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Dr. Oz Proves This Fruit Juice Can be Toxic

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:16:00 PST

Inorganic arsenic, the form most likely to cause cancer, occurs naturally in the earth and is released into ground water that travels through rocks and soil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits the amount of trace arsenic allowable in drinking water to 10 parts per billion (ppb).

However, arsenic has also been found in other drinks and foods, for which no safety limit has been set, raising concerns about overexposure through the diet.

Juices and Foods Tainted with Arsenic

This past summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a "voluntary suspension" of the arsenic-laced drug Roxarsone, which has been widely used on chickens raised in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) to control an intestinal parasite.

More recently, an investigation into arsenic and lead levels in apple- and grape juice prompted Consumer Reports to call for government standards to limit consumer exposure.

Ten percent of the 88 juice samples tested by Consumer Reports had arsenic levels exceeding the U.S. federal drinking-water standard. A quarter of them also had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb limit set for bottled water.

According to Consumer Reports:

"The investigation included an analysis of the National Center for Health Statistics' National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2003 to 2008.

The results of that analysis suggest that these juices may be an important contributor to dietary arsenic exposure.

Through interviews with physicians and authors of peer-reviewed studies, Consumer Reports also found mounting scientific evidence suggesting that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below federal standards for water can result in serious health problems, especially for those who are exposed in the womb or during early childhood. FDA data and other research reveal that arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods as well.

… In addition to juice, foods including chicken, rice, and even baby food have been found to contain arsenic -- sometimes at higher levels than the amounts found in juice ..."

In September, Dr. Oz also discussed this issue on The Dr. Oz Show. He claimed to have tested 50 different brands of apple juice, and found they ALL contained high levels of arsenic. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contested Dr. Oz's findings, stating that his testing was inaccurate because he tested for both inorganic and organic arsenic, the latter of which is considered fairly harmless.

(As a side note, I was recently invited as a guest on The Dr. Oz Show for the third time. During that episode, we covered such issues as vitamin D, CoQ10, blood pressure medications, statins and antidepressants. For more information about that episode, please see thisarticle that delves into those topics in greater detail than I was able to on the show.)

Are Arsenic Levels in Juice a Safety Hazard?

There are currently no official limits set for arsenic in juices, but according to a 2008 FDA hazard assessment, 23 ppb of inorganic arsenic would represent "a potential health risk." However, the Consumers Union (the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports) has warned that this level should NOT be used as a reference point for establishing a safety limit, because it does not take into account the now well-established carcinogenicity of inorganic arsenic.

The group has proposed the FDA set the limit for arsenic at three ppb—a far cry from the FDA's stated "level of concern."

The FDA has responded to the Consumers Union, indicating that the agency is considering creating a guidance for the permissible level of arsenic in apple juice. In a November 21 letter to the Empire State Consumer Project, the agency states it will collect and analyze up to 90 retail juice samples from across the US by the end of this year. However, the FDA already has data on arsenic in fruit juices. They've been sampling juices for several years, as part of the Total Diet Study (TDS). The results can be found on the FDA's website.

In their letter, the FDA states "FDA monitoring has found that total arsenic levels in apple juice are typically low." But is it low enough to protect public health?

Their sampling has already revealed that in some instances, the arsenic levels can be quite high. Consumer Reports points out that while the FDA had posted the results of 70 samples over a six-year period, an additional eight samples were not released until late November. All eight samples, which were collected in 2008 and 2009, contained arsenic levels of 23 ppb or higher.

The FDA's Total Diet Study program also reveals that between 1991 to 2009, a quarter of the juice samples tested contained 10 ppb of arsenic or higher. Five percent contained 23 ppb or more of arsenic… So while the FDA may be technically correct in its statement that arsenic levels are typically low, their own data still shows that 25 percent of samples test above the EPA's safe water limit, and that's not necessarily negligible. Especially when you consider the increased risks of skin-, lung- and bladder cancer associated with repeated exposure to arsenic.

Juice Drinkers have Higher Arsenic Levels than Non-Juice Drinkers

According to Consumer Reports:

"We wanted to know whether people who drink juice end up being exposed to more arsenic than those who don't. So we commissioned an analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics… Our analysis was led by Richard Stahlhut, M.D., M.P.H., an environmental health researcher at the University of Rochester with expertise in NHANES data…

Stahlhut reviewed NHANES data from 2003 through 2008 from participants tested for total urinary arsenic who reported their food and drink consumption for 24 hours the day before their NHANES visit.

Because most ingested arsenic is excreted in urine, the best measure of recent exposure is a urine test... The resulting analysis of almost 3,000 study participants found that those reporting apple-juice consumption had on average 19 percent greater levels of total urinary arsenic than those subjects who did not, and those who reported drinking grape juice had 20 percent higher levels.

The results might understate the correlation between juice consumption and urinary arsenic levels because NHANES urinary data exclude children younger than 6, who tend to be big juice drinkers. "The current analysis suggests that these juices may be an important contributor to dietary arsenic exposure," says Keeve Nachman, Ph.D., a risk scientist at the Center for a Livable Future and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, both at Johns Hopkins University. "It would be prudent to pursue measures to understand and limit young children's exposures to arsenic in juice."

The Health Dangers of Arsenic

Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of chronic arsenic exposure can easily be overlooked or misdiagnosed as something else. For example, early symptoms include:

Gastrointestinal problems

Skin discoloration or lesions, including hyperkeratosis

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic long-term exposure also increases your risk of:

Various cancers

High blood pressure

Diabetes (A 2008 study linked low-level arsenic exposure to higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the US)

Reproductive problems

As recommended by Consumer Reports, if you're concerned, or suspect your health problems may be related to arsenic poisoning, ask your doctor to test you to determine your arsenic levels. Just make sure you do not consume any kind of seafood for up to 72 hours prior to the urine test, as fish is high in naturally-occurring arsenic that can throw off your results.

Arsenic exposure in utero and during early childhood is particularly problematic, as it can cause lasting harm to children's developing brains, and endocrine- and immune systems. For example:

A 2006 study found that Chileans exposed to high levels (peaking at 1,000 ppb) of naturally-occurring arsenic in drinking water in utero and during early childhood had a six times higher lung cancer death rate compared to Chileans living in areas with lower levels of arsenic in their water. And their mortality rate in their 30s and 40s from another form of lung disease was almost 50 times higher than for people without that arsenic exposure.

A 2004 study showed children exposed to arsenic in drinking water at levels above 5 ppb had lower IQ scores. Earlier studies have linked chronic arsenic exposure to a range of cognitive dysfunctions, including learning disabilities, memory problems, poor concentration, and peripheral and central neuropathies.

A study published in 2011 examined the long-term effects of low-level exposure on more than 300 rural Texans whose groundwater was estimated to have arsenic at median levels below the federal drinking-water standard. It also found that exposure was related to poor scores in language, memory, and other brain functions.

Sources of Arsenic

Naturally-occurring arsenic in groundwater is one of the most common sources of exposure, and those with private wells may face greater risks than those on public systems. If you have a well, you would be well advised to have your water tested and treated accordingly. For example, in Maine, where almost 50 percent of the population relies on private wells, the US Geological Survey has occasionally found arsenic levels in well water as high as 3,100 ppb! Disturbingly, tests have also found very high levels of inorganic arsenic in a variety of baby foods.

For example, according to Consumer Reports:

Last year, Brian Jackson, Ph.D., an analytical chemist and research associate professor at Dartmouth College reported finding up to 23 ppb of arsenic in lab tests of name-brand jars of baby food. Inorganic arsenic represented 70 to 90 percent of those total amounts.

A 2004 study conducted by FDA scientists in Cincinnati found arsenic levels as high as 24 ppb in baby food, with sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peaches containing only the inorganic form.

A 2008 UK study found levels of inorganic arsenic in 20-ounce packets of infant rice cereals ranged from 60 to 160 ppb.

The reason why rice frequently contains high levels of inorganic arsenic is twofold. First, rice is very efficient at absorbing arsenic from the soil, and second, in the US, rice is frequently grown on land previously used to grow cotton, on which arsenic-based pesticides were heavily used. According to research by Andrew Meharg, professor of biogeochemistry at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, American-grown rice has among the highest average inorganic arsenic levels in the world. US rice contains nearly three times more arsenic than Basmati rice imported from Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Egyptian rice has the lowest inorganic arsenic levels of all.

Water Filtration—A Must for Clean Pure Water…

If you have well water, it would be prudent to have your water tested for arsenic and other contaminants. If you have public water, you can get local drinking water information from the EPA.

One of the most comprehensive test kits I've found is from National Testing Laboratories. We have these test kits available at cost, a significant discount from the standard online price. If you're interested, you can purchase a test kit for Well Water or for City Water. Alternatively, you can also locate a certified lab by contacting your local health department or call the federal Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

In general, most water supplies contain a number of potentially hazardous contaminants, from fluoride, to drugs and disinfection byproducts (DBP's), just to name a few. You can get a good idea of what types of contaminants could be in your drinking water right now by viewing this awesome graphic from GOOD Environment (reprinted with permission.) It gives you a look at the five most and least polluted water systems in America (in cities with more than 100,000 population), including pointing out the pollutants of largest concern.

I strongly recommend using a high quality water filtration system unless you can verify the purity of your water. To be absolutely certain you are getting the purest water you can, you'll want to filter the water both at the point of entry and at the point of use. This means filtering all the water that comes into the house, and then filtering again at the kitchen sink. I currently use a whole house carbon-based water filtration system, and prior to this I used reverse osmosis (RO) to purify my water.

You can read more about water filtration here to help you make a decision about what type of water filtration system will be best for you and your family. Since most water sources are now severely polluted, the issue of water filtration and purification couldn't be more important.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Family from Arsenic

Aside from your water supply, foods and beverages are also common sources of arsenic. Here are some common-sense guidelines to limit your and your family's exposure:

Limit your child's juice consumption. This is a general guideline for optimal health anyway, as juices contain high amounts of fructose that if taken in large quantities can cause very serious health problems.

Buy organic, pastured chicken. Organic standards do not allow organically-raised chickens to be given conventional feed grown with synthetic pesticides.

Avoid processed baby food. Not only are many baby foods contaminated with potentially toxic chemicals, they also tend to be loaded with sugar and trans fats, and some may even contain genetically engineered ingredients.

Instead, make your own baby food using all-organic ingredients. Simply cooking a squash or sweet potato, mashing it up and freezing it in an ice cube tray is an easy way to have ready-made multiple servings available for the rest of the week.

Egg yolk is another healthy food that requires little preparation. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, egg yolk should be your baby's first solid food, starting at approximately 4 months, whether your baby is breastfed or formula-fed. Egg yolks from free-range hens will contain the special long-chain fatty acids so critical for the optimal development of your child's brain and nervous system. (However, the egg whites may cause an allergic reaction so they're best avoided until your child is at least one year old.)

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/22/toxic-metals-on-fruit-juices.aspx?e_cid=20120122_SNL_Art_1

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Vitamin D rejuvenates aging eyes in laboratory study

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:11:00 PST

Friday, January 20, 2012. An article published online on January 2, 2012 in the journal Neurobiology of Aging reports an eye-rejuvenating benefit for a short course of vitamin D supplementation in aged mice.

Professor Glen Jeffery and his associates at the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London supplemented old mice with vitamin D3 for six weeks while an untreated group served as controls. In addition to improved vision, the team found a reduction in number and changes in the configuration of retinal macrophages—immune cells that can sometimes cause excessive inflammatory damage—in animals that received the vitamin, as well as a decrease in retinal amyloid beta accumulation, which is a marker of aging. In humans, inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation are associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.

