology community in large part because it does not fit with the lipid-based model of heart disease etiology.

Over the years, the TACT research team has been accused of scientific misconduct, poor methodology, and pseudo-science. Yet, the trial is methodologically sound, the study population is large, and the investigators involved—many at major university centers—have sterling reputations.

Goldman, E. Chelation Vindicated for CVD Risk Reduction in Diabetes. Holistic Primary Care: UpShots. November 2013.

The Problem with PolyPharmacy

Taking more than one drug at the same time is common. One third of seniors in the US and Germany and almost two thirds in Canada take 5 or more prescription drugs resulting in the potential for more harmful side effects. Medscape reports:

However, this practice increases the risk for adverse drug reactions (ADRs), adverse drug events (ADEs), falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, mortality, and other adverse health outcomes in these patients.^[8-11] According to a recent study, 13% of seniors taking 5 or more prescription medications experience ADEs that required medical attention, compared with 6% of those taking only 1 or 2 drugs.^[12] Evidence from numerous studies shows that many medications prescribed to elderly patients are inappropriate, in that they introduce a significant risk for an ADE when there is evidence that alternative medication may be equally or more effective. In primary care, approximately 1 in 5 prescriptions issued for older adults is inappropriate.^[13]

Scott, I & Brookes, L. Deprescribing in Clinical Practice: Reducing Polypharmacy in Older Patients: An Expert Interview With Ian A. Scott, MBBS, FRACP, MHA. Medscape Internal Medicine. November 26, 2013.

The Dangerous Mix of Alcohol and Acetaminophen

For all of the below reasons:

• Acetaminophen can have adverse effects on your liver and kidneys, and acetaminophen-containing prescription drugs must now carry a warning about the potential for serious and potentially lethal skin disorders
• Acetaminophen is the number one cause of acute liver failure in the US. Taking just a little more than the recommended dose over the course of several days or weeks (“staggered overdosing”) is far more risky than taking one large overdose
• Recent research suggests that acetaminophen also significantly increases your risk of kidney dysfunction if taken with alcohol—even if the amount of alcohol is small
• Previous research suggests acetaminophen might render vaccinations less effective when administered together
• Foundational lifestyle basics for a pain free life, as well as specific treatment modalities for acute and chronic pain, as well as all-natural alternatives to analgesic drugs are reviewed

Mercola, J. Acetaminophen Linked to Increased Risk of Kidney Dysfunction When Combined with Alcohol. mercola.com.December 3, 2013.

FDA Approves Experimental H5N1 Bird Flu Vaccine with Squalene Adjuvant

Squalene adjuvants, which ramp up the immune response, have never been licensed for use in the U.S. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) paved the way for a squalene adjuvant to be included in U.S. vaccines with its November 2013 approval of the first influenza A (H5N1) monovalent “bird flu” vaccine: GlaxoSmithKline’s Q-Pan vaccine that contains the controversial oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant AS03.

Q-Pan vaccine will be added to the U.S. pandemic emergency vaccine stockpile. Although there is no H5N1 influenza pandemic underway to justify fast-tracked approval of the experimental AS03-adjuvanted bird flu vaccine, the speedy FDA approval comes amid mounting evidence that AS03 adjuvants are associated with development of serious autoimmune and neurological disorders like narcolepsy.

La Vigne, P. FDA Approves Experimental H5N1 Bird Flu Vaccine with Reactive AS03 Adjuvant for U.S. Stockpile. NVIC.org. December 9, 2013. http://www.nvic.org/FDA-Approves-Squalene-H5N1-Bird-Flu-Vaccine.aspx

Major Drug Alerts of 2013

Several drug warnings were important for clinicians this year. The popular antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax and Zmax, Pfizer) poses the risk for torsades de pointes, which therefore warrants careful screening of patients for this drug.^[12] The fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics increases the risk for permanent peripheral neuropathy, a risk that now appears on updated labels for the drugs.^[13] The antibiotic clarithromycin prescribed for patients already taking antihypertensive calcium-channel blockers is associated with increases in hospitalization for acute kidney injury, hypotension, and death.^[14] And last, the use of statins appears to be associated with an increased risk for musculoskeletal injuries, including an increased risk for dislocations, strains, and sprains.

Flapan, D & Priber, T. The Year in Medicine 2013: News That Made a Difference. Medscape.com. December 10, 2013. Accessed December 12, 2013.

Announcements and News:

1. Join me on my BREAKFREE MEDICINE Facebook Page. I’d love to meet you and have your feedback on daily health e-blasts only available to my BreakFree Medicine Facebook Friends.

2. Book Update:
Final edits are in place on my manuscript and the book is expected for release in 2014!

3. Holiday Clinic Hours
In observance of the holidays, the office will be closed on 12/24/13 until 2:30pm on 12/27/13.
The office will also be closed for the New Year on 12/31/13 and 1/1/2014.

4. My Latest Thoughts on Health and What Other Experts are Saying?
… see what else I posted on Dr. Oz’s Sharecare site here.

5. Have a beautiful holiday!