Cancer Archives

Mar

2019

Obesity Fuels Cancer Development

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, diet, food, leukemia, Nutrition, Obesity

A recent review by the American Cancer Society found that obesity fuels cancer development. As a matter of fact, what the researchers found was that younger millennials are more in danger of both getting obese and of getting obesity related cancers. Also, the rates of baby boomers with respect to obesity-related cancer were much lower than rates from millennials.

Results of the study showing obesity fuels cancer development

In like manner, as the summary by CNN shows, there is an increase of obesity and also an increase of various cancers of the population of millennials versus the same age group among baby boomers. As an illustration, take pancreatic cancer, one of the obesity related cancers. Normally it occurs in people above the age of 65. Here is the increase of frequencies according to age group:

Ages 25 to 29: 4.34% increase.

People aged 30 to 34: 2.47% increase.

Age bracket 35 to 39: 1.31% increase.

Those aged 40 to 44 years: 0.72% increase.

With this in mind you can see clearly that the younger age group is at a higher risk for developing pancreatic cancer. Certainly, the problem is that obesity in children has become more rampant and this has led to early obesity by the age of 35. The other side of the coin in this case is an increased pancreatic cancer rate.

Other cancers that are obesity-related

Indeed, 6 out of 12 obesity related cancers have shown an increase in frequency because of increasing obesity. These cancers are: multiple myeloma, colorectal cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder, kidney, and pancreatic cancer.

Notably, people born around 1985 had a higher rate of multiple myeloma and kidney cancer than people born around 1950. Multiple myeloma was 1.59-fold higher and kidney cancer 4.91-fold higher in the group of people born around 1985 in comparison to people born around 1950.

Cancer associated with obesity, but may not be caused by obesity

MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Dr. George Chang, who was not associated with the analysis cautioned: “The study was not set up to establish causation. We know there are many factors that have an association with both obesity and cancer, such as lack of exercise and poor diet. How much each of those factors contribute to cancer is less clear.” Specifically, the study found that the rate of obesity-related cancers in millennials now is about double the rate of what it was in baby-boomers at the same age.

Discussion of the obesity and cancer problem

First of all, obesity is now starting in childhood, teenagers and young adults. 5 of the 6 obesity related cancers (colorectal, uterine, gallbladder, kidney and pancreatic cancer) have increased in the younger population. These require mostly surgery and according to Dr. Chang, who is an oncological surgeon, complication rates are higher among obese patients. Dr. Chang added that chances are also that complications will be more severe.
Secondly, we need government-sponsored programs to reverse the obesity trend. This should include changing the diet from the Standard American diet (essentially junk food) to a Mediterranean diet. There should be an elimination of sugar and starchy foods or the use should be just a bare minimum. Reducing or even eliminating red meat is definitely necessary. The WHO has determined that beef, pork and lamb are causing cancer, because they contain weak carcinogens. Coupled with this is the necessity to initiated regular exercise programs.
Thirdly, fatty tissue in obese patients release growth factors and proteins that function as hormone-like factors stimulating cell growth. These factors stimulate any carcinogenic process. Researchers are still actively working on analyzing this process further.

Obesity Fuels Cancer Development

Conclusion

Childhood obesity has already had the result that obesity-related cancers (multiple myeloma, colorectal cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder, kidney, and pancreatic cancer) occur at a younger age and more frequently. The cancer rate among obese millennials now is already double the number of what the baby-boomers was at the same age. The key is to treat obesity aggressively with regular fitness programs and with a major diet shift. We know what caused the obesity wave. It is overconsumption of sugar, junk foods, starchy foods, processed foods and fat overuse.

A major change in diet

This means the kids need to cut out sugar. An alternative is to sweeten only with stevia, if they need a sweet taste. They also need to cut out starchy foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread and processed food. Processed food contains a lot of sugar and gluten from wheat. Gluten and sugar both stimulate the appetite center. This is what we want to avoid. What remains is a Mediterranean diet without the junk from the North American diet. You end up eating a lot of vegetables, salads and fruit. Fish is a good protein source, poultry as well. Implementing these changes will show positive results for the health of the entire population, not only the millennials.

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Mar

2019

Exercise For Different Age Groups

By Ray Schilling | Arthritis, back pain, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, exercise, Fitness, fractures, Health, heart attack, lifestyle, Menopause, Osteoporosis

In a health article CNN reported about exercise for different age groups.

Exercise has profound positive effects on the body. First it strengthens the lungs and the heart. Secondly, it conditions your muscles. Thirdly, exercise can protect you from chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many cancers. Each age group needs different exercises, as follows.

Growing up years

During childhood exercise helps to grow healthy bones, regulate weight and build up self-confidence. In addition the child sleeps better, when exercise is part of the course of the day. Children should try out various sports. They should learn how to swim and how to handle a ball. They should also play in playgrounds together with other kids. Several studies have shown that during the teen years exercise levels decline steadily, particularly for girls. Especially during the teen years regular exercise builds a healthy body image and helps adolescents to manage stress and anxiety. Parents should encourage teens to keep one team sport regularly. For those who are not into team sports, swimming and any kind of sport is a good substitute.

Exercise for different age groups: in your twenties

In your mid twenties you are at the highest performance level in your life. You have the fastest reaction time and your heart pump capacity is the highest. Exercise physiologists measure this by an expression, called VO2 max. This value decreases each year by 1%. Your reaction time also decreases every year. The good news is that you can slow down the decline by exercising regularly for the rest of your life. If you train your body regularly during this time, your lean body mass will be preserved and your bone density will stay dense until your later years. To make it more interesting, vary your training with various sports.

If you are a regular exerciser, talk to a trainer about interval training, which intermittently pushes your exercise limit to the maximum. This type of training releases human growth hormone from your pituitary gland. The effect of this is that you increase your stamina and endurance. It also builds up lean muscle mass, decreases body fat content and provides you with more energy.

Exercise for different age groups: in your thirties

Family life and stress at the job can be a reason that you forget about exercise. But right now there is a particular need to maintain a regular exercise program. You may want to get up early, work out at a gym and go to work from there.

Some employers encourage those who work at a desk to get up every 30 minutes and have a brief exercise break for only 2 or 3 minutes. There are computer programs that show you what to do and all you have to do is copy what you see on the screen. Keep good posture while you sit. When you need a rest room break, you may decide to use the rest room downstairs. This gets you to climb some stairs and use the muscles that were resting when sitting at the desk.

