Sugar - The Real Culprit

Can sugar be the culprit in causing all those diseases we have been blaming on smoking and cholesterol? That’s what they're saying.
Of course, the sugar industry keeps saying, "There just isn’t enough evidence. More studies are needed. This is nothing more than an attempt to put off confronting the problem head-on. They know that they are wrong and poisoning the world. They know it in their brain and their liver too, but greed makes it easy to keep overlooking the obvious.
There is some confusion here that must be cleared up or the sugar mongers will win by default. "It’s not the sugar," they say, "that causes diabetes. Sugar goes up because of diabetes." This is an attempt to totally reverse the cause and the problem. Diabetes is, by definition, an excess of sugar in the blood. And where does that sugar come from? It's not very hard to answer that one, since the food industry puts sugar in almost every prepared food you buy at the market. And sugar by any other name is still sugar.
Besides, recent studies make it clear, if it wasn’t clear to you already, that excessive sugar in the diet leads to diabetes. And then this excess of sugar, over a period of time, causes heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, kidney disease, and stroke.
One recent study from John Hopkins University examined 13 studies and concluded that a high blood sugar is directly associated with an increased risk of heart disease in people with diabetes. Don’t blame your heart disease on a word, "diabetes," blame it on the real culprit, sugar.
All these recent studies looked at the percentage of a substance glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) in the blood. Plain old blood sugar levels can vary dramatically, but HbAlc is a more consistent marker of the state of your blood sugar. When HbAlc increases by one percentage point, the risk of heart disease or stroke rises by nearly 20 percent. Likewise when HbAlc percentage drops, heart disease risk drops as well.
UK researchers found essentially the same relationship: For every HbAlc percentage point that rose above 5 percent, risk of problem associated with heart disease rose more than 20 percent.
So the experts need to stop blaming plugged coronary arteries on "diabetes," as though it was something the patient "caught," like pneumonia. The fact is, the person "caught" it through years of sugar abuse.
Have your doctor test your HbAlc levels on your next visit. And in the meantime, work on kicking the sugar habit.
Reference:

"Sugar Shock," Health Sciences Institute e-Alert (www.hsibaltimore.com). 9/28/04

Coenzyme Q10 applications for cancer therapy

A decade ago a friend of mine with a similar history of health problems recommended CoQ10. Although I’m not a fan of supplements, I tried taking 60mg and then cut back to 30mg a day. I had been plagued with arrhythmia and thought that the very appearance of this individual gave testimony to his health and so the story goes. Since then I have researched all the benefits of natural food as opposed to prescription pills and supplements. Too much money and a ton of pills were major objections for me. I once told the Arthritis Foundation that it wasn’t rheumatoid arthritis that was killing its victims - it was the dangerous drugs. Nobody wants to cure arthritis — it is the “goose that laid the golden egg.” Not a one of the patients I knew were ever cured of arthritis. They just piled on the pills in a pyramid of side effects that led to new prescriptions — more visits to the doctor and the pharmacy. And so I tried to find a better way. The short and long of it is that some supplements do make sense, but no one can keep up with the “miracle magic bullets” that are recommended in catalogs of anecdotal evidence without research to back up their statements.

In these past 10 years, I have noticed a more regular heart beat. Whereas prescription pills almost killed me with beta blocker that dropped my pulse rate to 30 bpm. Now I am seeing evidence that there are new sources recommending its use. One of the newer claims is an application for cancer therapy.

The frustration of medical doctors with the ever lasting flow of findings that identify the cure - worse than the disease has brought on a new era of “Integrative Medicine.”
Doctors coming from India and Pakistan are amongst the most receptive physicians to the natural remedies, or some combination of therapies. These doctors are friends of mine and readily admit to the merits of a new wave of research that includes non-pharmaceutical remedies. My eye surgeon even said, “The best cure is “mother nature.”
Promising new research suggests that coenzyme Q10 may be an important adjuvant therapy for cancer patients. Scientists have discovered that CoQ10 can program cancer cells to self-destruct before multiplying at their customary, lethal rates. For millions of cancer patients, the implications of this discovery are nothing short of profound.
This finding was one of several from recent studies conducted by researchers at the University of Miami (FL), using CoQ10 as their test agent. In a telephone interview in July 2005, principal investigator Dr. S.L.Hsia told Life Extension, “This is the first time in history we have been able to selectively teach a cancer cell to kill itself with CoQ10s, via a mitochondrial mechanism, without harming the healthy cells.”
According to team researcher Niven R. Narain, cancer cells lose their apoptotic potential, or ability to respond to programmed cell death. “What CoQ10 does is to restore apoptosis to cancer cells,” Narain told Life Extension. “The data suggest that CoQ10 significantly reduces expression of the bcl-2 gene family, which is responsible for conferring resistance to cell death. In essence, CoQ10 modulates bcl-2 in a manner that allows the cancer to kill itself without adversely affecting normal cells. This is why we say it is ‘selective,’ because the bcl-2 family is not affected in normal cells.”

