August 23, 2010
According to a population -based study authored by Gansler t. Kay and Crammer C. Smith, over 61 % of cancer survivers used complementary medicine therapies. The sutudy used data on 4,139 cancer survivors in the United States. The patients ere interviewed at 10 to 24 months after their diagnosis and were asked about their use of up to 19 types of complementary medicine.
This study by The American Cancer Society listed the top five alternative-medicine practices among survivors. Prayer (61%), relaxation (44 %), faith/spiritual healing (42%)nutritional supplement/vitamins (40 %) and meditation 15 %)
These findings indicate that many patients find complementary therapies an important aspect of comprehensive cancer care.
June 11, 2010
Vitamin D supplementation found to decrease the incidence of falls in elderly people.
June 11, 2010
Testosterone Deficiency linked to metabolic syndrome in men
A three part series – “The dark side of testosterone deficiency” (Abdulmaged, Guay, Feeley, & Saad, 2009 a,b,c) looked at the emerging evidence from a comprehensive PubMed literature search from 1980 through to 2009 examining the role of androgen deficiency and risk for metabolic syndrome and vascular disease.
In men metabolic syndrome is characterized by a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors. A diet rich in carbohydrates, cigarette smoking and physical inactivity also increase the odds of developing metabolic syndrome.
Central obesity is a classic feature of metabolic syndrome and is associated with reduced testosterone. Testosterone is an anabolic hormone with a wide range of beneficial health effects in men. Testosterone is thought to improve paramenters relating to cardiovascular disease through a variety of measures. Testosterone therapy has been shown to improve lipid profiles, reduce body fat percentage, lower blood pressure, decrease fasting glucose, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and regulate vasomotor function all of which contribute positively in reducing the risk for metabolic syndrome.
Testosterone-fueled American male may be losing his punch
(HealthDay News) Over the last two decades levels of the sex hormone in US men have been falling steadily, a new study finds. The reasons for this trend are unclear, said researchers at the New England Research Institutes in Waterdown, Mass. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and plays an important role in maintaining bone and muscle mass. Low testoterone levels have been linked to health problems, including lowered libido and diabetes.
It”s normal for men’s testoserone levels to peak in thier late 20s and then start to gradually decline, experts say. But this study found that overall testosterone levels are lower than they were 20 years ago.
The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Click here to read the entire article
To read more about bio-identical hormone replacement at theleeclinic , click here
June 9, 2010
Increased intake of vitamins B6 and B12 from food and supplements linked to less depression in older adults
A report published online on Jun2, 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals a lower risk of developing depression among men and women who consume greater amounts of vitamin B6 and B12 The study was performed at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
The researchers state that ” in the assessment and treatment of depressive symptoms in older adults, clinicians and other health care professionals should be mindful of the patient’s nutritional status in general, and whether there are vitamin insufficiencies in these nutrients before treatment.”
March 16,2010
In an article in USA Today by Elizabeth Weise:
Microbial ecologists have shown that every human has a distinct set of bacterial communities on his or her skin. “We’re just coated in bacteria”, says Noah Fierer, a professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the lead author in an article published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. These communities are quite resistant to change.
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