Women who exercise regularly during their younger years are 23 percent less likely to develop breast cancer as adults, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers questioned 65,000 female nurses between the ages of 24 and 42 about their exercise histories back to the age of 12, then followed them for six years. Women who had engaged in at least three hours and 15 minutes of vigorous activity, such as running, each week between the ages of 12 and 22 were 23 percent less likely to develop cancer during the study period than women who had not exercised that much. The same protective benefit seemed to accrue to women who engaged in 13 hours per week of moderate exercise – such as walking – instead. CLICK HERE to read the rest of this story on Natural News.

Keeping a cell phone on talk mode in a pocket can decrease sperm quality, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic.

“We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads,” says lead researcher Ashok Agarwal, the Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine. CLICK HERE to read the rest of this story on CNN.

A simple answer to a painful problem.

Gallstone-related disorders are common and costly, but preventive measures are largely unexplored. Lifestyle risk factors include physical activity, obesity/overweight, and diet. Increasing consumption of magnesium appears to decrease the risk of symptomatic gallstones in men.

Institute for Progressive Medicine offers both Magnesium Citrate capsules and Reacted Cal-Mag, our Albion chelated calcium-magnesium.

Source: Long-term effect of magnesium consumption on the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease among men.

Culinary Herbs and Chronic Disease

Polyphenolic compounds from edible plants are the main source of antioxidants in the human diet. Culinary herbs and spices provide high concentrations of these active compounds which have been shown to decrease non-enzymatic glycation of proteins, which produce advanced glycation end products, a process common to diabetes and Alzhiemer’s disease.

Source: Inhibition of protein glycation by extracts of culinary herbs and spices.

More food for thought on chronic disease, glutamine and arginine

A recent study has demonstrated the importance of glutamine as a precursor in the synthesis of arginine. Among other things, arginine has been found to have antioxidant activity as it has been found to inhibit the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol, a known step in the development of atherosclerosis, as well as demonstrating immunomodulatory activity.

The Institute for Progressive Medicine offers several pharmaceutical grade glutamine and argenine preparations.

Source: Glutamine is an important precursor for de novo synthesis of arginine in humans.

Chillin’ with a cup of tea may help those with diabetes

Drinking chamomile tea daily with meals may help prevent the complications of diabetes according to researchers. Chamomile-supplemented animals showed a significant decrease in blood glucose levels compared with the controls, researcher’s say. The extract also showed significant inhibition of both ALR2 enzymes and sorbitol, whose elevated levels are associated with increased diabetic complications.

Source: Protective effects of dietary chamomile tea on diabetic complications.

Building a better brain.

A new UK study found that older people with higher levels of vitamin B12 were six times less likely to experience brain volume loss, leading the researchers to suggest that the vitamin may protect against brain shrinkage, which is linked to reduced cognitive function. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a recognized public health problem, particularly among older people, so increasing B12 intake could help to reduce the problem.

Institute for Progressive Medicine carries a sublingual B12 in the highly absorbable methylcobalamin form. Each sublingual tablet provides 5000mcg of methylcobalamin.

An editorial entitled “Oral Cobalamin for Pernicious Anemia, Medicine’s Best Kept Secret,” appeared in the Jan. 2, 1991, edition of JAMA. This states that oral therapy produces reliable and effective treatment, even in severe cases of pernicious anemia in patients without intrinsic factor. 64 patients with pernicious anemia and other B12 deficiency symptoms were treated with 1000 mcg of oral B12 daily. In all patients studied over a 3 year period, the researchers observed complete normalization of serum levels and liver stores for Vitamin B12 as well as full clinical remission.

Sources:

Vitamin B12 status and rate of brain volume loss in community-dwelling elderly.

Berlin H BR, and Brante G. Oral treatment of pernicious anemia with high doses of vitamin B12 without intrinisic factor. Acta Med Scand. 1968; 184:247-248.

…and how about improving the brain power of our newborns.

Both higher fish consumption and longer breastfeeding are linked to better physical and cognitive development in infants, according to a study of mothers and infants from Denmark. Maternal fish consumption and longer breastfeeding were independently beneficial. The children whose mothers ate the most fish during pregnancy were more likely to have better motor and cognitive skills. Longer duration of breastfeeding was also associated with better infant development, especially at 18 months. Breast milk also contains omega-3 fatty acids. The benefit of fish consumption was similar among infants breast fed for shorter or longer durations.

