HealthBeat News

Blog

  • An Interlude Of The Arts: Cine Culture Of France

    The French are well-known for their film-making skills. They are able to express emotion, pathos, and the pain of a banal existence perhaps better than any other culture. Their films are particularly evocative and poignant, often drawing the viewer in and causing the very soul to experience the suffering and anguish of the actors. Even though we may not speak the language of the actors the French are gracious enough to give us simple dialogue and effective subtitles so that we may better understand the complexities and subtle nuances of the actors interactions and expressions.

    In the spirit of offering a small cultural gift from our friends from France, we present the following short film – a brief glimpse into the fine art that the French gift the world with. Although only a couple of minutes in length it displays a depth of emotion and is sure to leave you deeply moved.

    Enjoy:

  • A Medical Degree – From The U of G !

    University of Google that is…

    By Nurse Mark

     

    I’ve said it before – the internet is a wonderful resource chock full of knowledge and information. It’s also a wild and wooly place full of absolute B.S. (that’s Bad Science folks!) Unfortunately, there are no warning labels on most content to tell you what you are looking at – good or bad, true of false, science or superstition. Because of this, people are often left to “trust their intuition and common sense.” The problem with that, when it comes to anything medical, is that without a lot of education in anatomy and physiology, biology, biochemistry and more, simple “common sense” can often fail us – medicine just isn’t so simple, our bodies are a complicated place.

    In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, some people love to send out emails with “common sense” medical advice to all their friends and demand that those friends send them to all their friends. You know the emails – you’ve gotten them. Maybe you even sent them.

    Here’s a recent example from one of our regular readers:

    Hi Dr. Myatt,

    Received this from a friend and just wanted to pass this on to you.  Is most of this true??

    Terrie

    Read through this email and see how much of it “makes sense”…

    Subject: Heart Attacks and Water

    How many folks do you know who say they don’t want to drink anything before going to bed because they’ll have to get up during the night?

    Heart Attack and Water – I never knew all of this ! Interesting…….

    Heart Attack & Water
    Something else I didn’t know … I asked my Doctor why do people need to urinate so much at night time.
    Answer from my Cardiac Doctor;
    Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc) seeks level with the kidneys it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier. This then ties in with the last statement! I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me.

    Correct time to drink water… Very Important: From A Cardiac Specialist!

    Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body:
    2 glasses of water after waking up – helps activate internal organs
    1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal – helps digestion
    1 glass of water before taking a bath – helps lower blood pressure
    1 glass of water before going to bed – reduces the risk of stroke or heart attack

    Please pass this to the people you care about……

    I can also add to this…
    My Physician told me that water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse.

    Subject: Mayo Clinic on Aspirin – PASS IT ON

    Mayo Clinic Aspirin Dr. Virend Somers, is a cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame.

    1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour “half-life”; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system.
    2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar).

    Please read on.

    Something that we can do to help ourselves nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets. Why keep Aspirin by your bedside?
    Heart Attacks –
    There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
    Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
    Afterwards: – Call 911. – Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by. Say “heart attack!” – Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. – Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and …DO NOT LIE DOWN!

    A Cardiologist has stated that if each person after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life could be saved! I have already shared this information. What about you? Do forward this message. It may save lives!

     

    And here is what Dr. Myatt had to say about it all:

     

    Hi Terrie:

    This email is a classic example of why I recommend you DO NOT get your medical information from SPAM emails and/or the University of Google!

    Here’s the scoop, heavy lifting on the research courtesy of Nurse Mark:

    This email has been going since 2004, and growing in complexity and silliness since then. This latest iteration has been circulating since 2011.

    Here is the Snopes page on it: http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/water.asp

    Essentially, this is a collection of wives’ tales and urban legends and armchair theories generated by people with very limited command of human anatomy and physiology who have then invoked the name of the “Mighty Mayo Clinic” and an unnamed “cardiologist” in order to try to attach validity to their ramblings.

    “2 glasses of water after waking up – helps activate internal organs” – as if internal organs somehow stop working when we sleep?