As already outlined for those in the twenties, high-intensity interval training is a tool where you can exercise for only 20 minutes intensely. You do a burst of maximum exercise that brings you up to 80% of your maximum heart rate. This can be done cycling or sprinting and is alternated with low intensity exercise.

Women should do Kegel exercises (pelvic contractions) following labor to prevent incontinence.

Change exercises around to keep them interesting.

Exercise for different age groups: in your forties

This is the time when a lot of people put on extra weight. Resistance training is a way to counteract this by burning fat and preventing the loss of 3-8% of muscle mass per decade. As this link shows, 10 weeks of resistance training increases muscle mass by 3 pounds (1.4kg), increases the resting metabolic rate by 7% and decreases fat by 4 pounds (1.8kg). Exercise machines in gyms or Pilates equipment in Pilates centers will give you this type of training.

Exercise for different age groups: in your fifties

Many people develop joint aches when they are fifty and older. Also, chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and others are starting to get more frequent. In postmenopausal women, where estrogen is on the decline, heart disease is getting more common. Bioidentical hormone replacement can reverse these problems. Strength training twice a week will counter muscle loss that you would get otherwise without any regular exercises. Do weight-bearing exercises like a fast walk where you breathe a bit faster and where you break out into a sweat. This will make your bones and muscles stronger and prevent osteoporosis. Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates are all exercises suitable for this age group.

Exercise for different age groups: in your sixties

This age group is characterized by the fact that multimorbidity is getting more prevalent. People often have mental and physical illnesses. Or they have diabetes and heart disease. They often are on multiple drugs for various conditions. Aging is also a strong risk factor for developing many cancers. But regular exercise can prevent many cancers. For instance post-menopausal breast cancer, colon cancer and cancer of the womb are cancers that can be prevented to a certain extent with regular exercise. Heart disease and type 2 diabetes will also largely improve with regular exercise.

Physical exercise tends to decline in this age group for various reasons. Some reasons are obesity, various diseases that make individuals more sessile and general disability. It is important to resist this trend as much as possible. Take ballroom dance lessons and join the dancing community. Any other dance type (Latin, Bachata, Salsa, Kizomba, Argentine dancing etc.) is good exercise and enjoyable as well. It is a fun way to socialize and exercise at the same time. Aqua-aerobics is a great way to keep your joints and muscles in good shape. People with arthritis will tolerate this. Use brisk walking to maintain your cardiovascular fitness. Do strength and flexibility exercises twice per week to maintain your muscle mass and your balance.

Exercise for different age groups: in your seventies and beyond

Frailty and falls are common in the 70’s and 80’s. Many fractures are happening needlessly. Keep exercising regularly and your muscles will be strong enough to prevent falls. Walk and talk with friends instead of sitting around a table. It is good for your friends to walk as well. If you have several chronic conditions, talk to a physiotherapist or exercise professional what type of exercises you should do. You need some strength, balance and cardiovascular exercises. Enlist the help of a trainer. Sustained exercise is what benefits you most. Think of brisk walks, swimming and aqua-exercises.

Exercise For Different Age Groups

Conclusion

We are born to stay active. Movement is life. As long as we live, we need to do regular exercise. This way a lot of chronic diseases will be prevented and even many cancers as well. I have summarized that for different age groups there are different activities that are appropriate. But the key in all age groups is to move and keep your lean muscle mass from shrinking. As explained, this will automatically make you also lose a few pounds. Strength exercises (also called resistance exercises) are the key to achieving this. When you get older, you are not exempt from exercising. Now even more than before your well being depends on exercising regularly. You want to prevent osteoporosis, falls and fractures. You want to avoid chronic diseases, heart disease and diabetes, and exercise is one valuable key to achieve this.

Feb

2019

New Thought Model On Cancer Cure

By Ray Schilling | Cancer

Israeli scientists believe they found a new thought model on cancer cure. The heading in the Israeli Post boldly declares ”A cure for cancer? Israeli scientists say they think they found one”. The subheading is even bolder: ”We believe we will offer in a year’s time a complete cure for cancer.”

When you read on, you learn that the company has done some basic research on cancer treatments. The name of the company is “Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies Ltd.” and the foundation of the company goes back to 2000. In 2019 the heading promises that they have found the cancer cure. But in the text it says they hope that within one year they will find the cure. All these statements don’t quite add up and this dampens your hope for a cancer cure somewhat.

Previous attempts that failed providing the cancer cure

Dr. Ilan Morad, the CEO of the company said that traditional cancer chemotherapy has its limits, because it attempts to inhibit a target on the cancer cell surface or inside the cancer cell. But the cancer cell fights back and the cancer becomes resistant to the treatment.

New approach

Dr. Ilan Morad and his colleague, Dr. Hanan Itzhaki wanted to approach this problem differently. Essentially, the researchers stated that it is better to attack multiple targets on the cancer cell, which they call MuTaTo approach (multi-target toxin). Morad stated: “The probability of having multiple mutations that would modify all targeted receptors simultaneously decreases dramatically with the number of targets used,” Morad continued. “Instead of attacking receptors one at a time, we attack receptors three at a time – not even cancer can mutate three receptors at the same time.” The cancer cell attempts to activate detoxification steps to inactivate the toxin. But when the toxin is powerful enough, it will eliminate the cancer cells.

MuTaTo technology similar to triple therapy in AIDS

Morad explained that the MuTaTo technology would be similar to the triple therapy in AIDS. For AIDS patients this has been the break through. The patient takes a protease inhibitor in combination with two other drugs called reverse transcriptase inhibitors. In the past patients took these drugs one by one, but each became resistant to the treatment. Now the drugs overwhelm the infected AIDS cells, but the normal cells do not get damaged. The MuTaTo technology works similarly against cancer cells. With this technology there is a connection between 12 amino acids in sequence and the main molecule. This is akin an octopus attacking a cancer cell. The peptides are not long enough for the immune cells to attack them, but powerful enough to be toxic to cancer cells.

Phage technology for cancer attack

Most mutations of cancer cells come from mutated cancer stem cells. This means that the anti-cancer peptides of the MuTaTo technology will also kill the cancer stem cells. This technology employs phages, which are viruses that attack bacteria. However, the researchers modified the phages with anti-cancer peptide attachments. The research team completed mouse experiments where they transplanted human tumors into mice. The modified phages eradicated the tumors without attacking the normal cells of the mice. Next they want to do clinical trials on humans, which according to Dan Aridor “could be completed in a few years”. Dan Aridor said:
“Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” Aridor said. “Our solution will be both generic and personal.” Aridor added: “Our results are consistent and repeatable.”