"In the back of the eyes of mammals, like mice and humans, is a layer of tissue called the retina," explained Dr Jeffery. "Cells in the retina detect light as it comes into the eyes and then send messages to the brain, which is how we see. This is a demanding job, and the retina actually requires proportionally more energy than any other tissue in the body, so it has to have a good supply of blood. However, with aging the high energy demand produces debris and there is progressive inflammation even in normal animals. In humans this can result in a decline of up to 30% in the numbers of light receptive cells in the eye by the time we are 70 and so lead to poorer vision."

"When we gave older mice the vitamin D we found that deposits of amyloid beta were reduced in their eyes and the mice showed an associated improvement of vision," he continued. "People might have heard of amyloid beta as being linked to Alzheimer's disease and new evidence suggests that vitamin D could have a role in reducing its build up in the brain. So, when we saw this effect in the eyes as well, we immediately wondered where else these deposits might be being reduced."

Further experimentation revealed a decrease in amyloid beta build-up in the animals' blood vessels, including the aorta, which is the major vessel that carries blood from the heart. "Finding that amyloid deposits were reduced in the blood vessels of mice that had been given vitamin D supplements suggests that vitamin D could be useful in helping to prevent a range of age-related health problems, from deteriorating vision to heart disease," Dr Jeffery noted.

"Many people are living to an unprecedented old age in the developed world," commented Professor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BBSRC who funded the study. "All too often though, a long life does not mean a healthy one and the lives of many older people are blighted by ill health as parts of their bodies start to malfunction."

"If we are to have any hope of ensuring that more people can enjoy a healthy, productive retirement then we must learn more about the changes that take place as animals age," he added. "This research shows how close study of one part of the body can lead scientists to discover new knowledge that is more widely applicable. By studying the fundamental biology of one organ scientists can begin to draw links between a number of diseases in the hope of developing preventive strategies."

http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2012/0120_Vitamin-D-Rejuvenates-Aging-Eyes-In-Laboratory-Study.htm?utm_source=eNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Article&utm_content=Header&utm_campaign=2012Wk3-2&l=0#article

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Scoliosis Exercises - New Concepts Involving Training The Brain May Have Impact

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:14:00 PST

Scoliosis exercises come in many shapes and sizes, however very few of them are worth the time and effort when it comes to this complicated spinal condition. Many attempts to treat an "idiopathic" (unknown cause) condition would be a frustrating experience for the patient and physician alike and treatment for Idiopathic scoliosis is no exception. For literally thousands of years, doctors, religious leaders, and the various "wise men" of the day have attempted to "crack the scoliosis treatment code" without success.

Devices that provide artificial correction of the spine have been developed and used since the beginning of recorded history and the first metal scoliosis brace was developed in 1575. To date, none of these devices have been able to reduce the steadily increasing rate of scoliosis surgery, nor alter the natural course of the condition.

Attempts to surgically "correct" idiopathic scoliosis have been utilized since 1865 and, while having improved dramatically since that time, still remain a highly invasive procedure with many complications and a poor long-term success rate.

So why isn't traditional "scoliosis treatment" working? Perhaps it is, because all previous attempts to treat scoliosis were primarily or solely aimed at treating the primary "symptom" of the condition and not the actual cause of scoliosis.

Virtually every accepted theory on the cause of idiopathic scoliosis is based on a yet to be discovered brain dysfunction or under-development in the automatic postural control centers of the brain stem (and a possible hormonal link as well), which means the scoliosis spine itself is really an outward symptom of a neurological disorder. Think of it this way, looking out the window one can't "see" the wind, but one can see the effects of the wind on the grass, trees, flags, etc. The same logic can be applied to "seeing" the effects of an unknown neurological disorder on the scoliosis spine as a curvature.

All of a sudden, it becomes very clear and obvious why the traditional scoliosis treatment methods (scoliosis braces and scoliosis fusion surgery) are very ineffective. One must treat scoliosis primarily as a neurological condition that has its primary effects on the spine in the form of a curvature.

Currently, the only known way to "tap into" or "re-train" the automatic postural control centers of the brain is by artificially changing where the brain perceives the major center masses of body are in relation to each other via highly specialized scoliosis exercises. In the typical scoliosis patient, the head, pelvis, and torso center masses aren't in line with each other and for whatever reason that doesn't set off any alarm bells in their brain's automatic postural control center telling their spines to self-correct and line the back up. The result of this is a crooked spine that doesn't send the message to the brain that something's wrong. The trick to "teaching" the crooked spine how to fix itself is to add weight to the patient's head, torso, and pelvis (according to the needs of the patient) so their brain will "recognize" these respective center masses of these body part aren't in line and the brain's automatic control centers kick in and pull the spine back into alignment.

The brain will soon begin to learn these new neurological "pathways" and soon will learn to hold the scoliosis spine in a straighter position automatically. By placing increased demands on the spinal system the body's righting reflexes will automatically recruit muscle firing to stabilize the spine in gravity based on the new demand. Neurological adaptation occurs after approximately 120 days and a new muscle pattern will become the set point altering the spines three dimensional position in gravity.

Dr Dovorany and Dr Stitzel provide custom individualized scoliosis exercise boot camp programs for both children and adults. Click here for more information about our scoliosis exercises

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Brian_T_Dovorany

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

10 Diets That May Do More Harm Than Good

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:51:00 PST

Trying to shed that beer gut? Want to fit in to that little black dress? Be it hundreds of pounds or just a few ounces, most people are trying, in some form or fashion, to shed some extra weight. The formula is simple: the number of calories taken in should be less than the calories out. Couple that with a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of water and some exercise, and almost anyone can look and feel great. Unfortunately, some people are willing to try anything. Whether it's gorging on Twinkies or swallowing sleeping pills, dangerous diets abound. Often nutrition deficient — or just plain weird — these weight-loss plans can do much more harm to the body than good. These ten diets are ones you shouldn't try, and after reading this list, probably won't want to.

THE CIGARETTE-POPCORN-WHISKEY DIET

In his 2006 autobiography, My Life In and Out of the Rough, be-gutted PGA golfer John Daly lost 65 pounds in less than a year on a diet of cigarettes, popcorn, and whiskey.
Why It Works: Dieters, rejoice! Drunkenly smoking and snacking on the golf course for ten hours a day is exactly the cure for the woes of your weight! Completely deficient in nutrients of any sort, this diet of corn, air, and potentially deadly toxins could be just the ticket to a sexy new you.
Drawbacks: Cancer. Life-wrecking addiction problems. Decreased golf course prowess. DWIs. Jail. Probable death.
THE TWINKIE DIET

Sounds too good to be true, right? Believe it or not, this diet has gained some widespread media attention. After a nutrition professor ate nothing but processed, sugary foods for ten weeks and lost 27 pounds, eyebrows raised worldwide about the Twinkie diet.
Why It Works: The diet was originally performed as an experiment in basic mathematics. If the number of calories burned is higher than the number of calories consumed, weight loss is possible and will occur.
Drawbacks: Processed foods are fake foods; they contain many preservatives and chemical elements that do not occur naturally in fresh foods and, in large quantities, could be harmful to the body. Plus, Twinkies taste good, powdered donuts even better. Limiting yourself to a net caloric deficiency could be nearly impossible, especially for those with a sweet tooth.
THE CABBAGE SOUP DIET

An extremely popular liquid diet, the cabbage soup diet has been around for decades. Every soccer mom and potential supermodel you know has likely gone through a "cabbage soup" phase. On this plan, dieters eat mostly cabbage soup (obviously), and are promised to shed several pounds quickly.
Why It Works: This diet is essentially a liquid diet, and is highly restrictive in terms of calorie intake. This diet is only designed for short term weight loss goals, and usually only lasts for about a week.
Drawbacks: All you eat is cabbage soup. Dieters essentially lose only water weight, and usually gain back their losses shortly after ditching the plan. Theyalways ditch the plan.
THE MASTER CLEANSE

This diet is perceived to be highly popular with celebrities as a means of detoxing their bodies and shedding those few extra pounds that they probably didn't have in the first place. As such, the Master Cleanse diet has received lots of press, both good and bad. Essentially, the dieter drinks a concoction of lemonade, cayenne pepper, and maple sugar, and foregoes most other forms of sustenance.
Why It Works: This diet is a liquid-only diet that creates a calorie deficit in its adopter, as well as spurring loss of water weight. If it worked for Beyonce, it'll work for you, right?
Drawbacks: Doing a Master Cleanse usually involves lots of talking about doing a Master Cleanse. Be prepared to annoy your friends and loved ones, and be reliant on celebrity news outlets for tips and tricks on how to starve yourself with spicy lemonade.
BREATHING

Breatharianism is a lifestyle diet that consists of breathing and worshiping the sun. At the Breatharian Institute of America's website, you can learn how to adopt the diet, as well as pay $10,000 to attend a workshop to truly that includes a trip to "Earth Prime" in the fifth dimension.
Why It Works: As you are permanently fasting (this includes water, by the way), this extremely dangerous diet will promote weight loss through a calorie deficit.
Drawbacks: If you actually commit to this diet and life philosophy, you're probably certifiably insane. Also, Breatharianism has been the cause of at least three deaths, due to severe dehydration and organ failure. It doesn't matter how New Age you are, foods and water must be staples of the enlightened life.

THE SLEEPING PILL DIET

Also called the Sleeping Beauty Diet, this fad popularized in the 1970s. The idea is simple: if you're sleeping, you can't physically be eating. Popularized by Elvis, The King took this diet plan to new heights, as he underwent total sedation to sleep for days at a time, under the guise of shedding the pounds.
Why It Works: The rumors are true: if you're sleeping, you can't be eating.
Drawbacks: Getting addicted to sleeping pills would be pretty rough. And be sure to watch out for any sequined jumpsuits that make their way into your wardrobe.
THE TAPEWORM DIET

This diet advocates eating a beef tapeworm that lives inside a cyst. There's no dieting necessary, you just let the tapeworm eat whatever you just ate, and in several months you should simply poop him out.
Why It Works: The tapeworm lives in your intestines, interfering with your digestion and the absorption of nutrients. This weight loss tactic purports to help its practitioners lose one to two pounds per week, regardless of calories consumed.
Drawbacks: This weight loss method is illegal in the United States, and is therefore highly unregulated in the diet market. Besides being prohibitively expensive (you'll have to travel and pay for treatment out of pocket), you'll also willingly have a parasite living in your body. Your mother must be so proud.
THE CHEWING DIET

Horace Fletcher was a diet fad guru from the early twentieth century. His diet plan consisted of one idea: chewing. "Fletcherizing," as he coined it, was the idea that people ought to chew their food until it liquefied. Fletcher contended that ingesting only liquefied food, and even chewing liquids — to better mix them with your natural saliva, of course – would aid in digestion and promote weight loss.
Why It Works: Two words: it doesn't.
Drawbacks: Fiber does not liquefy, and many of the early proponents of Fletcherizing suffered from constipation and malnutrition. And, although chewing your food like a normal person is a good idea, if your entire diet plan is to chew your food too well, you'd probably be better off just joining a gym.
THE ROMAN VOMITING ORGY DIET

During the heyday of the Roman Empire, vomiting was sometimes induced (and sometimes involuntary) after long stints of feasting, and often during orgies.Vomunt ut edant; edunt ut vomant, coined Seneca, and Cicero commented in his ancient writings that Caesar would often resort to this "making room for more" tactic.
Why It Works: Obviously, it doesn't. The Roman Empire is but a shadow of the hegemonic behemoth that it once was. But at least you get to go to orgies.
Drawbacks: This diet is bulimia: the ol' binge and purge. Simple nutrition and common sense proves that this is neither a safe nor effective weight loss tactic, but instead a deadly eating disorder.
EXPENSIVE DIETS

Although many diet plans promise less pounds for for more, be wary of extremely expensive diets. Although most of these are relatively safe and proven effective over time, the harm that expensive diets can do is in your pocketbook. If you're motivated to become a healthier, happier human being, eschew the idea of a "dream diet". No gimmick, shake, or pre-made meal can outshine those truly dedicated to live the healthy life.
Why It Works: Dollar, dollar bills, y'all. And more in your pocket.