    “1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal – helps digestion” – no, it hampers digestion by diluting the normal healthy hydrochloric acid content of the stomach.

    “1 glass of water before taking a bath – helps lower blood pressure” – this is beyond silly – where is the scientific basis for this?

    “1 glass of water before going to bed – reduces the risk of stroke or heart attack” – if this were true, don’t we think that modern medicine would know about it and be shouting it from the rooftops? Again, there is no scientific basis for this statement.

    The aspirin / “heart attack” advise is likewise mostly silly, with tiny footholds in reality – like calling 911 if you think you might be experiencing cardiac pain and yes, taking an aspirin if you think you’re having a heart attack.

    With regard to the aspirin / Mayo Clinic reference: Mayo Clinic states: “Neither Dr. Somers nor Mayo Clinic contributed to this email, which contains some information that is inaccurate and potentially harmful.” The new release to that can be found here: http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2010/02/28/misleading-aspirin-email-virend-somers-mayo-clinic/

    Friends and family are some of the worst offenders for passing along junk like this without bothering to find out if it is true before forwarding. Please take stuff like this with a grain of salt.

    If there were simple things about timing of water intake that had a profound intake on your health, you would already know about it because you would have heard about it from me!

    In Health,
    Dr. Myatt

    A some notes by Nurse Mark:

    Bayer “Crystal Aspirin” was withdrawn from the market in 2010 and was NEVER recommended for use in the way this email suggests.

    Note in the “advice” letter that one sentence claims that “Most heart attacks occur in the day generally between 6 A.M. and noon” and then the letter says “most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning” in reasoning what is the “best” time to take aspirin. So which is it? To me the “wee hours” are those between one and three or four in the morning…

    And, my pet peeve: Internet viruses. If every person sends a junk email like this to ten people who then each send to to ten more people who then each send to to ten more people – I’ll let you do the math, but the short course is that this quickly becomes spam and usually picks up viruses and trojans and other malware along the way. Just the sheer volume of this kind of thing make it a form of virus. So, please don’t do it!

  • Proof: Sugar Feeds Cancer!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Dr. Myatt has long warned of the cancer-promoting effects of sugar – specifically, high blood sugar and the carbohydrate-rich Standard American Diet (SAD) that causes high blood sugars.

    It has been a frustrating, often lonely crusade for health, often leaving her feeling like a voice crying in the wilderness.

    At every turn she has found herself not only attacked by conventional medical and dietetic “wisdom” which preaches starch and grains-heavy dietary advice, she finds herself up against the constant propaganda of the wheat, corn, sugar, and other industries and even the very addictive nature of sugar itself.

    There is however a growing chorus of voices joining hers in their warnings against the dangers of our modern, sugary, carbohydrate-rich, sweet-laden diet. A growing number of scientists and doctors are, however cautiously, beginning to question the wisdom of the change from our ancestral diet rich in proteins and fats to our “modern” diet so heavily based on breads and grains and starches and sugar.

    It has been considered to be sacrilegious – even un-American – to question the wisdom of the “quick energy” high carbohydrate diet – but now there are scientists who are daring to do just that.

    Researchers at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Washington University School of Medicine recently published the results of their work which clearly show the dangers of a sugary diet.

    Here is the summary of their paper:

    The risk of specific cancers increases in patients with metabolic dysfunction, including obesity and diabetes. Here, we use Drosophila [fruit flies] as a model to explore the effects of diet on tumor progression. Feeding Drosophila a diet high in carbohydrates was previously demonstrated to direct metabolic dysfunction, including hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance. We demonstrate that high dietary sugar also converts Ras/Src-transformed [cancerous] tissue from localized growths to aggressive tumors with emergent metastases. Whereas most tissues displayed insulin resistance, Ras/Src tumors retained insulin pathway sensitivity, increased the ability to import glucose, and resisted apoptosis. High dietary sugar increased canonical Wingless/Wnt pathway activity, which upregulated insulin receptor gene expression to promote insulin sensitivity. The result is a feed-forward circuit that amplified diet-mediated malignant phenotypes within Ras/Src-transformed tumors. By targeting multiple steps in this circuit with rationally applied drug combinations, we demonstrate the potential of combinatorial drug intervention to treat diet-enhanced malignant tumors.

