Tamiflu has shown up in rivers and sewage treatment plants.  What this could mean is we've added one more "stressor" to the influenza virus.  Influenza reacts to such stressors by mutating.  The researchers who reported on the study say "The recent increase in OP (the active metabolite of tamiflu) resistance in influenza A virus (H1N1; commonlly called “swine flu”) has raised questions about the widespread use of Tamiflu in seasonal epidemics and the potential ecotoxicologic risk associated with its use in the event of a pandemic."

This quote is scary for two reasons: first, the H1N1 is already resistant to tmiflu, meaning it has mutated due to exposure, and second, the concern regarding possible toxic effects of tamiflu in the envirnment.  Perhaps we should think about supporting the immune system with Andrographis and vitamin D rather than waging chemical warfare against the influenza virus?

Read the study here.

A new study shows that people with high blood levels have a 40% reduction in colorectal cancer risk.  This is a very interesting study because it measured blood levels of vitamin D directly.  This creates several questions; was it just the high levels of vitamin D or was it other factors related to vitamin D such as time outdoors in the sun, exercise, food sources of vitamin D such as fish that are high in other nutrients such as omega-3's. 

Hopefully further research will shed light on these questions.  In the meantime, get a vitamin D test.  I'm surprised at how many of my patients who eat well and are out in the sun regularly have low levels of D.  If you are low be sure that you are getiing exposed to sunlight on a regular basis, and supplement with a high quality vitamin D until your levels are normal.  You may then want to supplement with 2,000IU per day periodically as a maintinance dose.  I have an excellent vitamin D product available at my office.

Read the study here.

I recently wrote a paper summing up the negative effects of vitamin C supplements.  This morning I read a new study on vitamin C and cataracts.  The study found that women age 65 and up who supplement with vitamin C has a 38% increased risk for developing cataracts!

Eat food!  That is the secret to optimum nutrition.  Supplements should be food based.  Taking labratory produced antioxidants to try and substitute for nature's bounty just doesn't work. 

Read the study here.

Leading up to the current health care debate was talk of reducing cost and improving care.  Of the many topics being discussed to achieve those ends, I have not heard any talk of Chiropractic care.  This is mind-blowing, because recent research shows that if Americans use Chiropractors as their primary care doctors quality of care goes up, way up, and cost goes down.  

The study, which I've blogged on before, followed members of an HMO for 7 years--half of the members were assigned a medical doctor as their primary, the other half were assigned a Chiropractor as their primary.  The researchers sum up the results of those seeing the Chiropractors below:

"Clinical and cost utilization based on 70274 member-months over a 7-year period demonstrated decreases of 60.2% in-hospital admissions, 59.0% hospital days, 62.0% outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85% pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine IPA performance for the same health maintenance organization product in the same geography and time frame."

Imagine if the country as a whole were to save 85% on pharmaceuticals!  Our national health crisis would be over.  This is in addition to the dramatically better outcomes using Chiropractic care.  Why is the model in this study not on the table in the health care debate?  A big part of it is Chiropractors don't have the pharmaceutical industry behind them.  Pharmaceutical companies have a huge role in health policy, and that is where our system breaks down.  In order to pass any new policy the pharmaceutical industry and the AMA have to get theirs, and in the meantime, Chiropractic is not part of the debate.

Read the study here.

 

A new review published in Lancet reviewed data from 16 studies including 820 patients regarding the use of low level laser for neck pain.  The authors concluded "We show that LLLT (low level laser therapy) reduces pain immediately after treatment in acute neck pain and up to 22 weeks after completion of treatment in patients with chronic neck pain."

This is an important review for two reasons.  First, the authors included only high quality, randomized trials that compared the treatment group against a placebo group.  Second, there was no conflictive funding for the review.  This produces strong evidence for a benefit of low level laser.  I've been using a laser in my office for several years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how such a simple device can bring so much relief!

Read the review here.

A new study did something very interesting--it compared natural medicine (supplements, diet, lifestyle) to psychotherapy for the treatment of anxiety.  The result was:

"Both NC (naturopathic care) and PT (psychotherapy) led to significant improvements in patients' anxiety. Group comparison demonstrated a significant decrease in anxiety levels in the NC group over the PT group. Significant improvements in secondary quality of life measures were also observed in the NC group as compared to PT. The whole system of naturopathic care for anxiety needs to be investigated further including a closer examination of the individual components within the context of their additive effect. "

Why would the naturopathic group do better?  We have an unfortunate assumption in our culture--that mood based problems are "all in the head".  Anxiety and other mood disorders are a whole-person issue!  The crux of holistic medicine is that every system, and indeed every cell in the body exists in a complex coordinated dance with every other system.  You cannot isolate the brain from the body.  In this study the naturopathic treatment consisted of Ashwagandha supplementation, deep breathing exercises, counseling, and a standard multi-vitamin for 6-weeks.  This was a very generic program.  I have seen remarkable improvements in anxiety with a protocol very similar to this, but also including specific treatment directed to the individual's nervous system.  A detailed examination can reveal parts of the nervous system that are under or over-functioning.  Amazing results occur when the dysfunctioning nervous system is corrected through chiropractic.  This and other research is beginning to change the landscape of treating anxiety disorders toward a more holistic approach.