Note: In the US, pregnant women are told not to eat fish during pregnancy to avoid consumption of PCB’s (mercury being a problem too of course). Fish oil supplements are a reliable alternative since they are cleaned and screened.

The Institute for Progressive Medicine carries several high potency, pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements. Our Mega Omega contains 720mg of EPA/DHA per capsule and Mega Omega Pearls are chewable gel-caps with a mild orange/berry flavor made especially for children.

Source: Associations of maternal fish intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding duration with attainment of developmental milestones in early childhood: a study from the Danish National Birth Cohort.

Breast cancer rates and family history A recent study shows that a family history of breast cancer does not give a useful indication of the likelihood that a woman will develop it herself at an early age. According to Geertruida H. de Bock, a lead researcher for the study, “Due to the low prevalence of early breast cancer in the population, the predictive value of a family history of breast cancer was 13% before the age of 70, 11% before the age of 50, and 1% before the age of 30.”

These numbers are much lower than most women would probably expect. As the authors explain, “Applying family history related criteria results in the screening of many women who will not develop breast cancer at an early age.” “Given the psychological harm that screening visits can cause, more stringent criteria should be applied to early screening. The researchers recommend that these results be used to reassure a large number of women regarding their personal breast cancer risk.”

Source: A family history of breast cancer will not predict female early onset breast cancer in a population-based setting.

We may have another reason to supplement with fish oils instead of eating fish.

Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research. Researchers say they have revealed that farm-raised tilapia, as well as farmed catfish, “have several fatty acid characteristics that would generally be considered by the scientific community as detrimental.” Tilapia has higher levels of potentially detrimental long-chain omega-6 fatty acids than 80-percent-lean hamburger, doughnuts and even pork bacon, the article says.

The study goes on to say that the recommendation by the medical community for people to eat more fish has resulted in consumption of increasing quantities of fish such as tilapia that may do more harm than good, because they contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, also called n-6 PUFAs, such as arachidonic acid.
The Institute for Progressive Medicine recommends supplementing a healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables with a medical grade fish oil such as our Mega Omega.

Source: The content of favorable and unfavorable polyunsaturated fatty acids found in commonly eaten fish.

All vitamin K’s are not the same.

The vitamin K2 form of vitamin K has been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing coronary calcification more effectively than vitamin K1.
The Institute for Progressive Medicine carries a liquid vitamin K2 suppelment, making it easy to reach higher doses often prescribed by integrative physicians.

Source: High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification.

To order supplements from the Institute for Progressive Medicine, please call us at 949-600-5100.

Source: Valerie Ulene, New York Times, September 8, 2008

Simple lifestyle changes such as exercise, weight loss and improved diet are often enough to bring blood glucose levels down to normal. Millions of Americans fall in between normal blood glucose levels and diabetic. Treatment, including exercise, better diet and weight loss, may prevent the full-on disease.

Diagnosing disease is not always a black-and-white undertaking. There is often a gray zone between sickness and health — a time when, technically speaking, people can’t be classified as either diseased or well. Diabetes serves as a perfect example — so much so that the gray zone has earned its own name: pre-diabetes.

As its name implies, pre-diabetes is essentially a precursor to diabetes. People with pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels above those considered normal but not yet high enough to qualify as diabetic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 57 million Americans 21 and older have the condition, roughly twice as many as have diabetes itself.

Pre-diabetes is not only more common but also more treatable. If it’s diagnosed early, its ill effects can often be averted. In some cases, the condition can be cured.

CLICK HERE to read the full article

Cody Miller was a high school football player who was allergic to ragweed. Douglas Briggs was a doctor coping with pain from an old back injury.

Both are now dead, hanging victims driven to suicide, their families believe, when drugs prescribed to relieve physical symptoms upset their mental and emotional balance.

Federal drug regulators are investigating to see if the families could be right.

Until now, the Food and Drug Administration’s attention to the suicide risks of medications has focused on psychiatric drugs, such as antidepressants prescribed to youngsters. But this year, officials unexpectedly broadened their concerns to include a medication for asthma, drugs for controlling seizures and even one for quitting smoking. Those are medical conditions not usually associated with psychiatric disorders.

