Objectives: The purpose of this trial was to examine if probiotics given to pregnant women in a non-selected population could prevent atopic sensitization or allergic diseases during the child’s first two years.

Methods: In a randomised, double-blind trial of children from a non-selected maternal population (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00159523), women received probiotic milk or placebo from 36 weeks of gestation to three months postnatally during breastfeeding. The probiotic milk contained Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12. Children with an itchy rash for more than four weeks were consecutively assessed for AD. At two years of age, all children were assessed for atopic sensitisation, AD, asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was enabled by multiple imputations.

Results: Four hundred and fifteen pregnant women were computer-randomised. At two years, 138 and 140 children in the probiotic and the placebo groups, respectively, were assessed. In the ITT analysis, the odds ratio for the cumulative incidence of AD was 0.51 in the probiotic group compared with the placebo (95% CI, 0.30-0.87; p=0.013). There were no significant effects on asthma (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.26-1.80; p=0.437), or atopic sensitisation (odds ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.74-3.14; p=0.254).

Conclusions: Probiotics given to non-selected mothers reduced the cumulative incidence of AD, but had no effect on atopic sensitization.

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George’s Comments:  There have been studies that showed administering probiotics during pregnancy reduced the incidence of asthma.  However these were administered with milk.  Pasteurized milk has been shown to increase the incidence of asthma in several studies.   There have been a plethora of studies showing the benefits of probiotics during pregnancy so it is something that pregnant women need to consider as a supplement.

Assuming that toxins are causing detriments to our health what can we do to protect ourselves? There are certainly certain foods that seem to help bind metals such as high sulfur containing foods with a high free thiol content such as anything in the cabbage family. This can help detox the liver where it can bind to the metal. Cilantro is known as a heavy metal binder. Taking chlorella supplement can be helpful to bind metals as well as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or whey protein isolate.

Keeping a healthy gut is important as it is our barrier to the outside world. But keeping the liver healthy and happy is what is most important as the liver is our major detoxifier. We all have different detoxifying capabilities. For example some people can drink coffee and then go to sleep, but others drink coffee after noon and then they are awake at night. The people that can go to sleep have a strong detoxifying ability to break down caffeine, but the ones up at night have a difficult time detoxifying caffeine. This is why some drugs end up killing people because the same dosage is fine for one person, but another person may not have good detoxifying capabilities and the result can be tragic. (There are genetic tests for SNPs that one can take specifically for the detoxification system known as the P450). Anyway I digress, the point being that we need to have a happy liver. One way is to do a liver detox and this is a good time of year to do one. I prefer to use what is known as functional foods that contain these thiol/sulfur amino acids to help modulate the proper liver phase I & phase II detox pathways. Here is a great article on detox. There are lots of website out there for ‘liver detox’. Some are good, some are dubious, so beware. Best bet is to see a practitioner that uses detoxification protocols as part of their practice.

Yours In Health
George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist
Licensed Dietitian
Nationally Certified Chinese Herbalist.

Department of Sports Medicine, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Ginnheimer Landstrasse 39, 60487, Frankfurt, Germany, m.huebscher@sport.uni-frankfurt.de.

I’ve helped many people get off their statin medication by reducing their cholesterol with diet and nutraceuticals.  Most people can easily do this.  If you changed your diet but still your cholesterol is high then that may be your genetic predisposition, it doesn’t mean you’ll end up with disease.   If you are concerned have your C-Reactive Protein (CRP) checked as that is a better marker.  If the CRP is high then you need some high dose potent antioxidants and probably a change in diet or lifestyle.  But really just say no to statins, unless you are in the high risk category.

Yours In Health,

George Mandler LDN LicAc

Acid blocking medications are prescribed widely by physicians and are also available over the counter.   There have been many studies over the years showing that long term use of these acid blockers cause many deleterious effects.    Just to be clear these acid blockers absolutely do have their place and are a good medicine if someone has an inflamed esophagus and potential ulcer or cancer in the esophagus or stomach then they should be used short term.   They were made for short term use, not long term use, but unfortunately people seem to stay on them for years causing many maladies.

Finally several studies were released in the May 10th Annals of Internal Medicine that showed the disastrous effects of taking protease pump inhibitors (PPI) long term and the major media outlets picked it up.  The studies just released showed a 47% increase in spine fractures among women that took the drug and a 74% increased chance of C-Diff from a hospital stay. Hopefully this will help people understand that they cannot just pop a Prilosec every time they eat.   I’ve successfully helped many people get off acid blockers by modifying diet as well as using acupuncture and herbs.   Often times it is just a change of eating habits that can do the trick such as not eating late at night.

Oh and taking TUMS isn’t a good option either as it will also cause a reduction of stomach acid leading to mineral absorption issues, protein malabsorption as well as digestive issues.    TUMS is calcium carbonate (which doesn’t exist in food and is a very poor source of calcium) which can cause constipation in many people.

So if you have acid reflux please give me a call and we can schedule a 15 minute free consultation.   There are better long term options than taking drugs that should only be used short term.

Yours In Health,

George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist
Licensed Dietitian
Nationally Certified Chinese Herbalist.

