September 3rd, 2010
A study presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research concluded that a low intake of lycopene in the diet may be a risk factor for lung cancer. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and is most readily found in tomatoes.
In the study, researchers collected blood samples from 93 patients with non-small cell lung cancer and matched with 102 controls. The blood samples were tested for levels of micronutrients that included retinol, lycopene, and Beta-carotene. The found significant differences in the two groups in the level of lycopene, that is, there was much lower levels in the lung cancer patients.
After adjusting for age, race, gender, drinking and smoking habits, use of vitamin supplements, exposure at work, and the season, they found that the lung cancer group who had the lowest levels of lycopene had an almost a threefold increased risk of lung cancer than the group with the highest level of lycopene. In addition, when evaluating current smokers they found that those with the lowest levels of lycopene had four times the risk of lung cancer than those with the highest levels. The researchers concluded that although their results are preliminary they add to the growing body of research that shows a relationship between lycopene and cancer risks.
Tags: Beta-carotene, lung cancer, lycopene, micronutrients, research, retinol, tomatoes
Posted in Cancer, Uncategorized, lung cancer, nutrition, research | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
A recent study published in the Annals of Allergy. Asthma & Immunology reported that year round allergies to dogs, cats, and dust mites seem to pre-prime the immune system so that symptoms appear earlier or are more severe when confronted by rag weed. In the study researchers wanted to determine why some individuals develop symptoms during ragweed season earlier than others. Testing several perennial allergens they found that being allergic to dogs, cats or dust mites set those suffers up for a quicker onset of hay fever symptoms when exposed to ragweed. In the study 123 people were allergic to ragweed and of these 66% were positive for cat allergies, 63% were allergic to dog allergies and 73% were allergic to dust mites. All were exposed to ragweed for 3 hours and completed symptom questionnaires every 30 minutes during exposure. In general, those who tested positive for dog, cat, and dust mite allergies developed symptoms either faster or to a greater degree than those who tested negative to these. This difference seemed to disappear after 3 hours so that once the hay fever season is in full swing, the differences between the two groups no longer existed. It was suggested that to avoid the overload at the beginning of the hay fever season, sufferers with perennial allergies (dog,cat, dust) should avoid them beforehand or treat their perennial allergy symptoms before hay fever season.
Tags: allergies, cats, dogs, dust mites, hay fever, immune system, ragweed, research
Posted in research, seasonal allergies | 5 Comments »
August 29th, 2010
Guests of Dr Carl O Helvie, Host, the Holistic Health Show on Saturday will be Dr Murray Grossan, Dr Stephen Morrissey, and Dr Bianca Garilli.
Dr Grossan, is Board Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and is currently at Cedars-Sinai Medical Towers in Los Angeles. He completed Medical School at the University of Georgia in 1949 and completed his Residency in the early 1950’s at NYU-Bellevue (At that time, I was a Staff and later Head Nurse at Bellevue although we did not know each other at the time). He has held various positions in his field of practice including Medical Examiner, and medical staff at different hospitals, and served as consultant to the Los Angeles District Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, Freemont Insurance, Los Angeles City and others, and was awarded a Certificate of Merit for the Scientific Exhibit “Nasal Mucocilliary Flow” by the American Medical Association. Dr Grossan is author of numerous articles in professional journals in the areas of nasal function, throat scuba diving, tinnitus, headache, and temperomandibular joint disease and has published an ebook and most recently a book titled Free Yourself from Sinus and Allergy Problems Permanently
He is also the inventor of the Grossan Hydropulse System
that effectively cleanses and cleans your sinuses without drugs. More information is available at www.ent-consult.com
My second guest, Dr Steven Morrissey has a doctorate in Oriental Medicine and more than 25 years of clinical experience with herbal medicines, homeopathy, and nutrition. He has made over 30 trips to China where he established two joint venture companies to undertake research on safety, efficacy and the quality of botanical medicines and GMP botanical manufacturing. Additionally, he has established comprehensive supply chain management practices for medicinal plants, undertaking numerous research collaborations with Universities and Institutes, and has developed more than 40 professional and consumer health products, including Plantiva (R) brands Aller Dx, Immune Dx, and Vira Dx for Allergy and Immune Response and Recovery.
DR Morrissey has taught TCM pathology and was the Chair of Oriental Medicine at Bastyr University in Seattle in the early 1990’s. He served on the board of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and was Chair of AHPA’s Botanical Extract Committee while it developed its white paper on the Standardization of Botanicals. More information is available at www.plantiva.com
My third guest is Dr Bianca Garilli, a naturopathic physician practicing in Orange County, California at the University of California, Irvine (Susan Samuell Center for Integrative Medicine) and in Mission Viejo. She specializes in adults with chronic conditions and children with autism and ADHD/ADD. She received her Naturopathic Medical Degree at Bastyr University and prior to that time was a United States Marine serving 5 years in the Intelligence Field as an Arabic and Spanish linguist. She then received a baccalaureate degree in biology before attend Bastyr University.
