Most Kidney Donors Lead Long, Healthy Lives Biggest study of its kind finds no health downside to donation Posted January 28, 2009 By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Jan. 28

(HealthDay News) — Americans who give the gift of life by donating a kidney tend to lead long, healthy lives themselves. That’s the conclusion of the largest, longest follow-up of donors ever conducted. Related News Diets That Promote Health Keeping Your Brain Fit Good Parents, Bad Results America’s Best Hospitals “Their lifespan is comparable to others of the same age, gender and ethnic background,” said study author Dr. Hassan N. Ibrahim, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota. “Indeed, it appears that that kidney donors might actually have better survival.” Ibrahim and his colleagues reported their findings in the Jan. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study tracked outcomes for nearly 3,700 people who donated kidneys, some as far back as 1963. It found that “their quality of life was better than 60 percent of the people in the general population of the same age and gender,” Ibrahim said. This is the first U.S. study to compare the survival of kidney donors to that of the general public, he noted. Two previous, smaller studies done in Norway and Sweden found similar results, but they did not measure the health of donors in as much detail or for as long as in this study, he added.

In addition to overall health, the study looked at measures of kidney function such as the glomerular filtration rate (the flow of filtered fluid through the kidney) as well as the presence of conditions such as high blood pressure. “Kidney donors have excellent glomerular filtration rates 85 percent of the time,” Ibrahim said. “Kidney donors are not likely to develop high blood pressure or have protein in their urine.” End-stage kidney failure developed in only 11 of the thousands…read more

5 Alternative Treatments and Practices Worth Trying

As a society full of technological advancements in all areas of our lives, we are sometimes hesitant to try traditional, or alternative, practices when it comes to our health and well-being. However, there has been a large increase in demand for therapies, treatments, and practices that are not aligned with our Western values.

Many people could feel the benefits of some of these practices, but have yet to try them. Here is a brief list of some alternative treatments and practices that are gaining popularity these days.

Therapeutic Massage

While this is the most popular alternative treatment by far, many people are still hesitant to undergo massage therapy for various reasons. Studies show, however, that there are many great benefits of utilizing massage therapy on a regular basis. Decreased anxiety, improved circulation, and increased flexibility and range of motion are just a few of these benefits. Talk to your physician or a licensed massage therapist and see if massage could help you.

Acupressure

Often confused with acupuncture, acupressure is less invasive and uses no needles to manipulate the body. Acupressure points are not generally related the affected areas, but rather associated with traditional Chinese medicine and the influences of yin, yang, and the individual’s chi. While this may not sound like something worth exploring, many who have undergone acupressure have finally felt relief which traditional medicine had been unable to provide.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture utilizes needles to manipulate the same points as in acupressure. Although acupuncture came first, some people are hesitant to undergo this procedure due to its extensive use of fine pointed needles. However, some people have gone so far as to claim acupuncture helped them to sleep better, quit snoring – even quit smoking. If you are adventurous and have explored your other options, you may want to consider acupuncture.

Reiki

Though this particular alternative treatment has no scientific basis, the people who claim to have experienced the healing powers of Reiki are growing on a significant scale. Reiki practitioners believe they’re able to manipulate a universal healing life-force energy, and that they are able to transfer this intelligent energy to their patients through the use of nothing more than their palms. People who undergo Reiki treatment claim to feel not only physical, but mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits from the treatments as well.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy involves the use of essential oils to manipulate physical and/or emotional responses to help with an individual’s healing process. This is actually a Western derivation of alternative medicine, as essential oils are used in various ways in other holistic treatment options in varying degrees. Aromatherapy is used, with varying levels of success, in many people who don’t wish to venture too far beyond the realm of traditional medicine.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of medical coding online training. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com

Posted in Alternative, Fitness, Longevitiy, Wellness, Women's Health Tagged: acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, reiki ]]> http://healthandsurvival.com/2008/12/18/5-alternative-treatments-and-practices-worth-trying/feed/ 2 Eric Madrid http://healthandsurvival.com/2008/09/19/10-worst-breakfast-foods/ http://healthandsurvival.com/2008/09/19/10-worst-breakfast-foods/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:34:57 +0000 healthandsurvival http://healthandsurvival.wordpress.com/?p=582 ]]>

Read about the  best breakfast foods for children

—————–

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of eating breakfast. Studies show that people who take time for a morning meal consume fewer calories over the course of the day, have stronger cognitive skills, and are 30 percent less likely to be overweight or obese. Beyond that, people who skip breakfast are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, and they’re less likely to exercise.