Source: http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2012/10-diets-that-may-do-more-harm-than-good/

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

BACK PAIN RELIEVERS

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:59:00 PST

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

When is Scoliosis Surgery Necessary?

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:01:00 PST

To date, the bulk of the information you will find related to Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) on the Internet supports the use of back bracing and scoliosis surgery. Initially, treatment from a medical doctor consists of "observation only", until the Cobb angle progresses to 25 degrees, at which point the patient is placed in a scoliosis brace. When back bracing is unsuccessful in stabilizing the progression of the disease, which is frequently the case, scoliosis surgery is the only other option that the medical community has to offer.

Due to the complicated nature of idiopathic scoliosis and the difficulty in understanding and treating this condition, the development of a surgical method of treating idiopathic scoliosis by Dr. Harrington was understandable. However, science, & long term research agree that this procedure does not cure idiopathic scoliosis, but rather replaces one deformity (a flexible, curved spine) with another (a straighter, fused spine).

A majority of people we see, who have been treated with scoliosis surgery, report after the operation that their pain levels either stayed the same or worsened, leading to long term use of stronger and stronger pain medication. "On average, 16 years after surgery, 40% of surgery patient are permanently handicapped for the rest of their lives" (Long-term results of quality of life in patients with idiopathic scoliosis after Harrington instrumentation and their relevance for expert evidence. Gotze C, Slomka A, Gotze HG, Potsl W, Liljenqvist U, Stienbeck J. Z Orthop Ihre Grensgeb 2002 Sep-Oct, 140(5): 492-8).

We believe that surgery for scoliosis, while potentially necessary at times for very large spinal curvatures, is only symptomatic/cosmetic procedure for a much more complex condition. Hardware failure does occur, and poses a very serious health risk for the patient and results in the obvious need for further scoliosis surgery. Furthermore, after looking at the hardware removed from patients, it has been revealed that two out of three demonstrate significant corrosion, (Corrosion of spinal implants retrieved from patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Akazawa T, Minami S, Takahashi K, Hanawa T, Moriya H. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan. J Orthop Sci. 2005; 10(2):200-5. "Corrosion was seen on many of the rod junctions (66.2%) after long term implantation"), which can cause heavy metal toxicity, depression of the immune response, and chronic inflammation.

"The current trend for management of these curves is early surgical intervention for scoliosis, the rationale being the ineffectiveness of back bracing in preventing the progression of such a large curve and the difficulty in obtaining satisfactory correction by postponing scoliosis surgery to a later date. On the basis of our results, we propose a conservative line of management for these curves, in contrast with current views, rather than to rush into a major spine surgery. If the curve progresses, scoliosis surgery can always be considered later, keeping in mind the excellent correction obtained with the pedicle screw systems even for large curves of 70 to 100 degrees."

~ A large adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curve in a skeletally immature patient: is early surgery the correct approach? Overview of available evidence.

Telang SS, Suh SW, Song HR, Vaidya SV. Department of orthopedics, Korea University, Guro Hospital, Guro-Dong, Guro-Gu, Seoul, Korea.

J Spinal Disord Tech. 2006 Oct;19(7):534-40.

"Correction of scoliosis (scoliosis surgery) is largely an elective cosmetic procedure in the young population, who account for the largest portion of the scoliosis surgery population. Associated with the correction, however, is a very real possibility of major neurological injury, including paralysis."

Tod B. Sloan MD, PhD

Anesthesiology Clinics of North America

Volume 15, Issue 3, 1 September 1997, Pages 573-592

After understanding these facts and considering the other complications involved with this procedure, you can see why we believe that scoliosis surgery should be a last resort for

the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis, to be considered only after every other non-invasive treatment option has been thoroughly exhausted.

http://www.treatingscoliosis.com/scoliosis-surgery.html

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Surgical Techniques Affect Outcome in Scoliosis Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:16:00 PST

For patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, eight factors correlate significantly with maintenance of kyphosis, according to a study published online Jan. 5 in Spine.

(HealthDay News) — For patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), eight factors correlate significantly with maintenance of kyphosis, according to a study published online Jan. 5 in Spine.

Baron S. Lonner, M.D., from the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City, and colleagues investigated the surgical and radiographic factors in AIS surgery that affect kyphosis maintenance, in a retrospective multicenter study of 269 patients. Participants had kyphosis of less than 22 degrees. Operative data were recorded, and a complete radiographic series was obtained for each patient before surgery, immediately after surgery, and at two years after surgery.

In multivariate analysis, the investigators found that maintenance of kyphosis at two years post-surgery was significantly associated with eight variables. Increased kyphosis at follow-up correlated significantly with anterior approach, elevated thoracic coronal curve, and a greater percentage of hooks in the construct. Hypokyphosis correlated with a larger number of levels fused, preoperative kyphosis, the percentage of screws in the construct, use of stainless steel rods, and percent decrease in the thoracic curve.

"Our multivariate analysis demonstrates that in patients with AIS who have thoracic hypokyphosis as part of their deformity, anterior approach, fusing as few levels as possible, and using a hybrid construct are associated with improved thoracic sagittal contour," the authors conclude.

The study was supported by corporate/industry funding; one or more authors disclosed financial ties to a commercial entity related directly or indirectly to the study.

Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Neck pain study reinforces use of chiropractic, other conservative options

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:07:00 PST

January 6, 2012 — A new studypublished this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) and exercise more effective at relieving neck pain than pain medication. The research reinforces the use of conservative care options like chiropractic as a first line of defense against pain, according to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

The study divided participants into three groups that received either SMT from a doctor of chiropractic (DC), pain medication (over-the-counter pain relievers, narcotics, and muscle relaxants) or exercise recommendations.

After 12 weeks, about 57 percent of those who met with DCs and 48 percent who exercised reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

After one year, approximately 53 percent of the drug-free groups still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain; compared to just 38 percent pain reduction among those who took medication.

The study also found that despite experiencing limited pain relief, people in the drug group continued using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period. This finding underscores concerns raised in an April 2011 government report that indicated prescription drug abuse in the U.S. has reached crisis level.

"Doctors of chiropractic have long cautioned against the overuse of medication to treat musculoskeletal pain," said ACA President Keith Overland, DC. "We continue to promote drug-free, conservative interventions for neck pain patients before referral for medical management that may result in side effects. Patients deserve to know that there are natural, drug-free options when it comes to pain relief."

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Why you should eat more (not less) cholesterol

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:29:00 PST

For decades now, the general American population has been neurotically avoiding cholesterol-rich foods for fear of developing heart disease, thanks to the promulgation of the unfortunate Diet-Heart hypothesis. (1)

Those of us that follow a paleo diet are well aware by now thatdietary cholesterol does not significantly affect cholesterol levels in the blood or risk for heart disease, and that there is no reason to avoid whole foods with naturally high levels of cholesterol.

However, beyond just ‘not avoiding’ high cholesterol foods, there is a significant reason for us to make a special effort to include many high cholesterol foods in our diet.

The reason? The much under-appreciated B-vitamin called choline, found primarily in cholesterol-rich foods.

If you haven’t heard of choline, or don’t know much about this vital nutrient, you’re not alone. Choline has only been ‘officially’ recognized as an essential nutrient since 1998, when the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine established an Adequate Intake (AI) level of 425 mg per day for women and 550 mg per day for men. (2) Even though it has been deemed a nutrient vital for human health, only 10% of Americans are meeting the conservative AI levels established by the IOM.

If you eat a strict paleo diet, you may be closer to meeting your choline needs than the average American, but only if you are regularly including choline rich foods in your diet. The best whole food sources of dietary choline are egg yolks and liver, which are often avoided by many Americans due to unfounded fear of dietary fat and cholesterol. However, these high cholesterol foods are at the top the choline-rich foods list, followed (albeit distantly) by beef, cod, brussels sprouts, and broccoli. (3)

Why is choline such an important nutrient to consider in one’s diet?

Choline has a variety of functions in the body, including the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, cell-membrane signaling, lipid transport, and methylgroup metabolism. (4) In addition, it is an essential component of the many phospholipids that make up cell membranes, regulates several metabolic pathways, and aids detoxification in the body. During pregnancy, low choline intake is significantly associated with a higher risk of neural tube defects in the newborn.

Choline deficiency over time can have serious implications for our health. Symptoms of choline deficiency include fatigue, insomnia, poor kidney function, memory problems, and nerve-muscle imbalances. Extreme dietary deficiency of choline can result in liver dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, impaired growth, abnormalities in bone formation, lack of red blood cell formation, infertility, kidney failure, anemia, and high blood pressure. Incredibly, choline deficiency is the only nutrient deficiency shown to induce the development of spontaneous carcinoma. (5)

Chris Masterjohn has written extensively about choline deficiency and its relationship to fatty liver disease which affects as many as 100 million Americans and is often attributed to excess alcohol and sugar consumption by conventional practitioners. After a review of the literature, Masterjohn concludes that choline deficiency plays a role in virtually every type of diet-induced fatty liver model, and that adequate dietary choline is essential for proper liver function. He also suggests that high consumption of dietary fat, including saturated fats, increases the amount of choline required to prevent the accumulation of fat in the liver. (6)

This means that if you’re eating a higher fat diet, it is even more crucial that you include a variety of choline rich foods in your diet.

Another important factor to consider is that while humans are able to produce some level of endogenous choline, some people have a common gene variation that further increases the amount of choline they must consume to satisfy their body’s requirements. (7) These particular people are more susceptible to choline deficiency, and must be especially vigilant about including choline rich food in their diets.

As choline is so important, you may be wondering what the best food sources are in order to improve your intake. There are many natural, whole foods that are excellent sources of bioavailable choline, with the best sources being beef liver, poultry liver, and whole eggs. (8) These foods are not only high in choline, but are also very high in many different vitamins and minerals such as as vitamin A, arachidonic acid, DHA, and the B vitamins. (9)

We already know liver is an amazing superfood. Liver from pastured animals is a great source of trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium, plus highly bioavailable folate and iron. (10)

Liver is also the most potent source of dietary choline that we know of.

For example, a three ounce serving of pan-fried beef liver has over 400 mg of choline in it, compared to less than 80 mg in the same amount of cooked ground beef. (11) While you don’t need to consume beef liver on a daily basis to reap the benefits of this superfood, it should be clear that including pastured liver and other organ meats as part of a nutritionally complete diet is one of the best ways to improve your health and prevent the many types of chronic disease caused by nutrient deficiencies.

If you’re not used to including lots of liver and whole eggs in your regular meal plan, give a few of the following recipes a try. It’s never too late to start incorporating more choline into your diet!

http://chriskresser.com/why-you-should-eat-more-not-less-cholesterol

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Exercise May Encourage Healthy Eating Via Brain Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:21:00 PST

Exercise may encourage healthy eating by changing parts of the brain that influence impulsive behaviour, according to a new review of the available literature by researchers from Spain and the US published in Obesity Reviews. The researchers conclude that in a society where we are surrounded by temptations and triggers that facilitate over-eating and excess, the part of the brain responsible for "inhibitory control" undergoes "relentless strain" (they note it has limited capacity anyway), and doing exercise on a regular basis enhances it.

"By enhancing the resources that facilitate 'top-down' inhibitory control, increased physical activity may help compensate and suppress the hedonic drive to over-eat," they write.

Obesity has been rising at an alarming rate in Spain in recent years, so much so that in some parts of Spain, the proportion of the population that is obese is higher than that in many parts of the United States, the country traditionally considered as having the highest obesity rates in the western world.