Read the study.

There has been a tremendous amount of research on the natural compound icariin in recent years.  The substance is usually isolated from Horny Goat Weed (what a name) also known as yin yang huo.  I'll highlight the research by category here:

Osteoporosis

Several studies indicate that icariin both stimulates the growth of new bone, and slows the destruction of old bone.  As a result a recent 2-year study on menopausal women showed that using the supplement increased bone mass in the hip and low back by 1.6 and 1.3 percent, where as the placebo group lost bone by 1.8 and 2.4 percent.  These percentages make a big difference in fracture risk.  Several other studies in rats have further demonstrated the benefits of icariin.

Alzheimer's

New research in rats shows that icariin improves learning and memory in rat-models of Alzheimer's.  Author's in one of these studies concluded "In the space probing test, icariin increased remarkably the searching time and searching distance in the quadrant where the platform was originally located. All tests indicated icariin improved the ability of spatial learning and memory in Alzheimer's disease model rats."

Stroke

Rats supplemented with icariin and deprived of oxygen have less damage than non-supplemented rats.  Icariin improved blood flow, decreases oxidative "collateral damage" after a stroke, and promotes acetylcholine-- a neurotransmitter tightly linked to memory.  Read the study.

The strong, consistent research on this herb in building bone and protecting the brain, as well as an excellent safety profile, make it worth giving a try for individuals with osteopenia or osteoporosis.

 I recently posted an article on the benefits of vitamin D, and the recent realization that a high percentage of people are deficient.  Research is showing that among other functions, vitamin D has the ability to up-regulate and down-regulate genes.  In other words, when we have suboptimal levels of vitamin D our genes are not turned and off appropriately.  Genes are used to create proteins which are the building blocks of nearly everything in our body--from our structure (bone, ligament, tendon, etc) to neurotransmitters, hormones, blood, etc.  

This wide range of effects translates a host of problems linked to vitamin D deficiency including poor immune function, less vitality, and decreased athletic function.   Specific to athletic function, a recent New York Times article highlighted the following:

"In one of the studies, four Russian sprinters were doused with artificial, ultraviolet light. Another group wasn’t. Both trained identically for the 100-meter dash. The control group lowered their sprint times by 1.7 percent. The radiated runners, in comparison, improved by an impressive 7.4 percent." (**note that ultraviolet light causes the formation of vitamin D).

"when researchers tested the vertical jumping ability of a small group of adolescent athletes, Larson-Meyer says, “they found that those who had the lowest levels of Vitamin D tended not to jump as high,” intimating that too little of the nutrient may impair muscle power. Low levels might also contribute to sports injuries, in part because Vitamin D is so important for bone and muscle health. In a Creighton University study of female naval recruits, stress fractures were reduced significantly after the women started taking supplements of Vitamin D and calcium."

I highly recommend having your vitamin D level checked with your next blood work.  If it is low supplement with 2,000IU of vitamin D for 6 weeks and recheck.  With my family I have everyone supplement with about 1,000IU for about three weeks, then we take about a three week break.  WE also get plenty of sunshine!  If you are local, I have an excellent product in my office.

A new study demonstrates that older people are more likely to get pneumonia if they use statin drugs.  Statin drugs are the current rage for treating people with "high cholesterol".  If you have not yet read my Cholesterol Article, please do--this article delineates why cholesterol is not a problem, it is a symptom.  Unfortunatley, the entire statin industry is built around a fallacy--that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.

This new study shows that older people have their immune systems weakened by statins--they are more likely to get pneumonia.  Ironically, in a time when people are so concerned about flu, we are giving the very population that is most susceptible to severe compromise (older adults)  drugs that make them more susceptible to illness!

Also, please watch this youtube video on memory loss and dementia caused by statins.   In the video the memory problems are fairly represented, but the benefits are overblown.  At the end a commentator comes on and recommends changing statins if you experience memory loss--this is akin to changing poisons if you get sick taking one!

Read the article here.

Vitamin D has been getting a lot of press lately, and rightly so.  If your read my blog you know that supplementing with some vitamins increases your chance of disease--specifically, supplemental vitamin C has been shown to increase cancer and cardiovascular death, vitamin E increases death rates in smokers, and vitamin A is toxic at high levels.  Vitamin D, however, is coming out looking like a gem--supplementation boosts the immune system, builds bone, decreases cancer, gives resistance to the flu, and decreases death rates significantly (read this study).

Further, we now know that vitamin D requirements are higher than we once thought.   New research shows that "the actual observations in both younger and older adults show that to ensure the goal of a vitamin D of 80 nmol/L in almost all adults, 100 mcg/d is required."  This dosage in I.U. (which is how most vitamin D supplements are labled), is 4,000 I.U.

For these reasons I now carry an excellent vitamin D supplement in my office.  In addition to a high dose of emulsified vitamin D, it contains Cod Liver oil, Genistein, and cofactors for absorption.  Check it out!