Sugary Sodas Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers from the University of Minnesota correlated soft drink consumption with increased pancreatic cancer using the Singapore China Health Study (more than 60,000 people were followed over 14 years). The study showed a marked increase in pancreatic cancer with the consumption of sugary carbonated drinks. Survival rates for pancreatic cancer are abyssmal, so a diagnosis can seem like a death sentence, so any finding that points to possible approaches for prevention should be of interest to the medical community. 

After spending years listening to Dr. Hugo Rodier and pharmacist Mike Ciell (on the perils of sugar), I have learned to respect the work of the pancreas. In truth, I didn't know where my pancreas was until I got into this line of work in the last decade.

You see, as a child of the 60's, I got to choose my science classes in high school. I opted for geology over biology or physiology classes and instead of dissecting things or learning anatomy, I went on field trips -- to dig for trilobites or grok geologic time from outcrops of rock in the desert. But I digress greatly.

The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes to break down foods (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) into smaller forms that allow for proper absorption of nutrients. The pancreas also produces essential hormones like insulin and glucagon, which most of my readers know are critical to regulating blood sugar levels. The Singapore China Health Study participants who drank on average five sugary soft drinks a week (thus adding burden to their pancreases) had an 87% increase in one of the deadliest of cancers, pancreatic cancer.

Breast cancer gets far more press, but pancreatic cancer, although more rare, causes almost as many cancer deaths each year. Just compare 2009 National Cancer Institute numbers:

Breast Cancer - 194,280 new cases and 40,610 deaths
Pancreatic Cancer - 42,470 new cases and 35,240 deaths

The difference in the ratios is quite staggering and might make you wonder how you can support your own hard-working pancreas.

Cutting out refined sugars is a good place to start (the Singapore China Health Study didn't find the same link to increased pancreatic cancer from fruit juices as with sugary sodas).

Eating a raw plant-based diet, which is enzyme-rich and alkalinizing (check out the Hippocrates Health Institute's program), and chewing your food carefully (your saliva has enzymes important to digestion) can support pancreas health.

Meanwhile, I am becoming more and more interested in how bodywork can also support healthy digestion and organ function.

Many who do abdominal massage techniques claim to increase organ health by increasing circulation to organs that have become constricted, thus allowing the release of accumulated metabolic waste and concomitant intake of healing nutrients.

Juzentaihoto in the News

In the latest edition of Alternative Therapies has an article on treating atopic dermatitits with a Japanese botanical formula called "juzentaihoto."

Never heard of it before, but the research looks quite promising and the pictures used in the article are quite impressive.

Apparently, juzentaihoto has powerful immunomodulatory effects. The treatment involved a rather large amount of a juzentaihoto formula -- 7.5 grams per day. The formula, derived from Japanese Kampo medicine, contained ten botanicals: astragali radix, cinnamomi cortex, angelicae radix, paeoniae radix, cnidii rhizoma, rehmanniae radix, ginseng radix, attractylodis lanceae rhizoma, poria, and glycyrrhizae radix.

Researchers believe the juzentaihoto formula provides benefits largely because of the "physiochemical interactions" among the combined botanicals (taking some of the botanicals out eliminated the positive effects), so there's something quite special about the formulation.

In the atopic dermatitis study, it took about a month to get significant results (the 58-year old patient could bend his elbows again) and in four months his skin eruptions had almost completely disappeared.

This is not surprising because the formula has been studied for its ability to boost the intestinal immune system.

According to Dr. Rodier, most skin problems are a failure of the immune system, which is largely in the gut, so anything boosting intestinal health boosts immune system health and also, handily, skin health.

Glutamine: Coming Soon

I just finished my blog on air pollution and thoughts about cellular detoxification. It occurred to me that I should also give a little update on glutamine, which is a potent cellular detoxifier and healer for the intestinal lining.