Several independent experts say the safety alarms point to a gap in the FDA’s knowledge of how drugs affect the brain. Even if medications are intended for physical conditions, some drugs can have unforeseen consequences if they are able to enter the brain. A group at Columbia University has developed a method for assessing the suicide risks of drugs, possibly helping identify risks before a medication goes on the market. But the FDA only requires use of such assessments on a case-by-case basis.

CLICK HERE  to read the rest of this article.

It is a common mantra within the medical establishment that the wide availability of dietary supplements will lead to numerous adverse events and will result in harmful interactions with pharmaceutical drugs. Since First Do No Harm is at the heart of every clinician’s oath, this concern should never be dismissed. Recent evidence published by the Mayo Clinic suggests, on the contrary that the potential for harmful interactions between dietary supplements and prescription medication is very low [Pub Med]. They report that even though consumption of dietary supplements with known adverse events (they list garlic, valerian, kava, ginkgo and St. John’s wort) or prescription drugs with the highest adverse events (antithrombotics, sedatives, antidepressants and anti-diabetic agents) are common- no patient within their survey was harmed by any of these interactions.

We want to stress that this data does not mean that adverse events and potential interactions don’t exist; but that they are much more rare and less severe than are generally portrayed in opinions and editorial comments within the medical literature and popular media. Of course, severe adverse events are now being tracked by both over the counter drug and dietary supplement manufacturers and this information will likely vindicate the overwhelming safety of dietary supplement use.

References and Additional Information:

• Adverse interactions between herbal and dietary substances and prescription medications: a clinical survey. Altern Ther Health Med. 2007 Mar-Apr;13(2):30-5.
• Dietary supplement adverse events: report of a one-year poison center surveillance project. J Med Toxicol. 2008 Jun;4(2):84-92.

It is no secret that the health of the next generation of Americans is in jeopardy. While there has been an enormous push to educate parents, children, healthcare professionals, educators and communities about these dangers, little progress has been achieved to combat obesity and sedentary living amongst our youth. Changing dietary patterns in a free society is challenging. Getting kids to eat foods they don’t like- well…most of us have tried. For many kids, this healthy trend could begin with one simple question: “How many sweetened drinks do you consume each day?”

In the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, a study suggests a dose-response-like effect of consuming sweetened beverages and both BMI and insulin resistance in obese children 5-18 yo (in this study, sweetened beverages included sodas, fruit juices and flavored milk). At baseline, 23% of the children claimed to drink more than a liter of sweetened beverages per day! BMI increased and insulin sensitivity decreased by each quintile of sweetened beverage consumed [Pub Med].

In this trial, these children were advised to reduce consumption of specific beverages and encouraged to consume more water, unsweetened milk and other unsweetened beverages. Children with the highest baseline BMI and insulin resistance responded the best when they reduced their daily consumption of sweetened beverages. While much more can be recommended to help affect insulin sensitivity in this population, it is encouraging that a single target of dietary modification can have significant impact. Interestingly, a recent study published in Hypertension [Pub Med], shows that consuming salty snacks is directly linked to the increased consumption of sweetened beverages. These authors predict that if salt consumption were cut in half, children would consume 2.3 fewer soft drinks per week (The odds ratio of becoming obese among children increases 1.6 times for each additional can or glass of sugar-sweetened drink consumed beyond their usual daily intake of the beverage). So now you have two simple questions to ask every parent and/or child that steps into your office.

References and Further Information:

• The role of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adolescent obesity: a review of the literature. J Sch Nurs. 2008 Feb;24(1):3-1.
• Regular sugar-sweetened beverage consumption between meals increases risk of overweight among preschool-aged children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Jun;107(6):924-34
• Increasing caloric contribution from sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juices among US children and adolescents, 1988-2004. Pediatrics. 2008 Jun;121(6):e1604-14.
• Dietary intake and the metabolic syndrome in overweight Latino children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Aug;108(8):1355-9.
• Impact of dairy products and dietary calcium on bone-mineral content in children: results of a meta-analysis. Bone. 2008 Aug;43(2):312-21.
• Short- and long-term safety of weekly high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in school children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jul;93(7):2693-701.