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Author: Wellness Club

  • The Rooster Crows To Make The Sun Rise

    The Problem With Research Article Abstracts – Or, How The Rooster Crows To Make The Sun Rise…

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Our patients tend to be a well-informed and intelligent group – naturally, they chose Dr. Myatt for their physician! This is a good thing most of the time – but sometimes our patients cause themselves needless worry and alarm when they get out into the great, big, wild, wooly, and unchecked World Wide Web. Newsgroups, support groups, “infomercial” websites, self-appointed “experts” – all clamoring for attention. It can be a confusing, even misleading place out there, much like a carnival midway sometimes: “Hurry, Hurry, Hurry! Step Right Up And Get Your Cure! Today Only Folks – Just For You…”

    This question was sent to us by one of our patients, a noted Scientist and a quite brilliant fellow who more than six years ago was told by his conventional doctor to tidy up his affairs as he had weeks, perhaps months at best to live. We are thrilled that he is not only still “with us” but that he is fit and healthy and confounding his conventional doctor.

    He is also, like many prostate cancer patients, keenly interested in his condition and deeply determined to learn as much as possible about it. And therein lies the problem.

    Read on…

    Dear Dr Myatt,

    I hope you have had a very pleasant weekend.

    As you know, I have been making a Supershake every morning for breakfast and one of its ingredients is Flaxseed Oil.

    I also receive many emails from well informed sources, who are members of a special interest group focused on PCa. (Prostate Cancer) This surfaced the paper below and the associated comment.

    You will appreciate that this gives me some concern about the flaxseed oil, which is stated to comprise mainly the alpha-linolenic acid.

    Can you provide some published material to rebutt the proposition that this is “bad for PCa”?

    Many thanks

    This patient goes on to provide us with this link to a Journal article:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/utils/fref.fcgi?PrId=3058&itool=AbstractPlus-def&uid=17450530&db=pubmed&url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.22788
    from the International Journal of Cancer and quotes the information that was sent to him, highlighting in red selected portions of the text: [edited for brevity – see full abstract at URL above]

    Risk factors for prostate cancer incidence and progression in the health professionals follow-up study.
    […] for fatal prostate cancer, recent smoking history, taller height, higher BMI, family history, and high intakes of total energy, calcium and alpha-linolenic acid were associated with a statistically significant increased risk. […] Tomato sauce (inversely) and alpha-linolenic acid (positively) intakes were strong predictors of advanced cancer among those with low-grade cancers at diagnosis[…]

    An associated comment (presumably of the person from the support group who found and forwarded this information)

    “It’s the alpha linolenic acid that is the ALA that is not good for prostate cancer. Alpha lipoic is OK.“

    Interestingly, this abstract does contain a gem of information that appears to have been under-appreciated:

    […] The complexity of the clinical and pathologic manifestations of prostate cancer must be considered in the design and interpretation of studies.

    Wow – How Very True!

    Dr. Myatt responded to this fellow with the story below:

    Once upon a time, a man decided to do research to find out what makes the sun rise in the morning.

    Every day, a half hour before sunrise, he dutifully awakened and sat outside in a lawn chair, recording his observations.

    Every day for that entire year, whether it was cloudy or clear, he heard a rooster crow in the distance. Sometimes ten minutes before the sun came up, and other times five minutes before the sun came up, but the rooster always crowed.

    After a year of observation, the man was confident that he had solved the mystery of sunrise. He published a scientific paper titled “Sound Correlates to Sunrise: What Makes the Sun Come Up?” The abstract (a pseudo-scientific term for “article summary”) said something about “cock’s crowing unequivocally associated with first light of dawn.”

    The article title and abstract were quoted in numerous internet forums. The media picked up on the article, and headlines read “Rooster’s Crowing Responsible for Sunrise.” Because the article had been published in a scientific journal — The Journal of Improbable Results —- everyone knew that the information must be trustworthy.

    People started to panic. What if something happened to the Rooster? Would the sun stop rising every morning? Was it a special rooster, or perhaps a particular breed of rooster, that caused sunrise? Should the rooster be a protected species? Would we experience another ice age if anything happened to the rooster? Or worse, would life as we know it cease to exist without the rooster bringing the sun up each day?

    The stock market fluctuated drastically as a result of this report. New companies were formed to develop alternate technologies in case the sun failed to rise. Cryonic research was started to preserve the rooster should anything happen to him. And many people lived in fear of the worst, which seemed reasonable in view of these new findings.

    Of course, very few people actually read the research paper itself. Why bother when the abstract clearly stated that “cock’s crowing unequivocally associated with first light of dawn”?  Besides, scientific journal articles are usually only accessible through a paid subscription to the journal, or at least a pay-per-view of the article.

    Several people did actually read the full article, but they had no background in improbable results research and so didn’t understand what they were reading.