Also, in line with other countries in the Mediterranean, Spain has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe.

Co-author Dr Miguel Alonso Alonso, a Spanish neurologist working at the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the US, told the press on Wednesday that many studies suggest "physical exercise seems to encourage a healthy diet. In fact, when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run".

However, in order better to inform and improve current approaches and treatments for obesity, he and his co-authors, from the US and Spain, thought it might be useful to bring together what these "somewhat disparate, yet interrelated lines of literature" may have to say about the neurological underpinning of the link between exercise and weight loss.

"Designing effective weight-loss interventions requires an understanding of how these behaviours are elicited, how they relate to each other and whether they are supported by common neurocognitive mechanisms," they write.

There is evidence that regular physical exercise changes the working and structure of the brain. From their review, the researchers conclude these changes seem to support the idea that regular exercise improves the results of tests that measure the state of the brain's executive functions, and increases in connections in the grey matter and prefrontal cortex.

One of the brain's executive functions is "inhibitory control" which helps us keep check on impulsiveness, or to suppress inadequate, excessive or inappropriate behaviour toward a goal.

The researchers conclude that regular practice of physical exercise, in time, produces a "potentiating effect" on the brain's executive functions, including the ability for inhibitory control, and this helps us "resist the many temptations that we are faced with everyday in a society where food, especially hypercaloric food, is more and more omnipresent".

Exercise also brings other benefits, such as making the brain more sensitive to physiological signs of fulness. This helps not only to control appetite, but it also modifies the "hedonic" response to food stimuli, say the researchers. Thus the benefits of exercise occur in the short term (these affect metabolism) and in the long term (these affect behaviour).

Alonso Alonso and colleagues suggest it is important that social policies help and encourage people to practise sport and engage in physical exercise, whether at school, in urban settings, or daily life, with the help of public transport, pedestrianized areas and sports centres.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

The Calcium Supplement Problem: As Serious As A Heart Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:20:00 PST

Osteoporosis is not caused by a lack of limestone, oyster shell or bone meal. Heart attack, however, may be caused by supplementation with these exact same "elemental" forms of calcium, according to two meta-analyses published last year in the British Medical Journal.

Back in July of 2011, the British Medical Journal published the results of a high-powered meta-analysis which looked at whether or not calcium supplementation had any effect on cardiovascular disease risk. Indeed, this groundbreaking report, which was based on the results of five clinical trials conducted in the US, Britain and New Zealand, involving over 8,000 people, showed that taking elemental calcium supplements of 500 mg or more increased the relative risk of heart attack by 27%.

Though the study made international headlines at the time, critics soon took issue with the fact that it involved calcium supplementation without co-administered vitamin D. However, in April of that same year, another meta-analysis published in the same journal showed that even with co-administered D elemental calcium increased the risk of heart attack by 24%, and in addition, the composite of heart attack and stroke by 15% -- in essence, putting those doubts to rest.

The idea that calcium supplementation may be toxic to cardiovascular health is not new, as many in the field of nutrition have long warned against supplementation with elemental calcium; which is to say, calcium from limestone, oyster shell, egg shell and bone meal (hydroxylapatite).

Despite the growing popularity of elemental calcium supplementation, largely reinforced by conventional health "experts" and organizations like the National Osteoporosis Foundation (whose corporate sponsors include the calcium manufacturers Oscal and Citrical), the habit simply does not make sense. After all, have you ever experienced visceral disgust after accidentally consuming eggshell? If you have, you know your body is "hard-wired" to reject low-quality calcium sources (stones and bones as it were), in favor of getting calcium from food.

Inorganic or "elemental" calcium, when not bound to the natural co-factors, e.g. amino acids, lipids and glyconutrients, found in "food" (which is to say other living beings, e.g. plants and animals), no longer has the intelligent delivery system that enables your body to utilize it in a biologically appropriate manner. Lacking this "delivery system," the calcium may end up going to places you do not want (ectopic calcification), or go to places you do want (e.g. the bones), but in excessive amounts, stimulating unnaturally accelerated cell-division (osteoblasts), resulting in higher bone turn over rates later in life (this is explained in the article below).

Or, the body attempts to disburden itself of this inappropriate calcium and dumps it into the bowel (constipation), or pushes it through the kidneys (stones). Worse, high levels of calcium can accumulate in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can contribute to destabilizing the atherosclerotic plaque through the formation of a brittle calcium cap on the atheroma, can contribute to thrombosis (clot) formation, hypertension (that's why we use calcium channel blockers to lower blood pressure), and perhaps causing arrhythmias/fibrillation and or heart muscle cramping (a rather common, though rarely recognized trigger of 'heart attack').

The breasts too are uniquely susceptible to calcification, which is why we use the same x-rays to ascertain bone density that we do to discern pathological microcalcifications in the breast, i.e. x-ray mammography. Due to the fact that the hydroxylapatitate crystals found in malignant breast tissue may act as a cellular 'signaling molecule' or mitogen (inducing cell proliferation), it is possible that certain breast calcifications may be a cause, and not just an effect, of the tumorous lesions ("breast cancer") found there. This may also help to explain why women with the highest bone density (often obtained through massive, lifelong calcium supplementation) have up to 300% higher incidence of malignant breast cancer.

"Brain gravel" is also an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, where autoposied patients have been found to have pebble-size calcium deposits distributed throughout their brains, including the pineal gland ('the seat of the soul'). The wide range of existing calcium-associateted pathologies, and their increasing prevalence in calcium-fixated cultures, demand further investigation and explanation. Could one aspect be our cultural fixation on mega-dose calcium supplementation?

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Axis-line-distance technique preferred method to evaluate perioperative scoliosis treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:12:00 PST

When compared with the Cobb method, the axis-line-distance technique is the preferred method for evaluating perioperative scoliosis treatment, according to recent research.

Researchers found a weak to moderate correlation with the Cobb method, where the axis-line-distance technique (ALDT) showed a good to excellent correlation in measuring scoliosis patients during bracing therapy or surgery and in subsequent follow-ups, according to the abstract.

Two independent radiologists calculated the correction rate after either consecutive bracing therapy or surgery of 57 patients with scoliosis using both methods based on 171 perioperative X-rays, according to the abstract. The calculations were done before surgery, during the bracing therapy or surgery and after the final follow-up.

The ADLT showed no significant difference between either of the radiologists when calculating the correction rate or rate of correction loss during or after treatment. The ALDT measured the preoperative lateral deviations of the apical vertebrae as 31 ± 14 mm and also during and after treatment, which were 16 mm ± 8 mm and 20 mm ± 8 mm, respectively.

In contrast, the researchers differed significantly in their intraoperative calculations when using the Cobb method, though their calculation of the correction rate and rate of correction loss were not affected. Cobb angles were calculated at 34° ± 14°, 19° ± 7° and 22° ± 6° at preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative time periods, according to the abstract.

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Diet Might Help Those Immobilized by Knee Osteoarthritis

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:50:00 PST

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- A diet consisting of eight weeks of protein shakes and soup followed by adding low-calorie, high-protein foods can help people with knee osteoarthritis lose weight, which may lessen joint pain and improve their quality of life, a new study finds.

This diet might also help people whose obesity makes it impossible to exercise, the researchers added.

"Obese individuals with knee osteoarthritis should be urged to lose weight," said lead researcherRobin Christensen, head of the Musculoskeletal Statistics Unit at The Parker Institute at Copenhagen University Hospital at Frederiksberg in Denmark.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian and clinical nutrition coordinator at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., said that "the question this study brings up is whether the participants can maintain the weight loss they achieved on a formula-based, very low-calorie, supervised diet, in real life, with real food."

For the study, Christensen's team followed 175 obese people suffering from knee osteoarthritis. During the first eight weeks, the participants had only the formula diet, called the Cambridge Weight Plan, which includes soups and shakes and was limited to 800 calories a day. The participants stayed on this diet for eight weeks.

Following this diet, the patients lost a lot of weight, but also increased their bone mineral density, Christensen said.

During the next eight weeks, the participants continued the diet, but increased their calories to 1,200 a day with one formula meal replaced by low-fat, high-protein foods plus some carbohydrates.

Dieticians supervised the participants, Christensen noted.

During the first eight weeks, people lost an average of 26 pounds, according to the study.

"This is achievable for all people with knee osteoarthritis, because 91 percent of all the people who started the trial completed 16 weeks of the trial, so it's feasible," he said.

The findings appear in the Dec. 21 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

While the study's main funding came from two Norwegian foundations, it was funded in part by the makers of the Cambridge Weight Plan. Study co-author Dr. Anthony Leeds is the medical director of the program. The company paid for the dieticians and donated their products, Christensen said.

The diets included the recommended daily intake of amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, the researchers said. It also increased levels of vitamin D, which is essential for bone growth. Levels of vitamin B12 were also boosted, to improve nervous-system functioning of the nervous system and blood production.

Losing weight helped more than 60 percent of the participants reduce their knee pain and improved their ability to walk, the researchers found.

Osteoarthritis results in degradation of joints causing joint pain, tenderness, stiffness and locking. According to Christensen, many weight-loss diets decrease bone mineral density, which can weaken bones, especially among people who can't exercise.

The researchers have followed these patients for a year to see if they have maintained their weight loss and whether their osteoarthritis has improved, Christensen said. "The results are looking good," he said.

Maintaining weight loss over time is the challenge, Heller said.

Without learning strategies for managing life's daily obstacle course of stressors, frustrations, temptations and social interactions, it is highly likely that people who lose weight on a formula diet will regain the weight they lost when they stop the program, she said.

"Losing weight is difficult at best, and for people who are overweight or obese the struggle is complex and involves environmental, physiological, psychological and health issues," Heller said.

"People who are motivated to make lifestyle changes should work with trained, accredited, health professionals such as a registered dietitian and their physician," she added.

More information

For more on osteoarthritis, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

No Deaths from Vitamins America's Largest Database Confirms Supplement Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:33:00 PST

(OMNS, Dec 28, 2011) There was not even one death caused by a vitamin supplement in 2010, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System.

The new 203-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published online athttp://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2010%20NPDS%20Annual%20Report.pdf, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin.

Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or dietary mineral supplement.

Three people died from non-supplement mineral poisoning: two from medical use of sodium and one from non-supplemental iron. On page 131, the AAPCC report specifically indicates that the iron fatality was not from a nutritional supplement.

Fifty-seven poison centers provide coast-to-coast data for the National Poison Data System, "one of the few real-time national surveillance systems in existence, providing a model public health surveillance system for all types of exposures, public health event identification, resilience response and situational awareness tracking."

Well over half of the U.S. population takes daily nutritional supplements. Even if each of those people took only one single tablet daily, that makes 165,000,000 individual doses per day, for a total of over 60 billion doses annually. Since many persons take far more than just one single vitamin or mineral tablet, actual consumption is considerably higher, and the safety of nutritional supplements is all the more remarkable.

Over 60 billion doses of vitamin and mineral supplements per year in the USA, and not a single fatality. Not one.

If vitamin and mineral supplements are allegedly so "dangerous," as the FDA and news media so often claim, then where are the bodies?

Reference:

Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Dart RC. 2010 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 28th Annual Report. The full text article is available for free download athttp://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2010%20NPDS%20Annual%20Report.pdf

The data mentioned above are found in Table 22B. Mineral data on page 131; vitamin data on pages 137-139 .

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Almost 68% of Women over 40 Have Fallen for This Trap

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:30:00 PST

By Dr. Mercola

Mammograms are widely promoted as a "life-saving" tool for helping women detect breast cancer in its earliest stages.

The message has so thoroughly saturated the public mind that nearly 68 percent of women over the age of 40 have had a mammogram in the past two years -- and most of these women believe doing so will help them avoid dying from breast cancer.

