THE WYSONG e-HEALTH LETTER
~Thoughts for Thinking People~
Table of Contents:
>Mythical
Benefits of Aspirin for Seniors
>Exercise Boosts Breast Cancer Survival
>Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity
>Vitamin E Cuts Prostate Cancer Risk in Half
>Doctor Education
>Flavonols may impact brain functioning
>Fructose in soft drinks linked to body fat increases
>Early nutrient deficiency may increase adolescent violence
>Coffee consumption and heart disease risk
>Maternal diet may contribute to child leukemia risk
Shorts
Current
Research and Thoughts You Can Use
for Health and Healing
...And Which Verify The
Wysong Optimal Health Program™
For those over 70, an aspirin a day may not be worth the risk caused by bleeding. A mathematical model based on 20,000 virtual men and women aged 70-74 were “followed” to their deaths or until they reached 100. The theoretical benefits and risks of low dose aspirin showed:
- Some 500 extra episodes of gastric bleeding among men and 570 in women were calculated.
- About 130 more men and women would suffer bleeding in the brain.
Dr. W Straight Talk: Stroke and heart attacks are not caused by a deficiency in aspirin. Keep that concept in mind when you take any medication for any condition. Increasing omega-3* fatty acids, vitamin C and E, converting the diet to its natural state and exercise can do far more to prevent and reverse heart disease and stroke - with no side effects - than any drug ever thought of doing.
Exercise
Boosts Breast Cancer Survival
Breast cancer patients reduced their chances of dying
of the disease by about half by exercising 3 to 5 hours a week, as compared to
sedentary women. Nearly 3,000 breast cancer patients’ health and exercise
habits were monitored for up to 18 years and results showed any amount of weekly
exercise increased patients' odds of surviving.
- Women who exercised for one hour to less than three hours a week had a risk of death from breast cancer that was about 20 percent lower than those who exercised less.
- Only 20 out of 335 women who exercised three to five hours a week died from breast cancer.
- Physical exercise was particularly beneficial to those with hormone-responsive breast cancer, the most common form of cancer.
Dr. W Straight Talk: Every health condition benefits from exercise. The reason for this is that is how we are designed. In the wild if we did not exercise we did not eat. In our new synthetic world we can eat without exercising at all. No wonder obesity and illness abound.
Risk
Factors for Childhood Obesity
Obesity affects over 10 percent of children worldwide.
Susceptibility to weight gain, as noted by a study of over 9,000 children monitored
since birth, can stem from habits developed early in life (even in the womb).
An early warning checklist was created for parents. The seven factors include:
(i) Early size, (ii) Early body fat, (iii) High birth
weight, (iv) Having obese parents, (v) Quick growth from ages 1-2, (vi) Watching
more than eight hours of TV a week, and (vii) Getting less than 10.5 hours of
sleep at night. Lifestyle choices were also shown to be a contributing factor
in childhood obesity. (Reilly et al., [2005]. Early life risk factors for obesity
in childhood: cohort study British Medical Journal May 20, 2005.)
Dr. W Straight Talk: If we try to grow a garden
in the backyard, we soon learn that we better fertilize, water and weed it or
we end up with disease ridden, insect infested plants overtaken by weeds. Nothing
good happens without concerted effort. So too, with children. They need careful
attention and intelligent nurturing or we give them a legacy of disease. If you
love your children, you do not show that by letting them do as they choose and
stuff themselves with starch and sugars and then go sit in front of the television
while swilling pop.
Vitamin
E Cuts Prostate Cancer Risk in Half
The main components of vitamin E, alpha and gamma tocopherol
appear to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by nearly 50 percent. Results from
an Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene* Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study indicated
that men with the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol in their blood at baseline
were about 50 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than those with
the lowest level of the vitamin, but it also showed:
- Men with highest levels of gamma-tocopherol were 43 percent less likely to develop the cancer, compared with men with the lowest levels.
