MEDICINE LIFE

Having Digestion Issues?

If you are above 40, you must read this. If you had seen anybody, with even a mild stroke, you will understand that this is not an illness you will wish your worst enemy.

Having Digestion Issues

Most of my patients at the brink of strokes, were rescued by my medical teams, by just paying attention to the 10 under listed points.

Prof Heidi Moawad has done a lot of research on stroke, he compiled 10 signs, that if observed will allow us to live happily ever after.

How would you know if you were at the risk of a stroke? While there is no absolute way to know that, you will, or will not ever have a stroke in your lifetime, there are signs that indicate, that you are at high risk of stroke.

The good news is that you can do something about every one of these signs, so as to significantly lower your stroke risk. Please Pay attention.

1) Your blood pressure is out of control

ν If you consistently have high pressure or if you are trying to avoid actually finding out what your blood pressure is – that is bad news. I call it living in denial, you refuse to check your blood pressure, lest it might be high.

The good news is that high blood pressure can be managed with medication, diet and lifestyle adjustment such as lowering stress and not smoking, and you will live to a very ripe old age without infirmities.

Make sure you see your doctor to find out what your blood pressure is and, under your doctor’s supervision, start making changes if you need to.

2) Your blood sugar is high – or you don’t know what it is

Erratic blood sugar, chronically elevated blood sugar or uncontrolled diabetes can damage blood vessels, increasing your risk of stroke.

Make sure to see your doctor regularly, so that you can get appropriate diabetes screening and proper treatment, through diet and medication.

Unmanaged diabetes could lead to cataract formation, blindness, atherosclerosis, hip joint necrosis and foot drop.

3) You smoke

Smoking is a hard habit to break. It is one of the most significant signs that you are at risk of having a stroke.

The good news is that, despite the harmful stroke- causing-impact of smoking, these effects amazingly reverse over time after you quit smoking.

4) You don’t get enough exercise

Exercise is easy to ignore. It can seem like a hassle. It can be tough to start exercising, if you have aches and pains.

But no matter what your health situation is – whether you are healthy, or if you have already, had a serious stroke, there are safe and easy exercises that can keep you fit, while decreasing your stroke risk.

5) You have high cholesterol

This is a confusing one, especially lately. While, American Heart Association(AHA), recommendations for dietary cholesterol, have changed recently, you still need to maintain recommended levels.

It is now known that dietary fat and genetic factors cause high cholesterol.

6) You are always flying off the handle

Stress is a major contributor to Hypertension, heart disease and diabetes – all of which cause stroke.

Stress control and an overall calm, relaxed lifestyle can significantly decrease your stroke ris.k

7) You carry deep stress

Stress isn’t always manifested as blowing your fuse. Some people are stressed out because of the burden of hiding something, living secret anger, and constantly trying to impress someone who is hard to please, or endlessly chasing after approval.

Overcoming hidden stress is equally as important as overcoming more obvious stress.

8) You don’t take your medications

Most stroke risk factors can be managed, but it requires regularly taking your medications, buying your drugs and doing regular check ups.

9) You don’t get attention for your heart disease

If you have shortness of breath when you walk or exert yourself, or if you experience chest pain, then you are running a huge risk of a stroke or a heart attack. So consult your doctor.

10) Ignoring Transient Ischaemia Attack(TIA)

Whenever you notice any of the signs I listed above, please consult your doctor. Always be medically guided.

Oral Zinc for the Common Cold

The Cochrane study below is properly cautious but it seems that zinc does do some good.  The result when zinc was used to prevent colds among children was particularly impressive

By Rashmi Ranjan Das, MD, FCCP1; Meenu Singh, MD, FCCP2

ABSTRACT

Clinical Question

Is oral zinc associated with a shorter duration, decreased severity, and reduced incidence of the common cold compared with placebo ?

Bottom Line

When initiated within 24 hours of symptom onset, oral zinc is associated with a shorter duration of the common cold in healthy people. However, there is no association between oral zinc and symptom severity, and the prevalence of adverse effects with zinc lozenges is high.