Future likely development

Cancer treatments take time to be tested and to be refined. Typically there are 4 phases in clinical trials.

There is a small trial on humans to test the toxicity of a new anti-cancer drug (Phase 1 trial)

Then there is a larger trial on humans where the questions are: which cancer types are responding to the treatment modality, what is the proper dosage, what are side effects and how to deal with them? (Phase 2 trial)

Another trial compares the new treatment with the standard treatment up to this time (Phase 3 trial)

Researcher do the the last clinical trial when the treatment has a licence. More about effects and side effects are investigated. What are the long-term risks and benefits? This is called Phase 4 trial. It is clear from the above that there is still a long pathway from the initial description of the MuTaTo technology to the final product that works in cancer patients. We are at least 5 to 10 years away from a possible success. If there are toxicity problems, the technology would have to be reexamined in the lab, then again reviewed in clinical trials.

New Thought Model On Cancer Cure

Conclusion

Israeli scientists have detected a new potential cancer therapy. It involves bacteriophage technology and a multi target toxin approach in fighting cancer. In essence small peptides are aiming at various cancer cell targets at the same time. Researchers have been testing the technology on mice. Next laborious multiphase clinical trials will have to begin, before it can be declared a safe anti-cancer therapy.

First published here: https://www.quora.com/What-are-opinions-of-Israels-announcement-to-have-discovered-the-cure-for-cancer/answer/Ray-Schilling

Jan

2019

Death By Fried Chicken

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, food, heart attack, Stroke

A new study has shown that when you eat one piece of fried chicken per day, you risk “death by fried chicken”.

Details of a postmenopausal women study

This was a study by the same group that published the Women’s Health Initiative. Participants were asked whether they would take part in a dietary prospective study published in the British Medical Journal January 2019.

93,676 women were part of the study, and researchers observed them for an average of 17.9 years. There were 9,320 deaths from cardiovascular disease, 8,358 deaths from cancer, and 13,880 deaths from other causes.

Here are the results for all cause mortality

Total fried food consumption: 1% risk for less than 1 serving per week

3% risk for 2 to 3 servings per week

3% risk for 3 to 6 servings per week

8% risk for eating at least 1 serving per day

Fried chicken consumption: 6% risk for less than 2 servings per month

12% risk for 2 to 3 servings per month

13% risk for at least 1 serving per week

Fried fish/shellfish consumption: 7% risk for at least 1 serving per week

Risk factors for cardiovascular mortality

The following are the risk factors for cardiovascular mortality of the consumer of fried chicken or fish.

8% risk for less than 2 servings per month

17% risk for 2 to 3 servings per month

12% risk for at least 1 serving per week

Fried fish/shell fish consumption.: 13% risk for at least 1 serving per week

Cancer mortality from fried foods was not that clear. Here are two interesting statistics.

Cancer mortality for fried fish consumption

-8% risk for less than 3 servings per month.

Other fried food consumption:

+9% risk for less than 2 servings per month.

Discussion of the results

This has been an extensive prospective study involving a large amount of postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative. In addition the observation time was very long, namely an average of 17.9 years. These properties give the study an unusually strong statistical significance. The following features are noteworthy.

Comparing fried chicken with fried fish/shell fish

Fried chicken, prepared in the US in 40 different states has a risk of 17% to cause a heart attack or a stroke for persons that consume two or three servings per month.

Fried fish/shell fish only has a risk of 13% when eaten once per week of causing a heart attack or stroke.

Comparison between this study and a Spanish study

The authors discussed that their findings are different from a Spanish study that found no increased cardiovascular risk of deep fried chicken. They pointed out that in Spain the oil used for deep-frying is usually olive oil while in the US it is mostly corn oil. Frying causes the process of oxidation and hydrogenation, which leads to a loss of unsaturated fatty acids. Linoleic acid experiences a reduction and a corresponding trans fatty acid formation. The end result is that the concentration of trans linoleic acid increases. This may be an important factor increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes in the US where the use of corn oil is common for deep-frying, but not in Spain where chefs use olive oil instead. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fatty acid and stable with cooking.

Comparison between fried fish consumption and other fried food

There was a less than average cancer risk (-8%) when fried fish consumption was compared to other fried food consumption. With other fried food consumption a +9% risk for cancer mortality was found. This is a spread of 17%. Frying fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids may neutralize the cancer causing effect from frying other foods. Omega-3 fatty acids are natural anti-oxidants. This may be the reason why fried fish/shell fish did not cause excessive cancer deaths.

Other considerations

The authors did not delve into the quality of the chicken meat in the US fast food industry. It is known that chicken farmers use an arsenic compound (“3-nitro”) for faster growth and prevention of infections among crowded living conditions of the birds. 3-nitro is a carcinogen, which contributes to cancer toxicity in humans as non-organic chicken meat contains it.

It likely would be wiser to buy organic chicken and pan-fry it in olive oil. Alternatively you may want to BBQ chicken at a low temperature.

Death By Fried Chicken

Conclusion

Buying deep fried chicken from a fast food outlet is a favorite for many Americans. This study shows clearly that it is deep fried chicken that causes the highest heart attack and stroke mortalities in the US. But “death by fried chicken” does not have to be. The problem may be that the kitchen used the wrong fats to prepare deep fried chicken. In a similar study in Spain there was no increase in cardiovascular risk when cooks used olive oil for deep-frying chicken.

Alternative to buying fast food

The small extra step of buying organic chicken and preparing it at home in a frying pen with olive oil will pay big health dividends. Similarly, fish and shellfish prepared in olive oil at home will also not have any risks for you. A lot of people rave about the convenience of buying deep fried food and in this case deep fried chicken. This article, however, shows that it is time that we take at least some control back in our own hands to prepare healthy food for our families and ourselves. It is a poor trade to choose convenience over health!

Dec

2018

Can Longevity Research Make Us Age Slower?

By Ray Schilling | Anti-aging medicine, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, exercise, heart attack, lifestyle, Vitamins and supplements

Longevity research has done a lot of experiments, but can longevity research make us age slower?

This year an 800-page summary was published of all the longevity research that has been going on. A review of this research is in this abbreviated article. In the following I like to address some of the problems of anti-aging or longevity research.

Telomere lengthening

We know that people with longer telomeres live longer than people with short telomeres. When telomeres are longer, the cells can continue to divide and function normally. When telomeres shorten there comes a point when no more cell division is possible. At this point the cell will normally be dissolved. When it persists, there is the danger that it undergoes a malignant transformation. This can cause premature deaths. On the other hand, if enough shortened telomeres accumulate in various organs, organ failure ensues. This will also result in premature deaths.

