Healthy Bytes

Disagreement over Gardasil – take it now or wait and see

read time: 377 words, about two minutes

It would be interesting to see a study that compares the level of fear people experience when shown the word cancer and when shown the word terrorist.

Both words are pretty charged to the point that people REact – perhaps irrationally so – to them.

An interesting point - at least with cancer is - it’s at least partially a lifestyle disease. Yet people won’t change their lifestyle choices.

Enough rambling…

There’s an article in SF Gate today with regards to an editorial published in The New England Journal of Medicine about Gardasil.
A couple of UCSF doctors are warning against widespread use. Reason: there’s simply not enough data. Data to prove it’s safe. Data to prove it works.

Dr Karen McCune, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF:

“At this stage, the vaccination can still be considered experimental. To be discussing mandatory vaccination when the main clinical trials are still ongoing seems extremely premature. We’re feeling like the enthusiasm is driving policy rather than data.”

Also at issue is the fact that Gardasil acts on 2 strains of HPV that are associated with cervical cancer. There are 13 additional strains.

Dr McCune is concerned about the possibility that some or all of the additional 13 strains “may fill a ‘niche’ left if the two more common strains are wiped out entirely”

I know cancer is a scary word.
If you’re standing on a train track with a train hurling at you, it’s wise to REact.
If you’re considering a pharmaceutical product, it’s wise to consider the RISKS as well as the credibility of the promise… and ACT accordingly.

The article concludes with:

“But while many doctors agree that there are still questions about the vaccine, they note that there is no question that Gardasil is effective at stopping the most common cancer-causing HPV strains. And because the vaccine is most effective before a woman has had sex, it’s important that girls get vaccinated as soon as possible, even if some doubts remain, some doctors say.”

(emphasis added)

I don’t understand. Shouldn’t the DOUBT be resolved first? After all, the results will be yours to keep whether you like them or not. Merck won’t take them back. Ask the families of people who died from the “results” of Vioxx.

Not your father’s heart attack

read time: 177 words, about a minute

30 million American kids are overweight – that’s 1 in 3.
In another 3 years (2010) – if the trend holds – it will be 1 in 2.

With all these overweight kids, we’re now seeing a proliferation of “adult” diseases in kids too young to get a driver’s license… heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea.
Kids experiencing these lifestyle diseases 40-50 years earlier than their parents generation. And they’re being treated with made for adults pharmaceuticals, replete with side effects.

Here’s a few scarry factoids:

A Harvard study found kids 10-15 years old who watched 5 hours of TV a day had a 500% (5 times) greater liklihood of being overweight than kids who watched 2 hours or less.

Every hour a day of TV correlates to 6 pounds of increased weight.

Another study found that kids over 15 who ate fast food 2 or more times a week gained 10 pounds.

For each sugar laden drink consumed by middle school kids a day, there was a 60% increase in the risk of obesity.

Looks like an extinction plan.

The similarity between diet soda and an ADHD drug

read time: 289 words, just over a minute

I was watching CNN House Call this morning. One of the stories was about prescribing Adderall to overweight kids.
Adderall is an amphetamine approved for ADHD prescribing.

According to Wikipedia, the active ingredients are:
1/4 Dextroamphetamine Saccharate
1/4 Dextroamphetamine Sulfate
1/4 dl-amphetamine Aspartate (racemic amphetamine)
1/4 dl-amphetamin Sulfate (racemic amphetamine)

One of the side effects of Adderall is decreased appetite. Thus some docs are prescribing it for the “side effect” rather than the “effect”. This is what they call “off label” prescribing.
(other side effects include: sleep difficulty, headaches, aggression, abnormal thoughts/behaviors, mania, growth suppression).

So they featured one kid and his family – a “success story”. It was a dinner table scene and what was the kid drinking… diet Dr. Pepper.
Now, what’s in diet soda… primarily Aspartame (some brands are switching to Splenda).
What is Aspartame (Nutra Sweet)? L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine.
(Some of the side effects are: headaches, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma)

Aspartic acid – which is an amino acid – is also known as aspartate.
Now I’m not a chemistry whiz. And I haven’t dug deep. But I was tickled by the dl-amphetamine Aspartate ingredient in Adderall and the L-aspartic acid in aspartame.
I’m not sure if there is a functional difference between the two.

What I do know is that aspartame is an excitotoxin. To put it simply – it’s not good for your brain.
If you notice the side effects of both Aspartame and Adderall, you’ll see there are brain issues.

Additionally, artificial sweeteners tend to make you crave more sweet stuff and mess with your brains ability to signal satiety. (I’ve posted on this a few times).

Just a thought… rather than putting the overweight kid on a strong drug, clean up his diet.

Your tax dollars – fattening politicians… AND YOU

read time: 214 words, about a minute

Michael Pollan wrote an interesting article in Time about some research done by Adam Drewnowski from University of Washington.