    One specialist read the article and began to laugh uncontrollably, for it was clear to her that the entire panic was unwarranted. First, the study was “observational,” not interventional. Just because the rooster crows before sunup doesn’t “prove” that the crowing causes sunup. And she found that no studies had been done (or even planned), to silence the rooster and see if the sun would come up without his help.

    Although she tried to explain to her worried constituents that the reports of the study were far over-blown and not necessarily accurate, the mass hysteria created by headlines and “abstracts” was too great, and most people chose to remain in a state of panic and confusion rather than systematically evaluate the evidence.

    And so it is with the headline and abstract you forwarded to me she continued…

    First, do you suppose that the person who posted this abstract read the article? Seeing as how the abstract is “ahead of print” and the article is a “pay-per-view,” I’m betting NOT. Further, unless one knows how to read and interpret medical science (not just any science), they still might not know what they were looking at.

    Do you suppose the person posting this article even knows what study the “conclusion” is drawn from, or if it is a viable conclusion? Again, I’d bet money that this is not the case.

    The study from which this sweeping statement is drawn is called the “Health Professionals Follow-Up Study,” a project that has been going on since 1986. Over 50,000 male medical professionals (doctors, dentists, veterinarians) have been receiving surveys for the past 20+ years, and that’s the study. Like the “rooster and sunrise study,” it is an observational study only. Individuals and groups seeking grants related to this study must continue to “make something” of the results in order to continue receiving funding. There’s always a “rooster article” to be found in any set of data!

    Now, here’s the “inside scoop” (the one few bother to look into before they post an abstract on a forum, or read an abstract and get their knickers in a knot about a single sentence of illogically-drawn “conclusion”…)

    So what is the True story about ALA’s and Prostate Cancer?

    ALA’s and flax seed oil are being declared guilty by being at the crime scene, rather than actually being the criminal. (Sort of like saying that white blood cells cause infection because you almost always find them at sites of infection; or saying that flies cause garbage because…)

    To fully understand this, let’s use both common sense AND biochemistry (both of which I find often lacking when someone posts an “abstract” with one sentence highlighted on a forum….)

    First, the Common Sense (Oh, NO! NOT common sense! Don’t make me go there!)

    For all but the most recent of human existence, we have eaten foods with an omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid and arachidonic acid) to omega-3 fatty acid (DHA, EPA, and alpha-linolenic acid) of about 1:1 to 2:1. Over the last 50 years, however, that ratio has changed to 20:1 or even 30:1 and in some cases as high as 50:1.

    Modern diets now include HUGE amounts of highly refined Omega-6 oils extracted from plants (corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and soybean oil) and used for cooking. These oils are all high in the omega-6s fatty acids but also contain some amount of O-3 fatty acids. At the same time, we have dramatically decreased our intake of omega-3 fatty acids (found primarily in whole grains, beans, seeds, and seafood). The Omega-3’s we DO eat are typically “secondary” to the omega-6’s in food, and are cooked or highly refined.

    Biochemical side-note: Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s (polyunsaturated oils) are dramatically altered when heated. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME SPECIES of oil once they are heated, and their health benefits literally evaporate with cooking. SO… talking about Essential Fatty Acids is really an incomplete discussion without addressing whether or not the oils are the “parent oils” (unheated) or whether they are damaged EFA’s. But I digress with science… back to common sense…

    In this same 50-year period that our intake of parent EFA’s (both O-6 and O-3, but especially O-3) has dramatically decreased, the rates of prostate cancer have soared. (The incidence of prostate cancer in Uruguay, one of the more frequently-referenced “ALA’s are associated with prostate cancer” studies, has increased nearly 80% in the past 50 years. It should be noted that the diet in Uruguay is largely comprised of meat (a major dietary source of ALA), dairy,  a lot of food fried in refined cooking oils such as canola (a major dietary source of ALA, and remember that heating ALA makes it an entirely different “beast”)  and virtually no flaxseed or unheated cold-processed flax oil.

    Common sense would tell us that we’ve been doing something wrong over the last 50, especially in regard to prostate cancer. Here are some things that have changed in our oil consumption:

    1.) We get most of our Omega-3 fatty acids from foods that are quite high in Omega-6 fatty acids, thereby altering the 1:1 or at most 2:1 ration of O-6 to O-3 that used to comprise a “natural diet. As a result, yes, we’re getting more O-3 (especially ALA) but a LOT MORE O-6. It is important to understand that all fat-containing foods have a variety of different types of fats, not just one type. For example, Canola oil is considered a high Omega-3 fat, but it actually contains omega 3s, 6s, and 9s. Meat contains both saturated fats and also unsaturated omega-6s and 3s.