CoQ10, a fat-soluble vitamin-like nutrient that is also called “ubiquinone” because it is found in every human cell, boosts energy, is a powerful antioxidant, and can bolster immune health. Growing research indicates that CoQ10 is valuable for fighting fatigue, preventing and managing heart disease and some cancers, and possibly reversing some of the toxic effects of chemotherapy. As a coenzyme, it support many important biochemical reactions in the body.
Peter H. Langsjoen, MD, FACC, began studying CoQ10 in 1983, seven years before Karl Folkers, PhD received the National Medal of science in recognition of his work. CoQ10s potential benefits for health disorders ranging from neurological aging to heart disease, and drew attention to numerous clinical studies demonstrating its safety.
The recent findings about CoQ10 may mean that in the near future a diagnosis of cancer may carry with it more hope for being able to continue living a long and healthy life.
Dr. Hsia feels, however, that adjuvant, or integrative, therapy with CoQ10 may be advisable. It might be advantageous to give cancer patients CoQ10 to cancer patients to help healthy cells produce mor ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy molecule.
The good new is that the medical community has opened the door to possible cures that are not patented by the pharmaceutical industry. They have also opened their minds to dealing with primary research to prove or disprove the claims of vitamin pushers. Either way, "integrative medicine" is on its way to attacking disease even if the cure isn’t a costly prescription drug with a patent. Open minds--determined to heal, whether or not motivated by profit, is just what this country needs to cut the cost of health care and begin moving towards better results for all Americans.

Lettuce Beats The Rap

LETTUCE BEATS THE RAP
Apparently, there’s a whole world surrounding lettuce I had no idea about. And I don’t just mean its sordid past as an opiate.
It has some surprising benefits that span a number of different aspects of health—from insomnia to diabetes and just about everything in between.
It’s a tossed salad full of benefits. Lettuce is a better sleep inducer than any of the "sleeping pills": in the drug store. Lactucarium is an ingredient in lettuce that gives it its sedative and hypnotic properties. Back in the 19th century, opium addicts drank a concoction containing it when they couldn’t get the drug itself. Now, I wouldn’t recommend trying to get the same effect with lettuce, but I’ll tell you about the solution later. If you’re having trouble sleeping, it could do the trick.
Lettuce appears to have a diuretic effect, which can help lower blood sugar. It also has a carminative effect; i.e., it relieves flatulence and that full feeling you get when you have made a pig of yourself. According to some of the information I read, lettuce has an anaphrodisiac action. That is it appeases the sexual appetite. I’m sure you have noticed that you don’t see many promos for products that weaken the sexual appetite, so I’m not sure how much use this aspect will be for you. And for those special days, according to herbal literature, lettuce decoctions are also effective in relieving menstrual cramps.
I can’t vouch for any of these claims, since I haven’t actually tried lettuce for any of the above purposes. But Plinius ("Pliny"), one of the greatest naturalists of all time, recommended lettuce. Pliny was, literally, an expert on everything. He was very knowledgeable in medicine but had very little respect for the doctors of the times. So if it’s good enough for one of the greatest naturalists who ever lived, it’s good enough for me.
To make your own lettuce tonic, try cooking a head of iceberg lettuce in a crockpot on low for 24 hours. Take out the wilted leaves and toss them in the garbage and save the liquid in a bottle or jar. I recommend taking small amounts to start—a 4 oz. glassful seems reasonable. If it doesn’t knock you out for 12 hours, you can increase it to 8 oz. Anyway, whether or not they’re losing sleep over it, I don’t think the Feds will outlaw lettuce any time soon, which is more than I can say for lots of other natural remedies. File this in a safe place—you may need it sooner than you think.
Reference:"Lactuca Sativa L: Lettuce, "Botanical (www.botanical-online.com)

Water - Essential to the entire body.