- The connection between high tocopherol levels and low cancer risk was stronger among individuals taking alpha-tocopherol supplements compared to those not taking them.
Dr. W Straight Talk: In a previous article in the e-HL you might recall a study that received widespread publicity about how vitamin E supplements were linked to increased mortality. Although that study was flawed in many respects, here is yet more evidence of the benefits of the vitamin. But this won’t receive headline news. Figure it.
Doctor
Education
Patient care does not improve based on a doctor’s
experience and age according to researchers who analyzed 62 studies conducted
over the last four decades. Nearly 75% of the studies showed older doctors were
less likely to:
- Stick to guidelines for cancer screening
- Use proper medications to treat heart attacks
- Adopt other evidence-based treatments
Dr. W Straight Talk: I don’t believe this study for many reasons. For one, medical intervention is the number one killer. Secondly, young doctors tend to use 10 medications for one condition while more seasoned physicians tend to use one medication for 10 conditions. The inference from the above study would lead one to believe that a new graduate who just emerged from being buried in academic books is more competent than a physician with experience. That would contradict everything we know about experience and wisdom. The only reason to believe these results would be if older doctors have shifted their focus from compassion to profit and simply do what is in their best economic interests rather than what is in the patient’s health interests.
Flavonols
may impact brain functioning
Cocoa flavonols*, already shown to benefit heart health,
may also have an impact on the brain. In a study on 16 healthy young women, the
researcher tested the brain’s activation during cognitive tasks using functional
MRI. The subjects consumed the flavonol-rich cocoa drink (150 mg of flavonols),
once a day for five days prior to the study.
“We found that high cocoa flavonol drink was associated
with a higher blood flow response to selective areas of the brain”, concluded
the study. Two other independent studies have shown that (a) similar increases
in blood flow can be achieved among people with diabetes, thereby suggesting
that cocoa flavanols could aid in treatment of serious vascular complications
associated with long-term diabetes; and (b) specific cocoa molecules were also
identified in reduced platelet aggregation which may have potential benefits
for those at risk of heart disease and stroke.
Dr. W Straight Talk: It is hard to find a food
plant that does not have health-active molecules. We are genetically adapted
to natural foods - not synthetic foods or drugs - and it is from them that we
have our best prospects for prevention and healing. This study is not a reason
to gorge on sugar-laden chocolate, since the benefits of cocoa could be offset
by such ingredients. Find a healthy chocolate, not a mere candy.
Fructose
in soft drinks linked to body fat increase
Drinking large amounts of beverages containing fructose*
adds body fat, and might explain why sweetening with fructose could be even worse
than using other sweeteners. The marked increase in the prevalence of obesity
in the United States has recently been attributed to the increased fructose consumption.
A new study observed an increase in body fat in subjects that drank the fructose-sweetened
water and soft drinks compared to controls. The findings suggest that the total
amount of calories consumed when fructose is added to diets may not be the only
explanation for weight gain. Fructose consumption appears to affect metabolic
rate in a way that favors fat storage. The researchers now also believe that
another factor contributing to the increased fat storage is that the liver metabolizes
fructose differently than it does other carbohydrates. "Similar to dietary fat,
fructose doesn't appear to fully trigger the hormonal systems involved in the
long-term control of food intake and energy metabolism," concludes the study.
(Jürgens, et al. [2005]. Consuming Fructose-sweetened Beverages Increases
Body Adiposity in Mice. Obesity Research 13:1146- 1156.)
Dr. W Straight Talk: Fructose is the predominant
sugar in fruits, a natural food that is not only not harmful, but immensely beneficial.
But if fructose is isolated and consumed in large doses, all bets are off. If
you would like to strip some pounds off, drink water, not fruit juice or sweetened
beverages. Drink about a gallon of pure water a day that is alkalinized and you
will also experience a host of health benefits. If you would like some fructose,
eat whole, fresh (organic if possible) fruit.