Given the high heterogeneity of data, these results should be interpreted with caution. Used prophylactically, oral zinc is associated with a reduced cold incidence in children. Prophylactic use has not been studied in adults.

Human rhinoviruses attach to nasal epithelium via the intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1). 1 Zinc ion blocks the ICAM-1 receptor, thereby exerting an antiviral effect. 2 This JAMA Clinical Evidence Synopsis summarizes an updated Cochrane Collaboration review 3 comparing outcomes between zinc vs placebo for reducing the duration, severity, and incidence of the common cold.

Oral Zinc for the Common Cold

Summary of Findings

The mean supplementation duration was 7 days in therapeutic trials and 6 months in prophylactic trials.

Therapeutic Use

Treatment started within 24 hours of symptom onset in 14 trials, and within 48 hours in 2 trials. The mean duration of cold symptoms was 6.75 days in the lozenge group and 7.5 days in the placebo group (mean difference, −1.04 [95% CI, −2.02 to −0.05). The mean duration was 5.1 days in the syrup group and 5.9 days in the placebo group (mean difference, −0.63 [95% CI, −0.84 to −0.43]).

There was no difference in the symptom severity score between the 2 groups. The overall mean score (of 10 symptoms each measured on a 0-3 scale, 3 = worst) was 2.52 in the lozenge group and 4.17 in the placebo group (mean difference, −1.55 [95% CI, −3.62 to 0.52]), and 0.25 in the syrup group and 0.55 in the placebo group (mean difference, −0.27 [95% CI, −1.51 to 0.97; Table).

Zinc lozenges were associated with a higher incidence of adverse events compared with placebo (46.5% for lozenges vs 36.4% for placebo; number needed to harm [NNH], 10). The most common adverse events included bad taste (29.2% for zinc vs 16.4% for placebo; NNH, 8) and nausea (22.3% for zinc vs 10.6% for placebo; NNH, 8).

Prophylactic Use

Prophylactic use of zinc syrup or tablets at onset of cold season was studied only in children. Cold incidence was 38.2% in the zinc group and 61.8% in the placebo group (2 trials, 761 total children; number needed to treat [NNT], 4; Table).

Discussion

Zinc was associated with shorter duration of the common cold, but not reduced severity. The prevalence of adverse effects associated with zinc lozenges is high. In the prophylactic trials, zinc was associated with a reduced cold incidence for children, but no data on prophylactic use are available for adults.

After the publication of this updated Cochrane review, a randomized clinical trial using zinc bisglycinate tablets for 3 months prophylactically in children was published. 4 The primary outcome was incidence of cold symptoms. The results were as follows: 1 symptom (84% for zinc vs 82% for placebo), 2 symptoms (38% for zinc vs 54% for placebo), and 3 symptoms (12% for zinc vs 26% for placebo). When the 2-cold symptom result was included in our analyses, our conclusions were unchanged.

Limitations

The release of ionic zinc varies across formulations. Thus, the dose of zinc associated with improved outcomes varied across the included trials. A higher incidence of bad taste with zinc lozenges might have compromised blinding. No trials were conducted among high-risk participants with chronic illness, immunodeficiency, or asthma. Results may not be generalizable to these populations.

Because of a significant potential for publication bias and high heterogeneity among the lozenge trials, results should be viewed with caution. The prophylactic data in children included only 2 studies and there was a high degree of data heterogeneity.

Comparison of Findings With Current Guidelines

Our findings are consistent with 2012 American Family Physician Guidelines and with the 2013 dietary supplement fact sheet of the National Institutes of Health. Both support use of zinc supplementation within 24 hours of onset of the common cold.

Areas in Need of Future Study

Future trials should focus on patients with underlying comorbidities (chronic illness, asthma, immunodeficiency) and comparisons between syrup, tablet, or both formulations. Further information on the association of zinc dose with toxicity is needed.

