Dr. Colin Champ - Health WireLatest Articles by Dr. Colin Champ of Health Wire2015-07-13T14:37:36ZHome Cooked Meals Make You Smarter, Healthier and ThinnerThe top six health benefits of gathering around the family dinner table...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1080">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1080</a></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”</em></p>
<p style="text-align: right;">— Oscar Wilde</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As I often discuss in my articles, I am a huge fan of healthy, home-cooked meals. The potential benefits of eating real food are endless, from personal health to improved interrelationships between family members because of discussions during these meals.</p>
<p>Yet, in our fast-paced world where late nights at the office happen more often than dinner with the family, oftentimes many people turn to quick fixes including take-out, ready-made meals, and worst of all, processed foods.</p>
<p>For those of us not engaging in cooking our dinners and enjoying them with our families, we are missing out. The benefits of cooking dinner and enjoying it with the family are extensive, and here are the top six benefits...</p>
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<p><strong>Smarter Children:</strong></p>
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<p>Having dinnertime conversations can significantly increase a child’s vocabulary.<sup>1</sup> Studies show that during dinner conversations tend to cause children to learn more uncommon words for their age while advancing their overall knowledge, helping them with storytelling and their social interaction skills.</p>
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<p><strong>Healthier Children:</strong></p>
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<p>Family meals at home throughout childhood correlate with healthier children throughout adolescence, including lower rates of obesity or being overweight.<sup>2</sup> The authors of this study recommended as little as one to two family meals per week for better overall health. It also emphasizes the importance of establishing routines, which leads to healthier and more productive behaviors.</p>
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<p><strong>Encouraging Healthy Eating in the Future:</strong></p>
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<p>Eating healthy meals together as a family has a lasting positive effect on children that persists throughout young adulthood when parents are not present.<sup>3</sup> As children are bombarded with unhealthy food on a daily basis, even at school, family meals are a great way to arm them with the ability to make healthy choices throughout the rest of their lives.</p>
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<p><strong>Protection from Illness:</strong></p>
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<p>Apparently parental dinner routines with their children may help them to avoid future illnesses like asthma<sup>4</sup> and other chronic diseases.<sup>5</sup> This may be more from number three above, but regardless, it only stands to reason that if we feed our children (and ourselves) healthier meals and take the time to place importance on healthy food we will reap the biggest rewards.</p>
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<p><strong>Better-Behaved Children:</strong></p>
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<p>The children of families who spend time together at meals have fewer behavioral problems.<sup>6</sup> This begins to bring in the social benefits of family dinners along with the nutritional and health benefits. Children who converse with their families about issues in their lives have a mental reprieve from typical issues that children face throughout the day, likely leading to better responses and behaviors. It is also no surprise that parents who habitually eat dinner with their children have stronger relationships with them.</p>
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<p><strong>Healthier Us:</strong></p>
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<p>The benefits of eating real food are well-known. On the other hand, the issues of eating out are well-known, as well. Nobody has my health in mind as much as me, and few restaurants will ever make food exactly as I want it. Cooking my own food puts me back in the driver's seat of my health.</p>
<p>Yet, in the face of all these benefits, Americans are eating fewer and fewer sit-down dinners together due to their busy schedules and often value entertainment over a healthy meal. According to <a href="http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/1319/Default.aspx">an online poll</a>, the number of times that families join together for nightly dinners continues to decrease due to time constraints. Yet, most Americans describe family dinners as something they would like to have and even associate them with positive feelings from their childhood.</p>
<p><strong>The Solution</strong></p>
<p>The benefits of sitting down with the family to enjoy a healthy dinner are obvious. Data also shows that most people would like to enjoy a healthy nightly dinner, but this becomes difficult with time constraints and busy schedules. Luckily we are fortunate to live in a time where healthy food delivery services can fix these problems.</p>
<p>This industry started out with expensive services that would deliver your food in boxes. This was sometimes healthy and other times disastrous. I still remember the Schwan’s man driving down my street in his yellow van, ready to deliver a truckload of ice cream, pizza rolls, and processed food in plastic wrap and cardboard boxes.</p>
<p>Real food had never been so insulted...</p>
<p>For obvious reasons, this was not a hit with most consumers. However, newer companies have fixed these issues to deliver healthy real foods. My favorite service is <a href="https://www.platejoy.com/meal_planner">Platejoy</a>, which actually partners with local grocery stores to deliver the fresh, local goods, avoiding yellow vans and UPS packages. You then cook the food that is prepared for you, avoiding the pitfalls of prepackaged food.</p>
<p>It uses a personalized algorithm based on selected preferences, including low-carb, paleo, and gluten-free among others to deliver healthy foods right to your home.</p>
<p><strong>Removing waste:</strong></p>
<p>I am still terrible with buying food and forgetting it in the back of my fridge, only to find a ball of mold weeks later. One technique that reduces waste, while helping both our wallets and the environment, is software that tracks the foods we have to include them in meals instead of letting them turn into petri dishes. Platejoy also tracks spices and ingredients available to ensure that we use them before they expire. As nearly a quarter of our food goes to waste, this is a big money saver and is better for the environment.</p>
<p><strong>Focusing on what is most important:</strong></p>
<p>Americans used to spend almost one fifth of their income on food (link food and money article). Nowadays, we spend around 10% and instead spend the majority on entertainment and large houses. We actually spend less on food than any other country.</p>
<p>Bringing dinner and home-cooked meals back into the house is one way to tell ourselves and our families that we value our health. It also tells us that healthy food is more important than those trivial aspects of modern society that so many people idolize.</p>
<p><strong>In Conclusion:</strong></p>
<p>Nobody has more interest in your or your family's health than you. Restaurants and processed food are rarely healthier than our own homemade meals. When time becomes an issue, turn to Platejoy and other services that are there to bring dinner back into your kitchen.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p><img src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/27/31828/colin-champ-signature.png" border="0" alt="colin-champ-signature" width="259" height="140" /></p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Snow CE, Beals DE. Mealtime talk that supports literacy development. </span></span><span><span>New Dir Child Adolesc Dev</span></span><span><span>. 2006;2006(111):51-66. doi:10.1002/cd.155.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Berge JM, Wall M, Hsueh T-F, Fulkerson JA, Larson N, Neumark-Sztainer D. The Protective Role of Family Meals for Youth Obesity: 10-Year Longitudinal Associations. </span></span><span><span>J Pediatr</span></span><span><span>. 2014;166(2):296-301. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.08.030.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M. Family meals during adolescence are associated with higher diet quality and healthful meal patterns during young adulthood. </span></span><span><span>J Am Diet Assoc</span></span><span><span>. 2007;107(9):1502-1510. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2007.06.012.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Markson S, Fiese BH. Family Rituals as a Protective Factor for Children With Asthma. </span></span><span><span>J Pediatr Psychol</span></span><span><span>. 2000;25(7):471-480. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/25.7.471.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Fiese BH. Routines and Rituals: Opportunities for Participation in Family Health. </span></span><span><span>OTJR Occup Particip Heal</span></span><span><span>. 2007;27(1 Suppl):41S - 49S. doi:10.1177/15394492070270S106.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Hofferth SL, Sandberg JF. How American Children Spend Their Time. </span></span><span><span>J Marriage Fam</span></span><span><span>. 2001;63(2):295-308. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00295.x.</span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1080">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1080</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1080">Home Cooked Meals Make You Smarter, Healthier and Thinner</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-07-13T14:37:36Z2015-07-13T14:37:36Z1080Dr. Colin Champ6 Healthy Reasons to Use More ButterThrow out that steamer, buy some butter, and once again enjoy your vegetables...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/748">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/748</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">I was recently eating Sunday dinner with my family. I come from a large Italian family and Sunday dinner is possibly the most important part of the week and not to be missed. I chipped in with my favorite vegetable combo — Brussels sprouts cooked in butter with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. During the meal, my 92 year old grandmother was enjoying them when she made the comment “I used to love eating vegetables like this.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">I asked her what she meant by this comment. She responded that as a child and during her younger years, she routinely ate vegetables cooked in lard or butter. She also said that salt was often used liberally and this combo really made her love vegetables. Then she and her mother began steaming all vegetables to avoid those dangerous and unhealthy fats.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">As a result, her vegetable consumption dropped significantly over the next several decades. Eating these delicious and buttery green pearls of delightfulness brought her back to her younger days. It wasn’t lost on her that her health was significantly better during the “good old days” and, in her words, she had “the figure of a model.” I have actually seen the pictures to prove it and grandma isn’t lying.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">Is this story unique to my grandmother?</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">This microcosm of my grandmother’s experience with vegetables is likely one of the major reasons why consumption of foods like vegetables has significantly dropped, while processed foods have consistently become a larger part of the Standard American Diet (SAD).</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">That's because saturated fat and cholesterol have been demonized. When most people hear saturated fat or cholesterol, they immediately think of clogged arteries and heart attacks! What they don't realize, however, is that the entire lipid hypothesis (the theory that fat clogs your arteries) was simply <span style="text-decoration: underline;">built on bad science</span>. It barely made it through the research process several decades ago, and would likely never have survived the current peer-review process. Beyond that, it has been disproven many times.<sup>1,2</sup></p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">Under the direction of the anti-fat campaign, our country now views vegetables as raw or steamed morsels of tasteless boredom, while the tastier half of food is represented by fast food and processed chemicals barely resembling food. Most people (including myself) don’t derive much enjoyment from eating raw broccoli, and since vegetable consumption has taken on the form of steamed green mush, most people have decided to turn to unhealthy but tasty processed alternatives.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">Part of me can’t blame them...</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">Once again, conventional wisdom has placed the population in an impossible situation and then put the blame on them when they didn’t listen. Instead of avoiding the steamed Brussels sprouts and eating a sandwich or fries, why not douse those veggies in some flavorful (and healthy) grass-fed butter? Even for the sake of the argument, if fats like butter were as bad as some health leaders make them out to be, wouldn’t it still make sense to consume them if that was the only method to get people to eat vegetables? Why throw the baby out with the bath water?</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">But lo and behold, nature is not such a cruel being. Not only is butter from grass fed cows tasty, but it is good for you and provides healthy fats, cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid and bone strengthening vitamin K, to name a few. And nature was also nice enough to allow butter to make unpalatable foods like broccoli and Brussels sprouts absolutely delicious, adding further nutrients and vitamins into the diet.</p>
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<p>But the cancer-fighting properties aren't the only benefits to cooking with healthy fats and oils and adding them to your vegetables:</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They add flavor</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They help avoid burning of your food</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They provide fat as an energy source</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">They provide healthy omega-3 fatty acids, like DHA</p>
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<p>They help keep you full after you eat</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">Yet, if we paid attention to people like my grandmother, maybe vegetables would be as integral a part of a meal as they were for her half a century ago...</p>
<p>If vegetable consumption is genuinely part of the medical field’s strategy to help people to lose weight,<sup><span style="font-size: small;">3</span></sup> then perhaps we should return to the methods our ancestors used to make vegetable consumption palatable instead of chastising these methods based on little to no evidence.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">You were right all along grandma, so throw out that steamer, buy some butter, and enjoy your vegetables once again.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p><img src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/27/31828/colin-champ-signature.png" border="0" alt="colin-champ-signature" width="269" height="145" /></p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><strong>Sources</strong>:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span>1. </span>Ravnskov U: The fallacies of the lipid hypothesis. Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal 42:236-239, 2008, <a href="http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14017430801983082">http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14017430801983082</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span>2.</span> Sutter MC: Blood cholesterol is not causally related to atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular Research 28:575, 1994, <a href="http://cardiovascres.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/4/575.short">http://cardiovascres.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/4/575.short</a></p>
<p><span>3. </span><span>Rolls BJ, Ello-Martin JA, Tohill BC. What Can Intervention Studies Tell Us about the Relationship between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Weight Management? </span><span>Nutrition Reviews. </span><span>2004;62(1):1-17.</span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/748">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/748</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/748">6 Healthy Reasons to Use More Butter</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-07-06T19:30:01Z2015-07-06T19:30:01Z748Dr. Colin ChampInsects: The Next Superfood?Why eating bugs will be more popular than you'd like to imagine...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1094">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1094</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Before we get into the meat of this article (no pun intended), let’s get a couple things straight. We all eat bugs every day. They are in our food. Their body parts are in our food. Their excrement is in our food. If you do not believe this, you may want to check the facts.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">There are so many insects in our food, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actually has guidelines for how much or many insects or parts are allowed in our food. Notice that the guideline is not whether insects are allowed in our food or not, but rather how much.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, most foods are allowed to contain insects, insect parts, or excrement from insects. If you do not believe me, <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/SanitationTransportation/ucm056174.htm">click here</a>. For example, if you like your dark chocolate, expect that 6% of the cocoa beans used to make that chocolate may be infested with insects. Also expect an average of 10 mg or more “mammalian excreta per pound.” Along those lines, 10% or more of your coffee beans may be insect-infested or insect-damaged. My favorite is the listing for whole dates, which include 10 or more dead insects found within them.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">In other words, insects and insect excrement are the norm in our food, not the exception. This also tells us that the consumption of insects is likely safe.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Food Narratives</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Much like the common view on organ meats, it is mostly arbitrary and based on our individual narratives. We are grossed out by those who eat heart, liver, or kidneys, yet we consume pork butt, chicken breast, and pork abdominal wall (bacon), that often has mammary glands along it. A friend of mine who is a butcher told me the only time he almost passed out was when cutting up pork belly into bacon and the mammary glands were exploding, as they were full of breast milk. Yet, we eat this without hesitation. Hot dogs top our inconsistencies with ingredients including trimmed extra parts in a casing made of intestine.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Insects are no different. A chocolate-covered grasshopper would gross most people out, and eating pure insects likely leads to an even more visceral response (me included). Yet, during a time when many are trying to mimic the diets of our ancient ancestors and those modern hunter-gatherers, insects seem to be conveniently left out.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Insects among Hunter-Gatherers</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Professor Brian Morris’ article on insects as part of the human diet is a great introduction to the sources of insects consumed by modern hunter-gatherers.<sup>1</sup> Insects are the most common food source available throughout the world. They are apparently a source of many worldly cuisines, with the most common being termites, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. Throughout the Congo, modern hunter-gatherers apparently consume termites, beetles, larvae, and caterpillars.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Several groups within Papua and New Guinea independently began eating insects, which, according to scientists, serve as a food to offset potential malnutrition due to the fact that they far outnumber animals.<sup>2</sup> They seem to favor crickets and grasshoppers as well.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>The Nutrition of Insects</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">The United Nations has recently advocated that more of us follow the lead of these modern hunter-gatherers and <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130514-edible-insects-entomophagy-science-food-bugs-beetles/">eat insects</a>. <em>Slate</em> has even suggested that insects make a <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/04/the_benefits_of_eating_bugs_they_re_a_sustainable_efficient_and_tasty_source.html">great addition to a post-workout shake</a>. When it compiled data from the USDA, it found that insects have large amounts of vitamins and nutrients like iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B12. Crickets again appear to top the list. It even suggested vegans add some into their diet since they generally get inadequate B12 from plant sources.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">When commonly eaten insects in Nigeria were assessed, scientists found that they contained significant sources of other vitamins and minerals like phosphorous, and vitamins A, C, and B2, and as a whole are generally high in protein.<sup>3</sup> Insects are eaten so frequently throughout Africa, that some species are threatened with extinction.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">The other benefit of eating is the consumption of the entire “animal.” This is a sure way to increase our organ meat consumption.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Bringing Insects to the Dinner Table</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Whether we like it or not, insects are starting to enter the arena as a viable food source. Companies selling edible insects continue to pop up left and right. For instance, <a href="http://www.hotlix.com/candy/">Hotlix</a> sells candy containing insects. <a href="http://buggrub.com/">BugGrub</a> sells packets of insects, touting their high fiber content as well as their environmental benefits as a source of food.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Most people are likely somewhat grossed out by hearing that common foods contain insects, but consuming whole insects is a different story entirely. Yet, startup companies like London-based <a href="http://www.eat-ento.co.uk/">Ento</a> are apparently betting on insects becoming part of our future diet. <a href="http://bugmuscle.com/">Bug Muscle</a> appears to be targeting bodybuilders and mixed martial artists with its protein supplement made from insects. It too touts the positive impact that a push toward insect consumption could have on the environment along with the nutritive benefits of eating insects.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><a name="_GoBack"></a> I am not ready to dive into insects as of yet. In fact, I won’t even eat chocolate-covered grasshoppers. I am still segueing through the organ meats from bone marrow, stomach, tongue, and liver to heart and kidneys. It has been a long and slow journey, and I suspect that a transition to eating insects will be longer and slower. Yet, it is interesting to question our narratives regarding food to consider the healthy sources we do not include in our diet or never even thought about. And according to the FDA, I am apparently eating a serving of insects with every meal anyways.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">As I write this, I have some liver, bacon, onions, and mushrooms cooking. I’ll stick to my traditional organ meats for now and wait to jump on the insect bandwagon.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p><img src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/27/31828/colin-champ-signature.png" border="0" alt="colin-champ-signature" width="269" height="145" /></p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Morris B. Insects as food among hunter-gatherers. </span></span><span><span>Anthropol Today</span></span><span><span>. 2008;24(1):6-8. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8322.2008.00558.x.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Meyer-Rochow VB. Edible insects in three different ethnic groups of Papua and New Guinea. </span></span><span><span>Am J Clin Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 1973;26(6):673-677. <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/26/6/673.abstract">http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/26/6/673.abstract</a>. Accessed June 27, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Banjo AD, Lawal OA, Songonuga EA. The nutritional value of fourteen species of edible insects in southwestern Nigeria. </span></span><span><span>African J Biotechnol</span></span><span><span>. 2006;5(3). <a href="https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/6678">https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/6678</a>. Accessed June 27, 2015. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1094">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1094</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1094">Insects: The Next Superfood?</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-06-30T19:52:32Z2015-06-30T19:52:32Z1094Dr. Colin ChampThe Fab Five of Fermented FoodsThe recent explosion in popularity of five fermented foods reminds me of my favorite basketball team...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079</a></p><p>Growing up in the 90s, I spent most of my childhood playing and practicing basketball. Of course, I was also a huge fan of Michigan’s “Fab Five.” The Fab Five was the name of the five incoming freshman of the 1991 Michigan Wolverines basketball team. Four of the five were McDonald’s All-Americans, and eventually, these freshmen formed the starting lineup.</p>