A study out of Sloan-Kettering compared acupuncture to standard care for pain and dry mouth in cervical neck cancer surgery patients.    The authors concluded “Significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and xerostomia were observed in patients receiving acupuncture versus usual care”.    Acupuncture certainly has a place aside modern medicine to provide better care for many surgical patients.

Abstract:

Acupuncture for Pain and Dysfunction After Neck Dissection: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Pfister DG, Cassileth BR et al.

Department of Medicine, Sections of Head and Neck Oncology and Integrative Medicine; Department of Epidemiology-Biostatistics; Department of Radiation Oncology; and Department of Surgery, Head and Neck Surgery Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

PURPOSE: To determine whether acupuncture reduces pain and dysfunction in patients with cancer with a history of neck dissection. The secondary objective is to determine whether acupuncture relieves dry mouth in this population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients at a tertiary cancer center with chronic pain or dysfunction attributed to neck dissection were randomly assigned to weekly acupuncture versus usual care (eg, physical therapy, analgesia, and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, per patient preference or physician recommendation) for 4 weeks. The Constant-Murley score, a composite measure of pain, function, and activities of daily living, was the primary outcome measure. Xerostomia, a secondary end point, was assessed using the Xerostomia Inventory.

RESULTS: Fifty-eight evaluable patients were accrued and randomly assigned from 2004 to 2007 (28 and 30 patients on acupuncture and control arms, respectively). Constant-Murley scores improved more in the acupuncture group (adjusted difference between groups = 11.2; 95% CI, 3.0 to 19.3; P = .008). Acupuncture produced greater improvement in reported xerostomia (adjusted difference in Xerostomia Inventory = -5.8; 95% CI, -0.9 to -10.7; P = .02).

CONCLUSION: Significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and xerostomia were observed in patients receiving acupuncture versus usual care. Although further study is needed, these data support the potential role of acupuncture in addressing post-neck dissection pain and dysfunction, as well as xerostomia.

This is ideal for someone that is wanting to lose weight and needs support with some of the emotional aspects of eating.

Do you eat when you are not hungry? Do you unconsciously eat when stressed? If you are bored do you reach for the box of cookies or bag of chips?
These patterns can all be conquered with hypnotherapy.

The nutritional sessions can help you realize what foods would be most appropriate for you body. It will also help address any physical problems you may have.
For example do you get constipated or have diarrhea?
Do you get bloated or have gas after meals?
Are you tired after meals?
All of these nagging issues can be successfully healed with nutritional counseling.

If you have any questions about the special offer you can speak with Paul or George.

We can help you achieve your weight loss goals as well as improve your health. Call us at 978-461-2001 or contact us through the website.

This study has failures in several areas:
1) It does not differentiate the types of vegetables as acknowledged by Dr Willet. Eating a diet of kale, collards, brocolli is a lot different than iceberg lettuce, bananas and potatoes. I feel this information was lost under the headlines as all vegetables are not created equal. If the study had differentiated between vegetable types there may have been a statistically significant benefit. For example cruciferous vegetables have known cancer fighting effects. In fact one was released in February showing a reduction of non-Hodgskin’s lymphoma for those that ate yellow/orange and cruciferous vegetables. There are also several studies that show that lycopene a photonutrient in tomatoes protects against prostate cancer. Last month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a meta analysis study showed that healthier diet (vegetables,fruit, grains) significantly reduced breast cancer risk. And older study showed that people that ate a diet low in fruits and vegetables had twice the risk of developing cancer than those that ate adequate fruits and vegetables. So yes there are studies that show healthier diet and certain vegetables do reduce cancer risk in a significant way.

2) This study looked not only at ALL vegetables, but ALL cancers. There are plenty of studies that show specific cancers respond to phytonutrients to reduce risk.

3)This is more a failure in the media reporting,but the study did in fact show that for every two portions of fruit and vegetable consumption there was a 2.5% risk reduction in cancer. What is more is that the people that ate the most vegetables – more than 6 servings a day had an 11% risk reduction in cancer. Currently 1 out of every 3 people will get cancer sometime in their life, so an 11% reduction is small. However I guarantee you that if a pharmaceutical company could make a pill that would reduce cancer risk by 11% it would be widely prescribed.

4) Other points to consider….Corn is not a vegetable even though many people think it is…how a vegetable is cooked can alter the cancer fighting nutrients.  For example cabbage contains a known anti-cancer nutrient called isothiocynate.  Cooking cabbage can reduce the isothiocynate content by up to 90%.   So an overcooked cabbage is a lot different than homemade sauerkraut in terms of photochemical cancer protection.

Don’t believe everything you read as those reporting these studies do not read the actual study.

Of course fruits and vegetables add all sorts of other benefits such as reduced cardiovascular disease, eye health, digestive health etc. So continue to eat your fruits and vegetables they will reduce your risk of cancer as well as offering other benefits.

Yours In Health
George Mandler LDN LicAc

Fertil Steril.2010 Feb 18
The preconception Mediterranean dietary pattern in couples undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment increases the chance of pregnancy.
Vujkovic M, de Vries JH, Lindemans J, Macklon NS, van der Spek PJ, Steegers EA, Steegers-Theunissen RP.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.