Glutamine is known particularly for detoxifying ammonia from the body, but its role in re-establishing the integrity of intestinal walls is also important. Breaks in the intestinal lining allow toxins as well as undigested food molecules to escape into the blood stream, where they can cause all sorts of trouble (including allergies and autoimmune responses).

Glutamine is also known for immune system support, helping stimulate the production of antioxidants (like glutathione) and fighting toxic free radicals (produced by air pollution).

The good news: we'll be adding glutamine powder before the end of the quarter, at long last!

I blogged about glutamine last September (Glutamine, Glutathione & Immunity & More on Glutamine, Immunity & Health) and received enough support to get production rolling. 

Salt Lake City: Worst Air in the Nation

Winter in Salt Lake City is both spectacular and dismal. Watching clouds part over freshly-dusted mountains always takes my breath away. However, "inversions" thrust Salt Lake City's air quality into the worst-of-the-worst during the winter months. Many people complain about sinus problems, itchy eyes, asthma flare-ups, and low-grade coughs that persist. It's not just pollen or dust; it's the air pollution.

Indeed, the American Lung Association's 2009 "State of the Air" report gave Salt Lake City an "F" in air quality, with our average of 55 "orange" days and 2 "red alert" days each year.According to Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, "Everyone assumes that Salt Lake City must be a clean place, but it's not -- it's counterintuitive."  If you're curious, take a look at the grades your region and your city received.

Cities with the highest seasonal spikes in air pollution (namely Pittsburgh, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Birmingham, and Salt Lake City), not surprisingly, see corresponding spikes in emergency room visits for asthma attacks.

What may be surprising, however, is that the ultrafine particles in air pollution cause problems well beyond your lungs. Read more from an ABC News article on how air pollution can damage the heart and blood vessels:

"Studies conducted at the Heart Institute found that ultrafine air pollutants can cause an immediate drop in coronary blood flow and the heart's pumping function, and tend to cause arrhythmias to develop. Researchers have also found increased levels of air pollution are tied to emergency hospital admissions for heart attack, chest pain and congestive heart failure, and even to death from heart disease, arrhythmias, heart failure and cardiac arrest."

My friends, my cats, and I all suffer from the bad air in Salt Lake City. A lot of folks just try to grin and bear it, but I think it's vital to view air pollution as something that requires action. Sure, we can drive less and lobby for clean air standards, but those are long-term solutions.

A rather simple solution that gives us each a lot more control? Adding lots of houseplants - my favorites are the Boston fern and Peace Lily -- as 15-20 houseplants can create clean air inside an 1800 square foot house!

Another tactic is to regularly do internal cleanses to detoxify your cells of pollutants and other toxins. Many people swear by MSM as a nutrient that helps cells purge toxins. I've personally felt better this winter since I added MSM back into my diet. If you're interested in learning more, here's a resource to check out: MSM the Definitive Guide: The Nutritional Breakthrough for Arthritis, Allergies and More

Other people are committed to major annual cleanses (several weeks of eating simply and taking a variety of botanicals and supplements to aid their bodies in releasing stored toxins).

Dr. Rodier and the Hippocrates Health Institute are both big believers in regular saunas to release stored toxins.

I am interested to hear about your experiences. Drop a line below if you have a favorite approach.

A Cold or An Allergy?

I was in Florida for more than a week, around people from all over the world, and when during the last few days I noticed that I was sneezing and my nose was running, I was not sure if I had caught a cold or if I was having an immune system reaction to something (in the air or in my food). I didn't have aches. I didn't have that foggy head syndrome I usually associate with colds. I didn't have a sore throat. However, I was blowing my nose constantly on Tuesday, sneezing, and I've had a bit of a cough off and on since then, more of an annoyance than any real discomfort though.