Unfortunately, women have largely been sold a false bill of goods, as the science tells a very different story about the ability of mammograms to save lives.

In Most Cases, Mammograms Don't Save Lives

Considering that mammograms are regarded as the "gold standard" for breast cancer prevention in the conventional medical establishment, you may haveassumed they save lives.

Well, researchers from Dartmouth College had a novel idea -- they decided to determine how often lives were actually saved by mammography screening vs. breast cancer industry generated statistics and their marketing propaganda.

And what they found should make even the staunchest mammography proponent give pause.

Using breast cancer data from The National Cancer Institute and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers calculated a 50-year-old woman's likelihood of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years, the odds the cancer would be detected by mammography, and her risk of dying from the cancer over 20 years.

They found that a mammogram has, at best, only a 13 percent probability of saving her life, and that the probability may actually be as low as 3 percent. No matter what analyses they used, including considering women of different ages, the probability of a mammogram saving a life remained below 25 percent.

Researchers concluded:

"Most women with screen-detected breast cancer have not had their life saved by screening. They are instead either diagnosed early (with no effect on their mortality) or overdiagnosed."

This bears repeating:

Mammograms often diagnose tumors that may never threaten a woman's life. They also often result in false positives that lead to over-treatment, i.e. misdiagnosed women often undergo unnecessary mastectomies, lumpectomies, radiation treatments and chemotherapy, which can have a devastating effect on both the quality and length of their lives.

Up to 50 Percent of Breast Cancer "Diagnoses" are Not Actually Cancer

As Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo.com, explained in a recent article, between 30-50% of new breast cancer diagnoses obtained through mammography screenings are classified as Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), which may not be cancer at all.

DCIS refers to the abnormal growth of cells within the milk ducts of the breast forming a calcified lesion commonly between 1-1.5 cm in diameter, and is considered non-invasive or "stage zero breast cancer" -- with some experts arguing for its complete re-classification as a non-cancerous condition.

Many conventional physicians view DCIS as "pre-cancerous" and argue that, because it could cause harm if left untreated it should be treated in the same aggressive manner as invasive cancer; however the rate at which DCIS progresses to invasive cancer is still largely unknown, with the weight of evidence suggesting it is significantly less than 50% -- perhaps as low as 2-4%.

Amazingly, there are no diagnostic standards for DCIS, and there are no requirements that the pathologists doing the readings have specialized expertise.

Dr. Shahla Masood, the head of pathology at The University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, told the New York Times:

"There are studies that show that diagnosing these borderline breast lesions occasionally comes down to the flip of a coin."

The New York Times also reported on several other concerning findings about the frequency of misdiagnosis of DCIS:

A 2006 study funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure estimated that in 90,000 cases where women were diagnosed with DCIS or invasive breast cancer, they either did not have the disease or they received an unnecessary treatment due to a pathologist's error.

A 2002 study at Northwestern University Medical Center found that nearly 8 percent of 340 breast cancer cases "had errors serious enough to change plans for surgery."

Dr. Lagios, a pathologist at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco, reviewed nearly 600 breast cases in 2007 and 2008 and found discrepancies in 141 of them.

The Times stated, "Dr. Lagios says that based on his experience, microscopic core needle biopsies of low-grade D.C.I.S. and benign lesions, called atypical ductal hyperplasia, or A.D.H., may be misread 20 percent of the time."

So, if you are a woman considering going in for a mammogram, you need to be aware of the fact that mammograms often detect breast abnormalities (lesions) that -- while being diagnosed as "early cancer" and treated as if aggressive, invasive cancers -- will often never progress to actual cancer if left to run their natural course.

In fact, groundbreaking new research published in The Lancet Oncology shows that many actually invasive breast cancersspontaneously regress when left underdiagnosed and untreated. The authors of the study concluded:

We believe that many invasive breast cancers detected by repeated mammography screening do not persist to be detected by screening at the end of 6 years, suggesting that the natural course of many of the screen-detected invasive breast cancers is to spontaneously regress.

When you consider that mammography screenings often result in the diagnosis of what may be an inherently benign breast lesion, DCIS, and that the diagnosis itself may come down to a "coin's flip" worth of certainty – and then, you add in the fact that even so-called 'invasive breast cancer' may "spontaneously regress," the entire justification for mammography screening seems to fall apart.

After all, is exposing the breast to carcinogenic radiation once a year really a wise decision, given that the screening process itself is so obviously inaccurate and misleading? Also, considering that self-examination, examination by a trained professional and screening with radiation-free thermography provide sound alternatives, it is important that women at least be provided with an informed choice.

Annual Mammograms Increase Your Risk of False Positives, Unnecessary Biopsies

Research funded by the National Cancer Institute and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that getting an annual mammogram leads to an increased risk of false-positive results and unnecessary biopsies compared to getting a mammogram every other year.

After analyzing more than 386,000 mammograms from close to 170,000 women over a 10-year period, the study found 61 percent of those who received annual mammograms would be called back in for a follow-up, at least once, when in fact they did not have cancer. An additional 7-9 percent would receive an unnecessary biopsy. This is compared to 42 percent and 5-6 percent of the women, respectively, who had a mammogram every other year.

Furthermore, the research showed that annual mammograms were not more effective at identifying late-stage cancers compared to the every-other-year group. The overall results led lead researcher Rebecca Hubbard to say that false positives are simply "part of the process of screening mammography."

Unfortunately, this also means many women are exposed to increased stress as well as potentially invasive and potentially harmful treatments for absolutely no reason.

Even still, The American Cancer Society (ACS) advises women age 40 and older to undergo a mammogram screening every year, and continue to do so for as long as they are in good health, despite updated guidelines set forth by The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which state that women in their 40s should NOT get routine mammograms for early detection of breast cancer.

ACS' role in the promotion of mammography is far from altruistic, of course, as they have numerous ties to the mammography industryitself.

Mammograms Expose You to Serious Cancer-Causing Radiation

False positives, lack of life-saving results and overdiagnosis aside, there's yet another reason why you may want to carefully analyze your decision to receive a mammogram, and that is the serious health risks associated with diagnostic radiation exposure.

A mammogram uses ionizing radiation which, in and of itself, can contribute to the development of breast cancer. In fact, mammograms expose your body to doses of radiation that can be 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray, which we know poses a cancer risk.

What is so confusing is that the type of X-rays used in mammography are called "low-energy," radiating at around 30 Peak kilovoltage (kVp) vs. 200 kVp and above for "high-energy" radiation.

Commonsense would seem to dictate that "low-energy" means lower harm. Indeed, It has become conventional wisdom within radiobiology and radiology that the "lower energy" rays used in x-ray mammography are far less dangerous to DNA than those associated with the spectrum of radiation released by atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki – so-called "high energy" X-rays. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

An accumulating body of clinical evidence indicates that the 30 kVp range of "low-energy" radiation used in breast screenings is up to 400% more damaging to the DNA – and therefore 400% more carcinogenic – than the "high energy" radiation it is often compared to.

Making Sense of All the Radiation Numbers

What this means is a potential sea change for the breast screening industry, which will no longer be able to justify its already horrible track record of "early detection" and "saving lives," nor its industry-friendly and highly skewed risk-benefit analyses -- based as they are on a completely inaccurate radiation risk model which minimizes the risk at the expense of women's health.

Keep in mind that The Cochrane Database Review determined in 2009 that for every woman whose life is prolonged through mammography screening diagnosis 10 women are "unnecessarily treated," i.e. their life is shortened.

What is so tragic is that this does not take into account the fact that the "low-energy" radiation being used in x-ray mammography, is planting the genetic seed for invasive breast cancer in countless women who would not have otherwise developed cancer, had they not been exposed to the radiation through screening in the first place.

It is already commonly accepted by the medical establishment that x-ray mammography screenings do cause breast cancer – they just do not realize, or are not willing to admit, how severe the problem is.

For example, research published in The Journal Radiology showed that annual mammography screening of 100,000 women from age 40-55, and biennial screening after that to age 74, would cause 86 radiation-induced cancers, including 11 fatalities and 136 life years lost. If we adjust for the new radiation risk model, required by acknowledging the difference between "low" and "high" energy radiation, we must multiply the harms caused by a factor of four to get a more realistic estimate of the iatrogenic damage: namely, 344 radiation-induced cancers, including 44 fatalities and 544 life years lost.

And remember, research has already been performed clearly showing that adding an annual mammogram to a careful physical examination of the breasts does not improve breast cancer survival rates over getting the examination alone.

So it comes down to an assessment of risk versus benefit, and even the mainstream press is beginning to report researchers' sentiments that:

"It's generally a really close call."

As Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, told TIME:

"Women need to understand their trade-offs here. The reason to be screened isn't because you've heard a lot of survivor stories. Some of those women have not benefited [from screening]."

And, as was revealed by a study in the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, breast cancer screening using x-ray mammography led to 30 percent overdiagnosis and overtreatment, or an absolute risk increase of 0.5 percent!

What Really Will Reduce Your Risk of Dying from Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. women, and one in eight will be diagnosed with it during their lifetime. Unfortunately, the aggressive push for mammography has many women equating actual preventive measures (e.g. lifestyle, diet and nutrition changes, as well as avoiding chemical exposures) with annual breast screenings, which do nothing to prevent cancer, and may actually contribute to it.

Unfortunately, medical organizations like The American Cancer Society do very little to spread the word about the many ways women can help prevent breast cancer in the first place.

A healthy diet, regular physical exercise, and an effective way to manage your emotional health are the cornerstones of just about any cancer prevention program, including breast cancer.

The following lifestyle strategies will also help to further lower your risk:

Radically reduce your sugar/fructose intake. Normalizing your insulin levels by avoiding sugar and fructose is one of the most powerful physical actions you can take to lower your risk of cancer. Unfortunately, very few oncologists appreciate or apply this knowledge today. The Cancer Centers of America is one of the few exceptions, where strict dietary measures are included in their cancer treatment program. Fructose is especially dangerous, as research shows it actually speeds up cancer growth.

Optimize your vitamin D level. Ideally it should be over 50 ng/ml, but levels from 60-80 ng/ml will radically reduce your cancer risk. Safe sun exposure is the most effective way to increase your levels, followed by safe tanning beds and then oral vitamin D3 supplementation as a last resort if no other option is available.

Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising using high-intensity burst-type activities like Peak Fitness. It’s important to lose excess weight because estrogen, a hormone produced excessively in fat tissue, may trigger and/or feed breast cancer.

Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as those from krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.

Avoid drinking alcohol, or limit your drinks to one a day for women.

Breastfeed exclusively for at least six months. Research shows this will reduce your breast cancer risk.

Watch out for excessive iron levels. This is actually very common once women stop menstruating. The extra iron actually works as a powerful oxidant, increasing free radicals and raising your risk of cancer. So if you are a post-menopausal woman or have breast cancer you will certainly want to have your Ferritin levels drawn. Ferritin is the iron transport protein and should not be above 80. If it is elevated you can simply donate your blood to reduce it.

Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide—a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried—has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.

Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation.

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

27-Year-Old Adelaide Woman Dies Weighing 12Kg with scoliosis, Parents Arrested for Murder

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:25:00 PST

Note from Dr Kevin Lau:

This is a sad story I read in the newspaper the other day and certainly harks back to my understanding of how important nutrition is to the development of not only the spine for a child but their health it self. Even though most parents of scoliosis sufferers are not neglecting their children health, in this modern society we living in we are malnourished by the modern diet that we are living on. Please read Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Correction and Prevention and feed your children well.

By Arlene Paredes | December 21, 2011 12:38 PM EST

A 27-year-old disabled woman died at home weighing only 12kg, prompting the police to arrest her parents for murder by neglect, as they may have deliberately left her uncared for at their home.

The parents, both teachers, were arrested by police Monday morning at their home in the suburb of Brighton North, southwest of Adelaide, reported the Herald Sun.