    Here’s what all that means in simpler, non-scientist language:

    • People with diabetes, or who are obese, or have metabolic syndrome (high blood sugars) are well-known to be at greatly increased risk for developing cancer.
    • Scientists used fruit flies to see the effect of high-sugar diets on cancer.
    • Feeding the fruit flies a high sugar diet quickly gave them diabetes.
    • That high sugar diet also caused small cancerous growths to quickly become very large, aggressive and metastatic (spreading) tumors that voraciously consume the sugar and resist normal cell death (or apoptosis).
    • The high-sugar diet and resulting aggressive cancer growth increases, spiraling out of control: “the bigger it gets the bigger it will get” – as long as the high sugar “fuel” is available.
    • Finally, the scientists appeal to the drug companies for research money by saying that there might be ways to fix all this with drugs…

     

    Using fruit flies specially designed to have cancerous tumors, the scientists, led by Ross Cagan from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City found that when the flies were fed a low sugar/carbohydrate, high protein diet the tumors remained small and did not spread. But, changing the diet to one that provided the same amount of calories from sugar instead of from protein caused the tumors to grow and spread rapidly.

    “The tumors just went crazy,” Cagan said. “When the flies were on a normal diet the tumors could barely be seen, but as soon as the sugar was introduced they were everywhere.”

     

    Please remember: All carbohydrates – grains, starches, fruits, vegetables, tubers, legumes – whether they are “complex carbs” or “simple carbs”, “high glycemic” or “low glycemic”, ultimately become glucose – that’s sugar – in our body when we eat them. And, there is no requirement for carbohydrates in our diet!

    So, to recap: Sugar causes diabetes. Sugar also causes cancer to grow and spread out of control. Researchers would like to find a drug that would stop sugar from causing diabetes and making cancer grow out of control.

    In the meantime, until that wonderful “silver bullet” is developed by Big Pharma, maybe Dr. Myatt is right – maybe a low-carbohydrate, low sugar diet really is the best protection!

    Doesn’t it seem a whole lot easier, safer, and more certain to simply cut out the sugar than to trust a drug? It sure does to me!

    Dr. Myatt is right now putting the finishing touches on her next book, The Ketone Zone For Cancer which will describe her years of clinical experience in using diet to control cancer and will provide advice, recipes, and more to those who wish to use the power of their own metabolism to combat this frightening disease. Watch for it – we’ll be announcing it soon!

     

    References:

    Endocrinology: Sugar Activates Oncogenes in Tumors. Published: Aug 12, 2013 | Updated: Aug 21, 2013
    By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Obesity/40920

    Transformed Drosophila Cells Evade Diet-Mediated Insulin Resistance through Wingless Signaling
    Susumu Hirabayashi, Thomas J. Baranski, Ross L. Cagan. Cell, Volume 154, Issue 3, 664-675, 1 August 2013 http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2813%2900769-1

    National Academy of Sciences: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients) ( 2005 ) Chpt. 6 Dietary Carbohydrates: Sugars and Starches Page 275: “The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.” http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=275

  • Popular Sleeping Pill Sends Thousands to Emergency Rooms

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Are you still taking Ambien? Lunesta? Sonata? After what we have written about their dangers in past HealthBeat Newsletters?

    Or maybe you just haven’t read those newsletters or maybe you forgot them – well, here are the articles once again so that you can refresh your memory:

     

    Are you back from your reading now? Good! Did you think I was being just a little alarmist in writing those articles? Well, here is a recent headline found on The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website:

    Sharp rise in emergency department visits involving the sleep medication zolpidem

    Zolpidem is the active ingredient in Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar and Zolpimist

     

    Now, before you go thinking that this is yet another dire warning from some woo-woo far-out all-natural herbal medicine website, it’s not – The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a part of our very own government’s Department Of Health And Human Services. If our own BigPharma-funded government is warning people about this “FDA approved” drug, then you know things are getting serious!

