Best Health News

Studies have shown a clear correlation between obesity and risk for getting prostate cancer. A National Cancer Institute study reported that obesity increases the risk of dying from this disease.

What isn’t clear is what is different about how the disease affects very overweight men. Theories range from low testosterone and higher levels of estrogen to symptoms common among obese men like hypertension, diabetes and chronic inflammation, which happen to be risk factors for cancer.

June 19, 2007 Daily Health News, Bottom Line Secrets, Boardroom, Inc.

According to an article by Jay S. Cohen, M.D. in the April 2007 MedicationSense
E-Newsletter , more and more reputable, world-class university medical schools are going "pharm-free" — prohibiting big pharmaceutical companies from influencing doctors with gifts of drugs, meals, advertising novelties and posters. Dr. Arthur Caplan, directory of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics, commented, "It was indisputable that small gifts had tremendous power in influencing favorable attitudes toward products." Medical students have provided much needed impetus for the pharm-free movement.

The pharm-free movement hasn’t grown without opposition. Some medical schools have resisted imposing restrictions on drug company gifting because of concerns about retaliation by the drug industry. Pharmaceutical companies have a profound influence over continuing education for the medical industry. The drug industry’s presence at some medical conferences is so pervasive, sometimes it is hard to tell whether the conferences are medical meetings or pharmaceutical industry advertising conventions. Most worrisome, drug companies will continue to use the medical journals as conduits for pushing products and obtaining free coverage in the media. The medical journals were once the repository of scientific thought and research. Now, the medical journals are having difficulty ensuring the accuracy and objectivity of many drug company studies that are published.

An article in the April 2007 edition of the Harvard Health Letter claims that niacin (vitamin B3) may be a safe and effective alternative to statin anti-cholesterol drugs. Statins are designed to lower LDL (”bad” cholesterol).

The only prescription drug that raised HDL, Pfizer’s torcetrapib, taken in combination with Lipitor, was eventually found to be unsafe (it caused a greater number of deaths than statins alone), and was taken off the market.

Niacin in large doses (approximately 1000mg per day) becomes an effective anti-cholesterol agent. It not only reduces the LDL, but also reduces triglycerides and raises HDL (”good” cholesterol). The main drawback to niacin is uncomfortable flushing, a warming sensation in the skin it causes. There are flush-free products available, but the niacin in those products has little or no effect on cholesterol. The article cautions taking high-dose niacin only with your physician’s oversight.

Japan has one of the world’s lowest obesity rates, roughly 1/4 of the French, and 1/10 of the American rates. They are also among the longest living on earth. Their secret? Lower caloric intake and healthy high-fiber, low-fat foods. They eat a lot of vegetables, primarily cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and kale. They eat much more fish than red meat, and are more likely to have fruit for dessert than cookies, cakes and pies. This ensures a diet low in saturated and trans-fats and high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

It should be noted that all is not perfect in the Japanese diet, including the consumption of lots of white rice, a high-carb high-glycemic food. Long ago, when Japanese were much more active, this was not a problem. As their lifestyle has become more sedate, and diet, especially in urban areas, becomes more Westernized, health problems are on the increase.

There are habits we could learn from the Japanese, such as eating more slowly and quitting when 80% full, enjoying the beauty of food, eating smaller portions served on smaller plates, and building meals around vegetables instead of meat.

Source: “Japanese Light” by Janet Helm, dietitian and nutrition consultant, published April 5, 2007 in the Chicago Tribune.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff released documents which indicate a risk of hallucination and similar problems in children and older patients. The drug Ditropan, known generically as oxybutynin, already lists a variety of other nervous system risks on its labeling, but more explicit cautions are needed.

Of 202 side effect reports in Ditropan patients, roughly 1/4 of younger than 18 and older than 59 patients reported these unlisted hallucination problems. The manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, had no immediate comment.

Once again, great caution is urged before using any prescription drug that has not been in the marketplace for many years, since tests for side-effect safety of these new drugs are conducted unknowingly by consumers.

Source: FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/07/briefing/2007-4295b1-index.htm

According to an analysis of research in the Archives of Internal Medicine, published by the American Medical Association, for study participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks, the drop in blood pressure was similar to the drop resulting from prescription blood pressure medication. On the other hand, drinking green and black tea did not seem to lower blood pressure. The benefit from cocoa may cut strokes and heart attacks by 10-20 percent.

Researchers urged caution, however, since cocoa is a high-fat, high-caffeine product that may adversely affect health. It may be added to a diet in small quanities and in place of other high-calorie desserts.
Source: Reuters News Tue Apr 10, 2007

In August 2006, we reported that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) seem to increase the risk of having a heart attack, according to a population-based study conducted in Finland. Findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine seem to indicate that a wider range of painkillers including aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen can raise blood pressure and thus the risk of heart disease among men.

A team led by Dr. John Forman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied 16,000 male health professionals. The increased likelihood of high blood pressure ranged from 25% for aspirin to 34% for acetaminophen and for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, which include ibuprofen and naproxen, 38% for men who took these painkillers for six or seven days a week. Risk was directly correlated with frequency of use.

American Heart Association’s Dr. Elliott Antman, also of Brigham and Women’s Hospital advised "We advise physicians to start with non-pharmacologic treatments such as physical therapy and exercise, weight loss to reduce stress on joints, and heat or cold therapy,".
Source: Maggie Fox, Reuters Health and Science Editor Mon Feb 26, 2007

Best Health Secrets continues to advise caution with the use of painkillers. For an occasional headache or muscle pain, the risk is small. For chronic pain of arthritis, we advise safer alternatives like Xtend-Life Arthrit-Eze .

A study that was done at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that it all about calories.

This was a very small study, only 24 people. 12 ate 25% fewer calories and the other 12 ate 12.5% fewer calories and increased physical activity to burn another 12.5% calories. Despite the small size of the study, conditions were controlled very closely with standardized meals provided by the Center and closely monitored exercise.

The volunteers in both groups lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal visceral fat. The study further revealed that weight reduction could not be targeted, that there is no such thing as "spot" reduction. It was also clear that the diet only group did not lose more muscle mass than those who exercised more – another popular myth.

The last result of interest was that 2 markers for aging were reduced in both groups of volunteers, lending credibility to the theory that lower calorie consumption slows the aging process – at least slightly. Nutrition (diet) and exercise are 2 of the 6 strategies of good health outlined at Best Health Secrets .

A study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, studied a sample of 257 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) out of a sample of over 7 million U.S. military personnel. Serum samples were analyzed for vitamin D levels, and the findings showed that the risks of MS fell 62 percent for those in the top fifth of vitamin D concentration among white people who comprised most of the study population. Besides promoting the absorption of calcium in the body, vitamin D also seems to act as a regulator of the immune system. (source: Reuters News Dec. 19, 2006)
[Ed. note: The body produces vitamin D after exposure to sunlight, but since not many foods are naturally rich in vitamin D, supplementation is often recommended.]

More good news for those who have replaced saturated fat with monounsaturated fats like olive oil in their diets to combat heart disease. A report from the FASEB Journal, a publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology found that olive oil consumption lowered the presence of 8oxodG, a marker of oxidative damage to cells’ DNA, by an average of 13%.

Even more significant was the discovery that phenols found in olive oil, widely touted as powerful antioxidants, did not seem to be responsible for the cancer fighting effect of olive oil. Rather it was the monounsaturated fats in olive oil that are behind the effect.