Research in humans has shown that increased physical activity elongate telomeres. So do vitamin C, E, vitamin D3 supplementation and resveratrol. A Mediterranean diet and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation elongate telomeres as well. In addition higher fiber intake, bioidentical estrogen in women and testosterone replacement in men can be effective in elongating telomeres. Finally, relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation are also elongating telomeres.

Antioxidants

Many processes lead to free radicals. Free radicals are unstable atoms that may damage cells and can cause illness and premature aging. Inflammation, the metabolism of our mitochondria, radiation exposure, industrial solvents and ozone are just some examples of what can cause free radicals in our system. If we have enough antioxidants on board, there is a balance between free radicals and antioxidants. No damage would occur then. In humans the two major antioxidants present are vitamin C and glutathione. Vitamin C comes from our food. Glutathione is produced by the liver and circulates in the blood. These two antioxidants are keeping free radicals in balance.

Anti-inflammatories

This Harvard site explains that even food can cause inflammation in us. For instance sugar, French fries, red meat and margarine cause free radicals. Anti-inflammatory foods are tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, olive oil, nuts, fatty fish, berries and fruit. A Mediterranean diet has anti-inflammatory qualities. There are 6 anti-inflammatory supplements that are useful to know about: ginger, fish oil, alpha-lipoic acid, curcumin, resveratrol and spirulina. In addition to the above, vitamin D3 also has anti-inflammatory effects in higher doses.

Chronic inflammation can cause cancer down the road, so it is important to prevent this by eating sufficient amounts of anti-inflammatory foods and supplements.

Genetic repairs

Spontaneous mutations of DNA, mutations of suppressor genes, oncogene activation and insufficient DNA damage response can all lead to cancer. In the past there was the hope of using chemotherapy and radiation therapy as a means to influence the outcome of cancer treatment. A reinvestigation of this concept is ongoing.

More specific treatment modalities are under investigation. When more cancer can be prevented and when it is possible to cure more cancers longevity in the population will increase. Cancer has been one of the major killers over the years.

Metformin research

Metformin has been in use for decades to prevent and treat diabetes. But beyond this it also has anti-cancer activity, it prevents Alzheimer’s, prevents cardiovascular disease and may be the first anti-aging drug. A trial to this effect is ongoing.

It makes sense that a drug that treats and prevents diabetes would be a longevity drug at the same time. The fact that it also helps to prevent cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease also makes sense. Anytime you remove a chronic disease, life expectancy improves. As a result metformin will likely receive approval as a longevity drug soon.

Mitochondrial repair

The mitochondria are small organelles in each cell. The purpose of this structure is to provide energy. In normal cells there are hundred of these organelles in each cell. In heart muscle cells, brain cells and liver cells there are thousands of mitochondria in each cell to provide energy. Muscles, nerve cells and liver cells require more energy to function properly.

Two supplements have been in use for some time to support mitochondria function.

Co-Q10. This supplement supports mitochondrial function. It prevents heart disease, together with vit. K2 and vitamin D3 and it keeps blood vessels open.
Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ). This supplement can increase the number of mitochondria in a cell. It can also improve their functioning. With aging we know that we are slowly losing mitochondria. It is important to know that there is a supplement that can counter the aging effect and prevent further mitochondrial loss.

Can Longevity Research Make Us Age Slower?

Conclusion

For centuries people were hoping to live longer. Nowadays this dream seems to become a reality. But it does not happen with one magic pill. The aging process involves multiple targets that need attention. The telomere length is one factor. I listed a number of items that will elongate telomeres, like regular exercise and a Mediterranean diet. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatories are prolonging life as well. You want to preserve the function of your genes. Research is concentrating on improving gene repair.

Metformin has been found to prolong life. This molecule might be the first longevity drug. It has been in use to prevent and treat diabetes, but it also helps to prevent cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Two supplements help with mitochondrial repair, namely Co-Q10 and PQQ. Because life is all about energy, it is important to have well functioning mitochondria in all of your cells. When mitochondria are functioning, your body functions at its best, and you feel well.

Dec

2018

Not Exercising Is More Risky For You Than Smoking

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, exercise, Fitness, heart attack, Mortality, Nutrition, Prevention, Smoking, Stroke

A new study showed that not exercising is more risky for you than smoking. We all know that smoking puts you at risk to get a heart attack or a stroke. It can also cause lung cancer and other cancers. So, hearing that not exercising is even more risky than smoking comes as a shocker.

The study

Dr. Wael Jaber, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic was the senior cardiologist of this study. It was based on 122,007 patients who underwent tests using an exercise treadmill test at the Cleveland Clinic. This took place between the beginning of January 1991 and the end of December 2014. The end point in the study was all-cause mortality. The question in the study was whether exercise and fitness were lowering the risk of mortality. The result showed that 12% of the study group had the lowest exercise rate. This sedentary group had a mortality rate that was 500% higher than the top exercise performers. Compared to someone who exercises regularly the sedate group that hardly exercises still had a 390% higher death rate.

No ceiling of the benefit of exercise

What was astounding to the researchers was the fact that there was no ceiling of the benefit of exercise. The ultra fit group still had a super low mortality rate, lower than the next higher fitness group. Age did not matter either. Whether you were 40 or 80, the more you exercised, the lower your mortality rate was.

Comments about the study

Jaber said: “Being unfit on a treadmill or in an exercise stress test has a worse prognosis than being hypertensive, being diabetic or being a current smoker. We’ve never seen something as pronounced as this and as objective as this.” He went on to say: “If you compare the risk of sitting versus the highest performing on the exercise test, the risk is about three times higher than smoking.”

A sports medicine physician, Dr.Jordan Metzl who was not part of the study, said: “Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the most expensive diseases in the United States. We spend more than $200 billion per year treating these diseases and their complications. Rather than pay huge sums for disease treatment, we should be encouraging our patients and communities to be active and exercise daily.”

Other studies showing that not exercising is associated with a high mortality rate

The STABILITY trial

This trial was based on 15,486 patients with heart disease and found that even 10 minutes of exercise per day reduced mortality. They compared the death rate of people engaging in 10 minutes of a brisk walk with a group who did not exercise at all. The brisk walkers had a 33% lower death rate than the group who was entirely sedentary.

A lack of exercise causes a lot of chronic diseases

This review article mentions that a number of chronic diseases were related to sedentary lifestyle. Major diseases like heart attacks, strokes, arthritis, depression and anxiety and others were clearly much more common in people who were more sedentary than those who were exercising regularly.