    2.) Most of the Essential Fatty Acids (both O-6 and O-3) that are consumed today have been heated or chemically extracted. These polyunsaturated oils are quite fragile, and heating and refining them makes them a completely different “species” of oil. If we are not consuming “parent” (undamaged) EFA’s, then we are comparing apples to oranges.

    3.) Refining oils removes many of the associated nutrients (phytochemicals) and fiber. Remember that I originally advised you to use ground flax seed meal instead of flax oil, or second best, high lignan flax oil. Lignans are a special class of fiber with potent anti-cancer properties.

    4.) Vegetable oils (even ones that are uncooked) go rancid quickly. Again, a rancid EFA is an entirely different “species” than an undamaged “parent” EFA.

    Ah, but listen to the untutored who take every sentence from a “scientific study” (to use the term loosely) and you’d think that eating raw, natural O-3 ALA’s in the form of flaxseed was single-handedly responsible for the rise in prostate cancer. What a serious perversion of the truth!

    Next, Let’s Look at the Medical Science

    In spite of a few spurious “rooster and sunrise” studies to the contrary, the vast majority of scientific studies show a positive outcome using flaxseed and Omega-3 parent oils in cancer patients.

    A Duke University Medical Center study found that flaxseed and a low-fat diet helped men reduce the risk of prostate cancer (1, 2). The conclusions of the study were that even short-term changes to a high-fiber/flax supplemented diet resulted in prostate cancer cells that didn’t divide as quickly as those in people not on the diet. “I really didn’t think we’d have results like we did, because this was a diet and not drug intervention,” said Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, associate research professor in the department of surgery at Duke.

    A Kaiser Permanente study concluded that it was not total fat intake per se which relates to prostate and colon cancer but instead the type of fat, plus increasing exercise, that was associated with lower cancer risk. The “type of fats” recommended are from uncooked plant sources (which would be “parent” O-6’s and O-3’s). The American Cancer Society guidelines concur with these recommendations (3).

    A Korean study found that the ratios of serum O-3 to O-6 were highly correlated with prostate cancer. Men with prostate cancer also had significantly higher levels of O-6 acids than did men with BPH and those with normal prostates. The researchers concluded that omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have a tumor-promoting effect while omega-3 acids have a protective effect. (4).

    And While We’re On The Subject of Biochemistry….

    The Fate of ALA in the body is that it is converted to DHA and EPA, two forms of fat which have a HIGH correlation with protection from cancer. Aye, but here’s the rub:

    O-6 and O-3 (and O-9, for that matter) all use the same delta-6-desaturase enzyme for their conversion. When O-6 levels are high, O-3 is not so readily converted to DHA and EPA. Since DHA and EPA are protective substances, high O-6 can interfere with conversion. (A probable mechanism whereby high O-6 levels increase cancer proliferation, by interfering with the body’s use of protective O-3).

    Trans fats, high insulin levels and damaged polyunsaturated oils all interfere with the desaturase enzyme.

    And Now the Particular Study That This “Rooster Crowing Causes Sunrise” Abstract Was Taken From…

    The “Health Professionals Follow-Up Study” has been ongoing since 1986. A group of 50,000+ male health professionals (doctors, dentists, veterinarians, etc.) have been sent questionnaires every two years since 1986. That makes this “study” an observational one (like getting up to watch the sun rise), not an intervention study. As we discussed, finding white blood cells at the site of an infection is not proof that WBC’s cause infection (we know they don’t, but instead are attempting to “clean up” infection). The rooster crowing before sunrise does not prove that His Nibs’ noise brings the sun up, either.

    There is NO PLACE in the Men’s Healthy Study questionnaire that asks about specific foods that contain largely ALA, or ALA supplements or flaxseed. You can view the actual questionnaire here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/pdfs/04L.pdf

    If you want to see the food and supplement questions they have asked about over the years (the form is sent every two years), access it here:  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/hpfs_qx_diet.html

    Higher levels of ALA as ascertained in this study are from meats (a specific question on the form), especially fried meats. This, of course, also increases intake of O-6. And remember, a cooked polyunsaturate bears no resemblance to a “parent” EFA, questions which aren’t touched on in this study.

    The Bottom Line (and Many Medical Scientists Concur)

    If you look at all of the evidence, both historical and scientific, (plus use some common sense) there is not one shred of “proof” that “parent” Omega-3 fatty acids as derived from flax seed and flax oil contribute to increased prostate cancer risk. In fact, just the opposite is true. The real risk is from highly processed vegetable oils (yes, containing ALA), that bear little resemblance to parent Omega-3 oils (native ALA’s).

    Not only do these heat and chemically-processed ALA’s bear no resemblance to parent ALA’s, they do not help to improve the highly imbalanced O-6:O-3 ratios characteristic of our “evolved” diets.