<p>The five were Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. In their first and second seasons together, they reached the NCAA Championship game both years, taking the world by storm. They lost both championships, the second of which included Chris Webber’s famous timeout with none actually remaining, resulting in a technical foul and basically the end of the game. I can still remember watching in horror as Webber called that time out. Although, Webber got the last laugh, as he followed with an illustrious professional career after being selected first in the NBA Draft.</p>
<p>While Webber declared for the draft shortly afterwards, ending the reign of the Fab Five, their popularity persists as ESPN recently produced a documentary on them for its “30 for 30” series. It remains the highest-rated ESPN documentary of all time.</p>
<p>Nothing reminds me more of the Fab Five than the recent explosion in popularity of five fermented foods. Each one is listed below. If they are not part of your diet, you may want to consider adding them.</p>
<p><strong>Kimchi</strong></p>
<p>Kimchi is definitely the Chris Webber of the group. Kimchi is a delicious array of cabbage with red pepper, and varying other ingredients like ginger and scallion. It is left to ferment underground or in the basements of several of my friends from high school whose mothers made delicious kimchi. Some kimchi also has brined shrimp that ferments. There are hundreds of varying recipes. <img style="float: right; border-width: 1px; margin: 6px;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/25/31623/chris-webber.png" border="0" alt="chris webber" width="209" height="294" /></p>
<p>It is definitely the most famous in recent years and the most well-known for its pizzazz and thunderous dunks. By thunderous dunks, I of course mean the thunderous breath that one is left with after consuming it, but much like Webber’s basketball skills, the benefits are undeniable. </p>
<p>Kimchi is a good source of the probiotic lactic acid bacteria along with several vitamins. The plentiful health benefits of kimchi include its anti-inflammatory properties,<sup>1</sup> anticancer effects,<sup>2</sup> a source of food for bowel bacteria, fibrolytic effect, antioxidant effects, and anti-aging properties.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p>While kimchi is a regular part of my diet routine, when I feel that I may be getting sick during the winter, I always increase the amount I consume to help fight infection. There is not much data to support this, but hey, I rarely get sick so it must be doing something.</p>
<p>During the SARS epidemic, kimchi sales rose by 40%, so apparently I am not the only person in the world who does this.</p>
<p><strong>Sauerkraut</strong></p>
<p>Growing up in a family with some German/Austrian roots, sauerkraut often adorned my dinner table. Much like <img style="float: right; border-width: 1px; margin: 6px;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/25/31636/jalen-rose-sauerkraut.png" border="0" alt="jalen rose sauerkraut" width="206" height="278" />Jalen Rose’s basketball career, sauerkraut is the consistent fermented food that has persisted throughout the years finding its well-deserved place at the table of the best fermented foods.</p>
<p>Sauerkraut can be found as part of the meal at many restaurants and raw options (pasteurization kills all the bacteria, leaving it worthless as a fermented food) continue to increase at grocery stores. When purchasing, make sure it is labeled as “raw,” “alive,” or “unpasteurized.”</p>
<p>Raw sauerkraut contains a hefty supply of lactic acid bacteria.<sup>4</sup> These bacteria colonize our gastrointestinal tract, helping to fight infection and proliferation of unwanted bacteria, all while aiding digestion.<sup>5,6</sup></p>
<p><strong>Unpasteurized Cheese</strong></p>
<p>Raw cheese is a tasty fermented food that often seems to slip through the cracks as a member of the fermented food groups. Controversial in the paleo world, it is well-tolerated by many and has health benefits such as cancer-fighting CLA, especially when made from the milk of pastured and grass-fed cows.<sup>7,8</sup></p>
<p>Besides the health benefits, raw cheese is delicious, often providing unique flavors that are difficult to get from other foods. Much like when Jimmy King would steal a pass, rocket down the court, and do his patented split-leg dunk, some cheeses can hit you in the chin when you least expect it.</p>
<p>Raw cheese also has a rich content of vitamin K2, which has been shown to correlate with lower mortality and improved heart function.<sup>9</sup> Combine some good raw cheese with number five below, and you have yourself a superb teammate.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe height="315" width="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pfXyEbRdP0o" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>With his incredible athletic ability, Jimmy King certainly left us with a nice highlight reel.</p>
<p><strong>Yogurt and Kefir</strong></p>
<p>Yogurt is made through the fermentation of milk by several bacteria. Lactic acid is produced from this reaction, which is what gives yogurt its typical flavor. Yogurt is a good source of calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.</p>
<p>Kefir is made from a yeast/bacterial fermentation starter that looks like cauliflower, known as kefir “grains.” Milk from cows, sheep, or goats is used to create the fermented end product. Like several of the fermented foods above, kefir and yogurt have a significant amount of lactic acid bacteria.</p>
<p>Kefir has many vitamins and nutrients that are typical for milk products, as well as CLA.<sup>10</sup> However, kefir has minimal residual lactose. For these benefits, and like nearly all fermented foods, the kefir must be kept raw.</p>
<p>Much like Ray Jackson of the Fab Five, yogurt is the old, reliable, and always dependable source of fermented foods found at most farmers markets and grocery stores. However, when purchasing yogurt, one must be careful, as many brands have added sugar.</p>
<p><strong>Red Wine</strong></p>
<p>The delicious ruby elixir that has been around for thousands of years is often forgotten as a food produced by fermentation. We have discussed the health benefits multiple times here at <em>Health Wire</em>, including the <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/938">benefits you never even imagine</a> as well as how it can be part of a weight-burning, low-carbohydrate <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978">Spanish Ketogenic Diet</a>.</p>
<p>Red wine is definitely the Juwan Howard of the Fab Five. He often misses the credit he deserves for his part, but once remembered, we always glance at the sky thinking, “Oh yes, what a marvelous player he was.” He actually went on to have a long and productive career in the NBA, and I was even fortunate enough to see him play at a game in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>While the bacteria in red wine is killed from the alcohol content, it appears that the polyphenols in red wine result in proliferation of healthy bacteria within the GI tract. In a study from Spain, 10 healthy volunteers were given red wine, de-alcoholized red wine, or gin, for 20 days. The red-wine appeared to act as a prebiotic, to feed healthy guy bacteria.<sup>11</sup></p>
<p>Not long after the Fab Five, Dr. Champ went on to win the state championship in high school and on to an illustrious career in the NBA (and by NBA we mean medical school intramurals). He is seen in the background here, as his teammate Steve Nesmith is about to pummel this offender's shot.</p>
<p><strong><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/25/31622/champ-b-bal.png" border="0" alt="champ b bal" width="280" height="399" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A young Dr. Champ, featured in background</span></p>
<p><strong>Not Making the Cut</strong></p>
<p>Kombucha (tea fermented with yeast and bacteria) did not make the cut for many reasons, but mostly due to the fact that it is often made with a significant amount of sugar. Most kombucha is OK in moderation, but it is not a favored fermented food due to the sugar issues. Also, the health benefits of kombucha are minimal, and there are even scientific reports of potential health issues with kombucha ingestion.<sup>12–17</sup></p>
<p><strong>Adding Fermented Food to Your Diet</strong></p>
<p>The documentary on the Fab Five ESPN recently produced its “30 for 30” series that I mentioned earlier is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ys3nxx0ogE">well worth seeing</a>, especially while consuming some healthy fermented foods. Nowadays, the Fab Five are all retired from basketball, though several continue as announcers. However, fermented foods have persisted for thousands of years and are a healthy part of the diet.</p>
<p>Whether it is kimchi or kefir, you should think about adding fermented foods to your diet. It just might be a fabulous addition.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p>1. Jeong J-W, Choi I-W, Jo G-H, et al. Anti-Inflammatory Effects of 3-(4’-Hydroxyl-3',5'-Dimethoxyphenyl)Propionic Acid, an Active Component of Korean Cabbage Kimchi, in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated BV2 Microglia. J Med Food. 2015;18(6):677-684. doi:10.1089/jmf.2014.3275.</p>
<p>2. Kim B, Song J-L, Ju J-H, Kang S-A, Park K-Y. Anticancer effects of kimchi fermented for different times and with added ingredients in human HT-29 colon cancer cells. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2015;24(2):629-633. doi:10.1007/s10068-015-0082-3.</p>
<p>3. Park K-Y, Jeong J-K, Lee Y-E, Daily JW. Health benefits of kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables) as a probiotic food. J Med Food. 2014;17(1):6-20. doi:10.1089/jmf.2013.3083.</p>
<p>4. Kalac P. The effects of lactic acid bacteria inoculants on biogenic amines formation in sauerkraut. Food Chem. 2000;70(3):355-359. doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(00)00103-5.</p>
<p>5. Gilliland SE. Health and nutritional benefits from lactic acid bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1990;87(1-2):175-188. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.1990.tb04887.x.</p>
<p>6. Alakomi H-L, Skytta E, Saarela M, Mattila-Sandholm T, Latva-Kala K, Helander IM. Lactic Acid Permeabilizes Gram-Negative Bacteria by Disrupting the Outer Membrane. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000;66(5):2001-2005. doi:10.1128/AEM.66.5.2001-2005.2000.</p>
<p>7. Kay JK, Mackle TR, Auldist MJ, Thomson NA, Bauman DE. Endogenous synthesis of cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid in dairy cows fed fresh pasture. J Dairy Sci. 2004;87(2):369-378. doi:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)73176-8.</p>
<p>8. Booth RG, Kon SA. A study of seasonal variation in butter fat: A seasonal spectroscopic variation in the fatty acid fraction. Biochem J. 1935;29(1):133-137. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1266465&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1266465&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p>
<p>9. Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, et al. Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004;134(11):3100-3105. <a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/11/3100.full">http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/11/3100.full</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p>
<p>10. Shiby VK, Mishra HN. Fermented Milks and Milk Products as Functional Foods—A Review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2010.547398?src=recsys">http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2010.547398?src=recsys</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p>
<p>11. Queipo-Ortuño MI, Boto-Ordóñez M, Murri M, et al. Influence of red wine polyphenols and ethanol on the gut microbiota ecology and biochemical biomarkers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;95(6):1323-1334. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.027847.</p>
<p>12. Greenwalt CJ, Steinkraus KH, Ledford RA. Kombucha, the Fermented Tea: Microbiology, Composition, and Claimed Health Effects. <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2000/00000063/00000007/art00025">http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2000/00000063/00000007/art00025</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p>
<p>13. Dufresne C, Farnworth E. Tea, Kombucha, and health: a review. Food Res Int. 2000;33(6):409-421. doi:10.1016/S0963-9969(00)00067-3.</p>
<p>14. Srinivasan R, Smolinske S, Greenbaum D. Probable gastrointestinal toxicity of kombucha tea. J Gen Intern Med. 1997;12(10):643-644. doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.07127.x.</p>
<p>15. SungHee Kole A, Jones HD, Christensen R, Gladstein J. A case of Kombucha tea toxicity. J Intensive Care Med. 2009;24(3):205-207. doi:10.1177/0885066609332963.</p>
<p>16. Unexplained severe illness possibly associated with consumption of Kombucha tea--Iowa, 1995. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1995;44(48):892-893, 899-900. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7476846">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7476846</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p>
<p>17. Srinivasan R, Smolinske S, Greenbaum D. Probable gastrointestinal toxicity of Kombucha tea: is this beverage healthy or harmful? J Gen Intern Med. 1997;12(10):643-644. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1497178&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1497178&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed June 15, 2015.</p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079">The Fab Five of Fermented Foods</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-06-19T16:35:38Z2015-06-19T16:35:38Z1079Dr. Colin ChampEpigenetics, Diet and CancerLet food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1068">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1068</a></p><p>Several weeks ago we discussed the <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058">potential cancer-fighting benefits of eating broccoli</a> and Brussels sprouts.</p>
<p>These benefits were not from the vitamins or nutrients present in the vegetables...</p>
<p>They were not from all the so-called antioxidant benefits either...</p>
<p>They were through chemoprevention by upregulating the body’s innate mechanisms to fight free radicals, oxidative damage, and the potential for resulting cancer.</p>
<p>What this benefit illustrates is the important link between food and the fight against cancer. Cancer, once thought of as a metabolic disease, then purely a genetic disease, and now a combination of the two, appears to be more closely linked with our diet than ever before.</p>
<p>Because, whether you believe that cancer is purely metabolic, purely genetic, or a combination, both our genetics and metabolism appear to be largely affected by what we eat...</p>
<p><strong>Epigenetics: A Stronger Link between Diet and Cancer?</strong></p>
<p>Very simply put, epigenetics is the study of cellular interactions with our DNA that do not change our genes, but rather alter how they are expressed. The most common of these epigenetic processes is DNA methylation, where DNA is silenced by the addition of a methyl group to one of its base pairs. The other is histone acetylation. Histones package and organize our DNA, and they can be regulated by the addition of an acetyl group or removal via histone deacetylase (HDAC). Histones also protect our DNA from damage and stand guard like a bouncer refusing or allowing access.</p>
<p>The exact mechanisms are quite nuanced, and the field as a whole remains exciting, yet controversial...</p>
<p>Genes like p21 stop malignant cells from progressing through their cell cycle and bax activates apoptosis, which is a programmed cell death. This helps to stop cancer cells from progressing or to outright kill them. These genes can be silenced by HDACs (by acetylation). HDAC inhibitors can stop the silencing of these genes, allowing them to stop cancer in its tracks.<sup>1</sup> Some data even suggests that HDAC inhibitors may selectively lead to apoptosis in cancer cells while sparing normal cells.<sup>2</sup></p>
<p><strong>Malfunctioning HDACs</strong></p>
<p>Recent research has shown that abnormal acetylation occurs in cancer cells. In fact, some researchers have even referred to loss of acetylation as one of the “hallmarks of human cancer.”<sup>3</sup> Many different types of cancer appear to overexpress HDACs, including lung, liver, prostate, colorectal, and gastric cancer.<sup>4</sup> Furthermore, overexpression is correlated with decreased survival in these patients. Part of this is due to suppression of genes that actually block cancer growth, known as tumor suppressor genes. HDACs may also shut off DNA damage repair genes, like the infamous BRCA gene associated with breast cancer.<sup>5</sup> This would allow mutations to occur that could eventually lead to cancer.</p>
<p>On the other hand, HDACs are not that straightforward as elevated expression in other cancer types has not shown such a detriment. Yet, the significant results of these studies has led to the recent attempt to use HDAC inhibitors to treat cancer.<sup>4</sup> Two recent drugs, vorinostat and romidepsin, have been approved for usage with a malignancy called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.</p>
<p><strong>When Food Becomes Medicine… Again</strong></p>
<p>Amidst all the excitement regarding HDAC inhibitors as potential cancer treatment, the importance of food in the fight against cancer once again surfaces. Through epigenetics and the study of HDAC inhibitors, the scientific world began to realize that food can modify our genes. While in the past, many have <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/918">doubted any effect of food on cancer avoidance and treatment</a>, data continues to accumulate revealing the vital link between diet and cancer.</p>
<p>As discussed previously, “toxic” elements of vegetables such as sulforaphane actually work to <a href="https://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058">upregulate our innate damage repair systems</a>. Sulforaphane from broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables apparently has other significant cancer-fighting properties as it inhibits HDAC, just like the approved drugs mentioned above.<sub><sup>1</sup></sub> Studies in humans reveal that after the consumption of <span>one cup of broccoli sprouts, blood draws reveal HDAC inhibition in as little as three hours.</span><sup><span>1</span></sup><span> The authors of this study stated that HDAC inhibition and histone hyperacetylation was as effective as or even greater than the approved agent vorinostat. I even participated in a clinical trial using vorinostat to sensitize radiation therapy.</span><sup><span>6</span></sup><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Perhaps we could have used broccoli instead…</span></p>
<p>Vegetables are not the only HDAC inhibitors. Butter has <a href="link http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/885">many health benefits</a>, like cancer-fighting CLA. Not only is butter delicious, but it contains butyric acid, an HDAC inhibitor. Data as far back as the 1970s revealed the effect of butyrate on HDAC.<sup>7</sup> Other dietary sources of HDAC inhibitors are garlic, onions, selenium-rich foods like Brazil nuts, resveratrol found in grapes and wine, green tea, and circumin.<sup>8</sup></p>
<p>Some studies have even stated that <span>“dietary HDAC inhibitors have been shown to have a similar regulatory effect as pharmacological HDAC inhibitors without the possible side-effects.”</span><sup><span>8</span></sup><span> </span></p>
<p><strong>Fasting and Ketosis — More Potential Benefits</strong></p>
<p>The benefits of ketosis and fasting in regards to weight loss, repair of metabolic derangement, a potential preventative mechanism for Alzheimer’s,<sup>9</sup> while synergizing with cancer treatment<sup>10–13</sup> have led to well-deserved interest in both of these activities. Recent data have shown further potential for a ketogenic diet or even periodic ketosis as ketone bodies (<span>β-hydroxybutyrate) have been found to be an endogenous HDAC inhibitor.</span><sup>14</sup></p>
<p><strong>In Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>Studies are underway testing new and innovative cancer therapeutic agents with epigenetic effects including HDAC inhibitors. Yet, food, fasting, and ketosis appear to affect similar pathways. Not surprisingly, these natural activities that humans have engaged in for millions of years may potentially provide cancer-fighting benefits. Once again, we should appreciate the power of lifestyle and food with regards to cancer prevention and treatment.</p>