Dr Garilli is the founder of the Allergy Elimination diet eclinic
(www.allergyeliminationdiet.com) as well as the author of the Allergy Elimination Diet ebook. She is also the creator of the 6 Week Wellness and Weight Loss Course that is run several times a year (www.ocnmp.com) and co-creator of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine’s Live Longer, Live Better program.
Tags: botanicals, Dr Bianca Garilli, Dr Carl O Helvie, Dr Murray Grossan, Dr Stephen Morrissey, Elimination diet, ENT, Grossan Hydropulse System, naturopathic medicine, nutrition, Plantiva brands
Posted in Uncategorized, integrative medicine, natural products, seasonal allergies | 4 Comments »
August 27th, 2010
In a new study reported in Cell, the researchers concluded that by reversing muscle wasting (cachexia) in mice with cancer they can extend their life even as the tumor continues to grow. Nearly 30% of cancer deaths have been attributed to cachexia. Knowing that activin is secreted by tumors and another protein, myostatin, when deficient or blocked grows bigger muscles, they decided to treat mice with cancer that were exhibiting cachexia with a kind of molecular decoy that potentially prohibits both activin and myostatin thereby reversing muscle loss and extending the life of the mice by several weeks. They said “in tumor-bearing mice with profound cachexia, blocking this pathway not only prevents muscle wasting but completely reverses the loss of muscle, strength and anorexia.” Results show that by combating cachexia it may be possible to extend life of those with cancer but clinical trials and further research is needed.
Tags: activin, cachexia, muscle loss, myostatin, research
Posted in Cancer, research | No Comments »
August 25th, 2010
In a report published early online that will appear in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation researchers concluded that vitamin D may be an effective treatment for preventing or treating allergy to a common mold, Aspergillus Fumigatus, that can complicate asthma. Although this fungus is one of the most prevalent it usually is not associated with diseases but in asthmatics and patients with Cystic Fibrosis it may cause significant symptoms. Focusing on patients with Cystic Fibrosis who more often develop severe allergic reactions Studying two groups of patients with cystic fibrosis they found that when colonized with A. Fumigatus only one had the severe allergic response. The difference was in the level of vitamin D in the blood. By adding vitamin D they were able to substantially reduce the production of proteins driving an allergic response and also increased the protein that promoted tolerance. A clinical trial is planned to see if vitamin D can be used to treat or prevent the allergic complications of asthma and Cystic Fibrosis.
Tags: asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, research, vitamin D
Posted in asthma, research | 1 Comment »
August 22nd, 2010
Dr Carl O Helvie, Host, repeated interviews with two international spiritual leaders yesterday on the Holistic Health Show. They were Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev from India and Caroline Cory from France.
Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and spiritual master whose speaking takes him around the world. More information was presented earlier on this site and can be found at www.MidnightswiththeMystic.com and www.ishafoundation.com
My second guest was Caroline Cory. Founder of Omnium Method at the Omnium Foundation in France. More information was presented earlier on this site and can be found at www.omniumfoundation.com
Enjoy the interviews below.
Tags: Caroline Cory, Dr Carl O Helvie, Energy Healing, France, healing, India, international mystic, Omnium Foundation, Omnium Method, Sadhguru, spiritual leader, Spirituality, Universal Consciousness, visionary, yogi
Posted in Podcast, spiritual aspects | No Comments »
August 20th, 2010
A new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention concluded that the risk of breast cancer varies by personal characteristics but this study reinforced that there is an increased risk of breast cancer from hormone use and further studies are needed to address how specific that risk is. Hormone replacement therapy among 2,857 women were analyzed for almost 10 years and it was found that when compared with women who never used hormone therapy, women who used estrogen therapy for more than 15 years had a 19 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer. For those who used a combined program of estrogen and progestin for 15 or more years the risk increased 83 percent. Thus, the breast cancer risk was highest for the combined hormone therapy group.
Results also showed that breast cancer risk was dependent on body mass index (BMI) because those with a BMI under 30 seemed to have an increased risk with combined therapy and it was highest for women with a BMI under 25. On the other hand obese women with a BMI over 30 had no further risk associated with using combined hormone therapy. The risk for these breast tumors were for tumors that were positive for both estrogen and progestin receptors and were weaker for HER2 negative tumors. Further research is need to answer lingering questions for this complex association.