    But isn’t it better to be safe than sorry and avoid ALA’s? I don’t believe so. As I mentioned earlier, that would be like blaming white blood cells (WBC’s) for infections, and seeking to eliminate them instead of (or in addition to) the offending bacterium. Blaming the white blood cells and then trying to get rid of them — “Maybe it’s true and maybe it’s not, but just to be on the “safe side” we should get rid of the WBC’s at the site of an infection,” is NOT a benign mistake.

    The big problem with “warnings” about flax and flax oil is that they condemn a valuable component of cancer prevention and treatment based on faulty information and also let the real killers (highly refined O-3’s and O-6’s plus an imbalanced O-3:O-6 ratio) go Scott-free.

    If you’re concerned about flax oil, you can always rely solely on fish oil for your DHA and EPA’s. However, you’ll be missing out on the cancer-protective lignans (a type of fiber that is difficult to obtain in sufficient quantities outside of flax seed).

    In Health,
    Dr. Myatt

     

    References

    1.) Pilot study of dietary fat restriction and flaxseed supplementation in men with prostate cancer before surgery: exploring the effects on hormonal levels, prostate-specific antigen, and histopathologic features. Urology. 2001 Jul;58(1):47-52.
    2.) Pilot study to explore effects of low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented diet on proliferation of benign prostatic epithelium and prostate-specific antigen. Urology. 2004 May;63(5):900-4.
    3.) Dietary fat and cancer.Am J Med. 2002 Dec 30;113 Suppl 9B:63S-70S
    4.) Comparison of fatty acid profiles in the serum of patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Clinical Biochemistry, Vol. 32, August 1999, pp. 405-09.

  • Cancer Treatment Causes Cancer? Yes!

    Big Pharma is found to be obeying the law again – The Law Of Unintended Consequences that is…

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    It made headlines for just one day – then it disappeared.

     

    The story?

    An article recently published in the respected journal Nature Medicine had the press worldwide in a tizzy with headlines like this one from AFP (Agence France-Presse) that screamed “Chemotherapy can backfire and boost cancer growth: study” and the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) that proclaimed “Chemo ‘undermines itself’ through rogue response“. Headlines that disappeared from the front pages as quickly as they appeared…

    The article behind it all?

    “Treatment-induced damage to the tumor microenvironment promotes prostate cancer therapy resistance through WNT16B” is the less-than-exciting title for the scholarly article submitted by a group of researchers and published online by the peer-review journal Nature Medicine on August 5th.

    You may view the article here: http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.2890.html

    And here is the abstract from the article:

    Acquired resistance to anticancer treatments is a substantial barrier to reducing the morbidity and mortality that is attributable to malignant tumors. Components of tissue microenvironments are recognized to profoundly influence cellular phenotypes, including susceptibilities to toxic insults. Using a genome-wide analysis of transcriptional responses to genotoxic stress induced by cancer therapeutics, we identified a spectrum of secreted proteins derived from the tumor microenvironment that includes the Wnt family member wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 16B (WNT16B). We determined that WNT16B expression is regulated by nuclear factor of κ light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 1 (NF-κB) after DNA damage and subsequently signals in a paracrine manner to activate the canonical Wnt program in tumor cells. The expression of WNT16B in the prostate tumor microenvironment attenuated the effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy in vivo, promoting tumor cell survival and disease progression. These results delineate a mechanism by which genotoxic therapies given in a cyclical manner can enhance subsequent treatment resistance through cell nonautonomous effects that are contributed by the tumor microenvironment.

     

    Whew!  Now that’s a mouthful of mumbo-jumbo! All those who understood much more than the first sentence, raise your hands – everybody now, raise your hands… anybody? Yep, I thought so – my hand is not raised either!

    This is some very dense stuff – perfect reading for anyone having trouble falling asleep – and it took me some time to work my way through it. I could say that it was because I kept falling asleep because it is so dry, but that wouldn’t be true – the truth is that as I got deeper into the article it became more and more interesting.

    This research article turns out to be validating what we have been saying at The Wellness Club for a long time: to wit, the damage caused by toxic chemotherapy treatment regimens is not confined to cancerous cells – it affects healthy tissues, leaving them weakened and susceptible, and actually causes normal tissues to secrete a substance called WNT 16B.

    It seems that WNT 16B protects cancer cells from the chemotherapy, helps future generations of the cancer cells become resistant to the chemotherapy, and may even encourage cancer cells to grow and invade surrounding tissues.

    Wow – no wonder conventional cancer chemotherapy has such a bad record of success!

    Now, before you go and say “yeah, yeah, those Wellness Club people – they’re just against anything that isn’t all natural…” and tune out and turn off, please know that Dr. Myatt is not opposed to using chemotherapy for treating cancer!

    Are you surprised? Shocked? Confused?

