The You Revolution

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Breast Cancer

Vitamin D has been in the news a lot lately. It is now known that sub-optimal levels of this fat soluble vitamin can pave the way for increases in osteoporosis, lowered immune function, and greater levels of inflammation throughout the body.
A new study out of the U of Toronto followed 500+ women who were diagnosed with breast cancer for 6 years or more, depending on when the women entered the study. They found that women who were vitamin D deficient at the time of their cancer diagnosis were 94% more likely to have their cancer spread, and 73% more likely to die compared to those women whose levels were optimal.
Cancer cells have vitamin D receptors and it is believed that supplementing with this vitamin can slow down the growth and aggressiveness of these cancer cells.

They are NOT encouraging women to just go out and start taking vitamin D to prevent cancer without getting some information first. Testing for vitamin D is safe and simple. Ask your doctor for a "25-hydroxy vitamin D" test to determine if you are deficient first. If your levels are low--there are three sources for vitamin D. You can combine them but most of us will have to add a supplement to get to the desirable level.

Smart Women Get Their Sleep

Thanks to smart woman Chris Cavanagh for pointing me to the 60 Minutes episode last night on the latest sleep research. I did not see it last night but was able to watch the video of the show this morning online.
Wow! I've written here before on the relationship between not enough sleep and weight gain, stress, and possible increases in disease. This report reinforces these links and ups the ante. Not only do disease rates for things like diabetes and obesity increase but some of the most famous accidents in our modern day were probably the result of sleep deprivation. These include Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez, the Staten Island Ferry. It seems we convince ourselves we are fine but we are fooling ourselves and putting ourselves and others in danger when we drive or must lead others in this state.

Statin Users Please Read

Drugs that lower "bad" or LDL cholesterol fall into a class called statins. You may have heard of them, you may be taking one. It's hard to have missed them if you watch television or read popular magazines because their manufacturers spend big bucks to deliver the message that you can lower your cholesterol with one of these drugs.

And you can, never mind the side effects, one of which is that not only do these drugs lower LDL but since they don't discriminate they also lower HDL, or "good" cholesterol.

But I'm not here to rant on the drug companies, and my next post will talk a bit about the whole LDL lowering concept and the debate that rages around it.

I do want you to know that if you take a statin drug you would do well to supplement with a safe supplement called CoQ10. This vitamin-like substance is produced in the body and is necessary for generating up to 95% of total energy for our bodies. The same mechanism by which statins limit production of cholesterol also limits the production of CoQ10. In Germany and Japan all statin prescriptions are given with the recommendation to supplement with 200 mgs of CoQ10 daily.

Why not here in the states?

Good News For Boobs

This post is lifted and quoted directly from the e-newsletter of W. C. Douglass,a fiery contrarian MD who is always on the front line of what western medicine does well and not so well.
(If you go to that link you can sign up for his daily email or wait a few days for the whole of the mammogram article to appear.)
He's been around for a long time, is often outrageous, does not like the medical establishment or big Pharma, and I think his is an important point of view to consider.
Dr. Douglass is not a fan of mammography and the piece goes on to talk about what he calls "compression syndrome;" the very way of doing a mammogram can lead to rupture of a tumor if there was one there. This new test he mentions won't even be ready for approval for 5 years and the FDA will take forever after that to approve it but it's exciting that there is something out there in the works that would do away with breast smashing forever.
"Scientists have discovered a new way of testing for breast cancer that could make the mammogram a thing of the past—and it's about time. The test could potentially be far more accurate than the old-school mammograms—not to mention much safer. If this catches hold in the medical community, women can say goodbye to those breast- smashing vise grips. Now, all they'll have to do is open wide and say, "Ahh."

U.S. scientists are developing a breast cancer screening test that checks a woman's saliva for evidence of the disease. They say they've identified 49 proteins in saliva that can actually distinguish healthy women from those with benign breast tumors and those with malignant breast tumors.