<p>“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Dashwood RH, Ho E. Dietary histone deacetylase inhibitors: from cells to mice to man. </span></span><span><span>Semin Cancer Biol</span></span><span><span>. 2007;17(5):363-369. doi:10.1016/j.semcancer.2007.04.001.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Dai Y, Chen S, Kmieciak M, et al. The novel Chk1 inhibitor MK-8776 sensitizes human leukemia cells to HDAC inhibitors by targeting the intra-S checkpoint and DNA replication and repair. </span></span><span><span>Mol Cancer Ther</span></span><span><span>. 2013;12(6):878-889. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-12-0902.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Fraga MF, Ballestar E, Villar-Garea A, et al. Loss of acetylation at Lys16 and trimethylation at Lys20 of histone H4 is a common hallmark of human cancer. </span></span><span><span>Nat Genet</span></span><span><span>. 2005;37(4):391-400. doi:10.1038/ng1531.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. West AC, Johnstone RW. New and emerging HDAC inhibitors for cancer treatment. </span></span><span><span>J Clin Invest</span></span><span><span>. 2014;124(1):30-39. doi:10.1172/JCI69738.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Di L-J, Fernandez AG, De Siervi A, Longo DL, Gardner K. Transcriptional regulation of BRCA1 expression by a metabolic switch. </span></span><span><span>Nat Struct Mol Biol</span></span><span><span>. 2010;17(12):1406-1413. doi:10.1038/nsmb.1941.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Shi W, Lawrence YR, Choy H, et al. Vorinostat as a radiosensitizer for brain metastasis: a phase I clinical trial. </span></span><span><span>J Neurooncol</span></span><span><span>. 2014;118(2):313-319. doi:10.1007/s11060-014-1433-2.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>7. Riggs MG, Whittaker RG, Neumann JR, Ingram VM. n-Butyrate causes histone modification in HeLa and Friend erythroleukaemia cells. </span></span><span><span>Nature</span></span><span><span>. 1977;268(5619):462-464. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/268489. Accessed May 30, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>8. Bassett SA, Barnett MPG. The role of dietary histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitors in health and disease. </span></span><span><span>Nutrients</span></span><span><span>. 2014;6(10):4273-4301. doi:10.3390/nu6104273.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>9. Gasior M, Rogawski MA, Hartman AL. Neuroprotective and disease-modifying effects of the ketogenic diet. </span></span><span><span>Behav Pharmacol</span></span><span><span>. 2006;17(5-6):431-439. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2367001&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract. Accessed February 26, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>10. Veech RL. The therapeutic implications of ketone bodies: the effects of ketone bodies in pathological conditions: ketosis, ketogenic diet, redox states, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial metabolism. </span></span><span><span>Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fat Acids</span></span><span><span>. 2004;70(3):309-319. doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2003.09.007.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>11. Abdelwahab MG, Fenton KE, Preul MC, et al. The Ketogenic Diet Is an Effective Adjuvant to Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Malignant Glioma. </span></span><span><span>PLoS One</span></span><span><span>. 2012;7(5):e36197. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036197.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>12. Klement RJ, Champ CE. Calories, carbohydrates, and cancer therapy with radiation: exploiting the five R’s through dietary manipulation. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Metastasis Rev</span></span><span><span>. 2014:1-13. doi:10.1007/s10555-014-9495-3.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>13. Champ CE, Palmer JD, Volek JS, et al. Targeting metabolism with a ketogenic diet during the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. </span></span><span><span>J Neurooncol</span></span><span><span>. 2014;117(1):125-131. doi:10.1007/s11060-014-1362-0.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>14. Shimazu T, Hirschey MD, Newman J, et al. Suppression of oxidative stress by β-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous histone deacetylase inhibitor. </span></span><span><span>Science</span></span><span><span>. 2013;339(6116):211-214. doi:10.1126/science.1227166. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1068">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1068</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1068">Epigenetics, Diet and Cancer</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-06-05T16:14:54Z2015-06-05T16:14:54Z1068Dr. Colin ChampShould You Eat or Avoid Fish During Cancer Treatment?Food can have potential effects on cancer treatment...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/1049">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/1049</a></p><p>Most dietitians, nutritionists, and health advocates consider fish as a healthy part of our diet, with benefits ranging from fighting inflammation to preventing heart disease and even cancer.<sup>1</sup> Many individuals try to achieve the same benefits without consuming the fish by taking fish oil. In fact, up to 20% of cancer patients use fish oil supplements during their treatment.<sup>2</sup></p>
<p>Yet, is this in the best interest of the cancer patient undergoing treatment?</p>
<p><strong>The Mice Studies</strong></p>
<p>As is often the case with studies on diet and nutrition, we must first turn to the mice studies. Early studies revealed that two fatty acids result in the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy in mice — even in small quantities. The following polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are two culprits that appear to decrease the efficacy of chemotherapy in mice undergoing treatment for cancer:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>12-S-keto-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoic acid</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>4,7,10,13-hexadecatetraenoic acid (16:4(n-3))</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>When patients are given chemotherapy drugs, they are toxic to both cancer cells and normal cells. This unwanted damage is necessary to provide a lethal blow to the cancer cells as they replicate. Any decrease in this damage could potentially decrease the cancer cell-killing ability of the chemo. These fatty acids are apparently released by our normal cells to help protect us from this damage, yet, this may also benefit cancer cells.</p>
<p>Scientists have tried to block the release of these fatty acids in order to increase the DNA-damaging effects of chemotherapy by blocking splenic cells with a drug or by removing the spleen (one of the sources of these fatty acids).<sup>3</sup> They even found that when cancer cells are given one of these two fatty acids along with chemotherapy, there was a decrease in a marker that signifies DNA damage, known as γH2AX.</p>
<p>Taken together, the clinical significance of these fatty acids is unknown, but this data simply suggests that these substances could potentially offset the lethal effects of chemotherapy on cancer cells. This, of course, is a serious concern for the cancer patient receiving treatment.</p>
<p>The same group again identified two fatty acids released from our mesenchymal cells in the face of chemotherapy treatment that protect cancer cells from the damage:<sup>4</sup></p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>12-oxo-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoic acid (KHT)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>hexadeca-4,7,10,13-tetraenoic acid (16:4(n-3))</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>These two PUFAs are the same or derivatives of the PUFAs listed above in the first study. This study also holds importance as it appears that cancer cells may recruit these mesenchymal cells to aid in their growth and proliferation.<sup>5</sup></p>
<p>They again showed that, much like with the spleen, blocking the release of these fatty acids can help halt this resistance to chemotherapy. This was done by blocking cyclooxygenase-1 and thromboxane synthase, which are enzymes that help produce these two fats and part of the infamous COX pathway that is affected by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen.</p>
<p>The authors then showed that 16:4(n-3) became significantly elevated in patients with esophageal cancer just hours after they were given the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. While the release of this fatty acid is likely our body’s natural and healthy response to the introduction of a toxic substance, this may be unwanted when trying to increase toxicity to help kill cancer cells.</p>
<p><strong>A Fishy Conclusion?</strong></p>
<p>The 16:4(n-3) PUFA mentioned above is present in large amounts in fish oil pills and algae extract. The authors state that this is quite concerning, as many cancer patients take these supplements. Their tumor models even showed that when mice were fed fish oil and algae extracts, it offset the tumor-killing effects of cisplatin — and this was in amounts similar to daily recommended doses for humans.</p>
<p>This group has concluded that the use of fish oil products and algae should be avoided during chemotherapy. Others are not so convinced by this data and have referred to their conclusions as “fishy,” due to the plethora of research revealing the many potential benefits of fish oil, from preventing cachexia (weight/muscle loss and inflammation), tumor growth, and side effects of chemotherapy.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p><strong>Fish Oil Consumption and the Rise of Chemotherapy-Altering Fatty Acids</strong></p>
<p>This group from the Netherlands most recently extended their initial findings to humans by studying the response to these supplements when consumed by non-cancer patients. First off, they found that 16:4(n-3) is present in fish oil tablets, ranging from 0.2 to 5.7 µM. Compare this with the mouse experiments above, which showed that the addition of 1 µL of fish oil to cisplatin resulted in resistance to this chemotherapy.</p>
<p>Volunteers were then given several different fishy cocktails, including:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>A single dose of 10 or 50 mL of three commercially available fish oils</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>100g of raw salmon or tuna, smoked mackerel, or cured herring</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The fish oil tablets were produced from anchovies and sardines to standardize the fatty acid components, but contained variable levels of 16:4(n-3). The fish came from a local market. Over the next two weeks, blood was collected from the participants before fish oil ingestion, and then one-half, one, two, four, six, and eight hours afterwards.</p>
<p>As expected, the fish oil caused a significant rise in blood 16:4(n-3), rising from a baseline of 11.4 nM to up to 400 nM with the 50 mL dose. The peak appeared to be four hours after ingestion and complete normalization occurred eight hours after ingestion of the 10 mL dose, though levels remained elevated for eight hours after the 50 mL dose.</p>
<p>Based on these results, they next assessed serum rises in 16:4(n-3) after the consumption of fish. Mackerel and herring contain higher amounts of this fatty acid than salmon or tuna. Accordingly, consumption of the mackerel and herring resulted in significant increases in plasma levels of 16:4(n-3), though short-lived, while salmon resulted in a brief spike and tuna had little effect.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>
<p>The authors now recommend avoiding fish oil supplements the day before, the day of, and the day after chemotherapy. They also cautioned against eating mackerel or herring, which are fatty fish, as they also increase the serum amount of this fatty acid, though only briefly.</p>
<p>While these studies are compelling, the tell-tale method for a definitive answer would of course be a randomized trial, where half of patients receiving chemotherapy purposefully ate fish or fish oil around treatment time and half did not. The lead author feels that the data is so compelling that such a study would be unethical.</p>
<p><a name="_GoBack"></a> Until we have more answers, it seems that simply avoiding fish oil in the diet directly around the time of chemotherapy treatment is reasonable. While there is no data as of yet, it may be assumed that the same holds true for radiation therapy.</p>
<p>I would perhaps suggest the complete elimination of fish oil during treatment with radiation therapy, as this generally takes place every Monday through Friday for weeks at a time. Fish oil tablets are also not standardized, thus oftentimes patients are not even sure what they are taking. Fish in the diet can simply be moved around to avoid overlap, as the elevations are short-lived.</p>
<p>One final interesting aspect of this study is the acceptance of the potential effect that food can have on cancer treatment. This has been an area in cancer care that has been relatively neglected, yet a plethora of data continues to accumulate and reveal the vital link between diet and cancer.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands”</a> You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Simopoulos AP. Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases. </span></span><span><span>J Am Coll Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2002;21(6):495-505. <a href="http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.abstract">http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.abstract</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Gupta D, Lis CG, Birdsall TC, Grutsch JF. The use of dietary supplements in a community hospital comprehensive cancer center: implications for conventional cancer care. </span></span><span><span>Support Care Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 2005;13(11):912-919. doi:10.1007/s00520-005-0820-9.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Houthuijzen JM, Daenen LGM, Roodhart JML, et al. Lysophospholipids secreted by splenic macrophages induce chemotherapy resistance via interference with the DNA damage response. </span></span><span><span>Nat Commun</span></span><span><span>. 2014;5:5275. doi:10.1038/ncomms6275.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Roodhart JML, Daenen LGM, Stigter ECA, et al. Mesenchymal stem cells induce resistance to chemotherapy through the release of platinum-induced fatty acids. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Cell</span></span><span><span>. 2011;20(3):370-383. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2011.08.010.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Jain RK, Duda DG. Role of bone marrow-derived cells in tumor angiogenesis and treatment. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Cell</span></span><span><span>. 2003;3(6):515-516. doi:10.1016/S1535-6108(03)00138-7.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Murphy RA, Clandinin MT, Chu QS, Arends J, Mazurak VC. A fishy conclusion regarding n-3 fatty acid supplementation in cancer patients. </span></span><span><span>Clin Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2013;32(3):466-467. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2012.05.013. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/1049">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/1049</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/1049">Should You Eat or Avoid Fish During Cancer Treatment?</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-05-29T13:39:09Z2015-05-29T13:39:09Z1049Dr. Colin ChampChemoprevention: Stopping Cancer Before it StartsWhen it comes to optimal health, the power of food cannot be ignored...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058</a></p><p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Chemoprevention:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: right;">“The use of natural, synthetic, or biologic chemical agents to reverse, suppress, or prevent carcinogenic progression to invasive cancer.”<sup>1</sup></p>
<p>With cancer, the best form of cure is prevention. Along these lines, researchers are always looking for methods to prevent cancer. Chemoprevention is the ability of an agent to prevent cancer, often by activating innate cellular pathways that help to hold off malignancies.</p>
<p>Chemopreventative sources that are naturally occurring in our food have immense potential to safely and effectively help to aid in the fight against cancer. One recent natural agent that has shown promise in chemoprevention is sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables.</p>
<p>It results in the activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2).<sup>2</sup> Nrf2 then activates a plethora of cancer-fighting genes and pathways, including regulating the body’s response to oxidative stress. In fact, Nrf2 protects our pancreatic cells from oxidative damage, which can lead to pancreatic dysfunction and eventual diabetes.<sup>3</sup> Nrf1 and 2 activate what is known as the human antioxidant response pathway to activate NAD(P)H and other cellular responses to detoxify potentially damaging elements within our cells.<sup>4</sup> It is our body’s innate detoxification system.</p>
<p><strong>Fighting Breast Cancer with Broccoli</strong></p>
<p>Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, also contain significant amounts of glucosinolates. These compounds lead to the pungency of cabbage and mustard plants and are considered a large group of sulfur-containing glucosides.<sup>5</sup> These plants also contain the enzyme myrosinase, and when chopped prior to cooking or chewed during consumption, myrosinase releases isothiocyanates.</p>
<p>These cancer-fighting enzymes apparently can stop cancer cell replication and aid in apoptosis, which is the controlled death of cancer cells. The bacteria within our gastrointestinal tract also break down glucosinolates to isocythianates.<sup>6</sup> A molecule within the isocyothianate is sulforaphane, which actually serves to help defend the body from cancer.</p>
<p>The glucosinolate precursor of sulforaphane, glucophanin, has been shown to block the formation or progression of breast cancer in rat studies.<sup>7</sup> A recent pilot study in eight healthy women gave them a single dose of broccoli sprout preparation containing sulforaphane prior to a breast reduction surgery. The broccoli extract was consumed about 100 minutes prior to the operation. They found that levels of sulforaphane, via the measurement of DTC, increased significantly in the urine from 4.07 to 158.85 μM. Mean blood levels were also raised from 0.01 to 0.92 μM.</p>
<p>However, and perhaps most importantly, they found the presence of sulforaphanes within the breast tissue, presumably from the isothiocyanate concoction with a mean breast tissue DTC concentration of 1.45 and 2.00 pmol/mg tissue for the right and the left breast, respectively.<sup>8</sup></p>
<p>While the tissue concentration was unknown before the surgery, mouse studies from the same group revealed an uptake of sulforaphane in their mammary tissue. This uptake then led to the induction of several pathways and gene transcripts that apparently protect our cells from developing cancer, including the NQO1 and HO-1 pathway. The NQO1 pathway is the same pathway described above to offset oxidative damage, that forms NAD(P)H to protect our cells against harmful mutations that can eventually lead to cancer.<sup>9</sup></p>
<p><strong>Is Broccoli Actually Toxic to our Cells?</strong></p>
<p>Some fascinating research points to these aspects of vegetables as being slightly toxic to our cells, which results in a form of hormesis to upregulate these pathways which can eventually fight cancer. Sulforaphane is actually an oxidant, which is why it activates Nrf2 and several antioxidant pathways within our cells. In a sense, this is similar to exercise, an activity that stresses our body to make it “stronger” in the long run. Similar stresses can upregulate the mitochondria, an organelle that is important in the fight against cancer.<sup>10</sup></p>
<p>Along these lines, corresponding benefits occur from exercise, which creates free radicals that upregulate our mitochondria to produce our own antioxidants to offset the damage.<sup>11</sup> Cancer cells themselves have actually proved to have overactive levels of some of these pathways, potentially further stressing their importance for survival.<sup>9</sup></p>
<p><strong>Enthusiasm for Chemoprevention within the Medical Field</strong></p>
<p>The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where I practice as a radiation oncologist and am an assistant professor, is currently testing the potential of chemoprevention. It recently presented its findings at the American Association of Cancer Research, where Dr. Bauman first showed that a sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract prevented oral cancer in mice. She then conducted a study in 10 healthy human volunteers revealing the extract to be safe with decreased damage to their mucosal lining. A larger study is currently underway to assess a proposed reduction in the risk of oral cancer in 40 volunteers.</p>
<p><strong>The Power of Food</strong></p>
<p>The potential chemopreventative properties of food and food compounds further illustrates the power of food, and in this case, cruciferous vegetables. Some data even suggest that sprouts from cruciferous vegetables provide greater chemoprevention than mature vegetables.<sup>12</sup> While cooking broccoli significantly reduces the amount of isocyothianate,<sup>13</sup> we still do not know if there is an optimal dose or if the “more is better” approach applies here.</p>
<p>Several weeks ago, we discussed the potential interaction of fish oil with cancer treatment. Now clinical trials are assessing broccoli extracts for cancer prevention. While both topics are not yet ripe, knowledge of the interaction of food with cancer treatment and prevention continues to expand on a daily basis. When it comes to optimal health, the power of food cannot be ignored.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p><em>References:</em></p>
<p>1. Tsao AS, Kim ES, Hong WK. Chemoprevention of cancer. CA Cancer J Clin. 54(3):150-180. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15195789">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15195789</a>. Accessed April 23, 2015.</p>
<p>2. Houghton CA, Fassett RG, Coombes JS. Sulforaphane: translational research from laboratory bench to clinic. Nutr Rev. 2013;71(11):709-726. doi:10.1111/nure.12060.</p>
<p>3. Fu J, Zheng H, Wang H, et al. Protective Role of Nuclear Factor E2-Related Factor 2 against Acute Oxidative Stress-Induced Pancreatic β -Cell Damage. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2015;2015:639191. doi:10.1155/2015/639191.</p>
<p>4. Venugopal R, Jaiswal AK. Nrf1 and Nrf2 positively and c-Fos and Fra1 negatively regulate the human antioxidant response element-mediated expression of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase1 gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996;93(25):14960-14965. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=26245&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=26245&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed May 8, 2015.</p>
<p>5. Johnson IT. Glucosinolates: bioavailability and importance to health. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2002;72(1):26-31. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11887749">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11887749</a>. Accessed May 5, 2015.</p>
<p>6. Li F, Hullar MAJ, Schwarz Y, Lampe JW. Human gut bacterial communities are altered by addition of cruciferous vegetables to a controlled fruit- and vegetable-free diet. J Nutr. 2009;139(9):1685-1691. doi:10.3945/jn.109.108191.</p>
<p>7. Zhang Y, Kensler TW, Cho CG, Posner GH, Talalay P. Anticarcinogenic activities of sulforaphane and structurally related synthetic norbornyl isothiocyanates. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1994;91(8):3147-3150. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.8.3147.</p>
<p>8. Cornblatt BS, Ye L, Dinkova-Kostova AT, et al. Preclinical and clinical evaluation of sulforaphane for chemoprevention in the breast. Carcinogenesis. 2007;28(7):1485-1490. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgm049.</p>
<p>9. Belinsky M, Jaiswal AK. NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase1 (DT-diaphorase) expression in normal and tumor tissues. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 1993;12(2):103-117. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11887749">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8375015</a>. Accessed May 8, 2015.</p>
<p>10. Schulz TJ, Thierbach R, Voigt A, et al. Induction of Oxidative Metabolism by Mitochondrial Frataxin Inhibits Cancer Growth: OTTO WARBURG REVISITED. J Biol Chem. 2006;281(2):977-981. doi:10.1074/jbc.M511064200.</p>
<p>11. Ristow M, Zarse K, Oberbach A, et al. Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009;106(21):8665-8670. doi:10.1073/pnas.0903485106.</p>
<p>12. Fahey JW, Zhang Y, Talalay P. Broccoli sprouts: An exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1997;94(19):10367-10372. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.19.10367.</p>
<p>13. Conaway CC, Getahun SM, Liebes LL, et al. Disposition of glucosinolates and sulforaphane in humans after ingestion of steamed and fresh broccoli. Nutr Cancer. 2000;38(2):168-178. doi:10.1207/S15327914NC382_5.</p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1058">Chemoprevention: Stopping Cancer Before it Starts</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-05-22T17:28:33Z2015-05-22T17:28:33Z1058Dr. Colin ChampAre Cancer Cells Trying to Hijack Your Vitamin D?With summer around the corner, now is the easiest time to increase our vitamin D levels.<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1057">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1057</a></p><p>Vitamin D has reached epic proportions of popularity recently. This is well-deserved, as vitamin D has so many vital functions that it seems like the list expands daily.</p>
<p>Vitamin D is a fat-soluble “vitamin” (part of the “ADEK” of fat soluble vitamins i.e. vitamins A, D, E, and K). In reality, it is a hormone that helps our gastrointestinal tract absorb calcium, along with zinc, iron, and magnesium.</p>
<p>Vitamin D can be found in the diet and made in the skin when it encounters the UVB sun rays (which actually can be quite healthy, see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine</a>…). The skin then sends it down to the liver and kidneys for activation. It helps the bones to pull calcium from our circulation to build strength. In fact, if you wanted to prevent or cure Rickets in a child in the 1920s, you would simply place them under a sunlamp.<sup>1</sup></p>
