Acupuncture Associates
News News News
March 2010
VEGAN NUNS HAVE SAME BONE DENSITY AS MEAT EATERS
A study comparing the bone health of vegan Buddhist nuns with non-vegetarian women has found that their bone density was identical.
The cross-sectional study showed that, although vegans had lower dietary calcium and protein intakes than omnivores, veganism did not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and did not alter body composition. (Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in Buddhist nuns. Osteoporos Int. 2009 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print]).
CHINESE WATER POLLUTION
Chinese farms generate more water pollution than its factories, according to a government commissioned report.
Agriculture dumps most of the phosphorus and nitrogen found in rivers and lakes. Both pollutants are responsible for aquatic dead zones. (New Scientist Feb 13, 2010 p 7).
CELL-PHONE ELBOW
A new syndrome has been added to the list of health concerns associated with mobile phone usage. ‘Cell-phone elbow’, or cubital tunnel syndrome commonly occurs after prolonged mobile phone use and manifests as tingling, aching, burning or numbness in the ulnar forearm and hand.
The condition is caused by stretching of the ulnar nerve, which happens when the elbow is kept bent for long periods, for example when holding a mobile phone to the ear. The bent elbow position narrows the space available for the nerve, increasing pressure in the nerve tunnel by as much as 20 times.
This can be further aggravated by leaning on the elbow, for instance talking on the phone while leaning on the bent elbow. Blood supply to the nerve is compromised leading to swelling, which further reduces room in the nerve tunnel, and thus a vicious cycle is established.
The condition can be treated by avoiding activities that make the condition worse and by changing phone behavior – for example changing the phone to the other hand or using a hands-free kit. (What is cell phone elbow, and what should we tell our patients? Cleve Clin J Med. 2009 May;76(5):306-8).
MORE TEA, PLEASE
Taking Polyphenon E, a compound containing tea polyphenols including epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), can improve serum levels of prostate cancer markers in men suffering from the condition.
Twenty-six men, scheduled for radical prostatectomy, were given daily doses of Polyphenon E in the time leading up to their surgery. They showed a significant reduction in serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and other inflammatory markers. Liver function tests also decreased. (Tea polyphenols decrease serum levels of prostate-specific antigen, hepatocyte growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor in prostate cancer patients and inhibit production of hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in vitro. Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa). 2009 Jul;2(7):673-82).
Polyphenon E is also currently the subject of a Phase II trial to estimate its efficacy in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Phase I trials found that it was well tolerated by CLL patients and decreases in lymphocyte count and/or lymphadenopathy were observed in the majority of patients. (Phase I trial of daily oral Polyphenon E in patients with asymptomatic Rai stage 0 to II chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Aug 10;27(23):3808-14).
Eating mushrooms and drinking green tea have a joint effect on decreasing women’s risk of breast cancer according to a case-control study of 1,009 Chinese women. (Dietary intakes of mushrooms and green tea combine to reduce the risk of breast cancer in Chinese women. Int J Cancer. 2009 Mar 15;124(6):1404-8).
KYOTO KONFABULATIONS
Once-Great Britain’s government data indicates that compliance with the “Kyoto” protocols reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 148 megatons between 1992 and 2004.
High fives and handshakes all around.
However, new data indicates that this reduction was countered by a 217 megaton rise from imported goods. Though the study was completed six months ago, the government has been unwilling to allow publication of the report until “perhaps later this year.”
Glen Peters of Norway’s Center for International Climate and Environment Research has this response: “The UK can pat itself on the back and say they reduced carbon dioxide emission, but they just pushed those emissions elsewhere.” (New Scientist Feb 6, 2010 p 11).
MENOPAUSE FORMULA REVEALS BONE-BUILDING PROPERTIES
A Chinese herbal formula used to treat menopausal symptoms has potential as a therapy for osteoporosis.
The formula, Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) consists of a mixture of Astragalus (Huang Qi) and Angelica (Dang Gui) in the ratio of 5:1. Chinese investigators studied its effects on cell proliferation and differentiation in cultured cells. DBT was found to have estrogenic (bone-generating) effects and to induce gene expression in osteoblastic (bone-building) cells.
