It's been a year since I've posted anything. But now I have become involved in a new incredibly innovative new diagnostic and therapeutic (healing) modality called "Integral Quantum Medicine". This technology is based on quantum physics and the atomic structure and incorporates each individual's unique genetic or DNA code. The DNA code is broken down into its' component numbers, each of which represents a different part of the human body. Because of the movement of the billions of atoms within each structure in our bodies, there is an energy which is projected from those organs which can be measured with very sophisticated computerized software. The two scientists who developed this technology in the latter part of the twentieth century called it "Radionics" and the machines utilized in the measurement of the body's energies have been refined and made more and more sensitive. We now know what the normal energy frequencies for any given structure in the human body are and can precisely measure these and correlate them to the person's DNA code. We now know what the normal range is for each part of the body and can diagnose disease when the energy emitted is too high or too low. With this information, we are able to project healing or "rebalancing" energies to the diseased organ system or structure and they are absorbed into the patient's body in order to correct the abnormal energies. We also can accelerate the healing process by having the patient ingest homeopathic pellets infused with healing energies precisely targeting the abnormal structures. This is all accomplished without touching the patient or using any surgical or pharmacological intervention. I believe this is the way medicine will be practiced by the mid-portion of this century but IQM's patients make use of this cutting-edge technology now. Go to our website: www.iqmwellness.com and read more about this truly amazing diagnostic and therapeutic modality. I will talk in more detail in my next post.

Oral Contraceptives...Associated with Increased Diagnoses of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

A recent article published in the Journal of Arthritis Care and Research found that women who were currently taking oral contraceptives or had just started taking the pill, particularly if the dosage of estrogen was that seen in older formulations, had a higher prevalence of being diagnosed with systemic lupus. The researcher from Magill University in Montreal, Canada reported that in women with a particular genetic predisposition, a higher dose of estrogen in first and some second generation birth control pills may trigger the onset of symptoms associated with systemic lupus. This effect was not seen in women who were using lower dose formulations utilizing less than 50 micrograms of estrogen. There has been a belief that there may be a hormonal effect that is causal in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus. Because lupus is diagnosed in a ratio of 9:1 in women versus men, it is believed that there may be a hormonal mechanism that turns on a heightened immune response leading to the symptoms of lupus in genetically susceptible individuals. The authors also suggested a dose related effect, in that as the estrogen content of the pill increased, the diagnoses of lupus increased in the population of women studied.
The authors looked at the records of a UK registry following the health of more than 1.7 million women ages 18 to 45 over an eight year period who were using combined estrogen and progesterone containing oral contraceptives. They found 786 women diagnosed with lupus during the study period. Smoking, drinking and other autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes and thyroiditis were diagnosed more frequently. All current users of birth control pills were at an increased risk of developing lupus but the increase was not statistically significant. There appears to be an estrogen mediated effect on the lymphocytes and this may explain the dose-related response in which increased doses of estrogen are associated with an increased prevalence of lupus. One reassuring fact was that previous users of birth control pills did not exhibit an increased incidence of lupus.
The take home message is that women should talk with their healthcare providers about using a low-dose estrogen pill when using an oral contraceptive. The other point to remember is to alert your doctor of a family history of lupus or any other autoimmune condition in your family when having your yearly check-up so that he/she has the opportunity to take that into consideration when prescribing not only birth control pills but any medication. The more information the healthcare provider has about you, the chance of making an good informed decision about your healthcare management is increased. Read more.

Obesity...Think Carefully About Having That Piece of Cake.

We have been hearing about the adverse effects of obesity and the ever growing numbers of people who are entering the ranks of the seriously overweight. But now we have a well designed study published yesterday in the Lancet from a researcher in Oxford, England showing that people who fall into the category of being over the normal range of BMI (body mass index) which is 22.5 to 25, have a 30% increased risk of premature death mostly from a cardiovascular event during the eight year study period. It is well known that an elevated BMI increases the risk of death from heart attacks, stroke and certain types of cancers, but a cause and effect relationship proven by a well designed medical study has been elusive until now. The researchers still had some uncertainty about whether the increase in deaths could be related to smoking or other causes than obesity. So they looked at 57 studies that included over almost 900,000 people, average age 46, in Europe and North America as part of the Prospective Study Collaboration. They eliminated the first five years to control for reverse causality and smoking. The male to female ratio was 61/39 and as I said, median age 46. The mean BMI was 25 and they looked at these individuals over an eight year period and followed their BMI's and any medical events or conditions they developed. The authors found that the all-cause mortality was lowest for those with BMI's between 22.5 and 25 and increased by 30% with each increase of 5 kgs/meter squared in BMI, taking into consideration the events predetermined in the first 5 years and adjusting for smoking. They also noted that those people whose BMI's were below the normal range had a higher than normal rate of death supposedly from increases from respiratory diseases and lung cancer. The increases in deaths as people gained weight were due to a 40% increase in vascular disease, a 60-120% increase in diabetes, kidney and liver disease, and a 10% increase in cancer diagnoses.
So, as an example, if a person refrained from increasing their BMI from 24 to 32, a young adult could expect an additional 3 years of life expectancy. Alternatively, a middle age person who did not experience an increase of BMI from 28 to 32 could enjoy a 2 year increase in their life expectancy. They also stressed that it is easier to avoid weight gain than losing the weight once it has been acquired.
The take home message is the frequently heard expression that no food tastes as good as (thin)/good health and good quality of life feels. Eat healthy all! Read more.