I decided to revisit the scientific differences between colds and allergies, and according to the WebMD article on "Common Cold or Allergies?" my symptoms are more likely to be caused by an allergy than a cold. Here's a reprint of the chart in the WebMD article:

Differences Between Colds and Allergies

Characteristic	Cold	Allergy
Duration	3-14 days	Days to months -- as long as you are exposed to the allergen
Time of Year	Most often in the winter, but possible at any time	Any time of the year -- although the appearance of some allergens are seasonal
Onset of symptoms	Symptoms take a few days to appear after infection with the virus.	Symptoms can begin immediately after exposure to the allergen
Symptom	Cold	Allergy
Cough	Often	Sometimes
Aches	Sometimes	Never
Fatigue	Sometimes	Sometimes
Fever	Rarely	Never
Itchy, watery eyes	Rarely	Often
Sore throat	Often	Sometimes
Runny or stuffy nose	Often; usually yellow mucus	Often; usually clear mucus

I was eating out a lot in Florida, and I wasn't entirely careful about avoiding wheat and dairy (thinking I was oh-so-healthy now and could "cheat" and have what everyone else was having). My scalp was a bit itchy and that typically signifies dairy in my diet versus an infection.

So back to avoiding appetizers like fried calamari. Back to pretending crème brûlée doesn't exist. Back to being "good" in order to feel better!

Anyway, if you feel like you have a "mild cold" and it lingers longer than a couple of weeks, you might want to do some detective work on potential allergies. 

Drop a line below if you have a personal experience to share!

Dark Chocolate Bars Back in Stock Soon!

Our organic Grenada Dark Chocolate bars (71% dark chocolate content) disappeared in a hurry, and Teri has received many calls from people who missed out on our holiday special and have cajoled Teri into holding their orders until the new batch of chocolate bars arrive.

Even Tess and I sold our limited stock out in Utah to a friend, who is a sweet talker and likes our chocolate bars better than the ones for which he paid $8 at a gourmet grocery store in town. That made us feel special enough to let go of our stash. Teri doesn't even like dark chocolate but says that since the label is so pretty she wouldn't mind buying this chocolate just for the label. Funny thing is that she means it!

Meanwhile, one member called this morning and asked Teri what the caffeine content is for the dark chocolate bars. Our bars are 3 ounces and thus pack about 60 mg of caffeine per bar (a little over three times the amount in milk chocolate). If you eat an entire bar, you're getting the caffeine equivalent of a weak cup of brewed coffee. If you are sensitive to caffeine, like I am, you may enjoy the rich taste of our dark chocolate enough that a square (or a third of a bar at most) will satisfy your chocolate cravings without too much buzz!

With the enthusiastic response, we've decided to carry our Grenada Dark Chocolate bars for half the year (the cooler months from November to April). Our new stock will be in later this week.

As someone who looks forward to this inventory as much as any of our customers, all I can say is "Yum!" :-)

Paying Workers to Get Healthy?

I keep running across articles about companies that are paying their employees to "get healthy."  Programs are cropping up everywhere that incent employees to get annual physicals, quit smoking, lose weight, commit to physical fitness, etc.

The Palm Beach Post just ran an article on the Cleveland Clinic's wellness program, which gives employees incentives to "battle chronic medical conditions and lower the cost of care."  Six chronic conditions include: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, asthma, excessive weight, and smoking.

The article featured a quote from the Cleveland Clinic's CEO, Delos Cosgrove, who said, "Over the last nine months, our employees have lost 112,000 pounds." The company has ditched deep fryers in the cafeteria and offers no junk food in vending machines. The company also employs nurse care managers that work with employees' physicians to manage chronic conditions with a bias toward supporting wellness and positive lifestyle choices versus treating diseases. More dramatically, job offers come with a required nicotine and drug test, with failure meaning no job offer possible for at least 90 days.

It's great that places like IBM and the Cleveland Clinic are investing in wellness programs with resources to support their employees in making significant lifestyle changes over time.