    You shouldn’t be – for cancers have been successfully treated using chemotoxic substances for thousands of years. It is only in the last fifty years or so that Big Pharma has taken successful traditional natural treatments and turned them into increasingly vicious toxins in their attempt to give us patent-able and thus profitable drug treatments.

    Dr. Myatt has written a number of articles discussing natural cancer treatment and has spoken before national medical audiences on the subject. Here is what she has to say in her lecture “Dietary Ketosis In The Treatment of Solid Tissue Malignancy”:

    Many believe that cancer cells, damaged by mutation, are more resilient than normal cells. However, malignant cells are largely incapable of the metabolic flexibility displayed by normal cells, and therein lies their weakness and the potential for a gentle but highly effective point of attack.

     

    Dr. Myatt believes that Big Pharma could learn from the ancients – who, lacking the hideously toxic chemotherapy drugs of today had to achieve their treatment successes with more natural and less damaging means.

    Dr. Myatt also believes that there are circumstances where carefully selected conventional chemotherapy may be a wise choice and that when a conventional oncologist plans a course of conventional chemotherapy a supportive regimen of natural treatments can greatly improve the odds in favor of success. Dr. Myatt often works closely  with her patient’s conventional doctors, helping her patients to endure the treatments with far fewer side effects (sometimes none!) and with much better outcomes.

    Her paper “Nutritional and Botanical Considerations in the Systemic Treatment of Cancer: 2010 Update” discusses a large number of natural substances that have anti-cancer effects, compares them to modern chemotherapeutic agents (hint – the natural stuff often works as well or better and with far fewer unpleasant side effects), and provides full scientific and medical references for her findings.

    So, let’s just say that we at The Wellness Club are not surprised by the findings of this study, and that we are not surprised that the headlines disappeared so quickly – for this is quite an indictment of the failure of modern cancer therapy. We can be sure that Big Pharma will not tolerate this sort of bad press. Cancer, after all, is big business!

    If you want to learn more about natural treatments for cancer please check out the resources at the bottom of this article.

    And if you are considering treatment options for cancer it is worth remembering the words of one ancient master:

    “Attack by stratagem: hence, to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence;
    supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
    —Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”

     

    Cancer is a formidable opponent and finding a doctor who is willing to take on such a challenge can be difficult.

    Even more difficult is to find a doctor like Dr. Myatt (and yes, there are others like her!) who will take on the challenge of treating cancer without resorting exclusively to Big Pharma’s toxic chemotherapy drugs. It is almost never too late to begin therapy that will weaken and eventually subdue cancer. Dr. Myatt has many success stories in her files, including patients who have come to her with “inoperable” and “untreatable” Stage 4 cancers and who are alive and well today or who have gone on to live many more years, without the misery of chemotherapy. (For those who may not know, “Stage 4” is the end stage for cancer – “Stage 5” would be the memorial service for the deceased.)

    If you or a loved one has been told they have cancer a Brief Phone Consultation with Dr. Myatt could be life-saving!

     

    Resources:

    Dr. Myatt is available for telephone consultations: Alternative Medicine Consultations and Brief Phone Consultations

    Cancer – Natural Strategies and Support; (generalized recommendations)

    Nutritional and Botanical Considerations in the Systemic Treatment of Cancer: 2010 Update

    Dietary Ketosis In The Treatment of Solid Tissue Malignancy

  • Asthma, Allergies, Loss Of Taste And Smell – What To Do?

    A Reader Question answered by Nurse Mark

     

    We all remember the old children’s ditty “Dry Bones” which tells us that (for example) “the shin bone’s connected to the knee bone, the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone…” and so on. It teaches us a valuable lesson, in that everything in our body is connected somehow to everything else. When one part becomes sick, all parts are weakened. When we nourish an strengthen some area of our bodies, our whole being benefits.

    And so it is with the symptoms / conditions that this reader asks us about:

    What would you recommend taking for asthma, allergies, and loss of taste and smell?  We’ve ordered the Multi vitamin.  Thank you. 

     

    Here is my answer to our reader:

     

    Thank you for your question. You have made a good start by using an Optimal Dose Daily Multiple Vitamin like Maxi Multi.

    The symptoms you describe may indeed be inter-related, but can be symptoms of several different problems – so more information would be needed to offer firm recommendations.

    However, here are some preliminary thoughts for you:

    Asthma often responds quickly and dramatically to Grape Seed Extract and other pycnogenol-containing supplements such as Maxi Greens.  High-potency fish oil has also been found to be beneficial. You can read more about asthma here.

    Allergies and asthma often go together, and “allergies” respond well to the same supplements – High-potency fish oil, Grape Seed Extract, and other pycnogenols.

    Allergies are also often related to digestive deficiencies and allergy symptoms and can almost always be lessened by improving digestion. Gastric Acid Function Self Testing and Food Allergy Testing are good places to start. Supplementing Betaine HCl and /or digestive enzymes can be very helpful.