Poor lifestyle in general causes diseases

Lifestyle, in particular regular exercises, a healthy diet and NOT smoking has a profound positive effect on our health. In one study researchers showed that 79% of major diseases including heart attacks and strokes could be prevented with a healthy lifestyle. I reviewed this in this blog.

High blood pressure reduced by regular exercise

This 2017 study from Brazil has examined the effects of regular exercise on high blood pressure patients. They came to the conclusion that regular exercise can be as powerful as blood pressure lowering medication. Both bring down systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Even complications of previously untreated high blood pressure will be reversed with regular exercise while medication will not have this positive effect. Controlling high blood pressure with regular exercise will prevent diseases like heart attacks and strokes and the associated mortality.

Regular exercise and diet change to prevent type 2 diabetes

In this 2015 study the researchers noted that a combination of adopting a healthy diet and regular exercise could lead to weight loss. This was shown to prevent type 2 diabetes. The authors question why such a lifestyle change was not more widely taught to people to prevent cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Not Exercising Is More Risky For You Than Smoking

Conclusion

The medical profession knows for a long time that regular exercise is good for your health. But there always was a concern that perhaps too much exercise may be hazardous. A 2018 study from the Cleveland Clinic followed 122,007 patients for 14 years. All patients underwent an exercise treadmill test as a baseline. The end point was mortality during the 14 years of follow-up. The results made clear that there was no upper limit of exercise. Patients who were exercising the most still had a lower mortality than those who exercised less.

Sessile patients

But perhaps the most impressive result was that sessile patients who did hardly any or no exercise had the highest mortality. Their mortality was higher than that of smokers who exercised a little bit. If you want to avoid getting a heart attack, a stroke, diabetes or many types of cancer, exercise regularly, don’t smoke and eat a Mediterranean type diet. Regular exercise can reduce cardiovascular disease by 79%. And since the Cleveland study we know that more exercise is even better as the top athletes had the lowest mortality.

Nov

2018

Gut Bacteria Crucial To Healthy Aging

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Anti-aging medicine, Cancer, lifestyle, Mortality, Parkinson’s disease

New research presented at the London Microbiome Meeting asked the question “are gut bacteria crucial to healthy aging?” Marina Ezcurra, is a Ph.D. is a researcher working at the Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom. She uses a nematode (round worm) model to investigate various aspects of aging. Nematodes like C. elegans provide a useful model not only for genetic work, but also for the human gut flora as well. Moreover, it allows making observations about the connection between bacterial genes and aging. Coupled with the fact that the worm has such a short lifespan, the researchers can test bacterial genes, the aging of the worm and get meaningful results in short order.

It seems like one of the research objectives was changing the nematode’s gut flora and observing life expectancy and age-related diseases.

Pathological versus healthy gut bacteria composition

Dr. Ezcurra did a couple of experiments with the nematode C. elegans as a model. She could show that the worm’s gut bacteria composition mattered. First of all, if there was a pathological composition of the gut flora, the worm did not turn as old and there were various age-related diseases that developed. Secondly, they were very comparable to human age-related degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Another senior author researched how genes of gut bacteria influence life expectancy

Meet Dr. Meng Wang, associate professor of molecular and human genetics, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. He did extensive genetic research on C. elegans. He used this model, because C. elegance lives only 2 to 3 weeks. This animal model is easy to manipulate. For instance, he studied the gut bacteria composition. This link explains that he tested about 4000 E.coli bacteria with various gene defects. 29 E.coli strains when deleted, increased the worms’ lifespan.12 bacterial mutants among those prevented cancer and amyloid-beta, found in Alzheimer’s disease. Some mutant bacteria caused longevity by acting on processes linked to aging.

Colanic acid is an important anti-aging factor in C.elegans

Dr. Wang joined Dr. Christophe Herman, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor, for further research. It turned out that one of the keys to longevity of the nematodes were the mutant bacteria in the gut over-producing the polysaccharide colanic acid. This allowed the nematodes to live much longer. The researchers could show further that fission and fusion processes with regard to mitochondria are important. Mitochondria are the energy packages in cells and these processes are regulated by the presence of colanic acid. As a result, if your gut has good bacteria you can grow old and escape Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Dr. Meng Wang said: “Of the nearly 4,000 bacterial genes we tested, 29, when deleted, increased the worms’ lifespan. Twelve of these bacterial mutants also protected the worms from tumor growth and accumulation of amyloid-beta, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease in humans.”

Creating longevity with metformin, a diabetic drug

Physicians have known for some time that metformin stimulates longevity genes. This is the reason why diabetics on metformin live longer than diabetics on insulin. Dr. Ezcurra mentioned on 24 October, 2018 in her talk at the London microbiome Meeting that she had done experiments with C. elegans and metformin. Metformin reduces the risk of cancer and increases longevity in C. elegans as well as in mice (other experiments). Currently there is a clinical trial going on that investigates anti-aging under the influence of metformin in older people.

Effects of metformin on anti-aging

Metformin has the potential to target diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s pathologies all at once.

The anti-aging effect in humans with metformin involves the gut bacteria. Dr. Ezcurra says that this is the reason why diabetics on metformin live longer than diabetics on insulin. Metformin influences the folate bacterial metabolism of the gut flora. Other research has shown that the Akkermansia bacteria in the gut, which are good, desirable bacteria, will increase from 3-5% to 12.44% of the gut flora under the influence of metformin. Here is the discussion in detail in the following link.

Effect of gut bacteria on psychiatric diseases, obesity and diabetes

Dr. Ezcurra said that there are many studies showing that dysbiosis of the gut can lead to psychiatric diseases, Parkinson’s disease, obesity and diabetes etc.

We need to know more about whether a healthy gut flora will let us age without causing age-related diseases. Dr. Ezcurra stated: “By better understanding the links between nutrition, microbiome, and health, we can understand how the elderly can maintain their microbiome, and also help them directly by using pre- and probiotic strategies. This would help us age in a better way, maintaining health and quality of life in old age without drugs or surgery.”

Gut Bacteria Crucial To Healthy Aging

Conclusion

The composition of the gut microbiome appears to determine whether we age gracefully or not and whether we get sick as we age or not. Everything depends on the diversity of the gut flora. There are bacteria in the gut that are good for us and also bacteria that are bad for us. Metformin has been shown to stimulate the good gut bacteria to multiply. Dr. Ezcurra is continuing her research into this. She clearly stated that it should be possible for us to age in a better way and maintain health and quality of life in old age without drugs or surgery.