Cancer...A Healthy Diet and Exercise Can Reduce Cancer Cases.

It is widely understood that smoking cessation can dramatically reduce the incidence of smoking-related cancers. These malignancies comprise about one third of all cancers diagnosed. However it has not been known previously if dietary changes and modifications can have a similar effect on the diagnoses of other non-smoking related cancers. A report published in the Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention evaluated the data from the public health agencies of several countries, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the USA and China. These surveys looked at the dietary habits of millions of individuals and the prevalence of cancer diagnoses and the results were collated by the World Cancer Research Fund and The American Institutes for Cancer Research and were presented to lawmakers on Capital Hill on Friday, February 27th. The writing panel from these organizations concluded that a third of all the cancers diagnosed in each of the four countries could be prevented by modifications in diet and and an increase in physical activity. They called for the so called "actors", the schools, industry, governments and individuals to take an active and aggressive role in improving the ingredients in food, removing vending machines selling unhealthy snacks, and promoting the population to exercise more and reduce sedentary activities thereby decreasing the incidence of obesity in the population.
Just to site a few examples of what a healthier diet and more physical activity could do are the reduction of prostate cancer in the US by 11% and by 20% in the UK. Another outcome would be a reduction in the diagnoses of uterine cancers by 70% in the US and a decrease of 56% in the UK as the incidence of obesity declines. The writing panel has called upon all levels of society to take an aggressive posture in rectifying our sedentary and unhealthy dietary lifestyle. These include:Governments should require widespread walking and cycling routes to encourage physical activity. Industry should give a higher priority for goods and services that encourage people to be active, particularly young people. The food industry should make public health an explicit priority. Schools should encourage physical activity and provide healthy food. Schools, workplaces, and institutions should not have unhealthy foods available in vending machines. Health professionals should lead in providing information about public health, including cancer prevention. Individuals should use independent nutrition guides and food labels to ensure they buy healthy food.
The writing group stated that there is much that can be done to decrease the rates of cancer diagnoses worldwide and the changes needed to be made are not so difficult or complicated. That is why all of us can initiate many steps, literally, to protect ourselves and decrease our own cancer risks. Go out and walk to the grocery store. Pick up some veggies and fruit and walk back home. You'll see...it does a body good! Read the entire article.

Alcohol...To Drink or Not to Drink?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard today about the report today coming from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute looking at 1.3 million women in England at mid-life, between the years 1996 and 2001 who were attending cancer screening clinics. They examined the effect of light to moderate alcohol consumption on the risk of developing cancer. The average amount of alcohol ingested was one drink of any type a day and they found a significant increase of several types of malignancies. The most striking increase was found in 11 additional cases of breast cancer per 1000 women over women who did not consume any alcohol at all. In addition, the investigators found increases in other cancers including, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectal and liver in both sexes. Most of the previous studies looking at the association of alcohol and cancer involved men who were drinking heavily. This study is made so powerful by the shear magnitude of the subjects studied, over one million people and the length of the study, 7.2 years. if one looks at these individuals and break down the cancers according to type and percentage, the data look like this: Breast (12%, P<0.001), Oral cavity and pharynx (29%, P<0.001 for trend), Esophagus (22%, P=0.002), Larynx (44%, P=0.008), Rectum (10%, P=0.02), Liver (24%, P=0.03), Total cancer (6%, P=0.03).
The authors who were at the University of Oxford concluded that there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume as far as cancer risk is concerned. But other studies have shown that there are significant benefits as far as the cardiovascular system and cognitive functioning are concerned. So we must consider the possibility that even moderate drinking can increase our cancer risk in many of the body's organ systems and if you are a person who is at higher than normal risk of developing cancer because of a family or personal history, you may want to think carefully about whether you chose to drink. My personal opinion is that for the average healthy mid-life individual who is not at high risk for cancer, having a glass of wine or a beer a day as an accompaniment to a meal or at a celebration is a reasonable and healthy behavior. As my mother always said, "everything in moderation" is a good philosophy to adopt. Read entire article.

Coffee...Drinking Several Cups of Joe Daily May Reduce a Woman's Risk of Stroke

A recent issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reported the findings of a group of investigators who analyzed the data from the Nurses Health Study which followed the health status of more than 83,000 nurses, mean age 56 years, all of whom were free of heart disease, diabetes, stroke or cancer at the beginning of the study. These nurses reported their health status, diet and any medical conditions or "incidents" that occurred during the study period including their consumption of caffeinated coffee. Those nurses who consumed 2-3 cups a day had a 19% reduction and those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day enjoyed a 20% decrease in the risk of suffering a stroke. The study followed these women for 24 years from 1980 through 2004. During this time there were women who suffered a stroke but these subjects were found to have developed high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol or diabetes. So the protective effect of caffeinated coffee appears to exist in healthy women who were non-smokers or were smokers who had quit. It has been shown in past studies that coffee may have a protective effect for the development of diabetes and high cholesterol. This association does not exist for tea and caffeinated soft drinks. So it is theorized that there are components other than caffeine in coffee that may increase the body's sensitivity to insulin, reduce inflammation and decrease the levels of a substance called "C reactive protein" which is produced by the liver in response to inflammation in any parts of the body including the coronary arteries. However the beneficial effects of coffee do not overcome the deleterious effects that smoking has on almost every part of the body.
The take home message is that for those coffee junkies who worry if they are compromising their health, they need not worry. Just remember to eliminate that cigarette you have with your cup of coffee and watch your overall health improve, not to mention the glow you will notice in your complexion! Read entire article.