But just because breakfast is the most important meal of the day doesn’t grant you permission to go into a feeding frenzy. But that’s exactly what many of the country’s most popular breakfast joints are setting you up for, by peddling fatty scrambles, misguided muffins, and pancakes that look like manhole covers.

These foods are loaded with unhealthy fats, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates, which catapult your blood sugar, sap your energy levels, and tell your body to store fat.

To help you avoid the morning mishaps, we searched out the good, the bad, and the greasy, and uncovered some of the worst breakfast foods in America. We’ve presented a sampling of the worst offenders below. It’s like a lineup down at the local police station, except in this case, they’re all guilty as charged.

Worst Side Dish
Burger King Hash Browns (large)
620 calories
40 g fat (11 g saturated; 13 g trans)
1,200 mg sodium
60 g carbs

Yes, you’re ingesting more than a meal’s worth of calories from a side dish, but the real cause for concern here is that these little potato cakes pack seven times more trans fats than you’re supposed to eat all day! Until BK learns to cut out the partially hydrogenated oils, avoid encounters with potatoes of any kind at that fatty food joint.

Eat This Instead!
Burger King Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich
300 calories
17 g fat (6 g saturated; 2 g trans)
740 mg sodium
26 g carbs

Read more here

or Read about the  best breakfast foods for children

So you want to take Vitamin C, how about if it was illegal to take that vitamin C, what if it was so illegal that you could be thrown in jail for up to 2 years and fined up to $5,000,000! Sounds like fiction doesn’t it?
Well it’s about to become reality unless people become aware of what is going on. The Canadian Government is trying to pass a bill known as Bill C51. This bill has already passed its second reading and it is flying under the radar, it is very close to becoming law and some powers that be DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

This bill would give entire control of supplements over to drug companies by only allowing MDs to “Prescribe” them as they see fit. Of course we know here in this country the government controls the doctors and the pharmaceutical companies tell the government what laws they want inorder to make more profit.

What this means is that if you want to take a multivitamin or some Omega-3, you have to book an appointment with your doctor, go in and try to convince your doctor that you are in need of these supplements. If you doctor doesn’t approve or better yet decides a certain drug would be better off for you then you unfortunately won’t have access to your supplements anymore.

On top of this the entire natural supplement industry will collapse on itself, thousands of jobs will be lost and even more stress will be placed on our already crumbing over-stressed medical system. Imagine waiting over a month to get in to see your MD just to request if you can take some oregano oil for a cold that has now come and past, only to have your request denied anyway.

The irony of all this is that MDs who are NOT trained in the use of herbs and supplements for the most part will have full control over what you can and CANNOT TAKE. To summarize:
….read more here….

FDA Warns Companies to Stop Selling Fake Cancer Cures
Fraudulent products present a safety hazard to the public, agency says

 
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent letters warning more than two dozen companies to stop selling fraudulent products that claim to prevent or cure cancer.

The agency is also cautioning consumers not to buy or use these products, which include tablets, teas, tonics, black salves, and creams, and are sold under various names on the Internet.

“Health fraud has been around for years, and it is a cruel form of greed,” David Elder, director of FDA’s Office of Enforcement in the Office of Regulatory Affairs, said during a morning teleconference Tuesday. “Fraud involving cancer treatments can be especially heartbreaking.”

The warning letters, sent to 23 U.S. companies and one Canadian and one Australian company, cover 125 unapproved products with labeling claims to cure, treat or prevent cancer. “These claims are unproven, unreliable, and they are unkind to the patient who is seeking help,” Elder said.

Elder said the FDA is concerned that some of the products present a safety hazard to consumers. “Others can interfere with medicines that a patient has already taken. And they could be used to forgo medically acceptable treatment plans,” he said.

The bogus cures include ingredients such as bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, Cat’s Claw, an herbal tea called Essiac, and mushrooms such as Agaricus Blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi, the FDA said.