Early
nutrient deficiency may increase adolescent violence
Malnutrition in the first few years of life leads to
antisocial and aggressive behavior throughout childhood and late adolescence,
report US researchers. Deficiency in iron*, protein and B vitamins* in infancy
can cause behavior problems right up until the end of teenage years. Diet plays
a role in preventing antisocial behavior. "Identifying the early risk factors
for this behavior in childhood and adolescence is an important first step for
developing successful prevention programs for adult violence," explained the
lead author of the study. Compared to those in the control group, the malnourished
children showed a 41 per cent increase in aggression at age eight, a 10 per cent
increase in aggression and delinquency at age 11 and a 51 per cent increase in
violent and antisocial behavior at age 17. While social class did not play a
significant factor in behavior, intelligence level did. "Poor nutrition, characterized
by zinc, iron, vitamin B and protein deficiencies, leads to low IQ, which leads
to later antisocial behavior - these are all nutrients linked to brain development," the
study concluded. Researchers also found that the more indicators of malnutrition
there were, the greater the antisocial behavior. (American Journal of Psychiatry [Nov
2004]. V. 161 pp. 2005-2013. )
Dr. W Straight Talk: Growing bodies and minds
need excellent nutrition. Instead, children are given whatever “they want.” If
there are behavior problems, gosh, maybe they need a therapist or Ritalin. How
crazy. If you love your kids, feed them right and give them a chance to develop
their full potential.
Coffee
consumption and heart disease risk
The new association between coffee consumption and coronary
heart disease found that heavy coffee consumption does increase the short-term
risk of acute myocardial infarction or coronary death, independent of the brewing
method or currently recognized risk factors for coronary heart disease. The study
concludes that coffee consumption in excess of 800 ml per day results in a substantial
increase in the risk of acute myocardial infarction in middle aged men. (Journal
of Nutrition [Aug 2004]. Vol.148 [9].)
Dr. W Straight Talk: Although coffee comes
from a natural plant, brewing it creates a totally artificial and unnatural substance.
It is laced with chemicals and is strongly addictive and mood altering. In effect,
it is a drug. Why on earth would there not be health problems associated with
it? There is nothing of benefit coffee does for you that some fresh natural food
and exercise would not.
Maternal
diet may contribute to child leukemia risk
The diet of women prior to pregnancy may contribute to
the risk level of their children developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the
most common childhood cancer and the second most common cause of mortality in
children aged 1-14. Based on recent studies indicating that the disease can originate
in the womb, this study examined the diets of women 12 months prior to pregnancy
using a 76-item food questionnaire. They concluded that consumption of vegetables,
fruits, and protein sources, as well as provitamin A carotenoids and the antioxidant
glutathione were all inversely related to the development of childhood leukemia.
(Jensen et al., [2005]. Maternal Dietary Risk Factors in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukemia [United States]. Cancer Causes and Control. V.15 [6]. pp. 559 – 570)
Dr. W Straight Talk: It is a sad fact that
when many women get pregnant, rather than really reflecting on the quality of
the food they eat, they just start eating more of the same old processed junk
food fare. Pregnancy is an ethical responsibility to nurture the child properly.
Losing a child due to leukemia or some other preventable disease is an immense
tragedy. But mothers will never be told it was their fault, but rather that the
child’s disease is "just one of those things." No it's not, as the above
study and countless others demonstrate.
The Wysong e-Health Letter is an educational newsletter. Opinions expressed are meant to be taken for their argumentative/intellectual interest value, and not interpreted as specific medical or legal direction for individual conditions or situations. The e-Health Letter does not represent all-inclusive knowledge, nor can it affirm or deny facts or data gathered from cited references. Before initiating any health action or changing existing therapies, individuals should read the references cited in the e-Health Letter or request them from Wysong Corporation (eHealthLetter@wysong.net), and seek and evaluate several alternative, competent viewpoints. The reader (not the Wysong e-Health Letter) must assume all responsibilities from the application of educational and often controversial information presented in the e-Health Letter.
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