<p>Even just a short amount of UVB light rays from sun exposure (10-30 minutes) can result in the production of over 10,000 IU of vitamin D within the skin.<sup>2</sup> Unlike with vitamin and supplement usage, our body can actually sense vitamin D levels and is able to break down excessive vitamin D produced by the sun.</p>
<p><strong>Vitamin D, Immune System Activation, and Fighting Damage</strong></p>
<p>However, the often forgotten and extremely important function of vitamin D is its stimulation of the immune system to help the body fight infection, disease, and even cancer. Calcitriol (which is the substance that vitamin D is converted to in the liver) stimulates our innate immune system to help ward off bacteria and other infectious elements. An active immune system can provide the dual purpose of fighting infections that could lead to cancer and fighting the cancer cells themselves. Cancer cells, while formed from within us, are also unwelcome invaders much like infections.</p>
<p>Vitamin D also upregulates the production of glutathione, which the body uses to offset the damage of free radicals and inflammatory cytokines.<sup>3</sup> As inflammation is a significant cause of cancer, most methods to mitigate this carcinogen can reduce the risk of cancer.<sup>4,5</sup> Many unknown additional physiologic functions and cancer-fighting benefits of vitamin D will likely surface as research continues.</p>
<p>Along these lines, observation studies reveal that vitamin D may reduce the risk of several cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer.<sup>6</sup> The importance of vitamin D in the fight against cancer is further illustrated by those who have genetic makeups that result in lower circulating vitamin D levels. Males with a “bb” genotype have significantly lower levels of circulating vitamin D and significantly higher rates of prostate cancer. In fact, those with the “BB” genotype have a 57% lower risk of prostate cancer diagnosis than those men with the “bb” genotype and low vitamin D levels.<sup>7</sup></p>
<p><strong>The Importance of Vitamin D — Cancer Cells May Have Caught on</strong></p>
<p>After vitamin D is converted to calcitriol, it eventually binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR) for activation. The VDR then turns on several genes that activate many physiologic processes, including nutrient absorption in the intestines, bone construction, and immune system activation. The VDR is located on the nucleus of cells and is present in most organs of the body, including the breast and prostate, brain, heart, and even the adrenal gland,<sup>8</sup> among others.</p>
<p>Vitamin D is so important in the fight against cancer, that cancer cells themselves actually have been found to hijack the VDR. Recent data from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia found that of all the 24,000 genes in pancreatic cancer, the one that makes a protein for the VDR appears to provide cancer cells with <a href="LINK http:/www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150130211411.htm" target="_blank">the ability to overcome treatment with the chemotherapeutic agent Gemcitabine</a>. These findings were largely unexpected by the scientists and are the first of their kind, but more research is surely going to follow.</p>
<p>Based on all the benefits of vitamin D mentioned above, it is no wonder why cancer cells would try to interfere with this process in our body. This is one of the many reasons we want to maximize our body’s vitamin D function to help stop cancer before it strikes.</p>
<p>With summer around the corner, now is the easiest time to increase our vitamin D levels.</p>
<p><strong>Ways to Increase Our Vitamin D:</strong></p>
<p>1. Get some sun</p>
<ul>
<li>Not sun burns</li>
<li>Expose as much skin as possible to the sun for about half the time it takes for a sun burn</li>
<li>This must not be through a window, as they block out the rays that produce vitamin D</li>
</ul>
<p>2. Eat nutrient-dense foods</p>
<ul>
<li>Food is another source of vitamin D, with the largest amounts found in cod liver oil, sardines, tuna, mackerel, egg yolk, beef liver, and salmon</li>
</ul>
<p>3. Take vitamin D pills</p>
<ul>
<li>This is especially important in the winter, as the sun is rare and will not produce it in your skin due to its angle<sup>9</sup></li>
<li>Avoid D2 and take D3</li>
<li>Avoid pills with added vegetable oil</li>
<li>If you are getting adequate sun exposure, this is likely unnecessary</li>
</ul>
<p>4. Move…</p>
<ul>
<li>If you live in a high latitude or somewhere where sunshine is limited, you can always move</li>
<li>A better option is to go sun-searching in the winter for vacations if possible or refer to number 2 and 3 above</li>
<li>Keep in mind I live in Pittsburgh…</li>
</ul>
<p>As a final note, in regards to the Fox Chase Cancer Center study, we do not know the effects of vitamin D levels and supplementation during cancer treatment. We simply know that pancreatic cells appear to hijack the vitamin D receptor for their advantage. Hopefully more data regarding this interaction will surface in the near future. Regardless, keep your vitamin D levels adequate to keep your bones strong and immune system healthy.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands”</a>You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p>1. Hess AF. The Prevention and Cure of Rickets by Sunlight. Am J Public Health (N Y). 1922;12(2):104-107. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1354036&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1354036&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed May 4, 2015.</p>
<p>2. Holick M. Environmental factors that influence the cutaneous production of vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995;61(3):638S - 645. <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/61/3/638S.short">http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/61/3/638S.short</a>. Accessed May 4, 2015.</p>
<p>3. Jain SK, Micinski D. Vitamin D upregulates glutamate cysteine ligase and glutathione reductase, and GSH formation, and decreases ROS and MCP-1 and IL-8 secretion in high-glucose exposed U937 monocytes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2013;437(1):7-11. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.06.004.</p>
<p>4. Solinas G, Marchesi F, Garlanda C, Mantovani A, Allavena P. Inflammation-mediated promotion of invasion and metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2010;29(2):243-248. doi:10.1007/s10555-010-9227-2.</p>
<p>5. Coussens LM, Werb Z. Inflammation and cancer. Nature. 2002;420(6917):860-867. doi:10.1038/nature01322.</p>
<p>6. Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED, et al. The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(2):252-261. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.045260.</p>
<p>7. Ma J, Stampfer MJ, Gann PH, et al. Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, circulating vitamin D metabolites, and risk of prostate cancer in United States physicians. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1998;7(5):385-390. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9610787">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9610787</a>. Accessed April 26, 2015.</p>
<p>8. Puchacz E, Stumpf WE, Stachowiak EK, Stachowiak MK. Vitamin D increases expression of the tyrosine hydroxylase gene in adrenal medullary cells. Mol Brain Res. 1996;36(1):193-196. doi:10.1016/0169-328X(95)00314-I.</p>
<p>9. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D: both good for cardiovascular health. J Gen Intern Med. 2002;17(9):733-735. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1495109&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1495109&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed May 9, 2015.</p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1057">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1057</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1057">Are Cancer Cells Trying to Hijack Your Vitamin D?</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-05-14T19:47:41Z2015-05-14T19:47:41Z1057Dr. Colin ChampAlchemists and AnimalsThis is the story of Emily and Sarah...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1036">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1036</a></p><p>This is the story of Emily and Sarah...</p>
<p>Meet Emily. Emily lives in an empty 300-square-foot apartment. Emily's cubical at her office is so small that her elbows touch each wall and her head is a couple feet from the ceiling. Emily's boss screams at her all day long, causing her to be stressed out nearly always. Emily's constant level of stress causes the habitual release of a hormone called cortisol, often called the stress hormone, which causes her blood sugar to skyrocket many times throughout the day.<sup>1</sup></p>
<p>Emily's body is frequently releasing many catecholamines, like adrenaline, that are linked to an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack, high blood pressure, and a stroke, while the barrage of cortisol puts her at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and a poorly functioning immune system.<sup>2</sup></p>
<p>Emily sleeps terribly at night because she is so stressed. Emily is at an increased risk of cancer.<sup>3</sup> To make matters worse, Emily is fed <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990">Boost and Ensure</a> every day at work, both foods that are quite foreign to her body.</p>
<p>All of these issues leave Emily sick quite often. She has to take antibiotics regularly, and sometimes even gets antibiotic-resistant infections. Emily has even been given hormones to help her build some muscle on her paltry frame.</p>
<p>Man, Emily's life stinks...</p>
<p>Meet Sarah. Sarah lives on a 15-acre plot of land. Sarah sleeps well and wakes up with the sun. Sarah actually works at home taking care of the land. She also hunts on the land around her home, which she freely roams. She spends the majority of the day running around this land. There is much vegetation around Sarah's home and she gets her daily vitamins and nutrients through her healthy diet. Sometimes she has to supplement it in the winter, but this is a last resort. The animals around her property provide her with the protein she needs.</p>
<p>Sarah gets stressed here and there, as we all do. However, overall she leads a pretty happy life. She exercises everyday by walking around freely. She rarely gets sick and has a strong immune system.</p>
<p>Man, Sarah’s life is awesome.</p>
<p>Emily and Sarah are actually chickens. Emily is stuffed in a cage for life, as she lives in a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). She can barely move, eats unnatural foods, and is constantly stressed out, secreting stress hormones into her meat.</p>
<p>Here's Emily:</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/16/30318/confined-chickens.jpg" border="0" alt="confined chickens" width="342" height="257" /></p>
<p>Each and every day of Emily's life is pretty terrible…</p>
<p>Sarah, on the other hand, lives on a farm where she is raised on pasture. In other words, she runs around picking insects out of the ground and eating grass, her normal diet.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/16/30319/chicken.jpg" border="0" alt="chicken" width="353" height="235" /></p>
<p>Sarah's life is pretty awesome. Sarah's health is pretty awesome. The eggs that Sarah lays are pretty awesome too...</p>
<p><strong>Whether it's Chickens or People</strong></p>
<p>Few people give thought to Emily and Sarah when they are buying eggs at the grocery store. Emily's eggs are obviously much cheaper, as we would expect. It is much cheaper to stuff Emily in a cage and feed her unnatural food than to let Sarah run around eating worms and insects, some grass, and the occasional supplemental feed. It is much easier to push Emily and Sarah to the back of your head, forget about them, and pay $1.99 for the dozen eggs from Emily's stressed out body.</p>
<p><strong>Emily and Sara's Eggs</strong></p>
<p>Much like Emily and Sarah's health, their eggs are very different from one another. While this seems quite obvious, the differences can be quite significant.</p>
<p>Sarah's eggs actually have <span style="text-decoration: underline;">double the amount of vitamin E</span> than Emily's eggs, double the amount of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and 38% more vitamin A. Emily's eggs have significantly more inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids than Sarah's eggs.<sup>4</sup></p>
<p>Much like Emily's life, Emily's eggs stink.</p>
<p>Sarah's eggs also contain a much higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. In other words, Sarah's eggs have much more anti-inflammatory omega-3s, while Emily's have significantly more omega-6s. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is closer to 4:1 than 1:1, which is what our ancestors consumed for thousands of years.<sup>5</sup> A high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3s is associated with an increased risk of diseases like prostate cancer<sup>6</sup> and significantly higher amounts of autoimmune disease, inflammation, and circulating inflammatory factors.<sup>5,7</sup></p>
<p>Sarah's eggs look better because of their deep golden-colored yolks. They taste better too. They are a <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/852">great addition to healthy bone broth</a> and a healthy part of the diet.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/16/30321/free-range-eggs-1.jpg" border="0" alt="free range eggs 1" width="358" height="239" /></p>
<p>Much like Sarah's life, Sarah's eggs are awesome.</p>
<p><strong>The Alchemist Chicken</strong></p>
<p>During the Integrative Health Conference in New York City last year, I participated in a debate regarding the optimal human diet. During this debate, Dr. David Perlmutter, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031623480X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=031623480X&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20"><em>Grain Brain<span class="title"></span>: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain's Silent Killers</em></a>, used the term "the alchemist cow." He was referring to cows that are fed a poor diet, given antibiotics, and stuffed in a small space, yet we somehow believe that their milk and meat would still be as healthy as a cow that is raised appropriately. Dr. Perlmutter commented on how this sounded very much like alchemy.</p>
<p>Alchemy was the ancient practice of trying to turn metals into gold. As Isaac Newton and others found out, it does not work. We cannot make gold out of nothing and we cannot feed animals garbage and treat them poorly and then expect them to magically be healthy.</p>
<p>When thinking about humans, the difference in health between a stressed out Emily, stuffed in a cubicle her whole life, never exercising, never sleeping well, and never eating well versus a stress-free Sarah running around and enjoying life, exercising, and eating healthy becomes obvious to anyone. Why do we ignore this when it comes to animals?</p>
<p>It is time to think about Emily and Sarah when shopping at the grocery store or local farmer’s market.</p>
<p>As Emily knows all too well, there are no alchemist chickens...</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands”</a>You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<script src="http://impression.clickinc.com/impressions/servlet/Impression?merchant=70211&&type=impression&&affId=166150&&img=fqef.jpg"></script>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Smyth J, Ockenfels MC, Porter L, Kirschbaum C, Hellhammer DH, Stone AA. STRESSORS AND MOOD MEASURED ON A MOMENTARY BASIS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SALIVARY CORTISOL SECRETION. </span></span><span><span>Psychoneuroendocrinology</span></span><span><span>. 1998;23(4):353-370. doi:10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00008-0.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Lundberg U. Stress hormones in health and illness: the roles of work and gender. </span></span><span><span>Psychoneuroendocrinology</span></span><span><span>. 2005;30(10):1017-1021. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.03.014.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Blask DE. Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk. </span></span><span><span>Sleep Med Rev</span></span><span><span>. 2009;13(4):257-264. <a href="http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1087079208000786?showall=true">http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1087079208000786?showall=true</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Karsten HD, Patterson PH, Stout R, Crews G. Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens. </span></span><span><span>Renew Agric Food Syst</span></span><span><span>. 2010;25(01):45. doi:10.1017/S1742170509990214.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. A.P S. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. </span></span><span><span>Biomed & Pharmacother</span></span><span><span>. 2002;56(8):365-379. doi:10.1016/s0753-3322(02)00253-6.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Williams CD, Whitley BM, Hoyo C, et al. A high ratio of dietary n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. </span></span><span><span>Nutr Res</span></span><span><span>. 2011;31(1):1-8. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2011.01.002.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>7. Simopoulos AP. Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases. </span></span><span><span>J Am Coll Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2002;21(6):495-505. <a href="http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.abstract">http://www.jacn.org/content/21/6/495.abstract</a>. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1036">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1036</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1036">Alchemists and Animals</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-05-01T18:09:19Z2015-05-01T18:09:19Z1036Dr. Colin ChampVIDEO: Dr. Colin Champ on Cancer NutritionDr. Champ on cancer nutrition...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1034">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1034</a></p><p>Health Wire's <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/editors/dr-colin-champ">Dr. Colin Champ</a> is a radiation oncologist who treats all malignancies, and has a special interest in clinical nutrition and exercise relating to cancer treatment.</p>
<p>Here's his quick take on nutrition for cancer patients.</p>
<p><iframe height="315" width="560" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FTfBX2jCppE" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1034">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1034</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1034">VIDEO: Dr. Colin Champ on Cancer Nutrition</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-04-13T17:15:27Z2015-04-13T17:15:27Z1034Dr. Colin ChampDon't Listen to This Health "Expert": Simply Trying to Eat Less Rarely Works...Telling people to simply eat less does not work, as we now have several decades of data showing this...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1027">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1027</a></p><p>A recent article in the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-a-paleo-diet-healthy-1427079648"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a> had a point/counterpoint discussion regarding the paleo diet. Kellyann Petrucci, a naturopathic physician, wrote about the benefits of a paleo diet. She quoted studies and discussed some of the science, including weight loss and decreases in metabolic syndrome and the metabolic dysfunction that accompanies it.<sup>1,2</sup></p>
<p>Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, responds that as a nutritionist, she always asks the following questions with regard to any diet:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><span>What is it? </span></em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><span>Is the rationale behind it logical? </span></em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><span>And does it promote health?</span></em></p>
<p><span>She then follows </span>with a less scientific discussion of the pleasures of eating a variety of food. She never quite answers any of these core questions and then finishes by telling us that calories count, and we should simply eat less...</p>
<p>But should we?</p>
<p><strong>Still Counting on Calorie Counting…</strong></p>
<p>Adele Hite <a href="http://eathropology.com/2012/04/22/why-calories-count-foshizzle/">has already written</a> one of the most on point and entertaining discussions of Marion Nestle’s calorie-counting diet, why it doesn’t work, and why it is quite antiquated. Telling people to simply eat less does not work, as we now have several decades of data showing this.</p>
<p>Telling people to eat low-fat foods that stimulate the appetite and then telling them to eat less is even worse, not to mention it's extremely demoralizing and frustrating for patients. There are also several decades of data showing us that this approach does not work well.<sup>3–5</sup> We have randomized data revealing that people who consume a higher-fat diet actually do eat less, but that often seems to be forgotten by the low-fat calorie-counting advocates.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p><strong>Nestle’s Counterpoint: The Straw Woman Argument</strong></p>
<p>Nestle responds with a critical discussion of the loss of variety with such a diet entitled “NO: You Lose Too Much Pleasure for Dubious Benefits.” In regards to the dubious benefits, one can only assume she is referring to lower HbA1c levels (a long-term measure of blood sugar), lower triglycerides, lower blood-pressure, higher “good” cholesterol, and less abdominal fat as presented by Dr. Petrucci in the beginning of the article. The other dubious benefit is that the paleo followers lost weight even when told to eat more calories.</p>
<p>In response to the health claims of the paleo diet, Nestle actually glosses over this topic and does not respond. Instead she goes off on a tangent discussing how variety is lost on this diet and never really answers her initial questions, which ironically were actually answered in Dr. Petrucci’s section.</p>
<p><strong>Variety Is the Key, as Long as It Is Plant-Based and Low-Fat…</strong></p>
<p>Possibly my biggest pet peeve is when health care practitioners tell patients to eat a “plant-based” diet. Does a plant-based diet mean vegan, vegetarian, vegetables and fish, or just the majority of the plate full of vegetables?</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to this and neither do most patients. Using this vague and confusing term usually turns patients off and leads them to continue on whatever diet they were eating before. I recently asked a dietitian to define the term “plant-based” and listened to her fumble over her words for the next five minutes, unable to deliver a coherent definition. What do we expect patients to think if the professionals cannot even tell us what plant-based means?</p>
<p>But back to the “variety is key” point…</p>
<p>Marion fails to realize that a diet aiming to restrict or reduce certain foods does not mean that one can absolutely never consume them. In fact, an infrequent grain is much better than an occasional grain. Mark Sisson promotes his 80% compliance method, while some Paleoistas adhere more strictly. While grains are generally excluded as much as possible, areas like starches and dairy are more controversial and if tolerated, many people include them. This does not mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.</p>
<p>To further confuse the reader, she uses a typical tactic of the “eat less, exercise more crowd,” and ends with a discussion on how eating less works. This ignores the fact that she just promoted eating grains and other foods that often leave people hungry and overeating.</p>
<p><strong>The Elephant in the Room</strong></p>
<p>Nestle seems to forget that she generally promotes a low-fat, low-salt diet that aims to avoid animal products. In other words, she endorses a diet that skimps on the variety she is heavily advocating. When it comes to avoiding delicious foods, there is nothing less pleasing than the diet Nestle promotes. Most people know this, and after keeping their fats low, they end up consuming entire baskets of bread and other carbohydrate-laden foods when their hunger gets the best of them. Everyone has seen this before, whether it is with themselves, or especially, with those who struggle with their weight and overeating. Nestle’s strategy only adds to this problem.</p>