His question – is wealth the most reliable predictor of obesity in America?
Throughout history peasants were always bone thin and the aristocrats a bit more “fluffy”

Off to the supermarket he went with his imaginary dollar.
He discovered he could get more calories for his dollar in the middle aisles as compared to the perimeter… 1,200 calories of potato chips compared to 250 calories of carrots. 875 calories of soda compared to 170 calories of OJ.

Hence, you will notice – and I don’t have the stats – lower income folks have a higher obesity rate than upper income folks.

And here’s something else about those foods in the middle aisles…
There are 5 crops that receive about $25 billion of subsidies a year:
Corn, soy, wheat, rice, cotton.
In addition to the unpronounceable ingredients, what you’ll find in those middle aisle products is a lot of sugar (derived from corn – high fructose corn syrup) and a lot of fat (derived from soy). And of course they generally strip the wheat leaving it nutrient lite.

So, how much would a bunch of carrots cost if they received subsidies?

Your tax dollars… cheapening your food and your health.

Made from sugar?!?

read time: 284 words, about a minute

Merisant, manufacturer of Equal (that would be the blue packet) is suing Splenda (that would be the yellow packet) manufacturer McNeil Nutritionals. They’re suing for $176 million or so.

Charging big decrease in their sales since Splenda entered the market. Ok, technically they’re charging that the Splenda slogan “made from sugar so it taste like sugar” is misleading. They’re only looking out for you

Symantics? Wellllll…
Splenda is sucralose.
They start with a sugar molocule and chlorinate and chemically alter it to produce “fructo-galactose”. Such a thing does not appear in nature and you cannot break it down and digest it.

Since it’s a “food” – well that’s how it’s technically classified, it does not go through that same kind of testing a drug would go through.

Chlorinated molecules are carcinogenic. They aren’t digested but instead accumulate in your fat cells.

There has been a swarm of “symptoms” associated with Splenda. There’s also quite a bit of politics with it.

Now McNeil claims that it does not say it is made WITH sugar so how can ANY consumer (I believe they don’t distinguish between literate or not, PhD in chemistry or not) interpret made FROM sugar so it tastes LIKE sugar as actually being in any way related to sugar.

Corporate jostling aside –
Sugar creates inflammation in your body which leads to nothing good.
Artificial sweeteners completely mess with your satiety brain signals… you’re not “satiated”, you keep eating…

Splenda controls nearly 60% of the sweetener market. Is it beeter or worse than the competitors? They’re all chemical toxins. I don’t see a point in arguing over which toxin is worse. Avoid them all.

Want to know more about Splenda…
Sucralose Toxicity Info Center

Get out the vote

118 words, under a minute

I can’t believe we have 20 months until the presidential elections. With all the campaigning already you’d think it was at least next year.

We only vote for presidents every four years. But you vote everyday – multiple times – with your fork.
Would people change their vote if they watched a debate between packaged food products and real food. Maybe we could have a square off between Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp Cereal and Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh blueberries. Or perhaps a quarter pounder with super sized fries and soda versus grilled chicken, cous cous, salad and water with a slice of lemon.

We know how people are voting now. Would an open debate change that?

Just back from a delightful hour at the pharmacy, also known as…

read time: 210 words, just a minute

…dinner. That’s right dinner.
Hippocrates wisely said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

And we can add to that:
Eat a rainbow.
Half your plate should be veggies. The more colors the better.
Veggies are low in calories, high in fiber and flush with phytonutrients – such good stuff.

Your reds (tomatoes, peppers, watermelon) excel in lycopene which smacks down free radicals.

Your oranges (carrots, sweet potatoes, squashes) score high in alpha- and beta-carotene. Buddies that bring you Vitamin A… helps the eyes and skin.

Your orange/yellow group (papaya, orange, peach, pineapple) get stars for Vitamin C and beta cryptothanxin. Immune system support.

Your yellow/green group (greens, corn, avocado, peas) are leaders in lutein which protects against cataracts and macular degeneration

Your white/green group (leeks, scallions, onions, garlic, celery). The onion family scores with anti-tumor allicin. Others in the group are high in anti-oxidant flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol.

Your greens (cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, bok choi, kale) are teeming with indoles, sulforaphane and isocyanate defenders against cancer

Your red/purple group (beets, eggplant, grapes, berries) are bursting with anti-oxidants defending the heart and slowing aging.

Combine that with relaxing conversation and sharing with people important in your life.
Blend in some laughter.

Beats purple pills in orange bottles.

Are you spending your tax dollars to GAIN weight?

read time: 436 words, about two minutes

Some of the worst ingredients we consume are sweeteners – the artificial ones, the processed ones and the chemically altered ones.

The similarities to heroin are frightening…
-> it’s addictive
-> we crave it
-> it pretty much has nothing but bad effects on our brain and our body
-> it crowds out good stuff

Corn is much in the news these days because of the whole ethanol thing.

I have no comment on that. What I do have comment on is HFCS – high fructose corn syrup.