    Loss of taste and smell can be related to a zinc deficiency. Optimal daily amounts of Zinc are easily obtained from Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi – your comprehensive multiple vitamin and mineral nutrient formula.

    Be very careful if you decide to supplement zinc in addition to that contained in your Maxi Multi as Large doses (more than 50mg/day) can cause a copper deficiency & other mineral imbalances. Copper should be supplemented when using zinc in high doses.

    You may wish to ask Dr. Myatt about a simple screening method for evaluating zinc status. She is able to provide this in-home screening test for zinc status on a special order basis.

    As you can see, this is a lot of recommendation – and that is because while these look at first blush to be simple conditions that should respond to simple supplementation, they are all inter-related and sorting out the best plan of action (instead of shooting in the dark) can take some careful consideration and research so that you are addressing these problems as effectively and efficiently as possible.

    I would highly recommend that you invest $60 in a Brief Telephone Consultation since that 20 minutes you spend speaking with Dr. Myatt will give you a very clear idea of your options and possible strategies for improving your health, and helping you to know what you do and what you don’t need for supplements.

    Most people find that Dr. Myatt’s recommendations can save them a lot of time and money by helping them cut through the clutter of conflicting advice that is available on the internet and from well-meaning friends!

    Hope this helps…

    Cheers,
    Nurse Mark

    Now, just for fun, here is a very nicely done video of that delightful old children’s ditty “Dry Bones” – enjoy!

  • Pig Flu – This Year’s Pandemic?

    By Nurse Mark and The Wellness Club Research Team

     

    Briefly, this past weekend, it looked as though it was “that time of the year again” when the Centers for Disease Control (the CDC) kicks off it’s annual propaganda advertising “public awareness” campaign on behalf of Big Pharma to promote this year’s influenza vaccines.

    They tried valiantly to warn us that a spike in cases of influenza has been noted, with clusters of illnesses being seen in the Midwest, especially amongst people who may have attended state fairs and agricultural shows. This led researchers at the CDC to postulate that animals might be involved, and to then leap to the conclusion that it must certainly be a new and improved form of the “swine flu” that somehow failed to achieve “deadly epidemic” status a few years ago.

    It was not to be however.

    It seems that a variety of far more interesting news is overshadowing the CDC’s efforts to generate panic concern over the possibility that a variant of swine flu might be making the rounds this year. Perhaps the CDC will catch a break and be able to resume it’s efforts to promote Big Pharma’s vaccines when there is a lull in the news – after all, one of the most basic rules for our fourth estate (the press) is “if it bleeds, it leads!” and so far no-one has been seriously sickened by this latest flu. Perhaps someone unfortunate to have other serious health conditions that place them at higher risk will succumb, giving the CDC and Big Pharma an exploitable tragedy that will beat out the mass shootings, political bickering, economic woes, nuclear worries, and even mars landings that are currently far more attention-getting.

    Even so, our researchers here at The Wellness Club have been and will continue to be hard at work on this issue on your behalf. Our team has been scouring the country, seeking clues to help us to better understand illnesses such as this. We hope that with increased understanding will come an improved ability to prevent and treat future outbreaks of these frightening illnesses.

    One of the more perplexing questions with regard to this outbreak concerns it’s origins – for while we are told that some cases have been from Indiana and Ohio there is still the question of how this virus managed to make the jump from the animals that it usually infects to humans, who are not normally bothered much by animal diseases. Many theories have been postulated, and our research team has diligently examined them all: mutations of common viruses, man-made viruses, experimental release of weaponized viruses, lab accidents, contaminants arriving from outer space in UFOs, all these possibilities have been looked at here.

    In the course of all this research our team has uncovered compelling evidence, even proof, some team members believe, that we have found what may be “Ground-Zero” for this outbreak. Indeed, one of our most dedicated research associates has been able to provide us with photographic evidence that seems to us to be irrefutable.

    Since we doubt that the press will be very likely to perform the public service of keeping you informed by passing along this photograph, we are presenting it here. Please be warned, this is a graphic image, and may not be suitable for those possessed of a weak stomach…

    Please scroll down to view the evidence of swine flu transmission from animal to human.

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    Photographic evidence demonstrating the dangers of uncontrolled and unmonitored interaction between humans and farm animals – shocking!

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  • Diets – What Is Your Diet?

    What’s In A Diet?

     

    A Multi-Installment Article By Nurse Mark

     

    For that matter, what is a “diet”?

    The word “diet” comes, via the Old French word diete and Latin word diaeta, from the Greek word díaita which translates to ‘mode of life’. So, in it’s most basic terms, your “diet” is just the way you live – including what you eat and how you eat it and what you do between the times that you eat.