<p>I have personally tried a similar restrictive diet before and found myself with less energy to engage in my daily activities. In addition, I found myself cognitively less sharp with non-stop hunger throughout the day. Perhaps it is because the brain is made up of fat, but regardless, it seems quite hypocritical to push a diet that made me feel terrible onto others — thus I don’t. To top it off, such a diet minimizes foods that were part of my Southern Italian heritage such as bone broth and organ meats, which Nestle seemed to conveniently ignore.</p>
<p><strong>The Variety Nestle Just Doesn’t Get</strong></p>
<p>Nestle and the low-fatters just don’t understand that there are a variety of healthy, nutrient-dense foods on the other side of the low-fat diet fence. These healthful foods are shunned and labeled as taboo by the low-fat diet. For instance, delicious, grass-fed butter and healthy animal products like bone broth are a no-no. Not only are these cultural foods that are part of many worldly cuisines, foods like butter make other less tasty foods delicious. Steamed Brussels sprouts go from intolerable to delectable and become a consistent accompaniment of the dinner table. If Nestle and friends truly believed that a diet should be composed mostly of plants and per Nestle’s own words regarding delicious foods, shouldn’t we be consuming foods that actually make vegetables taste delicious?</p>
<p>But alas, decades of telling people to avoid fats and animal products more often leaves them eating loaves of bread as opposed to a plant-based diet as Nestle suggests. This often leaves them hungry, nutrient-deprived, and opening the pantry for more low-fat foods. Then they are told by people like Nestle that they are failing because they simply need to eat less.</p>
<p><strong>In Closing</strong></p>
<p>Nestle sums it up with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<span>What we eat also nourishes us psychologically and culturally. So while a paleo diet isn’t necessarily bad, why bother? I’d be sad to miss all those delicious forbidden foods.”</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, let’s back it up a couple decades. A good diet is one that includes delicious foods. While the point of the conversation was a discussion of the health of a diet, let’s go with the straw man argument.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, as long as we tell people to eat a low-fat diet, eat less, and exercise more, we will continue to watch rates of obesity climb as they have for the past several decades. The data, as pointed out by Dr. Petrucci, shows what happens when we do the opposite, and in this case, by following a paleo diet — we end up healthier.</p>
<p>For Nestle, the data doesn’t add up. So let’s forget the data and eat delicious forbidden foods. Let’s go back a couple decades and repeat what did not work in the first place. The irony is that if we truly wanted people to eat fewer calories as Nestle clings to, increasing the satiating foods that she demonizes may be our best strategy. Visit any paleo cooking website, and you will see for yourself that there is plenty of variety in a truly healthy diet.</p>
<p>As for me, I will continue to follow my healthy, but apparently bland paleo diet. I will continue to eat my delicious duck breast, lamb chops, omelets, broccoli cooked in avocado oil, Brussels sprouts cooked in salt and butter, grass-fed ribeye, shrimp, calamari, and the list goes on and on. The variety is too much to name.</p>
<p>What Nestle may not realize is that the majority of my plate is vegetables. Vegetables often covered in delicious fat.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands”</a>You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Boers I, Muskiet FA, Berkelaar E, et al. Favourable effects of consuming a Palaeolithic-type diet on characteristics of the metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot-study. </span></span><span><span>Lipids Health Dis</span></span><span><span>. 2014;13(1):160. doi:10.1186/1476-511X-13-160.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Ahrén B, et al. Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. </span></span><span><span>Cardiovasc Diabetol</span></span><span><span>. 2009;8:35. doi:10.1186/1475-2840-8-35.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Cite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Obesity Epidemic. Available at: < <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/ObesityEpidemic/">http://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/ObesityEpidemic/</a>>. Accessed July 27, 2011 .</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. CDC. Trends in Intake of Energy and Macronutrients --- United States, 1971--2000. 2004. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5304a3.htm">http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5304a3.htm</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Ogden CL. Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1960–1962 Through 2007–2008. 2010. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/hestat/obesity_adult_07_08/obesity_adult_07_08.pdf">http://www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/hestat/obesity_adult_07_08/obesity_adult_07_08.pdf</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><span><span><span><span>6. Hite AH, Berkowitz VG, Berkowitz K. Low-carbohydrate diet review: shifting the paradigm. </span></span><span><span>Nutr Clin Pract</span></span><span><span>. 2011;26(3):300-308. doi:10.1177/0884533611405791.</span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1027">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1027</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1027">Don't Listen to This Health "Expert": Simply Trying to Eat Less Rarely Works...</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-04-08T21:29:25Z2015-04-08T21:29:25Z1027Dr. Colin ChampWhen Daily Life is Exercise, Everywhere is the GymThe weird thing is that when you start viewing normal activities as healthy activities, you won't even know that you're exercising...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1019">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1019</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">During the summer, life is always good. With the early rising sun, the warm welcoming weather, and the outdoorsy aspects of Pittsburgh, I am basically pulled out of bed in the morning, and out of the house. It takes little struggle to get me outside, and I am usually enjoying my coffee while reading a book on the back porch within five minutes of the sun naturally waking me up. After my coffee, I am on my feet gardening, walking, lifting weights, or playing sports. My activity levels seem to skyrocket in the spring, peak in the summer, and remain high until the clocks change in the fall.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Yet, the winter is quite a different story. When I begrudgingly make it out of bed, I seem to spend more time reading while enjoying my coffee. I still wake up early, as I have found that I am happier and more productive at work if I read in the morning to wake and warm my brain up. I continually want to increase my activity levels, but find it difficult to do so due to the weather and short periods where the sun is out. As someone who is not happy physically and mentally unless I am staying active, this aspect of winter always seems to cause some issues in my life.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">This year I found the fix in the least likely place...</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Integrating Activity within Your Life</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">A recent article about men with prostate cancer really changed my mind about things. In this article, 4,623 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer were followed for 10-15 years after their diagnosis.<sup>1</sup> The authors assessed their activity levels and the activities they engaged in and compared them with their overall survival and rates of cancer recurrence. What they found was that men who were more active seemed to do better after treatment and lived longer. They also found that those men who performed household work for one of more hours per day lived significantly longer.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Now this was an epidemiologic study, but this finding still stood out to me...</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">The activity of household work was likely a proxy for overall activity. Yet, the key here is that activity too often means going to the gym for many people, but in reality activity does not have to be lifting weights in a gym, jogging for miles, or even sprinting at your local track. Activity may just be participating in activities of normal life — activities that we often avoid.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Burning Calories</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">While I am in no way a calorie counter, nor do I endorse ever counting calories, I turned to <a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities">a list from Harvard</a> to get some answers. While calories burned are not the end-all be-all, they do provide a perspective in regards to the effects of different activities. Below is a list of some common activities in life and the calories burned for someone who weighs 185 pounds.<br /><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"></p>
<table border="1" width="352" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7">
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Activity</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Calories Burned in 30 minutes</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sleeping</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">28</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Watching TV</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">33</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Reading (sitting)</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">50</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Standing in Line</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">56</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Computer Work</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">61</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Light Office Work</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">67</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sitting in Meetings</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">72</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Desk Work</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">78</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sitting in Class</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">78</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Driving</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">89</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Cooking</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">111</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Walk: 3.5 mph </span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">178</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Gardening</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">200</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Walk: 4 mph </span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">200</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Washing Car</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">200</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="143" height="6">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Weight Lifting</span></p>
</td>
<td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="181">
<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">266</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">As you can see from above, sitting on the couch and watching television is not very different from sleep in regards to calories burned. Sleep is restorative, so it likely has other benefits. Yet, a simple switch in your daily habits can yield massive rewards. For instance, consider the following scenarios:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><em>Scenario 1: We will refer to this as “Common American Night”</em></p>
<ol>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Watching TV for three hours a night (33 calories per hour)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Late bedtime</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Rise the next morning and hurry to work</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Burn 99 calories for the night</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><em>Scenario 2: We will refer to this as “The Hour Switch”</em></p>
<ol>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Watch TV for one hour while cooking (111 calories per hour)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Read for one hour (50 calories per hour)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Get to bed an hour early</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Wake up an hour early</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Garden in the morning for that extra hour (200 calories per hour)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Burn 361 calories instead of 99 calories</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Feel more rewarded</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Have a garden that you take care of and provides you with reward, stress relief, and organic vegetables</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Experience sun exposure in the morning, which helps relieve stress and aid your circadian rhythm</p>
</li>
<li>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Be more productive at work since you are not waking up and rushing</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">In the second scenario, you will notice that while the amount of calories burned are almost quadrupled, and this was without ever stepping foot into a gym. Add some steps at work, a standing desk, and parking in the furthest spot, and you may find your activity levels 10-20 times higher. As we discussed before, an hour in the gym may not compensate for <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001">an entire day of sitting</a>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">I have found myself cleaning my house more frequently in the morning. This gets my metabolism and brain working first thing in the morning. It helps me wake up and leaves me more alert for meetings at work, which are often first on my daily agenda. With all these benefits, I then find myself coming home from work to a clean house, which leaves me feeling much better about engaging in more activities in the evening.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">When reviewing this list, the areas in our lives where we can increase our activity levels become apparent. I would go as far as saying that some small changes in our lives could increase the amount of activity by many multiples.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>So what is my Prescription?</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">While prescriptions are usually reserved for medications, there is no better prescription than increasing our activity levels. Perhaps it is not a true prescription, but I can at least give my recommendations, based on what I do personally, of course.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">I save the small activities for the morning. Most mornings in the winter I don’t feel like going for a 30-minute walk, so I settle some of my smaller household chores. This way I start my day off with an activity and movement, with the added benefit of coming home to a clean house. This then allows and motivates me to engage in more enjoyable activities after work that I would rarely do in the morning anyways.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Coming home from work to clean a sink full of dishes is a good way to ruin the night. Coming home to a clean house makes me feel great as I step outside to go for a walk or bike ride, the gym, or even a game of bocce. The weird thing is that when you start viewing normal activities as healthy activities, raking the leaves, washing the car, and cleaning the house become surprisingly enjoyable.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Maybe that is why the men in that study who helped out around the house lived longer.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;">Take note ladies!</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands”</a> You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%;"><span><span><span><span>1. Bonn SE, Sjölander A, Lagerros YT, et al. Physical activity and survival among men diagnosed with prostate cancer. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 2015;24(1):57-64. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0707.</span></span></span></span><br /><br /></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1019">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1019</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1019">When Daily Life is Exercise, Everywhere is the Gym</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-03-27T20:02:41Z2015-03-27T20:02:41Z1019Dr. Colin ChampDump Out Your Juices and Do a Real "Cleanse"Regardless of the type of cleanse, they all have one thing in common: there is little to no data to support any of them...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1015">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1015</a></p><p align="justify">Recently, juicing and cleanses are hotter than Hansel from <em>Zoolander</em>. Cleanses have people doing everything from putting coffee beans into their behinds to drinking herbal laxatives and even twelve glasses of lemonade per day.</p>
<p align="justify">These cleanses have also been referred to as detox diets, but they generally promote the same health benefits and make the same promises. Many even want you to buy their cleanse kit and tout it as the best. Sometimes these cleanses include adding herbal supplements or special ingredients like Garcinia Cambogia. Generally, the more supplements or meal replacements involved, the more companies can profit by selling the cleanses as products, and the more money they seem to charge.</p>
<p align="justify">Even Beyoncé was hyping the benefits of cleansing as she used one to lose weight for <em>Dreamgirls</em>, apparently by subsiding on lemon water, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and herbal tea for 10 days. Granted, I am a fan of B, but one has to question the rationale for this diet. Besides the fact that it would be seemingly easy to lose weight on a diet like this, it remains unclear what this actually “cleanses.” This particular cleanse is referred to as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cleanse">“Master Cleanse</a>”.</p>
<p align="justify">Regardless of the type of cleanse, they all have one thing in common: there is little to no data to support any of them..</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>The Age- (and Data-) Proven Alternative</strong></p>
<p align="justify">While juice cleanses among others are flaunted as the latest and greatest by celebrities and others in the media, the age-old cleansing technique of fasting as a purge or cleanse actually has real data to back it up. In fact, the only benefit that may come from the popular cleanses may be the fact that many of them restrict food for a certain period of time, thus potentially mimicking fasting. However, the medical benefits of fasting cover a broad spectrum, from lowering blood sugar to fighting cancer. It also turns on <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/2012/04/06/autophagy-turning-stress-into-health/">the process of autophagy</a>, which helps our cells recycle their older, used parts.</p>
<p align="justify">Several examples include:</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Fasting and Blood Sugar</strong></p>
<p align="justify">Intermittent fasting in mice has been shown to significantly reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, which may have anticancer benefits.<sup>1</sup> It also appears to protect brain cells from damage, which may in itself be from the lower glucose.<sup>2</sup> Fasting also induces ketosis, the metabolic process by which ketones are produced by the liver to provide our brain cells with an energy source.<sup>3</sup> This has been shown to lower blood sugar and insulin.<sup>1,4,5</sup></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Fasting and Cancer Treatment</strong></p>
<p align="justify">In mice, fasting appears to delay or halt the incidence of malignancies in mice predisposed to cancer through genetic mutations.<sup>6</sup> There are even studies assessing fasting in humans before and after chemotherapy to decrease side effects.<sup>7,8</sup> Other studies regarding fasting in mice have shown that it helps chemotherapy kill cancer cells more effectively while sparing our normal cells.<sup>9–11</sup> The lowering of insulin and glucose during fasting may also help radiation therapy work better.<sup>12</sup></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Fasting and Neuroprotection</strong></p>
<p align="justify">Fasting increases autophagy within brain cells, allowing them to recycle the garbage that can accumulate within our cells.<sup>13</sup> Mice that are prone to develop Alzheimer’s benefit significantly from intermittent fasting, which helps their brain cells fight the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s and leave the mice with better cognition.<sup>14</sup></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Fasting Has Withstood the Test of Time</strong></p>
<p align="justify">While just because something being old does not necessarily make it better, the history of fasting is a long one. Besides the involuntary fasting that our ancestors engaged in over the past hundreds of thousands of years during winter, famine and times of food scarcity, purposeful fasting is not too young either. Fasting during a religious ceremony is thousands of years old and has been practiced by everyone from Buddhist monks to followers of Jainism, who engage in fasting to reach a transcendent state during meditation. In China, fasting occurred before the winter solstice as it was believed that the Yang was beginning its new cycle. Finally, Judaism and Christianity involve a plethora of days of fasting throughout the year, with some Christians apparently fasting for 40 days during lent.</p>
<p align="justify">Why is fasting a part of so many different cultures and religions, from Christians during Lent to Muslims from dusk to dawn during the month of Ramaḍān? It must have some benefits if it survived as a part of so many different religions and cultures across the globe. Newer studies are showing those benefits...</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Juice Fasts</strong></p>
<p align="justify">Of all the cleanses and detox attempts, juice fasts may be the most absurd. While the name alone is an oxymoron, this trend has gained some recent popularity. It has no science to back it, and if the juices are heavily based on fruit, this cleanse may actually negate all of the insulin and glucose-lowering benefits of intermittent fasting. It can also potentially result in vitamin deficiencies and salt depletion. It would be a convenient method to gain the benefits of fasting without fasting, but as is the case with most conveniences, it does not work.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Implementing Fasting in Your Life</strong></p>
<p align="justify">Based on the evidence and credible science as well as thousands of years of human existence where fasting was a common aspect of daily life, I believe in the benefits of fasting, a real cleanse. The-never-hungry, snacking-often-with-three-or-more-meals-per-day aspect of modern living clearly does not align with our history.</p>
<p align="justify">Thus, fasting is the one true, proven method, and the only cleanse I see fit to aid our health. I tend to fast on the weekends for around 16-18 hours, where I fast from dinner the night before until lunch on the following day. I do have coffee in the morning during some of these fasts. In the winter when my activity levels are lower, I fast much more frequently.</p>