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Nov

2018

Intermittent Fasting May Benefit Health

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diet, food, heart attack, stem cells, telomeres, Weight loss

There is a lot of discussion about the fact that intermittent fasting may benefit health. But there are a confusing variety of intermittent fasting schedules. This makes it difficult to compare notes regarding the specific effect of an intermittent fasting diet. Generally speaking when there is some form of calorie restriction, our body goes into a survival mode of operating. These types of diets provide enough nutrients to not get into malnutrition, but at the same time they may stimulate sirtuins, particularly SIR2. This is thought to be associated with longevity.

Various forms of fasting

Eating after 5 PM

The Taylors in the CNN article eat the same amount of calories, but they only eat after 5PM. They claim to have more energy and be less vulnerable to infections. They also think that they feel younger than in the past.

Fasting every other day

This was an observation in the 1980’s to help rats live longer compared to rats that have food available every day. Recent experiments on mice showed similar results: calorie restriction in whatever form leads to prolonged life and health.

Human fasting mimicking diet

A 2017 study on 100 humans divided this group into half. One half ate any food as they wished. The other half consumed only 800 to 1100 calories for 5 days of each month as a fasting mimicking diet. The experimental group had lower fasting blood sugars; cholesterol, triglycerides and other heart disease markers went down. The IGF-1 markers for various cancers also went down. The experimental group lost abdominal fat, but preserved lean body mass. Valter Longo, who co-authored the clinical study said that a human trial on longevity would almost be impossible to design, and would cost “a hundred million dollars or more. But if you look at the data from our trial … it would be hard to see how they would not live longer.”

5:2 diet

Patients are allowed to eat what they want for 5 days of the week, but then they restrict their diet for 2 consecutive days. The control group had no restriction of calories. The 5:2 experimental group had better glucose control and loss of abdominal fat than the control group.

Fasting can help you live-longer

Experts on calorie-restricted diets tell us that there is a switch in metabolism from burning glucose as fuel to using ketones as fuel. Extended periods of exercise will also cause a switch to using ketones as fuel. Repeated cycling from fasting to eating may also benefit our brain function. Intermittent fasting will help us cope better with stress and disease. But Dr. Longo says that this is only one aspect. He found in his research that with intermittent calorie restriction there is a multi-system regeneration going on. For instance, damaged white blood cells are depleted, stem cells are activated, blood sugar control is improved and heart risk factors are being controlled. Dr. Longo mentioned that when tissues are healthy and functional, risk factors for disease decrease.

Mechanisms behind longevity

Dr. Longo explained in detail the complex aging pathways that involve three components, IGF-1, mTOR and PKA. When lifestyle choices stimulate these genetic markers, accelerated aging is the consequence. But with the inhibition of those markers longevity will happen. Here are some of the effects on the body of a fasting mimicking diet.

Obesity diminishes, because of the weight loss effect due to missing calories.
Diabetes: insulin resistance becomes lower and blood sugar levels drop.
High blood pressure reduced: many patients were able to reduce their medications or discontinue them
Pain conditions improve as all kinds of pain disappears, an effect for which there is no explanation at this point
Autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis improve, likely because of the effect of increased stem cell circulation
Prevention of heart attacks and strokes because of reduction of LDL, triglycerides and CRP
Cancer cure rates improve by protecting normal cells and the bone marrow
Longevity improved in mice with a 3-fold increase of their life span. Telomere length in humans was increased. Increased stem cells will find defective areas that need repair. This effect will open up a new chapter in medicine.

Intermittent Fasting May Benefit Health

Conclusion

Calorie restriction is a powerful method to rejuvenate the body. Surprisingly 5 days out of one month of a calorie restricted fasting mimicking diet is all that is necessary to improve the body’s metabolism. Telomeres get increased, damaged white blood cells are removed and stem cells get stimulated. But weight loss, improvement of pain perception and cardiovascular risk reduction take place as well. In mice longevity was significantly prolonged, but this needs to still be shown in humans.

One can think of an intermittent fasting mimicking diet as a kind of internal cleansing. Following this it is easier to restart the metabolism with clean ingredients.

So far I have followed 11 courses of the fasting mimicking diet. But I don’t buy boxes of 300.00 USD every month. Instead I count calories myself, keep the diet balanced and buy the ingredients in the health food store. I agree that the fasting mimicking diet seems to be effective and it helps to keep my body mass index under control.

Nov

2018

Consumption Of Organic Food Reduces Cancer Risk

By Ray Schilling | breast cancer, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, exercise, food, Inflammation, Nutrition, organic food

There are fewer carcinogens in organic food, which is likely why consumption of organic food reduces cancer risk. In an extensive study from France a large number of patients received questionnaires about their organic food intake.

The study was also reviewed by CNN using more popular language to describe the findings.

The French study showing that consumption of organic food reduces cancer risk

68,946 French adults were recruited for the study. More than ¾ of the study population were women in their mid 40’s. Researchers divided these subjects into 4 groups depending on how many of 16 organic food groups they were consuming.

First of all, the type of foods included fruit and vegetables, ready-to-eat meals, meat and fish, vegetable oils and condiments, dietary supplements and other products. Also, the investigators followed this population for an average of 4 ½ years. Finally, during that time 1,340 cancers developed. 459 breast cancers occurred, 180 prostate cancers, 135 skin cancers, 99 colorectal cancers and 47 non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Most noteworthy, those who ate the most organic food developed 25% less cancer on average. When it came to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, organic food consumers developed 73% less of it than people on regular food. Postmenopausal breast cancer was 21% less frequent among those who had the highest use of organic food.

There are a number of factors regarding non-organic food that should make us pause to think.

Antibiotic use in agriculture

Milk and milk products are not as innocent as in the past when no marketing boards were around. Animals are no longer freely roaming on green pastures, but they exist in high-density facilities and they need antibiotics to prevent infectious illnesses. So the story goes. In reality farmers have found out that antibiotics and bovine growth hormone will both increase milk production. The manufacturers apply the profit principle and the result is that the consumers of milk and milk products have a change of their bowel flora from the antibiotic residues, which can cause heart attacks. The bovine growth hormone from milk and milk products causes breast cancer and prostate cancer. If you buy organic milk and milk products, you will not consume bovine growth hormone or antibiotic residues.

Immune disruptors

We know for several decades that insecticides used in agriculture on a large scale are accumulating in the body of the consumer and act as immune disruptors. The farmer feels he has to defend his crop against insects and sprays with various insecticides. Among the fruit with heavy spray residues are strawberries and apples.