The scientists produced gene expression profiles of cells treated with DBT and compared them with cells treated with pure extracts of either Radix Astragali (RA) or Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS). Of 883 DBT-regulated genes, they found that 403 of them were specifically regulated by DBT treatment, and not by the individual herbal components alone.
The researchers went on to further elucidate the cellular signaling cascade involved in DBT-regulated gene expression. The authors conclude that their results could be used to help develop DBT as a drug to prevent osteoporosis in menopausal women. (A Chinese Herbal Decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, Stimulates Proliferation, Differentiation and Gene Expression of Cultured Osteosarcoma Cells: Genomic Approach to Reveal Specific Gene Activation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Jan 8. [Epub ahead of print]).
STEAM YOUR GREENS
Some cooking methods can preserve, and even boost, the nutrient content of vegetables.
Italian scientists evaluated the effects of three commonly used cooking methods - boiling, steaming, and frying - on the nutrient content of carrots, courgettes and broccoli. Water-cooking treatments maintained the antioxidant content of the vegetables, while frying caused a significantly higher loss of antioxidants.
For broccoli, steaming increased the content of glucosinolates (a group of plant compounds with cancer-fighting abilities).
Softening of the vegetables by the cooking process is thought to lead to increased extractability of antioxidants. (Effects of different cooking methods on nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of selected vegetables. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jan 9;56(1):139-47).
OATS FOR CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION
A review of recent research strongly supports the link between eating oatmeal and lowering cholesterol levels. The authors report that studies conducted during the past 15 years have, without exception, shown that consumption of oats and oat-based products significantly reduces total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL, the "bad" cholesterol) concentrations without adverse effects on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, the "good" cholesterol), or triglyceride concentrations. (State of the Art Reviews: The Oatmeal-Cholesterol Connection: 10 Years Later. Am J Lifestyle Med 2008; 2(1): 51-57).
SWEET DRINKS LINKED TO GOUT
Consumption of sugar sweetened soft drinks and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk of gout in men.
In a study of Canadian health professionals, 46,393 men with no history of gout at baseline provided information on intake of soft drinks and fructose through food frequency questionnaires.
During the 12 years of follow-up, 755 cases of gout were reported. Increasing intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks was associated with an increasing risk of gout.
The risk was significantly increased with an intake level of 5-6 servings per week and the risk was 85% higher among men who consumed two or more servings of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per day compared to those who consumed less than one serving per month. (Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008 Feb 9;336(7639):309-12).
SSRI ANTIDEPRESSANTS MAY INTERFERE WITH TAMOXIFEN
An enzyme which converts tamoxifen into its biologically active form may be inhibited by SSRI antidepressants.
The result would be inadequate blood levels of the anticancer drug.
David Juurlink of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto reviewed the records of 2430 women and found that when tamoxifen treatment overlapped with the use of paroxetine, the long term risk of death from breast cancer was higher. (New Scientist Feb 13, 2010 p 6).
CHINESE HERBAL EXTRACT PREVENTS POLYCYSTIC KIDNEYS
Triptolide, a compound derived from the Chinese medicinal herb; Lei Gong Teng (Tripterygii wilfordii Radix) has been demonstrated to prevent the formation of kidney-destroying cysts in a mouse model of polycystic kidney disease.
Researchers from Yale University found that the compound corrected cellular calcium signaling mechanisms that are disrupted in the disease, leading to abnormal cell growth. (Triptolide is a traditional Chinese medicine-derived inhibitor of polycystic kidney disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Mar 13;104(11):4389-94).
GINSENG RELIEVES CANCER FATIGUE
A pilot study suggests that ginseng can relieve fatigue and boost energy levels in people with cancer.
The US based trial tested three doses (750 mg, 1000 mg and 2000 mg) of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) against placebo in 282 patients suffering from a variety of types of cancer, about half of whom were receiving chemotherapy.
After eight weeks, 25% of patients taking 1000 mg of ginseng and 27% of patients taking 2000 mg reported feeling "moderately better" or "much better," compared with only 10% of patients in both the placebo and the lowest dose ginseng groups. (American Society of Clinical Oncology 43rd Annual Meeting: Abstract 9001).