However, not everyone works at big companies and receives the benefits of such programs. I'll never forget one director of medicine, who was quite interested in integrative wellness and who said with resignation, "It's sad. Insurance will pay $50,000 to amputate a diabetic's foot but won't pay a few hundred dollars for preventive lifestyle coaching or to reimburse for nutritional supplements that could help."

Alas, real health care reform requires transitioning from a disease care model to a genuine wellness model. But we can start imagining a different future today. Since most of my readers are supplements fans, wouldn't it be nice if your annual supplement purchases counted as a legitimate health expense and income tax deduction? Maybe someday!

Dark Chocolate Bars Flying Out the Door

Our limited stock of Grenada Organic Dark Chocolate bars is disappearing fast. Within a few hours of our newsletter going out, a third of our inventory flew out the door. Of course, our price of $1.99 a bar (compare at $2.99-$3.99) makes our new 71% organic cocoa bars a very good buy.

Interestingly enough, Stephen and Teri were hesitant about adding a dark chocolate bar to our catalog, but voted in favor based on great research on dark chocolate and health. You see, our Florida office prefers sweeter milk chocolate confections, while Tess and I are dark chocolate fans at heart. Adding chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, was my idea, so I am quite happy to see fellow fans among our members.

Inventory-wise, it's probably just as well that the Florida office has to manage the chocolate bars, as Tess and I would be tempted to eat too much chocolate if the bars were allowed to whisper to us all day long! :-)

Drop a line if you have a favorite chocolate fanatic story!

Dark Chocolate Bars for the Holidays

It's true. I love chocolate, dark chocolate, actually. I have convinced my brother, Stephen, to carry a trial run of dark chocolate bars for the holidays.  He would prefer milk chocolate, but we're going with the dark chocolate (71% cacao content) based on Tess voting "for" the dark chocolate. Teri was not particularly enthusiastic but is open-minded.

When looking for a vendor, I was clear that we should carry an organic, rainforest-friendly chocolate. I found a company that not only offers USDA Organic chocolate, but also uses solar power for their manufacturing process and produces chocolate in small hand-crafted batches. 

We're buying a limited quantity of high-quality 3 ounce dark chocolate bars for the holiday season and will see whether enough of our members are interested in dark chocolate or not.

Curcumin & Black Pepper May Help Prevent Breast Cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that curcumin,  (derived from turmeric) and piperine (from black pepper) helped halt breast cancer cell proliferation without harming normal breast tissue cells. 

Here's a promising passage from the University of Michigan's recent press release with a quote from lead author, Madhuri Kakarala, M.D., Ph.D., R.D.:

The researchers applied a series of tests to the cells, looking at markers for breast stem cells and the effects of curcumin and piperine, both alone and combined, on the stem cell levels. They found that piperine enhanced the effects of curcumin, and that the compounds interrupted the self-renewal process that is the hallmark of cancer-initiating stem cells. At the same time, the compounds had no affect on cell differentiation, which is the normal process of cell development.

“This shows that these compounds are not toxic to normal breast tissue,” Kakarala says. “Women at high risk of breast cancer right now can choose to take the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, but most women won’t take these drugs because there is too much toxicity. The concept that dietary compounds can help is attractive, and curcumin and piperine appear to have very low toxicity.”

Interestingly, curcumin and piperine affect cancers that are not estrogen sensitive as well as those that are, while commonly-prescribed pharmaceuticals limit estrogen, known to be a "factor in most, but not all breast cancers."  


Low toxicity. Low cost. Potential prevention as well as treatment of cancer. It's a pretty good package deal for these two health-promoting botanicals, turmeric (curcumin) and black pepper (piperine).

When we formulated our Constant Health, with 250mg of turmeric per serving, we were advised to include 10mg of bioperine (a standardized extract of piperine) to increase the bioavailability of the turmeric (curcurmin is the primary active ingredient in turmeric). Our Constant Health has a whole host of other antioxidants, detoxifiers, vitamins and minerals, and fibers in a rice protein base. If you are interested in the white paper I wrote on Constant Health, with Dr. Hugo Rodier's review, here's a link.