However, in another study published in the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research researchers found that breast cancer risk varies by the type of progestin used in hormone therapy. In the study they compared the effect of 4 progestins on breast cancer in animal models. Progestins used included 1) synthetic progestin medroxporgresterone acetate (MPA), 2) norgesterel (N-EL), 3) norethindrone (N-ONE) and 4) megestrol acetate (MGA). The MPA progestin in Prempro is most often used by women in the United States for Hormone Therapy. The authors concluded “although previous studies using an animal model for breast cancer found the MPA functions as a tumor promoter, this study showed that N-EL and N-ONE……. strongly inhibited tumor development.” Progestins seems to have tumor stage specific effects that determines whether they function as tumor promoters or protectors. Those such as N-EL and N-ONE seem to prevent breast cancer in women without a history of or family history for breast cancer and for post menopausal women who are at increased risk due to combined estrogen/progestin (MPA) hormone therapy.
Tags: breast cancer, estrogen, hormone replacement, progestin, research
Posted in breast cancer, research | 5 Comments »
August 18th, 2010
Research to be published in the American J of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and identified in Science Daily concluded that the use of acetamineophen even on a monthly basis will more than double the risk of asthma, and yearly use may increase the risk by 50% when compared to those who do not use it among 13 to 14 years old adolescents.
Two written and a video questionaire were administered to over 300,000 thirteen and fourteen year adolescents in 113 centers throughout 15 countries. They were asked to quantify their use of acetamineophen as none, medium or high depending upon using none, using once a year, or at least once in the past month. They were also asked to identify their asthma and eczema symptoms. Results show that the risk of asthma and eczema for medium users was 43% higher than non-users and for high users was 251 times the risk of non-users. In addition, the risk of rhinoconjunctivitis was 38% higher for medium users and 2.39 times higher for high users. The risk for eczema were 31 percent and 99 percent respectively. Another study to be published in the American J of Respiratory and Critical Care medicine showed similar associations. Further studies are needed to confirm this association.
Tags: acetamineophen, asthma, eczema, research
Posted in asthma, research, seasonal allergies | No Comments »
August 18th, 2010
In a new study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology researchers concluded that children living in damp, water damaged houses may be more likely to develop nasal allergies than other children. In the study that followed children over time 16 percent of the children whose parents reported dampness in the home received a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis over the next six years compared to just under 12 percent for children whose parents reported no dampness problems defined as no visible signs of water damage to the ceilings, walls or floors, and no visible mold or mold odor in the home. Factors such as social class and second hand smoke were also considered but the dampness remained linked to the risk of allergic rhinitis. In addition, children whose parents reported mold or water damage in the home at the beginning of the study were 55 percent more likely than other children to develop allergic rhinitis connected to any allergin and not just mold. The researchers concluded that parents should look out for water damage and repair as soon as it occurs.
Tags: allergic rhinitis, children, damp houses, mold, water damage
Posted in asthma, research | 2 Comments »
August 15th, 2010
For this show I am repeating an interview with two extraordinary individuals. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev will be interviewed on the Holistic Health Show on BBS Radio Station 1 on Saturday, August 21 at 12 noon PST. He is a yogi, mystic, visionary, and spiritual master, His speaking engagements have taken him around the world and he is widely sought after by prestigious global forums to address issues as diverse as human rights, business values, and social, environmental, and existential issues He has been a delegate to the United Nations Millennium Peace Summit, a member of the World Council of Religions Leaders, and a special invitee to the Australian Leadership Retreat, the Tallberg Forum, the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the World Presidents Organization, and the International Conclave of Young Presidents Organization. . He also was interviewed in the movie “One.” He has earned the reputation as a speaker and opinion-maker of international renown. More information can be found at www.MidnightswiththeMystic.com and www.ishafoundation.org
My second guest is Caroline Cory, Founder of the Omnium Method at the Omnium Foundation in France. Caroline is an international speaker, author and teacher of Consciousness Studies and Metaphysics. She has a revolutionary new healing technique that allows spontaneous alignment with the universal consciousness and the deep cellular reprogramming of the subconscious mind. She has been able to perceive subtle energy and communicate telepathically with source since the age of 5. Thus, she can connect at will with the Source and bring in powerful healing, divine understanding, and universal truths. Some of her books include The Visible and Invisible Worlds of GOD, GOD Among Us: Inside the Mind of the Divine Masters and The Divine Plan: Beyond 2012. More information is available at www.omniumfoundation.com
Tags: Caroline Cory, international speakers, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Spirituality
Posted in spiritual aspects, spiritual health | No Comments »