View Full Image

REUTERS/Ismail Taxta
A woman holds her malnourished child on arrival at Banadir hospital in Mogadishu July 7, 2011. The United Nations says 2.8 million people in Somalia need emergency aid after the worst drought in 60 years hit the Horn of Africa region. In the worst-hit areas, one in three children is suffering from malnutrition.

The death was reported on March 19, and Adelaide detectives started an investigation as it seemed the woman had wasted away to weigh just 12kg at the time of her death.

The woman was reportedly bedridden, and she suffered a number of disabilities, including scoliosis.

The family's neighbours had told The Adelaide Advertiser they did not know the woman lived at the address.

The woman's parents, aged 56 and 55, lived with at least one other relative at their home, the Herald noted.

The couple will appear in court on Tuesday to face police allegations that they deliberately caused the death of their daughter by neglecting to adequately feed and care for her.

To contact the editor, e-mail:editor@ibtimes.com

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Should Boys Be Given the HPV Vaccine? The Science is Weaker than the Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:40:00 PST

Merck’s promotion of Gardasil, its vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV), has a complicated history. First there was the exuberant claim about its reputedly great effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer. Now comes the recommendation last month from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that all 11- and 12-year-old boys should be given the vaccine.

Of Science and Truthiness

The vaccine for boys is important, say advocates, because reducing HPV in boys will reduce transmission to girls and women—only 32 percentof whom have been getting the shots to date. Giving the shots to boys, they say, promotes gender equity. As a bonus, the vaccine may protect against oral and anal cancers in men who have sex with men.

Since a key part of the rationale for vaccinating boys is to protect girls, it’s worth a moment to examine the claims about reducing cervical cancer deaths. Merck won approval for Gardasil from the Food and Drug Administration in June 2006. On May 10, 2007, Merck published the results of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that claimed an astounding 98 percent efficacy in preventing changes in the cervix used as a marker for cervical cancer.

But that statistic begs closer examination.

To achieve the 98 percent efficacy claim, Merck excluded from analysis anyone who “violated” the study protocol. In other words, all real-world problems that arose were excluded from analysis. Problems like girls who refused to take a second or third shot after they became sick and (correctly or incorrectly) blamed the vaccine. Or doctors who incorrectly gave the vaccine to someone who shouldn’t have received it. While it’s worth knowing how effective the vaccine is when it’s used exactly as it should be, for a public-health decision, it’s not as relevant as its real-world effectiveness.

To Merck’s credit, they reported that when all women in the study were analyzed, the vaccine’s efficacy dropped to 44 percent. Still, 44 percent might be considered a smashing success when you’re talking about saving lives. Except for one thing: the numbers get worse. The 44 percent benefit included only those women with the two specific cancer-causing HPV strains found in the vaccine. But when the researchers looked at negative cervical changes from any causes, they found that changes occurred in unvaccinated women at a rate of 1.5 events per 100 person-years, while vaccinated women had 1.3 events—dropping the benefit to 17 percent.

Moreover, most of the cervical changes tracked by the researchers weren’t even indicative of cervical cancer in the first place. Most were innocent cellular abnormalities that either disappear entirely on their own, or never progress to cancer. In fact, when they looked more closely at advanced cervical changes most likely to progress to cancer versus more innocent changes that go away spontaneously, it was the innocent changes that accounted for the decline.

Whether Gardasil will reduce cervical cancer deaths in real-world conditions has simply never been answered. It might—but that would take a long-term study, and one that should be donebefore it’s widely promoted.

A Cure in Need of a Disease

Now, come the boys. If cervical cancer prevention and gender equity don’t have you jumping out of your seat to grab every preteen boy to get a shot, what about the claim that Gardasil might prevent anal and oral cancers men may get from having sex with other men?

Merck says that in males, the vaccine is 89 percent effective against genital warts and 75 percent effective against anal cancer. On closer inspection, some of the numbers don’t just deflate, they evaporate. First off, let’s define the problem: The annual number of deaths from anal-rectal cancer among all men in the U.S. is 300. And how did Merck get its happy statistics on efficacy? Once again, they reported an idealized benefit by excluding from analysis 1,250 study violators out of 4,055 total test subjects. When the real-world analysis was conducted, the numbers plunged—right down to plum nothing. After evaluating tissue changes in male genitalia that were suggestive of a cancer precursor, Merck reported that vaccine efficacy against such lesions “was not observed.”

Given this, is it worth the risk of exposing millions of youth to the as yet uncertain harms of the vaccine? The CDC states that in rare instances, some vaccines may trigger the potentially fatal and paralyzing condition Guillain-Barré, and Nizar Souayah, MD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, says he and his colleagues found “clear evidence from our database of an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome in the first six weeks, especially the first two weeks, after [HPV] vaccination.” Guillain-Barré is very rare, even among people who are HPV vaccinated, but the problem is emblematic of the downsides of subjecting millions of people to any medical treatment.

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money

So how did the HPV vaccine become a multi-billion-dollar winner for Merck? Well you might not be surprised to hear that the company happily lavished money on doctors, professional societies, and over 100 legislators. Of course, there is no tie between the recipients of this largesse and their promotion of the vaccine, say beneficiaries like presidential candidate and current Texas governor Rick Perry. In 2007, Perry signed an executive decree mandating that all girls in Texas receive the vaccine. The $28,500 Perry received was minor compared to his other connection to Merck: Perry’s chief of staff, Mike Toomey, became a lobbyist for Merck, championing the HPV vaccine. Once in that position, announced his plans to raise over $50 million for Perry’s presidential campaign.

In any case, the marketing certainly doesn’t seem to have hurt the adoption of Gardasil, which has been administered to millions of girls around the country. Caught up in the joy, some 41 state legislatures have initiated bills to promote or mandate the shots for all girls. With the CDC’s new recommendation for boys, one can imagine that promotion or mandates for them might come next.

Fortunately, some researchers don’t believe the hype. Dr. Diane Harper, one of the lead researchers in the development of the HPV vaccine, recently told the Kansas City Star, the vaccine for boys is “pie in the sky…We’re short of health care dollars. Why should we spend it on that?”

Indeed. There are better ways to spend the billions of dollars currently being spent on HPV vaccines. First, we already have a pretty terrific way to prevent most cervical cancer deaths, and it’s called the Pap smear. Since poor women are less likely to get Pap smears and more likely to die from cervical cancer, we could start by extending medical services to them. Second, many oral cancers are caused by smoking, and men and women who smoke are more likely to die of oral and cervical cancer, so we could invest in smoking cessation efforts.

As Angela Raffle, a specialist in cervical cancer screening, told the New York Times‘ Elisabeth Rosenthal, “Oh, dear. If we give it to boys, then all pretense of scientific worth and cost analysis goes out the window.”

Unfortunately, the hope that we would undertake low-tech, high-yield public health efforts might be the real pie in the sky thinking.

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

This Simple Supplement Can Cut Your Risk of Dying in HALF

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:39:00 PST

Taking vitamin D supplements in order to overcome a deficiency in the vitamin could cut your risk of dying by more than half. An analysis of more than 10,000 patients found that 70 percent were deficient in vitamin D -- and those who were, were three times more likely to die from any cause.

However, once the deficiencies were corrected by supplements, the risk of death dropped by more than half. In addition, the researchers found that patients with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, and diseased heart muscle.

According to the study:

“In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced survival. Vitamin D supplementation was significantly associated with better survival, specifically in patients with documented deficiency.”

Sources:

American Journal of Cardiology November 10, 2011

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Exposing the hidden epidemic of crippling, painful neurological adverse effects of antibiotics

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:41:00 PST

(NaturalNews) The adverse reactions from a certain specific class of antibiotics resemble the crippling adverse reactions of the vaccine injured. But there is much less notoriety among these agonized and debilitated victims of the Medical Mafia, except for one PBS Nightly News special from June 16th, 2011. (PBS, source below)

Most antibiotic victims are adults with no one to look after them. Unlike unfortunate autistic or paralyzed vaccine injured kids who have parents dedicated to taking care of them. Thanks to social networking and internet forums, these victims have some support.

Unfortunately, most of them are locked into the Medical Mafia system of harmful drugs and brain washed medicine. Their complaints are often disregarded as delusional, or they're misdiagnosed for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, or MS. And that's because their symptoms are similar, and worse. They often suffer from the constant pain of extreme neuropathy.

Very few adverse event reports make it to the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS). It's estimated by even the FDA that less than ten percent of actual adverse events make it into this system. It's not advertised to patients as the complaint department of choice, and doctors tend be averse to reporting adverse events from drugs they've prescribed.

So the forums and social network systems such as a facebook "wall of pain" containing personal stories and photos of current victims are their sole recourse and support. Most of them are motivated with the desire to warn others and curse the FDA. They don't have ambulance chasing attorneys - yet.

The most troublesome antibiotics

Fluoroquinolone antibioticsappear to be the most pernicious class of antibiotics causing the worst adverse effects. They are prescribed and sold asCiprofloxacin (Cipro), Levaquin, Avelox, and Tequin. Apparently enough adverse event reports have gotten through, causing the FDA to issue a black box warning for Levaquin specifically and fluoroquinolones in general.

The black box is the FDA's most severe warning, but it goes only to whoever is prescribing the drug. It's up to physicians and pharmacists to sound the alarm for their patients and customers. But usually those alarms don't get sounded, even, according to many victims, when queried about their safety.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics seem to be popular. They are dispensed for minor infections when they should be used only for extremely serious infections, though there could be problems there too. At least the ratio of benefit to risk would be closer then. A professor of pharmacology at Indiana University was quoted as saying "you don't use big guns to kill mosquitoes."

Fluoroquinolone adverse effect symptoms

An unusual side effect, exclusive to this type of antibiotic, is tearing tendons. They may literally fall apart within days of using a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The others are crippling losses of motor abilities, difficulty thinking, tinnitus, chronic insomnia, depression and anxiety among others.

The constant pain is the most difficult to bear. Neuropathy can be restricted to tingling, twitching, and numbness. But the level of neuropathy for many of the fluoroquinolone victims causes constant extreme pain throughout the joints and body. Oddly enough, these symptoms are similar to Lyme disease victims who clamor for life-long antibiotic use.

Adverse effects may show up after only one pill or not begin until a year or more after taking a series of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. If not treated, the adverse effects last long enough to ruin lives completely.

Perhaps alpha lipoic acid, especially combined with extra potent B vitamins, could do wonders for their comfort and recovery. Skilled homeopathic doctors could help them also. Unfortunately, most of these victims are stuck in a system that makes huge profits from selling solutions to problems they've created.

Sources for this article include

PBS report and individuals' videos here:http://healthmaven.blogspot.com/201...

"Wall of pain" - click photos for their storieshttp://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034384_antibiotics_neurological_effects_toxicity.html#ixzz1gOW4c0m4

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:40:00 PST

Monday, December 12, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) You might be reassured to learn that the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn typically comes from a chemical actually found in butter, but you shouldn't be. This chemical, calleddiacetyl, is so toxic that it commonly destroys the lungs of workers in microwave popcorn factories, afflicting them with the crippling and irreversible disease known asbronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans is so rare outside of this context that it has become more commonly known as "popcorn lung," after the primary cause of the disease.

Regulators and health professionals have known of this risk for decades, but always assumed that it would only affect people breathing in especially high concentrations in factory settings. Then in 2007, a man who regularly ate two bags of microwave popcorn every day was diagnosed with popcorn lung, indicating thatdiacetylenters the air and lungs when microwave popcorn is cooked. Anxious to reassure consumers, most microwave popcorn companies phased out diacetyl -- only to replace it with chemicals that have the same effects.