Heavy metals

A study of the Consumer Reports’ from August 2018 examined baby foods. High levels of heavy metals like mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium were detected in baby foods. Exposure to even low levels of heavy metals can lower a child’s IQ by 5 points. Heavy metals have shown an association to behavior problems, to autism and to causing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A study from New Zealand looked at how people who were exposed 4 decades earlier to heavy metals were doing when having an average age of 38 years. 565 New Zealanders showed measurements of high levels of heavy metals as children. Their IQ’s were lower than the average for their age and their socioeconomic status was below that of their parents.

Arsenic levels also high in organic food

It seems like heavy metals were high in both non-organic and organic baby food samples. Arsenic rice comes from inadvertent, but deliberate human poisoning. The Consumers Report explains that high arsenic values showed up in rice grown in these states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas. These are the same states, where cotton plantation covered the countryside in the past. The U.S. has been the world’s leading user of arsenic. Since 1910 farmers used about 1.6 million tons for agricultural purposes. Since the mid-1960’s they used only half of this amount. Although there was a ban of arsenic use as an insecticide in the 1980’s, residues from the decades of previous arsenic use still linger on in agricultural soil today. If organic rice is grown in these 4 contaminated states, it is not unexpected that even organic rice would contain high levels of arsenic.

Rice grown in previous cotton plantation areas contaminated by arsenic

The south-central region of the US was an area where cotton was the mainstay of agriculture for a long time. This is a crop where heavy treatment with arsenical pesticides was in use for decades in an attempt to combat the boll weevil beetle.

Rice was particularly high in arsenic, both in baby food as well as in adult food. Basmati rice from California, India, and Pakistan had on average half the amount of arsenic. Sushi rice from the U.S. was also low in arsenic.

Arsenic in chicken

A subsidiary of Pfizer produced the arsenic-containing drug, Roxarsone. This is an organic arsenic compound that accumulates in the liver of chickens. A synonym for Roxarsone is “3-nitro”. The full chemical name is 3-Nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid.

When you read the fine print of the FDA website, it reveals that originally it allowed 3-Nitro® to be marketed in 1944 based on negative toxicity studies on rodents. The drug was approved again in 2009 for combination use with other drugs for suppression of coccidiosis, a cause of diarrhea in chickens. As 3-nitro is an organic arsenic compound. Researchers in the past believed that it would be non-toxic. So, the assumption was that it was safe to allow this feed supplement for chickens. It turns out that with more sensitive newer testing methods scientists from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) examiners found that organic arsenic compound metabolize in the chicken into cancer-causing inorganic arsenic compounds.

Chicken farmers use arsenic compounds to stimulate growth and to prevent the transmission of infectious diarrhea. If you don’t want to be a victim of the industry, I suggest you switch to organic chicken. It will be arsenic-free.

The “dirty dozen”

Originally the most polluted fruit and vegetables were termed the “dirty dozen”, but now the list is longer and includes 15 of the most polluted crop. They are: apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas (imported), potatoes, hot peppers, kale, and collards.

It is common knowledge for some time that certain foods contain more pesticide residues than others. Some of these fruit and vegetables contain between 13 and 15 different pesticides from spraying. Potatoes rank on top of all of the crops with high contamination.

Why is it important to know which crop has high pesticide contamination? Pesticides are immune disruptors. On the one hand vegetables are healthy for us, on the other hand they contain residues from insecticides and herbicides that have estrogen-like activities called xenoestrogens. They are are causing breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. If you replace all of these highly contaminated fruit and vegetables with organic ones, you will have reduced your cancer risk by 25%!

GMO foods and Roundup

It is interesting that there is no law in the US and in Canada that GMO foods should have a label declaring that it is genetically modified. This is changing rapidly as people realize that in many countries of Europe all GMO foods require labeling. Here is a publication that shows that the GMO labeling campaign is gaining momentum.

Genetically modified corn and soy contains the Bt toxin; it has been found in babies as mentioned in this article. Bt toxin damages the small bowel (the ileum) through Cry1Ab (the protein produced in genetically modified corn and soy). This in turn disables the absorption of vitamin B12. We know that this in turn will cause anemia. Historically the cause of pernicious anemia was due to a lack of vitamin B12 absorption.

Effects of Roundup

In a publication dated April 2013 Drs. Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff discuss the effects of Roundup. They noticed that glyphosate inhibits the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the liver. This is a crucial detoxification enzyme complex. When toxicity studies of glyphosate in mammals emerged, this was not common knowledge. The CYP enzymes in the liver are important to metabolize and eliminate estrogens and also help to detoxify xenobiotics, which are estrogen-like substances (residues from insecticides). Thus glyphosate (=”Roundup”) amplifies the damaging effect of environmental toxins and chemical residues from non-organic food that we eat. Researchers have shown a build-up of estrogens and xenoestrogens that are responsible for the development of many cancers (atypical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer etc.). Based on this data it makes sense to switch to as much organic food as you can afford. At least stay away from the “dirty dozen”!

Changing over to organic food, as consumption of organic food reduces cancer risk

If you want to avoid Roundup, xenoestrogens and GMO foods, you need to switch from regular foods to mostly organic foods. Throw out all the foods in your fridge that are not organic and that contain MSG in it’s many disguises. MSG is an excitotoxin, which kills brain cells. These suggestions are also what Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton is recommending.

Organic foods do not contain any of the problematic GM foods. They are free of rBGH, xenoestrogens, residual herbicides or residual insecticides. Switch to either organic milk and milk products or goat milk and goat milk products. Another choice would be “milk” products based on pea protein, but not on soy protein. As fatty tissue releases some toxins, it is advisable to use psyllium seed husks as a fibre source supplement to bind the toxins in the gut for elimination.

Consumption Of Organic Food Reduces Cancer Risk

Conclusion

A French study involved 68,946 French adults; the researchers observed them for an average of 4 ½ years. They were divided into 4 groups depending on how many of 16 organic food groups they were consuming. During that time 1,340 cancers developed. 459 breast cancers occurred, 180 prostate cancers, 135 skin cancers, 99 colorectal cancers and 47 non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Consequently, the researchers found that those who were eating the most organic foods developed 25% less cancer on average.

When it came to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, organic food consumers developed 73% less of it than people on regular food. Postmenopausal breast cancer was 21% less frequent among the highest consuming organic food group.