JAMA. 2014;311(14):1440-1441. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.1404.






Homeopathic treatments 'no better than a placebo': Study of alternative medicine on 68 conditions found 'no evidence it was effective'

Homeopathy is no more effective than a placebo, a national medical agency has concluded in a hard-hitting report.  Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) analysed research into the effectiveness of alternative medicines on 68 health conditions and found ‘there is no reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective’ on any of them.

The review, conducted by a working committee of medical experts, said homeopathy had no impact on a range of conditions including asthma, arthritis, sleep disturbances, cold and flu, chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, cholera, burns, malaria and heroin addiction.

The authors of the report said: ‘No good-quality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result reported either that homeopathy caused greater health improvements than a substance with no effect on the health condition [placebo], or that homeopathy caused health improvements equal to those of another treatment.’

They went on to dismiss anecdotal support for the effectiveness of homeopathy, and urged health professionals to take account of scientific evidence when informing patients.

‘It is not possible to tell whether a health treatment is effective or not simply by considering individuals’ experiences or healthcare practitioners’ beliefs,’ they said.

Homeopathy is a complementary medicine, the central principle of which is that ‘like cures like’ – that a substance that causes certain symptoms can also help to remove them in tiny doses.

In England there are several NHS homeopathic hospitals and some GP practices offer the treatment but it is not widely available.

The report prompted medical professionals to call for governments to stop legitimising homeopathy.

Professor John Dwyer, an immunologist and emeritus professor of medicine at the University of New South Wales, told Guardian Australia the report was long overdue and said homeopathic treatments should now be ‘put away’ once and for all.

He said: ‘Obviously we understand the placebo effect. We know that many people have illnesses that are short lived by its very nature and their bodies will cure them, so it’s very easy for people to fall in trap that because they did A, B follows.’  He added he did not think it ethical to prescribe a placebo.

Dr Richard Choong, Western Australia president of the Australian Medical Association, also welcomed the report and said his organisation has long held there is no evidence to support homeopathy.

‘Homeopathy is not a science. It is not based in science,’ he said. ‘In a lot of cases it can be considered dangerous and can risk people’s lives,’ said Dr Choong.

Submissions from homeopathy interest groups and the public were among the studies assessed by the NHMRC, but did not alter the conclusions of the Council, in some cases due to the poor quality of the studies submitted.

SOURCE

Eating fruit and vegetables can stop you having a heart attack – but only if you are a WOMAN

The fact that it applied to women only suggests that it is a random result.  It's self-report data only so is weak to start with

Eating fruit and vegetables could stop you having a heart attack - but only if you are a woman.

Eating fruit and vegetables can stop you having a heart attack – but only if you are a WOMAN

Young females who eat a healthy diet are less likely to develop clogged arteries from a build up of plaque, which can lead to heart attacks or stroke, compared with those who eat a less balanced diet.

However the same benefit does not apply to men - and scientists don't know why, saying the phenomenon 'warrants further investigation'.

The study, comprised of more than 2,500 people in the U.S, reinforces the importance of developing healthy eating habits early in life.

Previous research was able to find that middle aged adults who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables are less likely to have heart attacks or strokes, but the effect on young adults is less clear.

Women in their 20s who said they ate between eight and nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day as part of a 2,000 calorie diet were 40 per cent less likely to develop a build up in their arteries called 'plaque', or coronary artery calcification.

This was when compared with those in their 40s who ate only three or four servings a day, whose chance of developing the build up was much higher.

This trend carried on even after other lifestyle behaviours like smoking, exercise and sugary drink consumption were accounted for.

The study also took into consideration current eating habits, further demonstrating how dietary patterns affect younger people as well.

Dr Michael Miedema, of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, said: 'Several other studies have also suggested a diet high in fruits and vegetables is less protective in men, but we do not have a good biological reason for this lack of association.

'It is an important question because lifestyle behaviours, such as a heart healthy diet, are the foundation of cardiovascular prevention and we need to know what dietary components are most important.'