    Some people just eat – they don’t think about it or worry about it, they just eat when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full (or when the food is gone.) They may be healthy, or not. They may be thin or normal weight or fat. For these people “diet” is not something that they associate with health or even think about – it’s just the way they are.

    At the other end of the spectrum are the people who are obsessed with food in one way or another: these are the people who are compulsive overeaters, or are anorexic, or bulimic or have other harmful food-related beliefs or practices. For these folks their way of life – their diet – is harmful to their health.

    The rest of us fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

    Most of us range anywhere from being vaguely aware that diet and health are connected to being actively involved in modifying and hopefully improving our health with conscious and deliberate efforts to change our food intake patterns.

    For most of us though the term “diet” doesn’t really mean “way of life” – it just means “way of eating.”

    There are also those for whom “diet” means their choices are influenced by their religious, spiritual or philosophical beliefs. Kosher, Halal, vegan, and others follow diets directed more by belief and philosophy than by science or biochemistry. There are even adherents of a dietary philosophy called Breatharianism who claim to be able to derive all the sustenance they need for life through the air they breathe and from sunlight. Not surprisingly, the followers of this rather extreme diet are prone to either “cheat” by eating solid food or to die of starvation – doing both with some regularity.

    Why do people diet?

    Let’s be honest – in today’s usage the term “diet” has come to have one common meaning. That is, to somehow reduce food intake to produce a loss of body fat.

    Oh sure, there are plenty of folks out there who have other food-related goals – athletes, celiacs, diabetics, people with food-related allergies, and so on. But most of us equate the term “diet” to “deprivation” and instinctively understand that “diet” means “things that you would like to eat but can’t because…(insert reason here: overweight, diabetic, allergic, etc.)”

    Therapeutic Diets

    Plenty of “dieters” follow regimens that restrict or promote certain foods or nutrients in order to achieve specific health goals. Some of these regimens are based on solid science and nutritional biochemistry, while others are based more on legend, rumor, marketing, Hollywood starlet testimonials, and so on.

    There are plenty of sound medical reasons for altering one’s food intake patterns. Some examples include (in no particular order):

    • Weight loss – the granddaddy of all reasons to alter food intake patterns, most popular weight loss diets involve portion control and / or calorie-counting (i.e. food deprivation,) consumption of “good carbs,” fat restriction, and other questionable dietary practices.
    • Control of epilepsy – a strategy dating back to the 19th century that was very successful in controlling epilepsy in children involved a very high fat, low carbohydrate, and lower protein intake – it is now very seldom used and is little-known in conventional medicine except as a curiosity.
    • Celiac disease – also known as sprue and gluten intolerance  is traditionally treated with a diet that avoids gluten, a common food substance that damages intestinal lining.
    • Hyperactivity – is often successfully treated with a diet that avoids sugars, synthetic food additives and colorants, and artificial sweeteners – though conventional medical and dietetic wisdom disputes the effectiveness of such diets.
    • Diabetes (type II) – while we find this to be an easily corrected condition, many diabetics prefer to follow the conventional recommendations of the American Diabetes Association which favors high carbohydrate / “low glycemic” foods, medication, and frequent blood sugar monitoring.
    • Weight gain / muscle gain – many diets are intended to reverse underweight from illness or to promote muscle mass increase in athletes. Most of these diets involve increasing the intake of simple carbohydrates which will result in an increase in fat mass (and a sparing of further loss of muscle mass) but do little to nourish muscle growth. Body-builders sometimes have some especially counter-productive dietary beliefs based more on locker-room legend than on sound biochemistry.
    • Cardiovascular health – conventional medical and dietetic wisdom has presented us with a plethora of “heart-healthy” diets – most of which rely on avoidance of fats, salt, animal protein, and sugar, while promoting the consumption of “healthy” and “low glycemic” carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables. In our experience these diets are poorly effective and even harmful – but they do ensure the need for continued doctor visits and medication to control cholesterol and blood pressure.
    • Pregnancy – we’ve all heard that pregnant women are “eating for two” and while this is sometimes an excuse for overindulgence it really is true that without increased intake of fats, proteins, and essential vitamins and micronutrients, pregnancy can be difficult to achieve and even more difficult to maintain. Poor nutrition during pregnancy can and does produce sickly babies and sickly mothers – if it doesn’t cause miscarriage first.

    What is the “best” diet?

    That’s easy – the “best” diet is one that provides all the nutrients necessary to maintain or improve health, without providing anything that is not necessary.

    OK, maybe that’s not so easy after all.

    Let’s look at “nutrients” – what we need, and what we don’t, and how much we need. That might make things a little easier… And let’s try to keep this as simple as possible.

    In the most basic form, our dietary intake – what we eat – must provide our bodies with energy. Since we are warm-blooded creatures, that energy makes heat, and that heat is measured in “calories” (OK, some scientific types might measure it as B.T.U. or British Thermal Units – but most of us know calories.)