    SAMHSA recently produced “The DAWN Report” (Drug Abuse Warning Network) which gives us the following “bullet points” in summary:

    • The number of zolpidem-related emergency department (ED) visits involving adverse reactions increased nearly 220 percent from 6,111 visits in 2005 to 19,487 visits in 2010
    • Females accounted for two thirds (68 percent) of zolpidem-related ED visits involving adverse reactions in 2010
    • Patients aged 45 or older represented about three quarters (74 percent) of zolpidem-related ED visits involving adverse reactions while those aged 65 or older represented about one third (32 percent) of such visits
    • Half of visits (50 percent) involved other pharmaceuticals combined with zolpidem, including narcotic pain relievers (26 percent) and other anti-anxiety and insomnia medications (16 percent)

     

    The full report can be found here: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k13/DAWN079/sr079-Zolpidem.htm

    The DAWN Report makes for some interesting and eye-opening – even alarming – reading and is a must-see for anyone who is using these drugs or who has a loved one using these drugs.

    “But wait a minute,” you say… “Maybe this drug is a bit spooky, but at least I get some sleep when I take it!”

    Then you say “If you take that away I don’t know what I’ll do – I’ve tried every other drug…”

    But have you tried Dr. Myatt’s suggestions for insomnia?

    I know, I know, you are a busy person with a stressful life and you don’t have time for all that. That’s why Ambien is so nice, right? Just pop the little pill and go to sleep – maybe, sort of.

    Well, because you are busy, here is the short course: some of our most effective supplements to promote healthy sleep.

    • Maxi Multi: 3 caps, 3 times per day with meals. Optimal (not minimal) doses of  B complex vitamins and magnesium (both found  in Maxi Multi) are particularly important for insomnia.
    • Melatonin: this hormone decreases with age. Melatonin is a potent antioxidant that helps regulate Circadian Rhythms. It should be used in almost all cases of insomnia. Melatonin is also an an “anti stress” hormone.

      Some people complain that they tried melatonin and it didn’t work for them. We usually find that they tried it in a form that they swallowed, as a tablet. Melatonin is not well-absorbed this way, and we recommend that it be take sublingually – that is, dissolved under the tongue. This allows the hormone to enter the bloodstream more directly and without being altered by stomach acids. Rarely, others complain that melatonin helped them sleep, but left them feeling groggy the next day. If this occurs, try taking a smaller dose – a half or even a quarter-tablet to start with.

    • L-5-HTP (5-Hydroxy-Tryptophan) 100 mg: 1 cap, 3 times per day, twice with meals and once before bed. Dosage may be increased to 2 caps, 3 times per day after 2 weeks if response is inadequate. L-5-HTP is a neurotransmitter precursor; most neurotransmitters decrease with age.
    • Magnesium (amino acid chelate): 2 tabs, 45 minutes before bedtime. (In addition to what is contained in Maxi-Multi) Magnesium is a “calming” mineral.
    • Lavender Essential Oil: Used as aromatherapy, lavender has a balancing, relaxing and uplifting effect. Apply several drops to a cotton ball or diffuser to help drift peacefully off to sleep.

      Here is a trick that was taught to me as a young Nurse by an older and very experienced European Nurse: It is common practice in some European hospitals to put a few drops of lavender oil on pillows to help relax patients and promote sleep. I know why lavender was held in such high value by our ancestors – it works!

    • Kavinace – This is our “secret weapon” for treating insomnia. Kavinace potentiates GABA, one of the main inhibitory neurotransmitters. Higher GABA levels can relieve anxiety and promote restful sleep. Kavinace works amazingly well as a sleep aid and anti-anxiety formula for people who are low in GABA. Usually 1-2 capsules taken at bedtime (or better, a half-hour before bed) will promote a fine, restful sleep. Three capsules can be used, but may result in a “hangover” sleepiness or “just feeling too well-rested” the next day for some people. Yes, it really is that effective!

     

    So, would you rather not make a trip to the Emergency Room? Try our sleep suggestions and boot the Ambien from your life!