SOURCE






Can an Atkins-style diet really fight depression? Research suggests low-carb, high-fat foods can drastically improve mental health

Sounds promising

They say you are what eat, and we all know the difference a better diet makes to our complexion and our waistlines. But what about our heads?

An increasing number of scientists are pointing to the Ketogenic diet - similar in nature to the low-carb, high-protein Atkins and Caveman meal plans, which have shown promising results in the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder.

'It's a very new field; the first papers only came out a few years ago,' Michael Berk, a professor of psychiatry at the Deakin University School of Medicine in Australia tells The Washington Post.  'But the results are unusually consistent, and they show a link between diet quality and mental health.'

A Ketogenic diet typically restricts the intake of carbs to no more than 50g a day. A good rule of thumb is to follow the 60/35/5 rule in which 60 per cent of calories come from fat, 35 per cent from protein, and five per cent from carbs. Grass-fed meat, fish, dairy, nuts and avocado are top of the list in terms of foods that comply.

Jodi Corbit, a 47-year-old mother from Catonsville, Maryland, had been battling depression for decades before adopting the Ketogenic diet in a bid to lose weight. To her surprise, she not only shifted several pounds, but also her lifelong depression.

'It was like a veil lifted and I could see life more clearly,' she explains. 'It changed everything.'

Dr El-Mallakh, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Louisville, believes there is a 'strong link' between Ketogenic eating and mental health. He authored a book on the subject, Bipolar Depression, and last year published two case studies to support his findings.

One 32-year-old woman from San Fransisco, suffering from bipolar, who declined to be named, tried the Atkins diet three years ago. 'I noticed within a day or two the marked difference in my head,' she recalls. 'It felt clear for the first time in years and years.'

She contacted Dr El-Mallakh in an attempt to spread the word. 'It surprised me how little information was out there, because for me it was life-changing,' she said, adding that she had been symptom-free ever since adopting the diet.

The Ketogenic diet has long been used, as far back as 500 BC in fact, to treat seizures, and widely-published research has shown that it can result in an up to 90 per cent decrease in seizures for patients with epilepsy.

It's also been shown to help with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even cancer. Scientists admit they aren't entirely sure why this is, and it's still more of an association  than a direct cause and effect.

Dr Mallakh has pointed out that many of the drugs proven to help with bipolar depression have anti-seizure properties, which has established a link between the high-fat, low-carb diet and its effects on the brain, if nothing else.

But there are skeptics, particularly when it comes to how the diet may affect the body long term.

Just last month, we reported that nutritionist Dr T Campbell was hitting back against the low-carb craze with his new book, The Low-Carb Fraud.

Ignoring its apparent mental benefits, he argues that the standard American diet is already too high in protein and fat, an imbalance that is merely worsened with this sort of diet. 'Low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diets cause high cholesterol - a major indicator of heart disease and cancer risks,' he suggests.

Dr Volek, a dietician and professor at the University of Connecticut disagrees. 'It was nothing short of an epiphany when I changed to a Ketogenic diet 20 years ago,' he told The Examiner. 'There are very few people that a Ketogenic diet could not help.'

SOURCE

Drink tequila, lose weight? How sugars found in the Mexican spirit have 'tremendous' potential to fight obesity

If you are a mouse

The sugar that gives tequila its kick could also help us stay slim.  Researchers say the plant sugars that are fermented to create the Mexican spirit hold ‘tremendous’ potential in the battle of the bulge.

Tests show the sugars from the cactus-like agave plant (which are not the same as in the more commonly known agave syrup) raise levels of a gut hormone that tells the brain it is time to stop eating.  The hormone also keeps food the stomach for longer, enhancing the feeling of fullness.

lose weight

If that wasn’t enough, the slightly-sweet tasting sugars known as agavins aren't processed by the body – meaning they can’t make us fat.

The lack of absorption by the body also means they should be free of headaches and other side-effects that artificial sweeteners can cause.

Mice given water laced with agavins ate less and lost more weight than animals given water containing artificial sweeteners.