Switching to organic food

I explained in detail how these cancer statistics come from traces of arsenic in chicken and rice, xenoestrogens from pesticide residues in non-organic vegetables, heavy metals, GMO produce and Roundup. It is time to take food seriously and switch to organic food. I have done this since 2001. Read labels carefully. Manufacturers often use the term “natural” to give a product a virtuous gloss-over. If you find that not all fruit or vegetables are readily available as organic produce, stay away from the “dirty dozen” and make use of the “clean fifteen”. You have a good variety to choose from: sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cabbage, onions, frozen sweet peas, papayas (as long as they are not genetically modified), asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, honeydew, kiwi fruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and grapefruit.

Oct

2018

Four Diseases Cause Most Of The Deaths

By Ray Schilling | Angina, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Fitness, heart attack, Heart Disease, lifestyle, Lung Disease, Mortality, Nutrition, sugar

Four diseases cause most of the deaths around the world: cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. This story is the news right now. 50% of the 193 UN member states that signed a treaty in 2015 are falling short of their promise. They wanted to reduce premature deaths from these diseases by 2030. But this is not happening as this story shows.

I like to review these 4 key diseases and what we can do ourselves about eliminating them. We cannot afford to wait for things to happen on a national level. Rather we need to go to the grass roots of every country and change the risk factors that cause these 4 diseases.

Cancer

First, cancer is a disease of older people, unless strong genetic factors are present. In this case even children can get leukemia, brain tumors and osteogenic sarcoma. In older people DNA mutations and DNA breaks happen more often as we age. On the other hand, if we diagnose cancer in stage 1 or 2 (in the early stages), it is quite often curable.

Oncoblot test, a cancer screening test

Probably one of the less known new criteria is the fact that there is a very sensitive cancer blood test, called the Oncoblot test (released about 4 years ago by the FDA). The latest screening test that came out of the human genome project is called the Oncoblot test. It screens for 25 of the most common cancers. And it is screening for ENOX2 proteins from cancer cells. It is a 1000 USD test in the US that health plans will not cover, but it will screen for more than 25 different common cancers 6 to 8 years before they would otherwise become clinically manifest.

If you discover cancer with this early blood test and you treat it right away, you have a good chance to live a few years longer. You may come down with another cancer down the road, but treat it early again, and you will still have a better life expectancy. Remember: four diseases cause most of the deaths, cancer is one of them!

Cardiovascular disease

Furthermore, people develop cardiovascular disease from poor eating habits and a lack of regular exercise. There are a few percentage points of people with familiar high cholesterol. These people need to see their family doctor for a prescription to lower cholesterol. But the majority of people will do well by changing their diet into a Mediterranean diet; lose weight until their body mass index reaches a value of 21 to 24. With this diet it is important to cut out all refined sugar and starchy foods. Regular exercise in a gym will also prevent hardening of the arteries. Chelation therapy has been shown in this study to help reduce hardening of arteries.

Diabetes patients have accelerated hardening of the arteries

We know from diabetic patients who have accelerated hardening of the arteries how devastating cardiovascular disease can be. Heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, amputations of the lower leg and blindness are just some examples. Even patients who do not have diabetes can get these complications at an older age. The key is to think preventatively, change the diet, exercise regularly and you will lower all those risks. Remember: four diseases cause most of the deaths; cardiovascular diseases belong to that group and are a major player.

Chronic respiratory diseases

There are different reasons why a person may develop chronic respiratory disease. A common disease is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD often has a link to smoking heavily as a younger person. This is where the damage to the lung tissue has started. Exposure to cigarette smoke leads to loss of elastic tissue in the bronchial tubes. The lungs have a difficult time to exhale to get rid of the CO2. The end result is that your breaths are shallow and you can’t get enough oxygen, because the lung is already filled with air.

Asthma and COPD

Another disease is asthma. Nowadays physicians can treat this condition well with a corticosteroid inhaler and salbutamol. Salbutamol dilates the airways by relaxing the muscles of the bronchial tubes. The corticosteroid keeps the lining of the bronchial tubes thin, so that the air can move in and out of the lung.

If asthma is not treated properly there can be permanent damage to the airways and the clinical picture would look similar to COPD.

With end-stage COPD patients the only therapy the physician can offer is continuous oxygen flow treatment. With power failures these machines that supply oxygen will stop working. People need to make provisions to have a back-up generator. Again, we need to remember: four diseases cause most of the deaths. Chronic respiratory diseases belong to them.

Diabetes

Patients with type-2 diabetes (Type 2 DM) are usually older than 30 years of age.

That’s why they are called “mature onset diabetes” or “adult onset diabetes”. For several decades a patient may “incubate” diabetes and have one or more of the diabetes risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol or high triglycerides, but have normal blood sugars.

Physicians have followed patients like this for several decades in the well known Framingham Heart Study and found that a high percentage of them do come down with type-2 diabetes later in life. In the past this time of incubation was termed “pre-diabetes”. Now we call it “syndrome of insulin resistance” or “metabolic syndrome”. Diabetes belongs to the group of diseases that are associated with chronic inflammation in the body.

Causes of type-2 diabetes

Type-2 diabetes often associates with other endocrinological diseases such as Cushing’s syndrome (an adrenal gland hyperactivity) or acromegaly (increased growth hormone production). In these diseases other hormones are tilting the hormone balance by counteracting insulin thus leading to a relative shortfall of insulin, which is another cause for type-2 diabetes. There is confusion among scientists regarding possible genetic reasons for type-2 diabetes. The environment or weight gain may trigger various genetic loci that exist. The syndrome of insulin resistance has shown some connections between hypertension, obesity and type-2 diabetes.

Death in diabetics usually comes from a heart attack, a massive stroke, but it may also come from systemic infections, called sepsis. Dr. Taylor from Newcastle University showed on 30 volunteers that 43% of diabetics could be cured by a diet of 600-700 calories for 8 weeks. The medical literature also knows that regular exercise is beneficial for diabetics. It cannot be overstressed that four diseases cause most of the deaths; diabetes belongs to them and is a major player.

Four Diseases Cause Most Of The Deaths

Conclusion

Four diseases cause most of the deaths. They were the cause of death for several years. They are cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. The secret is to minimize the impact of each of these diseases. You can prevent chronic respiratory diseases by stopping to smoke and treating asthma properly. To treat cancer successfully one needs to diagnose it early and remove it surgically. With cardiovascular disease chelation therapy has shown a difference. Otherwise a regular exercise program and a Mediterranean diet, which has anti-inflammatory qualities, will help. Dr. Taylor from Newcastle University demonstrated that he can treat diabetes with a low calorie diet. Each one of us has a responsibility to do something about our diagnosed condition. We cannot wait for magic cures. We need to do what has known benefits. Hopefully with these short hints will help you to improve your health.