     

    References:

     

    Press Release: Sharp rise in emergency department visits involving the sleep medication zolpidem. http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1304303131.aspx

    The DAWN Report: Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Reactions Involving the Insomnia Medication Zolpidem. http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k13/DAWN079/sr079-Zolpidem.htm

  • Statin Drugs Proven To Increase Risk Of Cataracts

    Part VII of a multi-installment series on cholesterol and the dangers of statin drugs.

    Part VI can be found here: Statins Proven To Cause Increased Injuries
    Part V can be found here: Saturated Fats Are NOT Bad For You – Here’s PROOF
    Part IV can be found here: Cholesterol: Life-Giving Or Life-Threatening?
    Part III can be found here: New Research Into Statin Drug Memory Loss
    Part II can be found here: Trade Your High Cholesterol For Diabetes!
    Part I can be found here: Lower Your Cholesterol – Lose Your Marbles?

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Pity the poor statin drug.

    StatinWarning

     

    Despite the best efforts of the Big Drug companies to bury any and all negative news regarding the safety of this drug, research keeps finding it’s way into the public eye showing just how harmful it really is.

    After spending more than two decades developing a “Miracle Drug” reputation for it and creating a cult-like following among conventional doctors and a conspiracy of false hope among patients looking for some easy way to avoid heart disease, Big Pharma must be realizing that this class of drugs – that raked in over $26 Billion a year at it’s peak – may no longer be their top cash cow.

    Not only are sales of cheaper generic statins cutting into their profits, it now seems like hardly a week goes by without yet another major study pointing out more problems with the drugs.

    We recently wrote about the statins / diabetes connection in Part II of this series: Trade Your High Cholesterol For Diabetes!

    Recently, more damaging studies have been published showing a diabetes / eye health / statin use link.

    Last year Canadian researchers at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry reviewed the records of nearly 6500 patients and concluded:

    “… statin use was substantially higher in patients with type 2 diabetes and was associated with AR [Age Related] cataracts.”

    In the study, known as the Waterloo Eye Study, researchers found that diabetes was associated with an 86% higher risk of developing cataracts.

    Statin use was also associated with a significantly increased risk of developing age-related cataracts, including a 48% higher risk of nuclear sclerosis and a 48% rise in posterior subcapsular cataract.

    In their analysis of cataract prevalence among patients with and without diabetes taking statins, researchers found that the development of cataracts increased at an even faster rate in patients with diabetes who also used statins.

    Adding to that, just last week researchers who analyzed over 45,000 subjects in a military healthcare system published their findings which showed that the risk of developing cataracts was 29% higher in statin drug users. Their conclusion?

    “The risk for cataract is increased among statin users as compared with nonusers. The risk-benefit ratio of statin use, specifically for primary prevention, should be carefully weighed, and further studies are warranted.”

    In defense of the drugs, the High Priests of the Statins-For-All cult unanimously agree that while there may be “some slight increased risk” that statins will cause cataracts the risk of cardiovascular disease is of greater importance, thus justifying it’s use.

    One of the researchers however took a more middle-of-the-road stance. Researcher Mansi explained that all effective medications can be expected to have side effects, saying “It is much better to do your best to lower your own risk of cardiovascular disease (if feasible) by stopping smoking and keeping physically active than to take a pill to lower your risk of heart disease.”

    Here at The Wellness Club we have a different approach to heart health that does not call for dangerous drugs like statins.

    Find out more in our informative pages Lower Cholesterol Naturally, The Truth About Cholesterol Pt.I, The Truth About Cholesterol Pt.II, and Saturated Fats And The Big Fat Lie

     

    References:

    Association of Statin Use With Cataracts – A Propensity Score–Matched Analysis. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online September 19, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.4575
    http://archopht.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1739520

    Age-related cataract is associated with type 2 diabetes and statin use. Optom Vis Sci. 2012 Aug;89(8):1165-71. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e3182644cd1.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22797512

    Heartwire: Statins Linked to Cataracts in Large, Retrospective Study
    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/811336

    Heartwire: Statins Linked With Development of Cataracts
    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/769077