Their blood glucose levels also fell, suggesting that the sweetener could also be useful for diabetics, said researchers at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Dallas.

Mexican researcher Mercedes López said agavins are in a ‘tremendous position for consumption by diabetics and the obese’.   He added: 'We believe agavins have a great potential as a light sweetener.'

Previous research suggests they also strengthen the bones.

Unfortunately, agavins lose their health-boosting properties when processed – meaning drinking tequila won’t have the same effect

SOURCE






'Astonishing' new cancer drug could extend the lives of terminally-ill patients and eliminate their symptoms overnight....with virtually no side effects

A new version of an old strategy.  Looks promising

A new ‘miracle’ pill which could extend the lives of terminally-ill cancer patients and eliminate their symptoms overnight is being trialled by British researchers.

The medicine, which is said to have virtually no side effects, is taken in a single dose every morning and effectively switches off the mechanisms of leukaemia and lymphoma.

Unlike traditional forms of treatment like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it has none of the debilitating side effects such as hair loss, tiredness and sickness.

Cancer patients at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, were the first in the world to trial the new drug, which is a new class of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibiting drugs.

They said the breakthrough treatment left them feeling better immediately and has had no side effects to date.

One terminally ill man given just months to live before the trials says he's ‘fighting fit’ - more than a year-and-a-half later.

The world-first project is being led by Professor Simon Rule, a globally-renowned expert in haematology and researcher at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.

He says the new pill has the potential to transform the lives of desperately ill patients and eliminate the need for costly, gruelling bouts of chemotherapy.

Professor Rule said: ‘The astonishing thing about these drugs is that they have virtually no side effects, which is unprecedented from my experience. In some patients the effects are immediate.

‘Patients with lots of symptoms, particularly those with lymphoma, will feel better the next day after taking the medication.’

Current cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, intensive chemo-immunotherapy, or stem cell transplants are effective but patients frequently relapse and eventually run out of further options.

The new oral pill works by blocking a protein which causes growth in cancerous cells which in turn caused the infected cells to die and leaves healthy cells unaffected.

The drug was first trialled on David Hodge, 74, from Plymouth, Devon, who has battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia for 17 years.

Mr Hodge was given months to live because his immune system was so badly damaged and had become resistant to all other treatments.

He spent the first night of the trial in hospital before returning for regular check-ups over the subsequent 20 months.

He said: ‘I think with any new trial or drug, or with chemotherapy there's a little bit of trepidation but I'm a Christian and I prayed about this and I got great peace about it.

‘Even if it proves at this moment to be of little use to me, I trust that with fine tuning it will prove to be significant to those taking the drug later on.

‘It's just like, well it's better than taking paracetamol. I take the medication first thing in the morning at 6 o'clock and then go back to bed for an hour.

‘Afterwards I get up and get on with my day; I'm fighting fit. I've had no problems, no side effects, nothing.’

The next phase of Professor Rule's study will see BTK trialled against standard chemotherapy to see if it can become a viable long-term replacement.

He said: ‘This will completely change the way we manage these diseases. We have access to the next generation of the drug to be part of the next trial phases.

‘This is not a cure for cancer but it will mean we are significantly improving our patients' life expectancy and quality of life; similar to managing a chronic condition.

‘I have yet to come across another class of drugs in my career that has been so successful for leukaemia or lymphoma.

‘I have done a lot of drug trials in my career, this drug and its predecessor, which I was fortunate to be the first person in Europe to use - they are transformational as far as I am concerned.

‘Normally, what you expect with trials like this is that you treat a patient for a period of time and often what happens is the drug doesn't work.

‘The side effects make you stop the trial or the disease doesn't respond for very long. What is very exciting about this drug is the effects are continuing and there are no emerging side effects.

‘The next stage will be chemo-free treatment. We've been talking about it for years and now it might be a reality.

‘This has the very real prospect of changing the management of these difficult forms of cancer.'

SOURCE