Today, you can still finddiacetylin many flavored snack foods and even in some so-called "natural" foods. Make sure youread the ingredientsof any food you intend to consume, and make sure it contains no diacetyl (and no "yeast extract" for that matter, either).

Sources:
http://www.naturalnews.com/024460_p...
http://www.naturalnews.com/023771_p...
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/artic...
Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034386_microwave_popcorn_diacetyl_lungs.html#ixzz1gOVmQVda

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Vitamin D Cuts Flu By Half: Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:25:00 PST

Vitamin D is a highly effective way to avoid influenza. A study documents that children taking low doses of Vitamin D₃ are 42% less likely to contract influenza.

Nicknamed the sunshine supplement because we can synthesize it from sun exposure on our skin, Vitamin D₃ has been anecdotally linked to flu prevention on many occasions. This study provides strong evidence of the validity of the observations.

The Study

Performed by Mitsuyoshi Urashima and colleagues from the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, the study was randomized, double blinded, and placebo-controlled. 430 children aged 6-15 were enrolled and followed between December 2008 and March 2009. Half were given Vitamin D₃ and the other half received a placebo. The dose was 1,200 IUs a day. 334 of the children completed the study.

Nose and throat swabs were used to diagnose influenza Types A and B. 18 of the children taking Vitamin D, and 31 in the placebo group, came down with influenza Type A, indicating a 42% reduction of risk from taking Vitamin D. Type A influenza includes all the serious flu epidemics, including seasonal flus and the swine flu fake pandemic.

Type B influenza was unaffected by Vitamin D. This is not a great concern, as Type B influenzas are generally very mild. Type C influenzas have never been associated with epidemics and are even milder, with only cold-like symptoms.

Some reports claim that the study shows Vitamin D outperforms flu vaccinations. While it’s certainly a far healthier and safer way to avoid influenza, the truth is that the study did not make any comparison with vaccination. However, in light of the fact that there is No Value in Any Influenza Vaccine, as documented in a Cochrane Collaboration study, it is certainly a fair assessment that Vitamin D outperforms flu vaccines—and does so without the dangers.

Study Used Low Dose of Vitamin D

While the study is certainly indicative of the benefit of Vitamin D in preventing flu, it might have shown an even greater effect if the authors had used more adequate doses. As Dr. Mercola has noted in Canada Looks at Vitamin D for Swine Flu Protection, 1,200 IUs of Vitamin D is adequate only in the youngest children.

Canada’s Public Health Agency notes that they’ve done a study showing that children below age 5 should take 35 IUs/day per pound of weight, children aged 5-10 should take 2,500 IUs, and adults should take 5,000 IUs/day. These figures are, of course, typical standardized doses, and are not necessarily adequate for individuals, nor are they necessarily needed by everyone.

Conventional Medicine Still Doesn’t Get It!

When one considers the risks inherent in flu vaccines and antiviral drugs, the prevention of influenza through Vitamin D’s immune system boosting is certainly far superior to vaccination.

The attitude of Dr. John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary School of Medicine, London describes the drugs-first approach:

This is a timely study. It will be noticed by scientists. It fits in with the seasonal pattern of flu. There is an increasing background of solid science that makes the vitamin D story credible. But this study needs to be replicated. If it is confirmed we might think of giving vitamin D at the same time as we vaccinate.

In the face of a study showing that fairly low dose Vitamin D effectively prevents flu, he’s still thinking of vaccination, with all its dangers, as the primary approach to health! It’s a perfect example of how modern medicine is making us sicker. Rather than considering the natural approach of preventing illness by promoting natural health, he thinks of strengthening the immune system as merely a supplement to drugs and vaccines.

As long as studies like this one are treated as merely superfluous, at best an addendum to health, then modern medicine isn’t health care. It’s sick care.

Sources:

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

7 Foods Many Experts Won't Eat

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:02:00 PST

Wake Up World has assemble a list of foods that are avoided by people who know the facts. Here are a few examples:

GMO FOODS: Not only do GMO foods encourage the massive spraying of insecticides, but studies have shown that pesticide-producing genes in these foods transfer to your intestinal flora. GMO foods come with a staggering environmental, political, economic, and social cost.

CANNED TOMATOES: Food can lining contains bisphenol-A (BPA), a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to many illnesses. The problem worsens when the cans contain acidic food such as tomatoes, which leach BPA into the food.

CORN-FED BEEF: Cattle evolved to eat grass rather than corn. But modern cattle are fed so as to fatten them up faster, not to keep them healthy. The result is beef that is much less nutritious.

MICROWAVE POPCORN: Chemicals that line the bag, such as PFOA, have been linked to infertility in humans and various forms of cancer in animal tests.

To see the rest of the list, you can click on the link below.

Sources:

Wake Up World December 2011

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

10 Things You May Not Know About Your Weight

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:44:00 PST

Most of us have the basics ingrained in our brains. Eat less, eat healthy and exercise more. If only it were that easy. Having the right knowledge can make a big difference in how you act and react when it comes to your weight. Here are 10 things you may not know (but should) about your weight.

1. Some People Just Have More Fat Cells
And the range is enormous, with some people having twice as many fat cells as others have, says Kirsty Spalding, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Even if you've lost a few pounds (or gained some), your fat-cell count remains, holding tight to the fat already inside and forever thirsting to be filled up with more. (To add insult to injury, the fat cells of overweight and obese people hold more fat too.)

New fat cells emerge during childhood but seem to stop by adolescence. Those of us destined to have a lot of these cells probably start producing them as young as age two. The cells' rate of growth may be faster, too-even if kids cut way back on calories.

Strangers have written to Spalding, telling her how depressed they are by her research. But she says her news isn't all bleak. You're better off with more fat cells, she says, than with fewer fat cells that become overstuffed and enlarged. (New research suggests that the overstuffed group are more vulnerable to obesity-related health complications.) So while you can't reduce your total number of fat cells, there are things you can do to keep them small. (See next point.)

2. You Can Change Your Metabolism
Another Scandinavian team looked into what happens at the cellular level when you gain weight. Kirsi PietilÃ¤inen, PhD, an assistant professor of nutrition at Helsinki University Central Hospital, studied sets of twins where one was fat and the other thin, and learned that fat cells in heavier twins underwent metabolic changes that make it more difficult to burn fat. PietilÃ¤inen's team suspects that gaining as little as 11 pounds can slow metabolism and send you spiraling into a vicious cycle: As you gain more fat, it becomes harder to lose it.

How to get back on track? "The more I learn on the job, the more I'm convinced we need physical activity," PietilÃ¤inen says. Once a chubby child herself, she now runs regularly and is at a healthy weight.

3. Stress Fattens You Up
The most direct route is the food-in-mouth syndrome: Stressful circumstances (your bank account, your boss) spark cravings for carbohydrate-rich snack foods, which in turn calm stress hormones. (When researchers in one study took away high-carb food from stressed mice, their stress hormones surged.)

Stress hormones also ramp up fat storage. For our prehistoric ancestors, stress meant drought or approaching tigers, and a rapid-storage process made sense; we needed the extra energy to survive food shortages or do battle. Today we take our stress sitting down-and the unused calories accumulate in our midsection.

To whittle yourself back down to size, in addition to your usual workout routine, make time for stress relief-whether it's a yoga class or quality time with family.

4. Mom's Pregnancy Sealed Your Fate
A mother's cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage her baby's brain. So why wouldn't unhealthy foods wreak similar havoc? A growing body of science suggests that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before you're born, do exactly that. A Pennington study on rodents reports that overweight females have higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones do. These molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain.

What's true for mice is often true for humans too. Doctors from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center compared children born before their mothers had gastric bypass surgery with siblings born later. Women weighed less after the surgery, as expected, but their children were also half as likely to be obese. Because siblings have such similar genetic profiles, the researchers attributed the weight differences to changes in the womb environment. Moms-to-be, take note: You can give your kids a head start by eating well before they're born.

5. Sleep More, Lose More
When patients see Louis Aronne, MD, past president of the Obesity Society and author of the forthcoming book The Skinny, they're as likely to have their sleep assessed as their eating habits. If patients are getting less than seven to eight hours, Dr. Aronne may prescribe more shut-eye rather than the latest diet or drug. With more sleep, he says, "they have a greater sense of fullness, and they'll spontaneously lose weight."

Why? University of Chicago researchers reported that sleep deprivation upsets our hormone balance, triggering both a decrease in leptin (which helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (which triggers hunger). As a result, we think we're hungry even though we aren't-and so we eat. Indeed, sleep may be the cheapest and easiest obesity treatment there is.

6. Your Spouse's Weight Matters
When Jodi Dixon's six-foot-two, 360-pound husband lost 125 pounds, she had mixed feelings. She was the one who always watched her weight and exercised; she was always the one trying to get her husband to be more active. Mort, a medical sales rep, was always the life of the party, says his wife, a 43-year-old mother of two in Freehold, New Jersey. But when he lost the weight, it was different.

"Men and women would flock to him, drawn to his charisma," she recalls. "I felt jealous." Dixon comforted herself with food and gained 20 pounds before she decided to take action. She began biking with her husband and enrolled in a diet program. Eventually she trimmed down, too, shedding 30 pounds, and has her sights on losing more.

Dixon credits the weight gain, and the loss, to her jealousy. But research shows that weight gain and loss can be, well, contagious. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if one spouse is obese, the other is 37 percent more likely to become obese too. The researchers concluded that obesity seems to spread through social networks.

As in Dixon's case, slimming down seems to be catching, at least within the family: When Dixon launched her weight-loss plan, her eldest daughter, also overweight, followed her mom's healthy habits and lost 40 pounds.

7. Cookies Really Are Addictive
While food is not addictive the way cocaine or alcohol is, scientists in recent years have found some uncanny similarities. When subjects at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia were shown the names of foods they liked, the parts of the brain that got excited were the same parts activated in drug addicts. It may have to do with dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and pleasure, say researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. If obese people have fewer dopamine receptors, they may need more food to get that pleasurable reaction.

8. Ear Infections Can Taint Your Taste Buds
For years, the team at Linda Bartoshuk's taste lab at the University of Florida wondered why people who tasted food less intensely than others seemed more likely to be fat. Researcher Derek Snyder had a theory: Could an ear infection, which can damage a taste nerve running through the middle ear, be the missing link? After tabulating 6,584 questionnaires, the team discovered that those over 35 who had suffered several ear infections had almost double the chance of being obese.

Responses to additional questions provided clues as to why. Former ear-infection patients were a little more likely to love sweets and fatty foods-perhaps because the damaged nerve causes them to have a higher threshold for sensing sweetness and fattiness. Even a small increase in calories from bad food choices adds up over time.

Childhood ear infections are as hard to avoid as the colds that tend to bring them on, but limiting passive smoke seems to drive down incidents of ear infection. If you're an overweight adult who suffered a severe ear infection as a child, it may be worth paying attention to the taste and texture of your food. Simply finding healthier substitutes, such as fruit instead of candy, or olive oil instead of butter, may help drive you toward eating better and weighing less.

9. Antioxidants Are Also Anti-Fat
Free radicals are now blamed not only for making you look old but also for making you fat. Zane Andrews, PhD, a neuroendocrinologist at Monash University in Australia, says these oxidizing molecules damage the cells that tell us we're full. Free radicals emerge when we eat (something even the keenest dieter must do to survive), but they're especially prevalent when we gorge on candy bars, chips, and other carbohydrates. With every passing year, these fullness signifiers suffer wear and tear-causing the "stop eating!" signal to get weaker and appetites (and possibly our stomachs) to get bigger. The best way to fight back? Avoid the junk and load up on colorful, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

10. You Can Be Fat and Fit
A growing body of literature suggests that size doesn't matter when it comes to your health. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine surveyed 5,440 American adults and found that 51 percent of the overweight and almost 32 percent of the obese had mostly normal cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and other measures of good health.