Life Coaching - Part of the Co-op?!

Many of you know me as a tireless champion of integrative medicine and all things related to "health, nutrition & science." 

What most people don't know is that I am also trained as an Integral Coach, a form of coaching that works to integrate four domains of human life: mind, body, relationships, and physical environment.

As the economy continues to be challenging, it has occurred to me that the things I do for my coaching clients might be of real interest to our members.  And, at the Co-op, we see ourselves as a lot more than a purely product-based business. We're all from service backgrounds and consider it part of our job to take care of our community of members.

So here goes with something novel, a few offers that might help you in this tough economy (or with the stress of the holidays coming up).  

1. Personal Branding: Positioning Your Real Value in Tough Markets -- I have done a number of workshops on this topic in the past few months and participants have consistently rated the workshop as one of the most valuable in helping them refine their personal vision and mission statements as well as packaging what differentiates them (or their products and services). This one is ideal for people in career transition or seeking to build their businesses.
   
2. Difficult Conversations & What We All Want "More Of" -- This workshop is focused on moving from the language of complaints (what we can't stand and don't want) to what we want more of, for ourselves, for the other person, for our relationships, and for the future. This one is ideal for anyone with stressful holiday family gatherings ahead as well as people who just happen to be in business with "difficult people."  
3. Centering as an Antidote to Stress -- This is more of a guided practice of centering oneself when under pressure. Over and over, my clients find that their stress is greatly reduced every time they practice "centering" in their bodies and stop paying so much attention to their worries.
   
4. Mindfulness & Weight Loss -- I wasn't trying to lose weight but when I had to become mindful of everything I ate because of food allergies, I dropped about 15 pounds quite naturally. I attribute the weight loss to the healthier diet, yes, but also to the attention I gave to my emotions and the sensations in my body when (and after) eating different foods. We tried to do something on this topic before and had to cancel for lack of interest. Now that summer has passed and the holidays are coming fast, I thought this topic just might be of more interest right now.

We can support up to 50 people in a webinar (good for the first two topics, which include branding models and exercises to be shared).  Alternatively, I can also support up to 5 people in a very personal videoconference. The subscription for participants is free, as I pay for the ability to have up to 5 guests in my own private videoconferences.

If you are interested in any of these topics, please drop a line to me and let me know more about you and your interests. I can then tailor events of interest accordingly.  I hope to hear from you!

Great Response to Lugol's Iodine Introduction

Wow. We sold out of the trial order of Lugol's Iodine in one day. We'll have more product next week, but the response was dramatic, with lots of folks telling me their stories of using Lugol's (for decades in some cases and for various needs) in private emails.

Here's what our favorite pharmacist had to say in a note to the "kat" that writes our newsletter:


Hi Cindy, Mike Ciell here. Lugol's is a necessary supplement that ALL folks should take (especially women)...too many benefits to explain on my Blackberry...we've used this in our medical practice for over 5 years...clinical results so Impressive..we automatically prescribe it to all patients. Also we use "my formula" which gives about 12.5 mgs of iodine/iodide per 10 drops. Dr. Young (MD) always prescribes 15 mgs/day....if you want I can compound the exact formula for your "cats".  Glad you see the merit in this amazing nutrient!
Always my best,
Mike Ciell, RPh
Chief Science Officer and Vice-President of Clinic Operations
Ideal Protein of America, Inc

Here's  what another original member had to say:

Cindy,I have good news for you, I am a relative of the ones who invented Lugol's.  Dr. Jenner  (my Great Grandfather) & Dr. Lugol) came up with it in a research lab while looking for a better way to clean their peat-re dishes in a search for a cure to several very contagious diseases.  

 

They came up with a mild solution of Iodine and Iodide + distilled water, My Mother gave it to all us siblings every time something was wrong with us from the 1940's on. Her Dad used it on her family all her life as well. My Dad approved too and he was a Vet. Dr.