AFFIRMATIONS CAN MAKE SOME PEOPLE FEEL WORSE
Canadian psychologists have found that people with low self-esteem can actually feel worse after repeating positive statements about themselves.
The researchers asked people with high and low self-esteem to repeat a positive self-statement ("I am a lovable person"). They then measured the participants' moods and their feelings about themselves.
The low self-esteem group felt worse afterwards compared to people with high self-esteem who felt better after repeating the positive affirmation, but only to a limited degree.
The psychologists then asked the participants to list negative and positive thoughts about themselves. They found, paradoxically, that those with low self-esteem were in a better mood when they were allowed to have negative thoughts than when they were asked to focus exclusively on affirmative thoughts. (Positive self-statements: power for some, peril for others. Psychol Sci. 2009 Jul;20(7):860-6).
"Is Anyone Thinking?" Department
WRONG DIAGNOSIS, WRONG TREATMENT EQUALS ONE HUNDRED PER CENT CHANCE OF FAILURE
The President’s wife has been sucked into the current “war” on the “obesity epidemic”.
This predictable sinkhole for resources and money will, in this latest instance, cost only ten billion dollars. On the other hand, it will ensure endless meetings of people who have already demonstrated they have too little ability and too much time on their hands.
The familiar players; “medical, business and government leaders, nutrition experts,{and} grassroots activists”, are ever ready to step up and exploit this disastrous failure of our culture to establish anything resembling a healthy lifestyle.
“At its core, the initiative has four pillars: more nutrition information, increased physical activity, easier access to healthy foods and, ultimately, personal responsibility” states the press release.
Doesn’t that sound revolutionary?
Unfortunately, all of this has been tried before, and failed utterly. If you lined up all the “wake up” calls that have been issued by taskforces, do-gooders, legislators, and medical and “scientific” panels on this subject, they would stretch from here to Pluto.
But, there are grants, tax dollars, and fellowships to be had, and endlessly repeating ineffectual attempts at a solution is the best way to ensure continued employment among the elite and the academics, and all those who beg for crumbs at their tables.
The issues begin far earlier than the politicians realize: The U.S. Preventative Task Force now suggests that “obesity management” begin at age six. Other researchers suggest that the trend to overweight is present before the age of two.
Surgery is clearly superior to all of the solutions the First Lady endorses, but somehow I doubt we will be seeing her promoting bariatric surgery.
A recent randomized trial published in the Feb 10, 2010 JAMA clearly suggests the superiority of surgery in controlling weight (known to the elite as “body mass index”, a much more intellectually satisfying term).
Two groups of obese adolescents were subjected to either gastric banding or an incredibly intensive attempt to change eating and activity behaviors. A team consisting of a general physician, a sports medicine physician, a dietitian, an exercise consultant, and a nurse were required to implement a “lifestyle” program that was designed to maximize behavioral changes.
A high cost program such as this could only be achieved inside a research institution, so real life results will be much more modest.
Yet, after two years of follow up, the lifestyle approach worked for only 12% of the children, even to obtain only a 50% improvement in “excess weight”. The surgical group obtained an 84% response.
Conclusion? “Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (gastric banding) has the potential to provide a safe and effective treatment.”
Despite its superiority in this study, the fact remains that no surgery is ever “safe”; 33% of surgical patients in this study required another operation to correct problems caused by the first surgery. The criteria for improvement was only a 50% reduction of excess weight, and long term nutritional and surgical complications are not considered in this study.
Any benefits will evaporate as time goes on since most weight loss is regained after surgery or intensive lifestyle changes.
Is there any benefit to a temporary 50% weight loss in obese children? No one knows.
But even if surgery is included, the latest “initiative”, with the first lady at the helm, also has a hundred percent chance of failure.
Why? Because all of the “solutions” presently proposed fail to address the cause.
THE TRUE CAUSE OF OBESITY
The disorders underlying our dysfunctional appetites lie in the heart/brain connection, not in the digestive system.