Further defying conventional wisdom, the article also reported that 23.5 percent of trim adults were, in fact, metabolically abnormal-making them more vulnerable to heart disease than their heavier counterparts.

The latest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report corroborates what our doctors have said all along: You need about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days a week for health. And you don't even have to do your exercise in one fell swoop-ten-minute stints of walking are just as effective. That means if you forgo the elevators for the stairs, get off one train or bus stop earlier, and park your car a few blocks away, chances are you'll be good for the day.

Remember Steven Blair, the self-described short, fat, bald guy? At age 69, his blood pressure is in check, his cholesterol levels are normal, and his heart is strong. What's more, he may have even more positive vital signs, according to his recent study in the journal Obesity: Men who are fit (determined by their performance on a treadmill) have a lower risk of dying of cancer than out-of-shape guys, regardless of their body mass index, waist size, or percentage of body fat.

The news is heartening, says Blair: "We don't have great tools to change people's weight, but we know we can change their fitness levels.

http://preventdisease.com/news/11/111611_10-Things-You-May-Know-About-Your-Weight.shtml

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Executives Get Prison for Fatal Bone Cement Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:42:00 PST

Drug Discovery & Development - November 22, 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The pursuit of profits blinded executives of a medical devices company to the "the sanctity of human life," a federal judge said in sentencing them to prison for unapproved testing of bone cement that left three people dead.

The Synthes North America officials are among the first corporate officials sent to prison for misdemeanor pleas as "responsible corporate officers" under the 1975 Park Doctrine.

According to U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis, the Synthes officials wanted to beat their competitors to market without going through the lengthy process of getting the bone cement product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. So they plotted to train select surgeons in its off-label use and then have the doctors publish their findings, the judge said.

The program continued even after a patient died in surgery in Texas in 2003 and another died in California. The patients suffered sharp drops in blood pressure after the bone cement compound was injected into their spines. Synthes only halted the training after a third death in 2004.

"One adverse event should have been enough to let you know that this course was not right," the judge said. "I can't understand how there wasn't a stop sign."

Former President Michael Huggins, 54, of West Chester, Pa., and former Senior Vice President Thomas B. Higgins, 54, of Berwyn, were sentenced to nine months in prison. John J. Walsh, 48, of Coatesville, the former director of regulatory and clinical affairs, worked at the West Chester-based company less time and received a five-month sentence. Former Synthes Vice President Richard Bohner, 56, of Malvern, had his sentencing postponed after his lawyer became ill in court.

The judge called the officers' conduct egregious and said they showed "disregard for the safety of others ... and for the sanctity of human life." He sent Huggins to prison immediately. Higgins, who ran the spine unit, was given two weeks to report to prison because of family issues. Walsh got a week to report to celebrate his child's birthday.

The Park Doctrine typically involves corporate leaders taking the fall for things that happened under their watch. In this case, the judge found that they planned and executed the scheme and went above the zero- to six-month guideline range.

"There's a perception that this is not the type of conduct that tends to result in a jail sentence," the judge said. "We lose the ability to cause the industry to self-regulate, because the fear of jail for professionals is far greater than the fear of a young drug dealer from the 'hood."

The judge, though, denied prosecutors the maximum one-year sentence they had sought, giving the men credit for their pleas.

None of the three men sentenced made a statement in court.

Both Synthes and its former subsidiary Norian Corp. pleaded guilty to corporate health care fraud charges and agreed to pay $23 million in fines. As part of the plea, Synthes agreed to sell the subsidiary. In April, Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Synthes Inc., which had its global headquarters in Switzerland, for $21.3 billion.

According to prosecutors, the Synthes North America executives also failed to report the patient deaths and lied to FDA investigators during an on-site audit. The government applauded the sentences Monday.

"It sends the right message, that lying to the FDA and disregarding patient safety has consequences," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Crawley said.

The defendants denied any intent to violate FDA protocols, and at least one argued that he tried repeatedly to prevent off-label use.

"I didn't think at the time that we were doing anything illegal," Higgins wrote in a letter his lawyer read in court Monday.

The bone cement, Norian XR, had been approved for surgical use in the arm but not in the weight-bearing spine.

Pilot studies had shown it could cause blood clots in humans, and pig research suggested the clots could move to the lungs, causing death within 30 seconds, government experts said. Synthes used the cement in about 200 spine patients.

None of the surgeons could rule out the bone cement as a factor in the three deaths, but it also wasn't definitively blamed for them. One patient died in Plano, Texas, and two others in northern California.

The second victim was 83-year-old physicist Ryoichi Kikuchi, of Walnut Creek, Calif., once a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Still mentally sharp, he opted for the surgery to relieve back pain, his grandchildren said.

His family has long wondered why he didn't survive the surgery but only learned this past week of his connection to the case, according to two grandchildren who traveled to Philadelphia for the hearings. They called his death ironic, given his career devotion to careful scientific methodology.

"Even if he had chosen to do this, his wish would have been for it to be part of an organized process, and not just, if something goes wrong, nothing comes of it," said grandson Alan Kikuchi, of New York.

All four executives have lost their careers and agreed to pay fines of $100,000 apiece.

The judge questioned why men who had otherwise led good, moral lives came to make such unconscionable decisions at work. He said that other companies "need to hear the lesson loud and clear. The conduct ... needs to change."

Date: November 21, 2011
Source: Associated Press

About Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

Exercises for Scoliosis

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Lau) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:21:00 PST

Whіle thеre arе mаnу formѕ of scoliosis (ѕidewауѕ ѕріnаl сurvаture), аdоlesсеnt idiораthiс scoliosis aссоuntѕ for оvеr 80% оf all scoliosis саѕеs аnd primarіlу effесt 10-14 уеаr old femаlеѕ. The mоst аggreѕsive scoliosis ѕpіne рrоgreѕѕiоn осcurѕ durіng rapіd grоwth ѕрurts and саn саusе ѕevere body dеfоrmitу аnd decrеаsеd qualіty оf life in аdulthооd.

Ovеr the paѕt sеvеrаl dеcadеѕ there hаve bеen numerоus ѕtudіеѕ on the effeсtѕ оf scoliosis exercises аnd dеspіtе onе randоmіzed cоntrоllеd ѕtudу that demоnѕtrаtеd еxerсіsе cаn іmprоve scoliosis sрine flеxіbіlіty, most оf the ѕtudіеѕ аgreе that еxerсiѕе dоеѕ nоt reduсe the сurve оr hаlt scoliosis сurvе progrеsѕiоn. Hоwеvеr, аll of thosе ѕtudіеs fоcuѕed on gеnerаl exercises (рush-uрs, ѕіt-uрs, ect) thаt werе nоt scoliosis ѕреcіfіс аnd perhаpѕ most іmpоrtantly, dіd not аttеmрt to rе-trаin the аutomаtіс роstural cоntrоl cеntеrѕ оf the brаin. Thіs іѕ а flаwed thought prосeѕs in termѕ оf scoliosis treatment аnd hаd abѕolutеly nо chаnсе оf alterіng thе nаturаl сourѕe of the соndіtіоn іn anу reаlіѕtic wаy.

Thiѕ іѕ а keу cоmрonеnt оf thе "exercises tо fіx scoliosis" equаtion, beсаuѕе the mоst currеnt reѕеarсhеrѕ аlmoѕt univеrsаllу agrеe thаt thе origіnѕ оf thе condition arе neurоlоgісаl (аnd роtentіаllу hormonаl) аnd nоt a prоblem with the ѕpine itsеlf. Thіs mеanѕ thаt аnу аttemрts tо treаt јust thе scoliosis ѕpіne аnd nоt thе underlyіng causе(s) оf thе соndіtіоn (scoliosis brасе treatment/ scoliosis ѕurgеrу) аre almоѕt сеrtаіn tо fаіl оver the lоng-tеrm.

Thе scoliosis ѕpіnе рroblem seеmѕ tо ѕtem frоm the lack of or inсоrreсt ѕpіnаl fееdback mеchаniѕms thаt the nоn-scoliosis рoрulаtіon takеѕ for grantеd еvеrу dау. The реrsоn without scoliosis dоеsn't havе to cоnѕсіоuѕly think about аlіgning thеіr ѕpinе tо gravitу еvery tіme thеy ѕtаnd up; іt just hаpреnѕ autоmatiсаlly, bеcаusе the bodу's nеurоlogіcаl rіghtіng mеchаniѕmѕ (a sеrіes of reflеx аrсѕ that сoordinаte yоur еуes, іnnеr еаr, аnd bоdу sеnsоry оrgаnѕ) "kiсk іn" and alіgn the bodу'ѕ majоr cеntеr оf mаѕѕеs (hеad, рelvis, torso) соrrесtly. The аdоlеscеnt idіорathіс scoliosis раtіents ѕeеmѕ tо bе аble to dо thе sаmе thing through-оut сhіldhооd аѕ wеll, but the аutоmatic pоѕturаl сontrоl fееdbаck ѕyѕtеms seеm tо mіs-соmmunісаte/сoоrdinаte aѕ thеy еxреrіenсе raріd pеrіodѕ of grоwth.

Any "exercises to fіx scoliosis" hаve tо tаrgеt thе re-traіnіng of the аutоmаtіс рoѕtural соntrol сеntеrѕ іn the brаin by prоvidіng thе mіѕѕing nеurolоgісаl feеdbаck mеssagеѕ to ѕіgnal the brаіn to "аuto-соrrесt" thе scoliosis and in tіme will rеsult іn а рermanеnt аdарtіvе changе іn which thе brаin "leаrnѕ" tо hold thе scoliosis ѕpinе in a nеw, strаіghter pоѕitіоn autоmаtісally.

To learn more exercises watch the DVD:

Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction - Health In Your Hands

About Dr Kevin Lau
Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau D.C. is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College of Natural Health in USA. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to: http://www.hiyh.info.

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Diet Might Help Those Immobilized by Knee Osteoarthritis

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No Deaths from Vitamins America's Largest Database Confirms Supplement Safety

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About Dr Kevin Lau

Almost 68% of Women over 40 Have Fallen for This Trap

In Most Cases, Mammograms Don't Save Lives

Up to 50 Percent of Breast Cancer "Diagnoses" are Not Actually Cancer

Annual Mammograms Increase Your Risk of False Positives, Unnecessary Biopsies

Mammograms Expose You to Serious Cancer-Causing Radiation

Making Sense of All the Radiation Numbers

What Really Will Reduce Your Risk of Dying from Breast Cancer?

About Dr Kevin Lau

27-Year-Old Adelaide Woman Dies Weighing 12Kg with scoliosis, Parents Arrested for Murder

About Dr Kevin Lau

Should Boys Be Given the HPV Vaccine? The Science is Weaker than the Marketing

About Dr Kevin Lau

This Simple Supplement Can Cut Your Risk of Dying in HALF

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About Dr Kevin Lau

Exposing the hidden epidemic of crippling, painful neurological adverse effects of antibiotics

The most troublesome antibiotics

Fluoroquinolone adverse effect symptoms

About Dr Kevin Lau

About Dr Kevin Lau

Vitamin D Cuts Flu By Half: Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial

The Study

Study Used Low Dose of Vitamin D

Conventional Medicine Still Doesn’t Get It!

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About Dr Kevin Lau

7 Foods Many Experts Won't Eat

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About Dr Kevin Lau

10 Things You May Not Know About Your Weight

Most of us have the basics ingrained in our brains. Eat less, eat healthy and exercise more. If only it were that easy. Having the right knowledge can make a big difference in how you act and react when it comes to your weight. Here are 10 things you may not know (but should) about your weight.

About Dr Kevin Lau

Executives Get Prison for Fatal Bone Cement Trial

About Dr Kevin Lau

Exercises for Scoliosis