<p align="justify">While in several decades those of us who electively chose to put coffee up our backsides may be getting laughed at, I will bet my money that fasting remains a healthy method of optimizing health. Think about that the next time a celebrity convinces you to do a juice cleanse — even if it is Beyoncé.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span>1. Champ CE, Volek JS, Siglin J, Jin L, Simone NL. Weight Gain, Metabolic Syndrome, and Breast Cancer Recurrence: Are Dietary Recommendations Supported by the Data? Int J Breast Cancer. 2012;2012:9. doi:10.1155/2012/506868.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>2. Anson RM, Guo Z, de Cabo R, et al. Intermittent fasting dissociates beneficial effects of dietary restriction on glucose metabolism and neuronal resistance to injury from calorie intake. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2003;100(10):6216-6220. doi:10.1073/pnas.1035720100.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>3. Haymond MW, Howard C, Ben-Galim E, DeVivo DC. Effects of ketosis on glucose flux in children and adults. Am J Physiol - Endocrinol Metab. 1983;245:E373-E378. <a href="http://ajpendo.physiology.org/ajpendo/245/4/E373.full.pdf">http://ajpendo.physiology.org/ajpendo/245/4/E373.full.pdf</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>4. Champ CE, Palmer JD, Volek JS, et al. Targeting metabolism with a ketogenic diet during the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. J Neurooncol. 2014;117(1):125-131. doi:10.1007/s11060-014-1362-0.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>5. Fine EJ, Segal-Isaacson CJ, Feinman RD, et al. Targeting insulin inhibition as a metabolic therapy in advanced cancer: a pilot safety and feasibility dietary trial in 10 patients. Nutrition. 2012;28(10):1028-1035. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2012.05.001.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>6. Berrigan D, Perkins SN, Haines DC, Hursting SD. Adult-onset calorie restriction and fasting delay spontaneous tumorigenesis in p53-deficient mice. Carcinogenesis. 2002;23(5):817-822. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12016155">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=12016155</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>7. Safdie FM, Dorff T, Quinn D, et al. Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report. Aging (Albany NY). 2009;1(12):988-1007. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20157582">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20157582</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>8. Raffaghello L, Safdie F, Bianchi G, Dorff T, Fontana L, Longo VD. Fasting and differential chemotherapy protection in patients. Cell cycle. 2010;9(22):4474-4476. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21088487">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21088487</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>9. Safdie F, Brandhorst S, Wei M, et al. Fasting enhances the response of glioma to chemo- and radiotherapy. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44603. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044603.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>10. Raffaghello L, Lee C, Safdie FM, et al. Starvation-dependent differential stress resistance protects normal but not cancer cells against high-dose chemotherapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(24):8215-8220. doi:10.1073/pnas.0708100105.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>11. Lee C, Raffaghello L, Brandhorst S, et al. Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy. Sci Transl Med. 2012;4(124):124ra27. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3003293.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>12. Klement RJ, Champ CE. Calories, carbohydrates, and cancer therapy with radiation: exploiting the five R’s through dietary manipulation. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2014:1-13. doi:10.1007/s10555-014-9495-3.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>13. Alirezaei M, Kemball CC, Flynn CT, Wood MR, Whitton JL, Kiosses WB. Short-term fasting induces profound neuronal autophagy. Autophagy. 2010;6(6):702-710. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534972">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534972</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>14. Halagappa VKM, Guo Z, Pearson M, et al. Intermittent fasting and caloric restriction ameliorate age-related behavioral deficits in the triple-transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2007;26(1):212-220. doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2006.12.019. </span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1015">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1015</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1015">Dump Out Your Juices and Do a Real "Cleanse"</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-03-20T15:42:14Z2015-03-20T15:42:14Z1015Dr. Colin ChampGot Cancer? Keep Moving...Living longer is great, but living longer and feeling better is a whole different level of happiness.<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1007">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1007</a></p><p>A cancer diagnosis can be emotionally crippling, and the treatment that follows can be even more crippling both physically and emotionally. Along these lines, cancer patients are often told to hold off on activity during and after treatment so they can have ample time for rest.</p>
<p>While this advice came with good intentions, newer studies are revealing that the opposite may be true for many cancer patients. We have already discussed the issues with weight gain and outcomes for breast cancer patients<sup>1</sup>, and exercising both during and after cancer treatment may be just what a woman needs to help beat her diagnosis. In fact, patients with some cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer, may want to safely increase their activity levels after their diagnosis...</p>
<p><strong>Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Treatment</strong></p>
<p>To my knowledge, no randomized trials exist utilizing exercise as an actual treatment for breast cancer, but many studies have shown that those who exercise have better outcomes. It has been shown that more active breast cancer survivors who engage in moderate physical activity live longer.<sup>2</sup> Even as little as three to five hours of walking per week can significantly increase a woman’s chance of surviving her breast cancer diagnosis.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p><strong>Prostate Cancer Patients Fare the Same</strong></p>
<p>Outcomes for men with prostate cancer, the most common cancer affecting men, appear to have a similar relationship with exercise and increased activity levels. When the activity levels of over 2,000 men with prostate cancer were assessed for nearly two decades, it was found that those men who were active lived significantly longer.<sup>4</sup> Men who walked 90 or more minutes per week at a brisk pace saw their risk of dying cut in half when compared to those men who did not walk, or did so at a very slow pace. Most notably, men who engaged in three or more hours of vigorous activity had a 61% lower risk of dying from their prostate cancer when compared to those men who engaged in less than one hour of vigorous exercise per week. Finally, men who exercised vigorously before and after their diagnosis had the lowest risk of dying from their prostate cancer.</p>
<p>Other data reveal that the key may be in the” briskness” of the walk.<sup>5</sup> Three or more hours of brisk walking per week seemed to be the key mark again, with this amount of activity correlating with a nearly 60% reduced risk of prostate cancer progression. This study also found that if the walking was brisk, the duration may be less important.</p>
<p>Any kind of safe activity may be beneficial. Other studies reveal that men who walk or ride a bike for 20 or more minutes per day or exercise for at least an hour per week will live longer after their prostate cancer diagnosis. The same study revealed that men with prostate cancer who perform household work for an hour or more per day live longer overall. The women reading this may want to pass that statistic along to their husbands.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p><strong>Cancer or No Cancer — Exercise More, Feel Better</strong></p>
<p><strong><a name="_GoBack"></a> </strong>The improvement in the quality of life that exercise provides is well known. For some reason, we often forget that exercise can provide the same benefits for the cancer patient. An analysis of 14 studies has revealed that exercise significantly improves quality of life in breast cancer patients.<sup>7</sup> It also significantly improved physical functioning of women with breast cancer and improved their peak oxygen consumption, while reducing their fatigue.</p>
<p>Women who engage in both aerobic and resistance exercise with weights soon after their breast cancer treatment experience large health-related improvements.<sup>8</sup> They also experience these improvements much faster than those women who wait to start exercising. Men who engaged in an eight-week cardiovascular exercise program during their treatment for prostate cancer with radiation therapy saw an improvement in their cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, and overall quality of life.<sup>9</sup> They also experienced less fatigue, the most common side effect of radiation therapy.</p>
<p>Living longer is great, but living longer and feeling better is a whole different level of happiness.</p>
<p><strong>Keep Moving</strong></p>
<p>Men with prostate cancer who exercise more live longer and feel better.</p>
<p>Women with breast cancer who exercise more live longer and feel better.</p>
<p>Studies have already shown exercise to be as useful as medications for the prevention of coronary heart disease and diabetes and better than medications for patients who have experienced a stroke.<sup>10</sup> If exercise, a free treatment without side effects, can do the same for cancer patients, isn’t it time to give it a go?</p>
<p>Cancer treatment is no walk in the park. It is clearly a physically and emotionally taxing time for men and women alike. However, whether it is during treatment or after, maybe we should take more walks in the park — and vigorous ones at that.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Champ CE, Volek JS, Siglin J, Jin L, Simone NL. Weight Gain, Metabolic Syndrome, and Breast Cancer Recurrence: Are Dietary Recommendations Supported by the Data? </span></span><span><span>Int J Breast Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 2012;2012:9. doi:10.1155/2012/506868.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Sternfeld B, Weltzien E, Quesenberry CP, et al. Physical activity and risk of recurrence and mortality in breast cancer survivors: findings from the LACE study. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 2009;18(1):87-95. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-08-0595.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Holmes MD, Chen WY, Feskanich D, Kroenke CH, Colditz GA. Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. </span></span><span><span>JAMA</span></span><span><span>. 2005;293(20):2479-2486. doi:10.1001/jama.293.20.2479.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci E, Chan JM. Physical activity and survival after prostate cancer diagnosis in the health professionals follow-up study. </span></span><span><span>J Clin Oncol</span></span><span><span>. 2011;29(6):726-732. doi:10.1200/JCO.2010.31.5226.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Richman EL, Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Paciorek A, Carroll PR, Chan JM. Physical activity after diagnosis and risk of prostate cancer progression: data from the cancer of the prostate strategic urologic research endeavor. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Res</span></span><span><span>. 2011;71(11):3889-3895. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-3932.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Bonn SE, Sjölander A, Lagerros YT, et al. Physical activity and survival among men diagnosed with prostate cancer. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 2015;24(1):57-64. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0707.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>7. McNeely ML, Campbell KL, Rowe BH, Klassen TP, Mackey JR, Courneya KS. Effects of exercise on breast cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. </span></span><span><span>CMAJ</span></span><span><span>. 2006;175(1):34-41. doi:10.1503/cmaj.051073.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>8. Milne HM, Wallman KE, Gordon S, Courneya KS. Effects of a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program in breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial. </span></span><span><span>Breast Cancer Res Treat</span></span><span><span>. 2008;108(2):279-288. doi:10.1007/s10549-007-9602-z.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>9. Monga U, Garber SL, Thornby J, et al. Exercise prevents fatigue and improves quality of life in prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. </span></span><span><span>Arch Phys Med Rehabil</span></span><span><span>. 2007;88(11):1416-1422. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.08.110.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>10. Naci H, Ioannidis JPA. Comparative effectiveness of exercise and drug interventions on mortality outcomes: metaepidemiological study. </span></span><span><span>BMJ</span></span><span><span>. 2013;347(oct01_1):f5577. doi:10.1136/bmj.f5577. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1007">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1007</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/1007">Got Cancer? Keep Moving...</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-03-11T21:09:38Z2015-03-11T21:09:38Z1007Dr. Colin ChampSitting: The Eighth Deadly SinThose who sit for long periods are more likely to be overweight, have diabetes and die from a heart attack...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001</a></p><p>The explanation of the cardinal or seven deadly sins became popular during the early days of Christianity to help instruct us mortals on how to avoid the deadly trap of sin. Nowadays, most people are familiar with <em>Seven</em>, the psychological thriller starring Brad Pitt. These sins were traditionally known as gluttony, sloth, wrath, greed, pride, lust, and envy.</p>
<p>However, the famous European painters and sculptors at the end of the Middle Ages began to popularize and immortalize the eight deadly sins within the Catholic Church. These were known as:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. A proud look</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2. A lying tongue</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">3. Hands that shed innocent blood</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">4. A heart that devises wicked plots</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">5. Feet that are swift to run into mischief</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">6. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">7. Him that soweth discord among brethren</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">8. Him who siteth for longeth timeths</p>
<p>The eighth was not included in the newer interpretations of the Biblical texts, but the team here at <em>Health Wire</em> searched near and far to find the original text, and it does in fact include these ominous words.*</p>
<p><strong>Sitting: The Modern Way of Life</strong></p>
<p>As terrible as it may be, the 9-5 office setting is impossible for most of us to avoid if we want to feed our families. Unfortunately, this more often means no sun exposure during the day, little to no activity throughout the day, and sitting for hours on end. This is basically a recipe for disaster that most of us engage in on a daily basis. The fact that it is considered a normal aspect of daily life only adds to the issues.</p>
<p><strong>The Problem with Sitting:</strong></p>
<p>According to a study in 2004, the average American sits for at least eight hours per day.<sup>1</sup> In this study, over 6,000 Americans wore monitors that tracked their activity. However, they appeared to only wear the trackers for 14 hours a day, or over 50% of the time. It is likely that the average American sits a lot more than even eight hours per day.</p>
<p>Studies show that occupational sitting is associated with a higher incidence of diabetes and death.<sup>2</sup> Those who sit for long periods are more likely to die from a heart attack.<sup>3</sup> Another study reveals that, unsurprisingly, the more we sit, the heavier we are (in terms of body mass index).<sup>4</sup> Other data show the more miles we drive (obviously sitting), the fatter we are.<sup>5</sup></p>
<p>In fact, men who drive for over ten hours per week or are sedentary for over 23 hours per week have a significantly higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p>Simply put, those that sit a lot are heavier, have more heart attacks, and die more often than those that stand.</p>
<p>Can you exercise off excessive sitting?</p>
<p>A recent study from Australia looked at the sitting habits of almost a quarter million people.<sup>7</sup> It found that, of those people who died, the more they sat, the higher their risk of death.</p>
<p>When comparing the sitting time of those in the study who sat for more than four hours, they found that:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. Those people who sat for 8-11 hours per day had a 15% relative increase in the risk of death.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2. Those people who sat for more than eleven hours per day had a 40% relative increase in risk of death.</p>
<p>An interesting tidbit of this study was that this risk of death was persistent when they looked at physical activity levels among the study participants. Another study supports similar findings, as its assessment of over 120,000 people revealed that sitting for over six hours per day was independently associated with total mortality. This was found to be true regardless of an individual’s physical activity level.<sup>8</sup></p>
<p>In other words, if you spend most of the day in a chair and then kick it into overdrive in the gym in the evening, it may not make up for the extended period of sitting. Perhaps activity levels throughout the day as a whole are more important than a lot of sitting intermixed with one period of compartmentalized exercise.</p>
<p><strong>Stand up for your Health</strong></p>
<p>If you spend most of the day sitting, then stop. Increase your activity levels through these simple steps:</p>
<p>1. Make a standing desk.</p>
<p>2. Walk around as often as you can.</p>
<p>3. Never, ever, ever take the elevator.</p>
<p>4. Bring kettle bells into your office and swing them around at lunch.</p>
<p>5. Ignore your coworkers when they make fun of you — they are just jealous. And besides, you are giving them something to talk about in the lunch room when you are out for your walk.</p>
<p>The studies are overwhelming, and it is nearly impossible to argue — sitting is literally killing us.</p>
<p>An hour at the gym or going for a run is not offsetting the unhealthy nature of sitting. Make a change for better health and attack sitting, which may be your easiest health battle. It is time to crush that eighth deadly sin and stand up for your health.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><em>*The eighth sin was made up by me, and in no way is an official deadly sin, though it should be…</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok?type=banner&&affId=166150&&img=fqef.jpg"><img src="http://imageshack.com/scaled/medium/199/fqef.jpg" border="0" /></a><img style="display: none;" src="http://impression.clickinc.com/impressions/servlet/Impression?merchant=70211&&type=impression&&affId=166150&&img=fqef.jpg" border="0" /></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p>1. Matthews CE, Chen KY, Freedson PS, et al. Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors in the United States, 2003-2004. Am J Epidemiol. 2008;167(7):875-881. doi:10.1093/aje/kwm390.</p>
<p>2. Van Uffelen JGZ, Wong J, Chau JY, et al. Occupational sitting and health risks: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2010;39(4):379-388. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2010.05.024.</p>
<p>3. Proper KI, Singh AS, van Mechelen W, Chinapaw MJM. Sedentary behaviors and health outcomes among adults: a systematic review of prospective studies. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40(2):174-182. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2010.10.015.</p>
<p>4. Santos R, Soares-Miranda L, Vale S, Moreira C, Marques AI, Mota J. Sitting time and body mass index, in a Portuguese sample of men: results from the Azorean Physical Activity and Health Study (APAHS). doi:10.3390/ijerph7041500.</p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/1001">Sitting: The Eighth Deadly Sin</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-03-05T18:48:09Z2015-03-05T18:48:09Z1001Dr. Colin ChampRunning from Health: The Perils of JoggingThe first person to run a marathon died moments later...here's the takeaway.<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/991">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/991</a></p><p>In my book, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine</a></em>, I dedicate an entire chapter to the modern jogging movement. The chapter starts with the storied run of Pheidippides, who ran all the way from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to deliver the message that they had won the war.</p>
<p>Apparently, he died moments later.</p>
<p>I joke in my book that the death of Pheidippides revealed to the world the dangers of marathon running and how this should have been the first and last marathon. As over 500 marathons are run per year throughout the world, this is obviously not the case. I then went on to discuss the research regarding excessive running and the detriments to health that ensue from such wear and tear on the body. Excessive long-distance running also appears to give the heart a pounding and can leave it unable to function properly later in life.<sup>1–4</sup> As I discuss in my book, many runners would even test positive for a heart attack if they were presented to the emergency room shortly after running the Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>Many agreed with my comments regarding the health issues of running and many did not. In fact, judging by their responses, I would say that a group of people passionately disagreed with me. A frequent comment that I would receive was:</p>
<p>“Running excessively is better than not running at all.”</p>
<p>I received dozens of comments like this one quite regularly. The question remains whether this is the case…</p>
<p><strong>Is Excessive Running Better than no Running at All?</strong></p>
<p>A recent article helps to answer this question and common criticism of my book. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published findings from the Copenhagen City Heart Study this month. In the study, 1,098 healthy joggers and 3,950 healthy non-joggers were prospectively followed since 2001.<sup>5</sup> The author line includes the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_O%27Keefe_%28cardiologist%29">cardiologist Dr. James O’Keefe</a>, one of the leaders in medicine, who promotes eating and exercising like our ancestors. Their results may be shocking to many runners out there.</p>
<p><strong>How Much Running is Enough?</strong></p>
<p>The group compared sedentary non-joggers with joggers by assessing how long and how often they ran per week. They found that when compared with sedentary individuals, those who ran 1-2.4 hours per week had the lowest mortality, with a 71% reduction. Those who ran once per week also had a similar reduction in mortality, with those who ran 2-3 times per week not far behind.</p>
<p>Finally, they divided joggers into light, moderate, and strenuous runners. Their findings revealed that the light joggers had nearly an 80% reduction in mortality with an insignificant reduction in mortality for moderate joggers. Strenuous joggers had double the risk of death, though this was not statistically significant.</p>
<p>However, most interesting was the fact that while light and moderate joggers had lower mortality than sedentary non-joggers, strenuous joggers appear to “have a mortality rate not statistically different from that of the sedentary group.” In other words, excessive jogging may be no different than not jogging at all. In fact, with all the wear and tear that occurs with excessive running, some could argue that it may actually be worse. For those who do run, once a week at a slow pace may be best, and at most, 2-3 times per week for no longer than 2.4 hours.</p>
<p>This data adds to the large amount of studies revealing the harmful aspects of long-distance and excessive running.</p>
<p><strong>Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)</strong></p>