An understanding of the function of the Heart according to traditional Chinese medicine, detailed in America the Heartless, Part I, is the first step to a realization of what can really be done to address this dangerous trend.
As I pointed out in that essay, it requires sufficient Heart qi and spirit to achieve fulfillment from food. In a person with healthy physiology, “hearty” food will contribute to the production and storage of shen or spirit in the Heart. When Heart-spirit is sufficient, food is satisfying and the person is content.
These normal mechanisms then shut down eating when energy needs are met.
In a person with damaged Heart qi and spirit, no amount of food provides this response. As a result, the individual continues to eat in a futile search for satisfaction and contentment. Obesity is the inevitable result.
WHAT DAMAGES HEART QI AND SPIRIT?
The primary factor damaging Heart qi and spirit is fear. A climate of fearfulness, as well as a culture of cowardice among the so-called “leadership” in our country has created a populace who can no longer face adversity or overcome obstacles.
A culture of entitlement has created an expectation that all of our troubles will be soothed by an all pervasive nanny-State.
Whereas once the American spirit embraced fortitude, perseverance, bold ambition, and individual responsibility, our culture of fear has substituted wimpiness, dependence and a craven, pusillanimous expectation that someone else should solve our problems and eliminate risks.
Our mass media and political elite, themselves privileged, fearful, and cowering behind gated communities and armed guards, prescribes heavy doses of fear to manipulate and control the populace in their unceasing quest for wealth and power. Every pronouncement and communication from these institutions carries a message of fear.
What passes for entertainment and “sport” often encompasses the extremes of horror and violence. Both children and adults are corrupted by these terrifying images.
Fear can be a lifesaving gift when it is a temporary response and motivates an appropriate survival response, but when it becomes a prolonged state of being, fear destroys the Heart spirit and creates paranoia, insecurity and heartlessness.
Heartlessness in turn results in monstrous behavior, as well as an inability to love or feel empathy or compassion. The result is still more fear.
CHILDREN REQUIRE CONFIDENCE AND STABILITY
Among the last few generations, there are increasing numbers of parents who have been emotionally damaged as children themselves. As a result of the damage to their own Heart qi, they substitute food for the real love and support that nourishes children.
There are also parents who use food as a currency in an attempt to purchase good behavior from their indulged and bratty children.
It doesn’t work.
Fear and insecurity has made these parents angry, and in turn they infect their children with anger. Children need a sense of security and confidence in the capability of their parents and look to them as icons of adult behavior. A parent whose emotions are unstable and whose behavior is unpredictable will increase tendencies to fear and insecurity in their children.
Children who are drifting in a sea of insecurity and fear as a result of their emotionally crippled parents are never able to feel the contentment that good food provides to a person with a normally responsive heart.
And, although the subject of this editorial is obesity, the very same mechanisms of Heart qi and spirit disorder, when some other issues and factors are present, can also lead to the disorders of appetite known as "bulimia" and "anorexia nervosa".
As with "obesity", inadequate understanding of the issues of spririt and Heart restoration limits treatment efficacy for those who suffer from these imbalances.
ELIMINATE FAILURE AND YOU ALSO ELIMINATE SUCCESS
Our “educational” system also breeds insecurity and fear with its arbitrary and unpredictable standards for achievement and goals that have no relationship to actual academic capability.
Curriculums have been crafted to carefully avoid any acknowledgement of the value of character or morality, and certainly there is no education available on the subject of improving character or in meditational training.
Techniques that assist in achieving emotional stability are also not available in our educational system.
A false egalitarianism has been fashioned to prevent students from developing the confidence that comes from actual success and the resilience that comes from actual failure. A refusal to recognize superior achievement in some students, as well as manipulation of the definition of success so that "everyone is a hero", has created a set of standards that is so low that no one develops any motivation to excel.
With feel-good social engineering goals substituting for actual capability, students themselves are aware that they progress though their schooling with no actual ability to solve emotional or real life problems. The result has been two generations of feckless, fearful, inept, and unemployable citizens.
To solve the obesity “epidemic” we must eliminate our culture of fear and restore the factors which strengthen the Heart.
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