“These products pose either a direct health risk to consumers because the products themselves can cause harm, or a serious indirect health risk because the products are marketed for a serious disease, in this case cancer,” Michael Levy, director of FDA’s Division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance in the Office of Compliance, said during the teleconference.

For example, so-called black salve products, touted to treat skin cancer, can be particularly hazardous, Levy said. “Black salve products essentially burn off layers of the skin and are supposed to also burn away skin cancer,” he said. “But what we have seen is that it actually burns away healthy skin. There is documented evidence of black salve products destroying large parts of people’s skin and the underlying tissue.”

Levy also said the FDA is concerned that consumers will purchase these products instead of products that are proven to be safe and effective.

Elder said: “As a result of these warning letters, FDA expects prompt and complete corrective action. Firms that don’t heed the warnings we have delivered, and other firms marketing similar unapproved products, may face further regulatory action from the agency.”

According to the FDA, the fraudulent claims found on the products include:

• “Treats all forms of cancer.”
• “Causes cancer cells to commit suicide!”
• “80% more effective than the world’s number one cancer drug.”
• “Skin cancers disappear.”
• “Target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.”
• “Shrinks malignant tumors.”
• “Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments.”

Companies that don’t stop these violations can have their products seized or injunctions placed upon them and also are liable for criminal charges, according to the agency.

More information

For more on fake cancer cures, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

BOOK: Vitamin D Prescription: The Healing Power of the Sun & How It Can Save Your Life-

This is another study which shows the health beneifts of Vitamin D.  I personally take 4000 IU daily of Vitamin D and recommend most my patients do the same.  Recent posts show that   Vitamin D may help curb breast cancer ,  and  Sunshine Prevents Cancer .   To Purchase vitamin D for $0.21 cents per day- please visit here

—

By Andrew Stern

Monday June 2

CHICAGO, June 2 (Reuters) – Many young children do not get enough vitamin D, an often invisible deficiency that can show up later as broken bones or a weakened immune system prone to disease, researchers said on Monday.

Two out of five U.S. children aged 8 months to 2 years who took part in a 380-patient study at Children’s Hospital Boston had less-than-optimal blood levels of vitamin D.

The main risk factors were not drinking enough fortified milk, not taking vitamins and being overweight, said the report published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Lead researcher Catherine Gordon of Children’s Hospital Boston said the 40 percent deficiency rate “is higher than expected in a country that has vitamin D fortified milk.”

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that vitamin D, made when sunlight hits the skin and used to fortify many foods, is important for preventing chronic diseases. It is key to maintaining strong bones but has also been linked with a lower risk of cancer, artery disease and even kidney disease.

The lack of symptoms, at least initially, led Gordon to call it a “silent disease.”

“What was striking to us was how many infants were vitamin D deficient but they were asymptomatic. The silence of what we saw worries me more,” she said in a telephone interview.

The alternative to a blood test to discover a deficiency is to routinely give vitamins that can be consumed easily in the form of liquid drops, she said.

Only three children in the study showed signs of the soft and weakened bones characteristic of rickets, a dangerous condition. Another 13 had symptoms of demineralization, where lack of vitamin D causes minerals to leach out of the bones.

Canadian researchers recently reported that breast cancer patients with lower levels of vitamin D were far more likely to die or have their cancer spread than women with normal levels.

Children with vitamin D deficiency sometimes have bowed legs or easily fractured bones. They can also appear tired, or shaky, or suffer seizures in severe cases.

Overweight children were found to be prone to vitamin D deficiency, perhaps because the vitamin dissolves into fat, Gordon said. Diabetes is one disease linked to the deficiency.

Her findings complemented previous research she did on teenagers in 2004 that found a similar percentage with the deficiency. In that case, soda consumption and exposure to sunshine was a factor, and could be reversed during summer.

But sun exposure did not have an influence on younger children’s risk, perhaps because they were often covered against exposure to the sun’s rays.

Also at risk for a vitamin D deficiency were breast-fed infants, because “breast milk is the perfect food except that it lacks vitamin D,” Gordon said.