    There are three food groups that provide calories when eaten:

    • Essential Amino Acids, or Proteins
    • Essential Fatty Acids, or Fats
    • Carbohydrates (saccharides), from sugars and starches

    Alert readers will have noticed that two of those food groups have the term “essential” while the third does not.

    Amino Acids – Essential

    We are not able to synthesize (or make) a number of amino acids, and for this reason it is essential for us to obtain these building blocks of proteins from dietary intake.

    From Wikipedia:

    Most microorganisms and plants can biosynthesize all 20 standard amino acids, while animals (including humans) must obtain some of the amino acids from the diet. The amino acids that an organism cannot synthesize on its own are referred to as essential amino acids.

    and,

    An essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo by the organism (usually referring to humans), and therefore must be supplied in the diet.

    Without these Essential Amino Acid building blocks we cannot create (or maintain) muscle – and lest we forget, the heart is one of our more important muscles.

    According to the National Academy of Sciences, the average requirement for protein intake is:

    • adult women: 48 grams per day
    • adult men: 56 grams per day

    Pregnant women, children (up to age 18), endurance athletes and sick people have different (usually higher) requirements.

    Fats – Another Essential

    Like protein, fatty acids (the fancy biochemical way to just say “fats”) must be taken in through our diet – we must have them and we cannot “make” them.

    Again from Wikipedia:

    Only two EFAs are known for humans: alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid).

    These two fatty acids, essential for our health, are absolutely vital for many of our metabolic processes, for the creation of hormones, for nerve function, and the life and health of cardiac cells. The balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids mediates such things as inflammation, mood, cellular signaling, and even activating or inhibiting transcription factors such as NF-κB in our DNA.

    How Much Do We Need?

    The National Academy of Science recommends a 4:1 to 10:1 (O-6:O-3) ratio. Population studies of long-lived people suggest that a 1:1 to 4:1 ratio is more in accord with healthful living. The Standard American Diet (SAD), typically contains a ratio of 20:1 or higher. The National Institutes of Health recommends that anywhere from from 1 to 12 or more grams of Omega-3 fatty acids be consumed daily depending on a person’s needs.

    Omega-3 Oils are derived primarily from fish oil and flax seeds. These essential fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and have a positive effect on cardiovascular disease, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, allergic and inflammatory conditions (including psoriasis and eczema), autoimmune diseases, cancer, neurological disease, menopause, general health enhancement. Supplementation with Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids can help “tip the scales” in favor of anti-inflammation.

    Omega-6 Oils are found in evening primrose, black current, borage and a number of vegetable oils. Although supplementation is popular, these oils are essential only in very small amounts. Excess Omega-6 oils increase arachadonic acid levels (an inflammatory substance).

    The Non-Essential Fatty Acid…

    Omega-9 Oils are found in olive, canola, and seed and nut oils. These oils are neutral, producing neither inflammation nor anti-inflammation. Unlike Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, Omega−9 fatty acids are not classed as essential fatty acids. This is both because they can be created by our body from unsaturated fat, and are therefore not essential in the diet, and because their lack of an n−6 double bond keeps them from participating in the reactions that form the eicosanoids.

    Carbohydrates – Not Essential!

    If you never ate another carbohydrate again – not a sugar or a starch, not cake nor cookies, or bread, pasta, potato, rice, or another baby carrot or banana ever, you would do just fine – maybe even better than “just fine”!

    According to Wikipedia:

    Carbohydrates are a common source of energy in living organisms; however, no carbohydrate is an essential nutrient in humans.

    And the National Academy of Sciences:

    The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.

    Our bodies are quite capable of meeting our minimal needs for glucose thanks to our liver and a process called “gluconeogenesis” – where our liver will happily make glucose (a carbohydrate) from fats and proteins.

    On the other hand, excessive carbohydrate metabolism causes a range of undesirable effects – from inflammation and generation of free radicals, to advanced glycosylated end products (A.G.E.S.), to hormonal disruptions, and more.

    So, in summary…

    • Everyone is on a “diet” of some sort
    • Some “diets” are followed for moral reasons, others for medical reasons.
    • The food intake of our “diet” provides us with energy – measured as “calories”
    • Of the three food types that we consume for energy, only two are “essential” to life

    In future articles we’ll look at some common physical conditions and how those conditions affect our dietary needs, and at some of the more trendy or popular diets with some thoughts on their strengths, weaknesses, and even dangers. We’ll also look at vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients to see how and where they fit into the dietary picture. Finally, we’ll look at how to put all this knowledge together and look at Nutrition Facts Boxes on foods so that we can make better dietary decisions.

     

    References:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/75/5/951.2.full

    http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10490

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein#Nutrition

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acids

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_fatty_acid

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html