<p>In this well-written book, Elliot Aronson and Carol Tavris discuss how and why people make wrong or poor choices and continue to rationalize them. People, when faced with the obvious fact that they are wrong, have two options: fix the issues or dig deeper to try to rationalize their decision. Most people go with the latter. For instance, when people with a strong political view were given information that strongly disputed their view, their beliefs actually strengthened.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p>I believed in many common “healthy” dogmas, only to find that they were destroying my body. It took me a while to convince myself that I had been wrong for so long. I often get the same response from certain committed exercise groups when studies show that their activities may not be the healthiest. I think that for the hardcore runners out there, it is likely going to take some time and frustration for this realization to set in.</p>
<p><strong>Healthy Mistakes and Cognitive Dissonance</strong></p>
<p>Excessive running may just be one of the many misguided lifestyle habits that extremely healthy people engage in with the goal of being healthy. I have had my fair share of views that I believed to be healthy, and begrudgingly continue to attempt to peel them away to this day.</p>
<p>Trainers, coaches, meatheads, and even physicians, who were not all well-researched, continually imposed a plethora of “health” recommendations upon me throughout my childhood of playing sports. It took me quite some time to peel away the layers of wrong information and increase the right during my personal health journey. Many are starting to peel away at the healthy running myth as they read the strong data supporting the detriments of long-distance running. Yes, many turn to denial first, but eventually the data begins to speak for itself.</p>
<p>The other point here is that being active is clearly the healthiest approach, as long as it is in moderation and does not excessively pound on the body. The fact that long, hammering runs are likely unhealthy should be welcomed by many since it means that we would no longer need to engage in grueling exercise regimens that eat away at our bodies and free time throughout the week.</p>
<p><strong>Moving (Running) Forward</strong></p>
<p>A tibia that feels like braille from dozens of shin splints, multiple herniated disks in my spine, a torn ACL and MCL, a broken tibia, multiple broken toes that are unable to bend, and a knee that throbs nearly every day continually remind me of my “healthy mistakes.” Nowadays, I always try to ensure that I am following a lifestyle that promotes my global health, though often I still miss the mark.</p>
<p>Many runners out there are doing the same. Unfortunately, a lot of us have been spoon-fed universal health recommendations that mean well, but are wrong. The silver lining is that with the explosion of health and exercise research, we have the tools to change these misguided behaviors.</p>
<p>Is running excessively better than not running at all? According to this study above, no, but we still do not have a definitive answer. Clearly being active is better than being sedentary, and I’ll leave it at that.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Wilson M, O’Hanlon R, Prasad S, et al. Diverse patterns of myocardial fibrosis in lifelong, veteran endurance athletes. </span></span><span><span>J Appl Physiol</span></span><span><span>. 2011;110(6):1622-1626. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01280.2010.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Neilan TG, Januzzi JL, Lee-Lewandrowski E, et al. Myocardial Injury and Ventricular Dysfunction Related to Training Levels Among Nonelite Participants in the Boston Marathon. </span></span><span><span>Circulation</span></span><span><span>. 2006;114(22):2325-2333. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.106.647461.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Trivax JE, Franklin BA, Goldstein JA, et al. Acute cardiac effects of marathon running. </span></span><span><span>J Appl Physiol</span></span><span><span>. 2010;108(5):1148-1153. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01151.2009.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Lysholm J, Wiklander J. Injuries in runners. </span></span><span><span>Am J Sports Med</span></span><span><span>. 1987;15(2):168-171. doi:10.1177/036354658701500213.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Schnohr P, O’Keefe JH, Marott JL, Lange P, Jensen GB. Dose of Jogging and Long-Term Mortality. </span></span><span><span>J Am Coll Cardiol</span></span><span><span>. 2015;65(5):411-419. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2014.11.023.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Nyhan B, Reifler J, Ubel PA. The hazards of correcting myths about health care reform. </span></span><span><span>Med Care</span></span><span><span>. 2013;51(2):127-132. doi:10.1097/MLR.0b013e318279486b. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/991">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/991</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/weight-loss/991">Running from Health: The Perils of Jogging</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-02-24T19:52:03Z2015-02-24T19:52:03Z991Dr. Colin ChampNever, Ever Drink This "Nutritious" Beverage I would not feed these "supplements" to my worst enemy...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990</a></p><p>In a classic Simpsons episode, Homer decides to climb the “Murderhorn,” the tallest mountain in Springfield. This occurs after homer joins a 24-hour gym (that he pronounces “gyme”) and meets Rainier Wolfcastle, the show's equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger.</p>
<p>After hitting the weights, building some muscle, and losing his famous belly, Homer is approached by “Powersauce,” a supplement company that wants to promote the climb by “fueling” Homer with its energy bars. Homer eventually makes it to the peak of the mountain, after he nearly dies. It also became known to Homer during the trek that his Powersauce bars were actually made of apple cores and shredded Chinese newspaper.</p>
<p>This episode comes to my mind every time I hear a patient tell me they were recommended Boost, Ensure, Glucerna, or one of the many popular meal replacement shakes and supplements. Unfortunately, this episode pops into my head quite often...</p>
<p><strong>Cancer Patients, Cachexia, and Nutrition</strong></p>
<p>Significant muscle loss remains a concern for cancer patients during treatment. The treatment itself can cause eating difficulties due to nausea, bowel issues, or even damage to the mouth or esophagus resulting in pain with swallowing and difficulty eating adequate amounts of food. Chemoradiation also disrupts normal taste and salivary gland function. It is surprising to see how little people will eat when they cannot taste the food. Oftentimes, this leaves liquid meal replacement products as the go-to source for nutrition.</p>
<p>However, weight loss in cancer patients is not always bad. In many cases, weight loss may even be helpful, as fat tissue gives off inflammatory factors and hormones that can fuel cancer growth.<sup>1,2</sup> Weight gain in breast cancer patients, for instance, can lead to increased chances that the treated cancer will recur.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p>Cachexia, on the other hand, is the unwanted, significant, and progressive loss of appetite, weight, and body mass (especially muscle).<sup>4</sup> It is also accompanied by a state of systemic inflammation throughout the body. Cachexia is the fear that has led many dietitians and oncologists to tell patients to eat whatever they can, just do not lose weight. The loss of muscle mass from cachexia in cancer patients is usually considered irreversible.</p>
<p>However, decades of research have started to tell us what works and what doesn’t when it comes to stopping the loss of muscle mass in cancer patients. Earlier studies in mice showed that medium chain triglycerides (MCT) appear to halt muscle loss without feeding cancer cells.<sup>5</sup> In fact, weight loss was reduced in proportion to the amount of fat in the diet. Further data showed that MCT increased ketones in the blood, which may also help to combat cancer cachexia.<sup>6</sup> More recent studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil may help fight cachexia.<sup>7</sup></p>
<p>The key here is that healthy fat sources appear to combat cachexia, while recommending mega doses of sugar and other poor sources of nutrition provide little benefit. Simply telling patients to eat more, whether that is ice cream or popsicles, does not work as it does not address the underlying inflammatory and metabolic issues.<sup>8</sup></p>
<p><em>What about telling patients to turn to the standard — Boost, Ensure, Glucerna, and Carnation Instant Breakfast?</em></p>
<p>I have compiled what I believe (in my humble opinion) are the worst possible ingredients to feed anyone, let alone cancer patients:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Sugar</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>High-fructose corn syrup</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Vegetable oils: Full of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and known to increase inflammation. As cachexia is inflammation gone amok, inflammatory food is likely the last thing we want to feed cancer patients.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Poor protein sources</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>What’s on the Label?</strong></p>
<p>Perusing the nutrition facts label from Ensure Complete gives a clear picture as to what kind of supplement it is:</p>
<p><img src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/08/29328/ensure-label.png" border="0" alt="ensure label" width="475" height="184" /></p>
<p>As you can see, this “supplement” has a whopping 51 grams of carbohydrates with 13g of protein and 11g of fat. Twenty grams of sugar further sweeten (or worsen) the deal for its consumers.</p>
<p>But it gets worse. Here is the ingredient label:</p>
<p><img src="https://images.angelpub.com/2015/08/29330/ensure-label.png" border="0" alt="ensure label" width="443" height="208" /></p>
<p>The ingredients listed on nutrition labels are in order of quantity. In other words, the first four ingredients often make up the bulk of the product. In the case of Ensure Complete, the first four ingredients are water, corn maltodextrin, sugar, and canola oil.</p>
<p>Two of the first three ingredients are carbohydrates, with the second being pure sugar. Pile this on top of all the issues with cancer and sugar and radiation and chemotherapy that we have discussed about a million times (see <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/herbs-supplements/963">here</a>, <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/948">here</a>, <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/924">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/897">here</a>). The fourth ingredient is Canola Oil, the vegetable oil created from the seed of the rape plant. It was first made in Canada in the 1970s, thus giving it the name Canola — Can stands for Canada and ola for oil. In 2011, 25% of canola was manufactured from genetically modified sources (GMOs). Nowadays that number is apparently 90%.</p>
<p>Canola oil is one of the many vegetable oils that go through extreme processing. This includes using the solvent hexane to extract the oil from seeds. This gunk is then pressed and washed with sodium hydroxide. The oil is also heated and steamed to remove the foul odor and eventually bleached to lighten the color.</p>
<p><em>Sound healthy?</em></p>
<p>As if this process did not sound bad enough, it damages the oil creating oxidation and trans fatty acids.<sup>9</sup> Trans fatty acids have been found to cause many health issues like heart disease, inflammation, and cancer.<sup>10–13</sup> Canola oil also has double the amount of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids versus omega-3 fatty acids. While omega-3 fatty acids have many health benefits, the plant form found in canola oil (alpha linoleic acid) does not have the health benefits of the forms found in fish and animals, like DHA and EPA.</p>
<p>Furthermore, ALA has to be converted to EPA or DHA, a process that the human body is not very good at.<sup>14</sup> The body also gets worse at this with higher amounts of omega-6s, further limiting any health benefit from this processed vegetable oil. As cachexia is a state of inflammation, it stands to reason that this may not be the best step forward for those cancer patients struggling to keep on weight.</p>
<p><strong>At Least There is Protein</strong></p>
<p>Way back when I was in high school, perusing the aisles of my local GNC in an effort to find a good protein shake to build some muscle for the girls at school, I would always find the best deal on soy protein isolate. While whey was always around $30 per bottle, soy protein was usually under $10. I remember asking the meathead that worked behind the counter why that was the case. “Because soy protein isolate is garbage,” was his response. I went home and did some research, and he was right.</p>
<p>Somewhere along the line, people began considering soy products healthy. Their prices gradually shot up as a result. The cheap garbage on the bottom shelf at GNC was said to have a plethora of health benefits and was worthy of a higher price tag.</p>
<p>Yet, while some soy products were originally thought to have health benefits, and while this is a controversial topic,<sup>15</sup> most people consider soy protein isolate to contain very little health benefit and to be potentially dangerous. Data has revealed that soy protein isolate stimulates breast tissue in premenopausal women, causing excessive growth of breast tissue (hyperplastic epithelial cells), secretion of breast fluid, and elevated levels of estrogen throughout the body.<sup>16</sup> Even in the vegetarian community, it seems that enthusiasm for soy protein isolate has simmered down.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, you will notice that the number two protein ingredient of Ensure Complete is soy protein isolate. This continues and rounds out the usage of utterly second-rate ingredients in these supplements.</p>
<p><strong>Hate the Players, not the Game</strong></p>
<p>While I keyed in on Ensure with this article, the other supplement drinks are similar, or unfortunately, even worse. Glucerna is for diabetics, yet the label reveals a handful of similar ingredients. Boost High Protein contains sugar as the largest non-water ingredient with a mind-blowing 27g per serving. Carnation Instant Breakfast is an absolute abomination, with its number one ingredient (besides water) as corn syrup. Yes, its number one ingredient is a combination of the number one and two worst ingredients listed above.</p>
<p><strong>The Unfortunate Conclusions</strong></p>
<p>I would not feed these “supplements” to my worst enemy, let alone a cancer patient. Seeing them permeate cancer centers throughout the country is extremely frustrating for those of us who want our patients to get adequate and actual nutrition during their cancer treatment. These products are even promoted to children, with the Carnation Instant Breakfast website telling parents to “add a twist” to their child’s breakfast. Is it any wonder that we have an obesity crisis on our hands when kids are told to drink 27g of sugar for breakfast?</p>
<p>From kids to cancer patients, the craziest part of the “standard” of meal replacement is that we could actually have the argument of whether Powersauce bars (i.e. Chinese newspaper and apple cores) are perhaps healthier than these typical “nutritious” meal replacement drinks like Ensure, Boost, Glucerna, and Carnation Instant Breakfast.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Van Kruijsdijk RCM, van der Wall E, Visseren FLJ. Obesity and Cancer: The Role of Dysfunctional Adipose Tissue. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 2009;18(10):2569-2578. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-09-0372.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Simone BA, Champ CE, Rosenberg AL, et al. Selectively starving cancer cells through dietary manipulation: methods and clinical implications. </span></span><span><span>Futur Oncol</span></span><span><span>. 2013;9(7):959-976. doi:10.2217/fon.13.31.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Champ CE, Volek JS, Siglin J, Jin L, Simone NL. Weight Gain, Metabolic Syndrome, and Breast Cancer Recurrence: Are Dietary Recommendations Supported by the Data? </span></span><span><span>Int J Breast Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 2012;2012:9. doi:10.1155/2012/506868.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Fearon K, Strasser F, Anker SD, et al. Definition and classification of cancer cachexia: an international consensus. </span></span><span><span>Lancet Oncol</span></span><span><span>. 2011;12(5):489-495. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70218-7.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Tisdale MJ, Brennan RA, Fearon KC. Reduction of weight loss and tumour size in a cachexia model by a high fat diet. </span></span><span><span>Br J Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 1987;56(1):39-43. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2001676&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2001676&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed February 15, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>6. Tisdale MJ, Brennan RA. A comparison of long-chain triglycerides and medium-chain triglycerides on weight loss and tumour size in a cachexia model. </span></span><span><span>Br J Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 1988;58(5):580-583. <a href="http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2246820&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract">http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2246820&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract</a>. Accessed February 15, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>7. Giacosa A, Rondanelli M. Fish oil and treatment of cancer cachexia. </span></span><span><span>Genes Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2008;3(1):25-28. doi:10.1007/s12263-008-0078-1.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>8. Bosaeus I. Nutritional support in multimodal therapy for cancer cachexia. </span></span><span><span>Support Care Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 2008;16(5):447-451. doi:10.1007/s00520-007-0388-7.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>9. O’KEEFE S, GASKINS-WRIGHT S, WILEY V, CHEN I-C. LEVELS OF TRANS GEOMETRICAL ISOMERS OF ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS IN SOME UNHYDROGENATED U. S. VEGETABLE OILS. </span></span><span><span>J Food Lipids</span></span><span><span>. 1994;1(3):165-176. doi:10.1111/j.1745-4522.1994.tb00244.x.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>10. Lemaitre RN, King IB, Raghunathan TE, et al. Cell Membrane Trans-Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest. </span></span><span><span>Circulation</span></span><span><span>. 2002;105(6):697-701. doi:10.1161/hc0602.103583.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>11. Lopez-Garcia E, Schulze MB, Meigs JB, et al. Consumption of Trans Fatty Acids Is Related to Plasma Biomarkers of Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction. </span></span><span><span>J Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2005;135(3):562-566. <a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/3/562.abstract">http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/3/562.abstract</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>12. Reddy BS, Tanaka T, Simi B. Effect of different levels of dietary trans fat or corn oil on azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in F344 rats. </span></span><span><span>J Natl Cancer Inst</span></span><span><span>. 1985;75(4):791-798. <a href="http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/3862909">http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/3862909</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>13. Stender S, Dyerberg J, Astrup A. High Levels of Industrially Produced Trans Fat in Popular Fast Foods. </span></span><span><span>N Engl J Med</span></span><span><span>. 2006;354(15):1650-1652. doi:doi:10.1056/NEJMc052959.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>14. Gerster H. Can adults adequately convert alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) to eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3)? </span></span><span><span>Int J Vitam Nutr Res</span></span><span><span>. 1998;68(3):159-173. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9637947">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9637947</a>. Accessed February 14, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>15. Xiao CW. Health Effects of Soy Protein and Isoflavones in Humans. </span></span><span><span>J Nutr</span></span><span><span>. 2008;138(6):1244S - 1249. <a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/6/1244S.short">http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/6/1244S.short</a>. Accessed February 12, 2015.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>16. Petrakis N, Barnes S, King E, et al. Stimulatory influence of soy protein isolate on breast secretion in pre- and postmenopausal women. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 1996;5(10):785-794. <a href="http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/5/10/785.short">http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/5/10/785.short</a>. Accessed February 12, 2015. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/990">Never, Ever Drink This "Nutritious" Beverage </a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-02-20T17:26:39Z2015-02-20T17:26:39Z990Dr. Colin ChampIs Obesity Actually a Disease?The powerful hold the pharmaceutical industry has on the modern physician becomes overwhelmingly apparent with research like this...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/986">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/986</a></p><p>Medicine has always been a gray area and it will always remain as such. Current standards and treatments will be drastically different in a decade and beliefs will change as often as the seasons.</p>
<p>Even the stalwarts of modern medicine are often engaged in hotly debated topics. For instance, cholesterol recommendations are passionately argued between the experts, with some tracking and aiming to manipulate these numbers constantly and other physicians describing them as irrelevant.</p>
<p>The problem with this gray area in medicine is the burden that it creates in regards to treating specific diagnoses, especially when it is unclear if these diagnoses even need to be treated. This of course favors a healthy lifestyle to prevent disease, but this brings about issues when the experts do not even agree on whether something is a disease or a normal aspect of living.</p>
<p>It is tough to advise people on a lifestyle to avoid a disease that does not exist or to avoid a disease state that may just be a normal aspect of life. Along these lines, it appears unclear if obesity is even considered a disease by many.</p>
<p><em>Do you think obesity is a disease?</em></p>
<p><em>Does your doctor?</em></p>
<p><em>How about erectile dysfunction?</em></p>
<p><em>Which is worse for your health?</em></p>
<p>Ask and you shall receive…</p>
<p>A recent article hit on this issue like no other. There is no better method for figuring out what people are thinking than <span style="text-decoration: underline;">to actually ask them</span> — and this holds for physicians as well.</p>
<p>In this article they asked a number of Finnish people, many of whom were doctors and politicians. In total, they questioned 3000 laypeople, 1500 doctors, 1500 nurses, and all 200 parliament members.<sup>1</sup> Multiple health-related issues were assessed by these different groups of people.</p>
<p>They responded whether they strongly agreed or disagreed with a stated disease on a scale of one to five. If the respondents disagreed with a stated disease, it was thus concluded to be a normal part of life and not a disease. The vastly different groups that were questioned adds a nice twist to the study...</p>
<p><strong>The Results</strong></p>
<p>Only about 50% of those asked actually responded, which is quite typical for survey studies. The scientists asked the respondents to rate a total of 60 total health states. These included breast cancer, ADHD, fibromyalgia, alcoholism, insomnia, smoking, and even wrinkles. For a figure of all the results, <a href="http://m.bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/6/e001632/F2.large.jpg">click here</a>.</p>
<p>They found large discrepancies between the views of the four groups. However, while physicians as a group considered more of these issues as disease states, their responses still varied significantly. The authors also asked which diseases should be treated with medications or methods supported with taxpayer money, and this only further complicated the responses.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while over half of physicians believed that having elevated cholesterol was a disease, few considered obesity as a disease. Of the laypeople questioned, even fewer saw obesity as a disease.</p>