According to Charles Streckfus, a professor at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, "Breast cancer triggers a change in the type and amount of proteins in the secretions from the salivary glands." And sure enough, when the researchers tested a group of 30 women – 10 healthy, 10 with benign tumors, and 10 with malignant tumors – the protein patterns were found to be different in all three groups. "

Beat Holiday Stress and Weight Gain

Yes it's possible.
The first thing necessary is the intention to do just that--breeze through the holiday season without the usual fatigue, frustration, and frazzled feeling.
If you vow--unsuccessfully-- every year to not let the holidays take it out of you, what can you do differently this year? Well for one, some planning and two, some support.
I'm not a great planner but I've learned that in order to get it all done and still enjoy my favorite time of year, I've got to do what I don't love to do so I can have what I do love to have--a joyous holiday season.
As the calendar starts to swell with social gatherings as well as opportunities to cook for people, on top of the usual day to day of coaching, I start to plug in "me time."
I see a couple of empty day slots and I plug in yoga, an early walk, an hour at the gym. I write in pen and I do not own white out!
I also don't schedule these important to-dos at times where they might end up competing with something fun and holiday related. Mid-week evenings and anytime on Saturdays after noon are out.
What about those pesky pounds?

Thinking about taking a vacation?

I read these facts in Nov. issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine.
Only 14% of Americans will take at least two consecutive weeks off this year.
Here's the health related bit: Men who take a two week vacation each year
reduce their risk of heart attack by 30%.
But wait, it gets better, in women, that number jumps to 50%!
Cool huh girls?
Get out those catalogs and start your holiday shopping early; it's good for you.

Why Fish and Fish Oil Anyway?

As promised in the latest issue of the newsletter here is some further information on the latest super food--fish and it's byproduct, fishoil.
The nutrients in fish and it's oil that are in question are DHA and EPA which are long-chain Omega 3 fats.
These fats are proven to have a cardio protective effect. Even the American Heart Association advises people with heart disease to take a daily supplement of 1 gram of EPA and DHA.
What it specifically protects against, it appears from my research, is the risk against sudden death heart attacks. They account for half of all deaths from CVD.
If you do want to take a fish oil in addition or instead of eating fish, something I recommend because it's hard to get enough daily in your food, be sure to buy from a reputable resource. You must find a company that purifies it's oil to eliminate metals and other contaminants. You'l also want one that does not repeat on you or you'll swear off this important supplement forever.
Once again I want to point you to Oceans Alive for a list of manufacturers that do this.

Drinking and Breast Cancer-The Facts

In Friday's NY Post newspaper there was a report on the link between drinking alchohol and increased risk of breast cancer. No doubt this report will travel around like a bad cold at a preschool so I'm here to give you some information to balance the reporter's lack of it.
According to Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health, although some studies have shown a very small increase in risk with alchohol consumption it compares to not having a full term pregnancy, or having a first baby after age 35. All increase a woman's risk by 20-30%.
You may have heard that the risk is comparable to that of smoking. In fact, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day increases risk of lung cancer by 1,000% over a non-smoker.
Perhaps the most important bit of information left out by this Post article, according to Whelan, is this "It has been demonstrated beyond doubt that taking the B-vitamin folic acid (about twice the usual recommended dose) literally wipes out whatever small risk of breast cancer alcohol consumption might pose."

Re-Thinking Gardasil

Jenny Thompson, author of the HSI e-alert brought the following disturbing and under reported information about Gardasil to my attention.
This fast-tracked by the FDA, 3 stage vaccine is said to protect women from the human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the primary causes of cervical cancer.
Gardasil was approved by the FDA in June of 2006. Merck, the parent company immediately set about lobbying to make Gardasil mandatory for school girls nationwide.
Mandatory? Big pharma has some mighty big bhalls pushing mandatory vaccination with a drug whose safety record is not proven and whose approval process is questionable. (See this article for more information)
Now might be a good time to remind readers that Merck and Co. are also famous for a weenie little mistake in safety reporting called Vioxx.
More than 3 months ago this bit of information hit the AP,

Avandia--Buyer Beware

Of the three physician written newsletters I subscribe to, two chose to warn readers about this diabetes drug this issue.
Avandia is used to treat type II diabetes. A meta-analysis of 42 studies on this drug concluded that Avandia increased risk of heart attack by 43% and risk of death from cardiovascular causes by 64%. Those numbers are scary especially in light of the FDA's reaction which was to issue a safety alert and black box warning to the boxes.
Big pharma it would seem is weilding its mighty arm in terms of govt influence. GlaxoSmithKline takes in a whopping $2.2 Billion per year on that drug alone.
The FDA insists it must review the new findings. Is this another Vioxx in the making? Class action lawyers reading this start your engines.
Some other drugs in this category called thiazolidinediones have been terminated by pharma companies because they were found to be toxic.
Avandia is also hard on the liver and can cause weight gain, fluid retention, and macular edema-fluid in the eyes. Sounds like a night on the town but not nearly as much fun.