2005 corn subsidies in the US were $9.4 BILLION.
There are 300 million people in the US (fewer in 2005)… so that pencils out to roughly $31.38/person.

Subsidies were changed in the 1970’s to heavily support corn and soybean agriculture.
Also in the early 1970’s HFCS was created… in a lab of course.
HFCS is a chemically altered sweetener way sweeter than regular ole sugar.

You say so what, you don’t have any in your cabinet.
Think again. HFCS is used in nearly every processed and prepackaged food product.
In the last 25 years consumption is up 1,000% and it currently is 40% of ALL sweeteners added to food products and beverages.

So what again. Ahh, here’s the big so what…
Regular sugar is 50% fructose, 50% glucose.
HFCS is 55% fructose, 45% glucose.

That seemingly small difference of 5% makes a huge difference when it passes your lips.
Fructose is a masterfully stealth robber. Unlike glucose, it DOES NOT trip the chemical reactions and hormones that get your brain to close your mouth and stop eating.

And fructose doesn’t reduce the stomach hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin in that “lion” in your stomach that roars to be fed.

And fructose doesn’t decrease the fat cell hormone adiponectin which makes you more insulin sensitive which in turn helps control appetite and weight.

But WAIT, there’s more…
Fructose is not digested and metabolized – it goes straight to fat production. (It’s used for cholesterol and triglyceride).

You know those “IV drips”… it’s a glucose solution. You can live on it.
If you replace it with a fructose solution – you’ll get fatty liver. That’s not something you will survive.

So all that HFCS you’re subsidizing with your tax dollars is contributing to increased caloric consumption (with less nutrition consumed), raised LDL, lowered HDL, increased triglycerides, decreased satiety sensitivity, increased insulin resistance and some other nasty odds and ends.

Read labels. You’ll be frightened how many products have HFCS.

Oh yea, that soybean subsidy. We get something for that as well… hydrogenated soybean oil, AKA trans-fat.

Makes ya want to buy an island and have your own country sometimes.

More March (recall) madness - Zelnorm

read time: 291 words, just a minute

Novartis drug Zelnorm has been withdrawn from the market per the request of the FDA.
Zelnorm is for relieving constipation. Apparently the FDA thinks the higher risk of chest pain, heart attack and stroke as a result of relieving constipation with Zelnorm is not a good trade off.

What do I think…
Fe-Fi-Fo-FIBER
Enough with the toilet paper conservation. Eat fiber, don’t get constipated.

Our fine ancestors ate about 100 grams of fiber a day.
Us?… 8 grams. Yup, that would be 92% LESS.

And where do you get fiber…
Veggies, fruit, veggies, legumes, veggies, flax seed, nuts, whole grains.

Not only will be spared constipation, but you’ll get some other massive benefits…

• Fiber slows the rate food and nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream – this keeps
  blood sugar and cholesterol in ideal balance and prevents blood sugar spikes. In fact fiber can lower blood sugar (which reduces insulin) as well as diabetes drugs.
• Fiber speeds the rate food passes through the digestive track – this quickly eliminates toxins.
• Fiber promotes weight loss by signaling the brain you’re full, stop eating.
• Fiber has bulk with far less calories than “empty calorie” foods.
• Fiber has been shown to reduce colon cancer by as much as a third and breast cancer by nearly 40%.

Soluble fiber is better than insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber gets digested; insoluble fiber does not.

Oh and if you really need extra help with constipation, there’s Glucomannan - a fiber product made from the root of elephant yams. It’s soluable and one of the most viscous fibers known (absorbs up to 50 times its weight in water). So it will bulk up food in your stomach… you feel full more quickly, you eat fewer calories.

Now go eat your veggies.

Pet food recall extended

read time: 260 words, just a minute

So first it was wet food that was recalled and they confidently came out after two days and said it was wheat gluten from a specific source.

Horrible consequences for all of the many pets – and pet owners – sickened and killed by the food.

At least folks could feel confident dry food was ok, until…
today when Hills issued a recall of a specific Science Diet formula.

Seems maybe there are traces of some kind of fertilizer. But essentially, they aren’t sure what the issue is.
Now the FDA is getting involved.

I was watching the news this evening and the President/CEO of Menu Foods – the manufacturer of all the brands of tainted food – “assured” us the problem has been solved. Hmm, interesting how he can assure us of such when they don’t know what the bleeping problem actually is.

Please, if you work for a PR firm, or know someone that does, this man desperately needs help.

Even when that food isn’t “tainted”, it’s quite horrible.
Much like horrible processed made-for-human chemical cuisine, it’s not health supporting food.

Our tribe includes a dog and two kitties. They get real food. Food that supports their health. I’m absolutely sure they eat far better than the average American.

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs & Cats is a pretty good book.

If you have some four-leggers in your tribe you most definitely should do a little research and consider making real food for them.

Start your research at the Pet Connection Blog. A lot of good info there.