<p>To put this in perspective, half of the medical field felt that a lab value (cholesterol) was a diseased-state. Yet, being obese, a state that can increase the risk of cancer through inflammation and fueling cancer cells,<sup>2</sup> and also can lead to diabetes,<sup>3</sup> esophageal damage and cancer,<sup>4</sup> joint damage and mobility issues,<sup>5</sup> and basically dozens of other health issues, is not even considered a disease by the vast majority of physicians.</p>
<p><strong>The Burden of Responsibility</strong></p>
<p>The authors of this study also keyed in on an unfortunate, but not surprising finding: “people tend to think of diseases as conditions for which individuals do not bear primary responsibility, afflictions of which the sufferer is at least to some extent a victim.” Perhaps if we are blaming obese people for being obese, then many do not view this as a disease. This view was somewhat inconsistent, however, as alcoholism, gambling, and several other states of pathologic behavior were still considered diseases.</p>
<p>Perhaps obesity is more similar to gambling or alcohol addiction than many would like to believe. Over half of physicians believed drug addiction was a disease, yet few believed food addiction was. The vast majority of physicians believed dental cavities were a disease; an interesting finding knowing that cavities are strongly related to dietary behaviors.</p>
<p>Inconsistencies persist…</p>
<p>Regardless of who gets the blame, it is still the job of our health leaders to attempt to point people in the right direction to avoid obesity, just as we would do with alcoholics. Along these lines, efforts to fight obesity with lifestyle modification are desperately needed by local communities, social groups and, yes, physicians.</p>
<p><strong>Fighting Obesity</strong></p>
<p>Is it any wonder why lifestyle habits like a healthy diet, exercise, and other preventative health measures pale in comparison to chasing numbers with statins and other medications in our doctors' offices? If they do not even believe obesity is a diseased state, why would they discuss measures to avoid or reverse it?</p>
<p>Certainly most doctors view obesity as a problem, though apparently most would not stretch as far as considering it a disease. Is it because the difficulty it takes to avoid or treat it? Perhaps. When the vast majority of physicians consider states like elevated cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, and other conditions that can be measured with a number and treated with a pill, it becomes rather clear what we define as a disease these days.</p>
<p>As a closing thought, while obesity continues to climb at alarming rates, bankrupting health care and the well-being of our nation, more physicians considered erectile dysfunction a disease than obesity. The powerful hold the pharmaceutical industry has on the modern physician becomes overwhelmingly apparent with research papers like this.</p>
<p>Until doctors start to embrace lifestyle changes as healthy preventative measures, no purple pill is going to stop our country’s health decline.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok?type=banner&&affId=166150&&img=fqef.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://imageshack.com/scaled/medium/199/fqef.jpg" border="0" /></a><img style="display: none;" src="http://impression.clickinc.com/impressions/servlet/Impression?merchant=70211&&type=impression&&affId=166150&&img=fqef.jpg" border="0" /></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Tikkinen KAO, Leinonen JS, Guyatt GH, Ebrahim S, Järvinen TLN. What is a disease? Perspectives of the public, health professionals and legislators. </span></span><span><span>BMJ Open</span></span><span><span>. 2012;2(6). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001632.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Van Kruijsdijk RCM, van der Wall E, Visseren FLJ. Obesity and Cancer: The Role of Dysfunctional Adipose Tissue. </span></span><span><span>Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev</span></span><span><span>. 2009;18(10):2569-2578. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-09-0372.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Kahn SE, Hull RL, Utzschneider KM. Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. </span></span><span><span>Nature</span></span><span><span>. 2006;444(7121):840-846. doi:nature05482 [pii] 10.1038/nature05482.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Akiyama T, Yoneda M, Maeda S, Nakajima A, Koyama S, Inamori M. Visceral obesity and the risk of Barrett’s esophagus. </span></span><span><span>Digestion</span></span><span><span>. 2011;83(3):142-145. doi:10.1159/000321810.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Messier SP, Mihalko SL, Legault C, et al. Effects of intensive diet and exercise on knee joint loads, inflammation, and clinical outcomes among overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis: the IDEA randomized clinical trial. </span></span><span><span>JAMA</span></span><span><span>. 2013;310(12):1263-1273. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.277669. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/986">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/986</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/986">Is Obesity Actually a Disease?</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-02-12T20:26:11Z2015-02-12T20:26:11Z986Dr. Colin ChampBooze and Health: Everything You Need to KnowAlcohol, cancer and moderation...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/979">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/979</a></p><p>My articles here at <em>Health Wire</em> have recently been touching on the potential health benefits of alcohol, and specifically wine, quite a bit. I am not sure if it is my cabin fever while being stuck inside during these bitter cold winter months in Pittsburgh, or a new wine app that I downloaded on my phone.</p>
<p>In the past several weeks, we have discussed the <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978">“Spanish Ketogenic Diet”</a> along with some benefits of wine that you likely <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/938">never even considered</a>. Yet, while some wine may be healthy for us, some people forget to draw the line where enough is enough.</p>
<p>In fact, some people follow a very strict and healthy lifestyle, but then seem to hypocritically turn it off when it comes to the excessive drinking of alcohol, or even binge drinking...</p>
<p><strong>Binge Drinking: Not Just for Kids</strong></p>
<p>Binge drinking oftentimes occurs in college,<sup>1</sup> but in actuality persists throughout adulthood for many.<sup>2</sup> Heavy drinking in one sitting (five or more drinks) at any age is both unhealthy and unsafe, but the numbers show that it is increasing among adults.<sup>2</sup> I often see many of my friends or colleagues follow a strict diet and lifestyle throughout the week and then effortlessly consume an excessive amount of alcohol on the weekend. And it is more than just on special occasions…</p>
<p>Besides the fact that binging on alcohol increases acute safety issues like car wrecks, assault, and situations that can lead to an increased risk of death, it also increases many chronic medical conditions over time. These can include things like liver dysfunction and multiple types of cancer.</p>
<p>People seem to forget the effect on cancer that may result from overloading on alcohol...</p>
<p><strong>Alcohol and Cancer</strong></p>
<p>While the exact mechanism is unclear, alcohol interferes with several physiologic processes that can lead to cancer, including the metabolism of folate and the repair of DNA damage.<sup>3</sup> Also, alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde, which can damage our genes. It also increases estrogens within the body, which can potentially fuel hormonally-active cancers like breast and prostate cancer. Finally, it can increase free radicals, which damage our organs and cells.</p>
<p><strong>The Brighter Side</strong></p>
<p>However, moderate alcohol consumption is not all gloom and doom. When we do not inundate our body with large amounts of alcohol, there may be some health benefits. As described above, alcohol is a poison to a degree and must be metabolized and excreted from the body. Therefore, as with any poison, large amounts can lead to multiple heath issues. However, lesser amounts may provide the benefits of improving our heart health, benefiting our cholesterol profiles, and perhaps even acting as antioxidants.<sup>4</sup></p>
<p>Wine contains many antioxidants, like resveratrol, quercetin, and catechin, along with polyphenols like anthocyanins, which appear to protect our hearts and organs from free radicals. It also increases HDL, a task that can be difficult at times even with costly medication. Finally, wine may protect against several chronic diseases, like type II diabetes.<sup>5</sup></p>
<p>A recent study of several thousand senior citizens (taking place in Bordeaux of all places) revealed that wine consumption correlated with a significant decrease in dementia and Alzheimer's disease in those who drank 250-500ml per day. This equates to 2-3 glasses per day of what I consider a normal pour.</p>
<p>But again, this is drinking in moderation. Overloading our body with excessive amounts of alcohol in a single sitting paints quite a different picture...</p>
<p><strong>How Much Alcohol is Just Right?</strong></p>
<p>Like most questions when it comes to health and nutrition, we do not know the exact answer. For some, it is clearly best to avoid alcohol altogether. For those of us who are able to drink in moderation, the data seems strongest for 1-2 glasses of alcohol per day. While red wine may provide the strongest benefit, other studies reveal that people who drink wine may merely eat healthier, creating a “chicken or the egg” phenomena.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p>A large Danish study analyzed over 12,000 people and looked at the number of drinks and types of alcohol to help answer this question. They found that heavy drinkers of any type of alcohol reported suboptimal health, while wine drinkers generally had better health. Interestingly, beer drinkers generally experienced more suboptimal health (50% more) than wine drinkers. Again, we must consider the chicken or the egg here. As a side note, while many studies point towards wine as providing the largest benefit, other studies show that it does not matter what type of alcohol is consumed to derive the health benefit.<sup>7</sup></p>
<p>A final and interesting finding of this study was that suboptimal health was found to be J-shaped. In other words, those who did not consume alcohol or those who consumed high amounts experienced suboptimal health. Along these lines, the sweet spot for wine consumption was smack dab in the middle, and those who consumed excessive amounts seemed to lose the benefit. The authors concluded that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“a light to moderate wine intake is related to good self-perceived health, whereas this is not the case for beer and spirits.”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Keeping in mind this study only looked at associations, it supports past data showing potential benefits of moderate wine consumption.</p>
<p><strong>My Personal Alcohol Habits</strong></p>
<p>Regardless of what the exact mechanism by which wine may benefit health is, and how many drinks per day is optimal, one thing is for sure:</p>
<p><em>Excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking lead to suboptimal health and decision-making. Like the many other aspects of health, with alcohol and even red wine, you can certainly have too much of a good thing.</em></p>
<p>I will continue my nightly glass of red. Sometimes I may push the limits on this at weddings or other celebrations where I get really crazy, and have three glasses…</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p><em><strong>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</strong></em></p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span>1. Wechsler H, Dowdall GW, Davenport A, Castillo S. Correlates of college student binge drinking. Am J Public Health. 1995;85(7):921-926. doi:10.2105/AJPH.85.7.921.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>2. Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Mokdad A, Denny C, Serdula MK, Marks JS. Binge Drinking Among US Adults. JAMA. 2003;289(1):70-75. doi:10.1001/jama.289.1.70.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>3. Boffetta P, Hashibe M. Alcohol and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2006;7(2):149-156. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(06)70577-0.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>4. Lindberg ML, Amsterdam EA. Alcohol, wine, and cardiovascular health. Clin Cardiol. 2008;31(8):347-351. doi:10.1002/clc.20263.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>5. Tomera JF. Current knowledge of the health benefits and disadvantages of wine consumption. Trends Food Sci Technol. 1999;10(4-5):129-138. doi:10.1016/S0924-2244(99)00035-7.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>6. Tjonneland A, Gronbæk M, Stripp C, Overvad K. Wine intake and diet in a random sample of 48763 Danish men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69(1):49-54. <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/1/49.short">http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/1/49.short</a>. Accessed February 1, 2015.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>7. Rimm EB, Klatsky A, Grobbee D, Stampfer MJ. Review of moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk of coronary heart disease: is the effect due to beer, wine, or spirits? BMJ. 1996;312(7033):731-736. doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7033.731. </span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/979">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/979</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/979">Booze and Health: Everything You Need to Know</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-02-03T21:24:09Z2015-02-03T21:24:09Z979Dr. Colin ChampWine, Weight Loss and Low CarbsYet another study has emerged illustrating the powerful health benefits of restricting carbohydrates...<p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978</a></p><p>Another study came out this week illustrating the powerful health benefits of restricting carbohydrates. While this study was not a randomized trial comparing a low and high-fat diet (we already have dozens of those showing the superiority of a higher-fat diet), it added some new twists and turns to the traditional low-carb and ketogenic diet.</p>
<p>This group constructed what it referred to as the “Spanish Ketogenic Diet”<sup>1</sup>, which is basically a merging of the ketogenic and Mediterranean diets. The resulting diet is, well pretty much what you would expect — the ketogenic diet with a European flavor.</p>
<p>In fact, they looked at a ketogenic diet that, in their words, encompassed “4 important healthy components of the Mediterranean diet in Spain: olive oil, salad, fish and red wine.”</p>
<p><strong>The Spanish Ketogenic (Mediterranean) Diet</strong></p>
<p>In only a way that Europeans can, they took an already clinically useful diet, and made it better. In regards to the details of the diet, they were as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Unlimited calories: like nearly all high-fat diets, one does not have to count calories. When humans eat satiating and satisfying foods rich in fat, hunger naturally subsides. These diets generally do not consist of the annoying and ineffective calorie counting or the painful starvation diets that many would have you believe are necessary to lose weight.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The major source of fat came from olive oil, with over 30ml consumed per day. This provided a hefty supply of monounsaturated fatty acids. Again, this was a European, Mediterranean-esque diet.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Green vegetables and salads were the major form of carbohydrates.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Fish was the major source of protein.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A moderate amount of daily wine consumption*</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>*By a moderate amount, they mean 200-400ml per day. To put that in context, a standard wine bottle is 750ml in size.</p>
<p><strong>As a Side Note</strong></p>
<p>When I was reading this study, I easily pictured the scientists and physicians as they discussed it:</p>
<p>Physician 1: This study layout sounds good, but are we sure that the subjects will follow and enjoy the diet?</p>
<p>Physician 2: Yes good point. My colleagues in the United States give patients protein shakes full of vegetable oils and polyunsaturated fats and even high-fructose corn syrup to get them to follow meal plans. While I would never in a million years do that myself, what if we took that approach?</p>
<p>Physician 3: That sounds terrible. What if we don’t do either of those things, but just tell the patients that they can drink up to a half-bottle of wine per day?</p>
<p>Physicians 1, 2, 3, and the entire room: Of course! What were we thinking?! Red wine it is!</p>
<p><strong>Sometimes the Europeans just do things better…</strong></p>
<p>While I am not advocating drinking a half bottle of wine a day (though a glass of red is fine and has some <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/breakthroughs/938">established health benefits</a>),<sup>2</sup> I think you get the point.</p>
<p><strong>The Study Participants</strong></p>
<p>The study took place in Córdoba, Spain and included 40 overweight subjects (22 male and 19 female). They had a high body mass index of 37 (on average). Interestingly, they had to be consuming a diet with over 50% consumption of carbohydrates to be considered for the study, which oddly enough would likely be considered healthy by many low-fat advocates. They then followed the Spanish Ketogenic Diet for 12 weeks.</p>
<p>Ketosis was confirmed in the subjects through ketone strips in the morning; though they do not specify if these were urine or finger-stick tests (urine strips generally become unreliable after 2-3 weeks). Along these lines, I would question whether this was a ketogenic diet or simply a very low-carbohydrate diet.</p>
<p><strong>So How Did They Do?</strong></p>
<p>The improvements were globally quite drastic:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Bodyweight was reduced from 240 to 208 lbs overall. The authors also described what they observed as a clear loss of fat over muscle.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Body mass index (BMI) was reduced from 36.46 to 31.76 kg/m2.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Systolic blood pressure was reduced from 125.71 to 109.05 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure dropped from 84.52 to 75.24 mmHg.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Total cholesterol dropped significantly from 208.24 to 186.62 mg/dl.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Triglycerides were reduced from 218.67 to 113.90 mg/dl.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Glucose levels dropped from 109.81 to 93.33 mg/dl.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>There was a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol from 114.52 to 105.95 mg/dl.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>HDL cholesterol was increased from 50.10 to 54.57 mg/dl.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, the largest reduction by far was the massive drop in triglycerides. This is especially important as elevated triglycerides are associated with the increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and cancer.<sup>3–5</sup> A near 50% reduction of this potentially dangerous number is quite impressive. While many would be suspicious of a high-fat diet promoting the consumption of red wine, the weight loss, reduced blood pressure, and improvement of all lipid (cholesterol) numbers may make the skeptics rethink a few things.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that these changes occurred in rather obese individuals, so it remains difficult to tease out how many of these changes were a result of the large loss in weight. Regardless, the large loss of weight is a very important and impressive result of this diet.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>
<p>The Spanish Ketogenic Diet was a successful lifestyle modification that led to significant improvement in weight and several important metabolic risk factors. It also sounds like a fun diet to try.</p>
<p>In fact, this diet actually sounded very similar to the one that I followed during <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/758">my time in Southern Italy</a>, except that the fish was often replaced with squid and octopus in my experience. The addition of wine was a nice touch, as it brought the diet back down to reality for many of us by adding a common element of many of our days (or nights) that adds another social and humanistic aspect to the diet. It must be remembered that many of these “diets” in actuality must be lifestyle changes and the authors of this study clearly considered that aspect. The authors even go as far to mention that when we do not starve people with extreme low-calorie diets, they have the energy to be more active.</p>
<p>There is no one perfect diet for everyone. Lowering carbohydrates seems to work well for many or even most people. The Spanish Ketogenic Diet shows us that this lifestyle change does not have to be boring.</p>
<p>I will raise my nightly glass of red wine to this article, and tonight I may have an extra. It seemed to work well in this study.</p>
<p>To Your Health,</p>
<p>Dr. Colin Champ</p>
<p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/healthwire">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhealthwire">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Dr. Colin Champ is a practicing radiation oncologist and nutritional expert. He is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500675385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500675385&linkCode=as2&tag=healthwire-20">Misguided Medicine: The truth behind ill-advised medical recommendations and how to take health back into your hands</a>” You can hear more from him as the host of the incredibly popular <a href="http://www.cavemandoctor.com/category/podcasts/">Caveman Doctor podcast</a>.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>1. Pérez-Guisado J, Muñoz-Serrano A, Alonso-Moraga A. Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet: a healthy cardiovascular diet for weight loss. </span></span><span><span>Nutr J</span></span><span><span>. 2008;7(1):30. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-30.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>2. Corder R, Mullen W, Khan NQ, et al. Oenology: red wine procyanidins and vascular health. </span></span><span><span>Nature</span></span><span><span>. 2006;444(7119):566. doi:10.1038/444566a.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>3. Goodwin PJ, Boyd NF, Hanna W, et al. Elevated levels of plasma triglycerides are associated with histologically defined premenopausal breast cancer risk. </span></span><span><span>Nutr Cancer</span></span><span><span>. 1997;27(3):284-292. doi:10.1080/01635589709514539.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>4. Hokanson JE, Austin MA. Plasma triglyceride level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease independent of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level: a meta-analysis of population-based prospective studies. </span></span><span><span>J Cardiovasc Risk</span></span><span><span>. 1996;3(2):213-219. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8836866">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8836866</a>.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span>5. Freiberg JJ, Tybjærg-Hansen A, Jensen JS, Nordestgaard BG. Nonfasting Triglycerides and Risk of Ischemic Stroke in the General Population. </span></span><span><span>JAMA J Am Med Assoc</span></span><span><span>. 2008;300(18):2142-2152. doi:10.1001/jama.2008.621. </span></span></span></span></p><p>This Article Originally was Published here: <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978">http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978</a></p><br><br><a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/978">Wine, Weight Loss and Low Carbs</a> originally appeared in <a href="http://www.myhealthwire.com">Health Wire</a>. Health Wire, a free daily newsletter, offers alternative health news and solutions.2015-01-30T21:18:16Z2015-01-30T21:18:16Z978Dr. Colin Champ