However the study found 6 percent of the children fed fortified formula also were vitamin D deficient. The researchers said this raised questions about whether the fortification was sufficient. (Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Maggie Fox and Chris Wilson)

HEALTH ALERT- This article should be sent to every women you know, it may help save their life. To Purchase vitamin D for $0.21 cents per day- please visit here

The evidence keeps mounting! I have published several posts in the past regarding the benefits of Vitamin D. I have been checking patient levels for about a year and a half and have convinced many of my colleagues to do the same. About 90% of my patients in Southern California, are D-ficient.

This is one of many studies to show that Vitamin D  supplementation (or increased sunlight) can help prevent cancer.   Although my experience has taught me that most people will need between 2000 IU- 6000 IU daily of Vitamin D3.  I have several patients on doses as high as 10,000 units/day. There are no studies to suggest toxicity of  at these levels.

I personally used to take 800 IU daily with my multivitamin only to discover that my levels were deficient ( I live in Southern California too and don’t use sunscreen).  I now take Vitamin D3 4000 IU  daily.  The article also states that the test cost about $25- in reality, it will cost  between $75 to $150 depending on the lab.

I would recommend that everyone reading this article ask their doctor to check their Vitamin D 25-OH levels (Not Vitamin D 1-25 OH).  If they are below 32 ng/dl, then supplementation should be considered. As with any disease, prevention is the key.

To Purchase vitamin D for $0.21 cents per day- please visit here

—

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer-

This is another great reason to start exercising. Breast cancer will affect 1 in 9 women according to statistics.  In addition to reducing breast cancer risk, one’s heart will be healthier and the complications of being overweight, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea will be reduced.  There is also evidence that Vitamin D3 supplementation can also reduce breast cancer  from 50-67%, depending on the blood levels of Vitamin D 25-0H… Combining these two simple strategies could make a huge impact. Best of Luck!

—

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The results of a literature review of published studies confirm that while all women are likely to reduce their risk of breast cancer with regular physical activity, certain subgroups benefit more than others.

According to the report posted online by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, postmenopausal women and those with a normal body mass index (BMI) are among the groups that achieve the greatest risk reduction with physical activity. BMI is the ratio of height to weight.

The findings also indicate that certain activities influence the risk reduction more than others. For instance, recreational physical activity cut the risk of breast cancer to a greater extent than did work-related activity.

Dr. C. M. Friedenreich, from the Alberta Cancer Board in Calgary, Canada, and Dr. A. E. Cust, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, examined how the timing, type, and level of physical activity affects the breast cancer risk. Their literature search identified 62 studies.

Forty-seven of the 62 (76 percent) studies indicated there was an anti-breast cancer effect for increased physical activity, with typical risk reductions of 25 percent to 30 percent, the authors report. In 28 of 33 studies, they found evidence of a dose-response effect, which means more exercise correlated with more benefits.

In terms of activities, recreational activity, vigorous activity, and lifetime or later life activity provided the strongest reductions in breast cancer risk.

In addition to postmenopausal women and those with a normal BMI, other subgroups most likely to benefit from physical activity were non-white women, women who half given birth, and those without a family history of breast cancer.

Exercise also had a greater effect in reducing hormone receptor-negative tumors than hormone receptor-positive tumors, the findings indicate.

“Further observational epidemiological research is needed to clarify the biological mechanisms underling the association between physical activity and reduced breast cancer risk,” Friedenreich and Cust conclude, “especially with regard to the type, duration and intensity of activity and to explain differences in population subgroup effects.”

SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine, May 12, 2008. Sports Medicine, May 12, 2008.

Is it her genes? Oldest known person turns 115 on Sunday

If you are not taking cod liver oil this is a great reason to begin. Even if you don’t have rheumatoid, anyone with chronic pain or even occasional joint pain can benefit. Cod Liver Oil, of Fish Oil, also has numerous heart and brain benefits-

A daily dose of cod liver oil can cut painkiller use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Taking 10g of cod liver oil a day reduced the need for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by 30%, Dundee University researchers say.

Concerns about side-effects of NSAIDs has prompted research into alternative.

Rheumatologists said the study, in Rheumatology journal, funded by Seven Seas, was small but showed fish oil could benefit some patients.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7307298.stm

Published: 2008/03/25 01:35:44 GMT