How long do you think you would last without food? Actually, you would probably last about 45 days without food. But without water, you'd be lucky if you lasted 10 days. Of all the vital nutrients you need to survive, water is the one you simply can't do without.

Water makes up about 60 percent of your body weight, and if you don't get enough any other nutrients you take in will be left high and dry. A lack of water affects everything from your digtestive tract to your immune system. It also helps regulate your body temperature.

Your body loses 10 - 12 cups of water per day just from all the normal things you do. When you sweat, urinate, excrete waste, or even just breathe, you're getting rid of some of that moisture. So how does your body know when it needs more, and ow does it get that message to you?

When you get that "cotton" mouth, your body is telling you it needs more water. When you get dry mouth because your body is borrowing water from your salivary glands - your body is telling you that it's time to "wet your whistle." That's why experts tell you to drink throughout the day even if you don't feel thirsty.

In times of real trouble, the hypothalamus calls out the antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This hormone tells your kidneys to send some of the water they are holding for excretion back into the bloodstream. If your body has too much water, ADH will tell your kidneys to release it. But ti always makes sure you only get rid of water you don't need.

Water constanly moves in and out of your cells---dissolving nutrients, delivering them where they need to go, and carrying wast out of your body. Water plays a big part in feeding your cells so you get all the energy you need. Think of it as your own personal transportation system.

Like oil in a machine, water helps lubricate your digestive system to make it run the way it's supposed to. Without it, you can get constipated and the digestive process will begin to make you feel sluggish. That's why it is so important to drink a full glass of water, immediately upon rising in the morning. Water helps soften your stools so you can pass them more easily.

When you get that painful, buring sensation in your chest known as heartburn, you need water to wash the acid out and give your stomach a fighting chance to do its job properly. Try drinking a glass of water about an hour before meals to keep your stomach from bloating. A bloated stomach is more likely to overflow. Water helps antacids and medicines to do their jobs faster and more efficiently. It also keeps your body temperature even. When exercise or fever makes you sweat, the water evaporating off your skin helps you coold down --- a kind of natural air conditioning.

If you're sick or having surgery, drinking water is an easy way to put yourself back on the road to recovery. After surgery, your body retains water to help it heal, so adding to your supply gives your body an estra boost when it nees it most.

Water is your best source for preventing bladder or urinary infection. It helps flush the infection from your system before it gets a good grip.

It lubricates your joints and provides a cushion of water molecules that lubricate and make it easier to bend and move around. When arthritis makes you fel stiff and achy, your first though should be water. This simple solution may help you feel better and even reduce your painful swelling.

If you're bothered by gout, you especially need to drink a lot of water. It dilutes and carries away the uric acid that causes your discomfort.

Water moisturizes your skin and lips giving you a healthy look and helping to prevent wrinkling by nourishing your cells and making the skin more elastic and supple instead of dried up and shriveled.

Water watches your weight. It is at the center of any successful weight-loss program because it water carries nutrients you need and it happens to be calorie-free. Drinking a glass before eating fills you up and makes it easier to resist that mound of food on your plate. It helps you eat more slowly. I experiment many years ago with the idea of drinking a glass of water any time I felt the urge to snack - and it worked. You end up eating less and your body functions much more efficiently, especially during exercise.

Wash away the germs internally and externally with water. Fewer germs mean fewer illnesses and that means a healthier, happier you.

Of course, the amount of water your body needs depends on the temperature and whether you are playing a hearty game of gennis or just relaxing in front of your television.

I use a 32 ounce bottle of water with the markings. It helps keep me aware of just how much water I am consuming.

A 115 year-old man living on an island off Japan was asked how a person his age could be so healthy. "Simple," the old man replied. "I've drunk water all my life - gallons and gallons of it." He ended up living to the ripe old age of 120 years, 237 days. For Shigechiyo Izumi and others on his island, water was the secret to a long life. But it was a special kind of water filtered through ancient coral reefs. It gave him extra minerals and other elements that helped keep the spring in his step and a youthful song in his heart.