I love hearing from our members. Keep sharing your stories of using Lugol's.

Meanwhile, for those of you new to iodine supplementation, I strongly recommend working with a knowledgeable health care practitioner as iodine can be toxic when taken in too great of quantities. It's not like water-soluble supplements where you can take two, three, or ten times the amount and allow your body to flush what's not needed.

NAET for Allergy Elimination - Round One

The first step in the NAET allergy elimination process is to test for allergies. The process is quite simple. A Potential allergens (or allergen groups) are suspended in small vials of water. The practitioner hands one set of allergens at a time to the patient, giving the patient no knowledge of what is contained in each vial, and then conducts muscle testing to determine whether a given set of allergens are problematic for the patient.

Dr. Gary Olsen, a chiropractor, had me lay down on my back and extend my left arm and give resistance until he knew my "normal" resistance strength. He then started handing me different vials, with some substances clearly changing my ability to resist his pressure. I've been a bit skeptical of this process in the past but decided to try to participate with an open mind.

Turns out, a number of times when my arm weakened in response to pressure, I was holding a known allergen (eggs, grains, wheat, dairy proteins).  Interestingly, my arm also weakened on the B vitamin complex and a couple of other things that I don't remember.  After running me through the muscle testing, I rolled over on to my stomach and received some kind of vibrating stimulation to my spinal cord and then to various accupuncture points on my back and in my hands, knees, and ankles.  NAET works by stopping accupuncture meridians from having over-reactive responses to "allergic" substances that are normally harmless. 

The first session was all about challenging my body with at least 15 vials with common allergens. The next step  involves me wearing a vial of one of the allergens (or allergen groups) for 25 hours after the meridian treatment (I'm supposed to work on some of the accupuncture points every two hours also, which I'm behind on today). Apparently, 25 hours is how long it takes for the body to cycle new information about an allergen's "energy" and and enable all the organs to recognize former allergens as "safe."

Yes, I have a little vial taped to the inside of my leg, halfway between my knee and ankle. A little strange, yes, but I'm not planning to work out in shorts at my gym tonight, so no worries!

I know that my brother and business partner subscribes to my blog and he is undoubtedly shaking his head, as he has many times before, wondering whether this is just another of my many experiments in alternative and complementary healing.

My brother knows I inherited by far the most sensitive system in our family though, so he keeps a more open mind than he might otherwise. We have often joked that my sensitivities are all due to the fact that our mom was incredibly careful about what she ate and even avoiding smoke (back then, both of our parents were smokers) when she was pregnant with me.

Stay tuned, as I will continue to report my experiences with NAET for allergy elimination (and meanwhile here's a link to a research study on NAET results).  And, drop a line below if you have experience with NAET!

Lugol's Formula on the Way with Your Help!

Lugol's is a form of iodine in a distilled water formula, which our favorite pharmacist, Mike Ciell, recommends to many folks. Upon Mike's recommendation, I started adding two drops of Lugol's iodine a day to my morning shake and my red, irritated "rosacea eyes" disappeared within a week or so.

We're going to get a small order of Lugol's in to test member demand. If you are interested in seeing the Co-op offer Lugol's, then weigh in below.

Maybe Mike and I are anomalies. Maybe not. Let us know with your comments below!

Alcohol Promotes Aggressive Cancer Cells

Alcohol kills brain cells, can cause liver disease, lead to malabsorption of nutrients, and so on.. These are well-known hazards of drinking alcohol.

But did you know that alcohol also promotes aggressiveness in cancer cells (whereby, with alcohol, less dangerous cancer cells morph into deadly metastatic cells, which spread aggressively in the body)?

According to research out of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, alcohol-treated cells not only can go from normal cells to cancer cells, they also lose close connection with their adjacent cells, thus allowing them to migrate to other parts of the body (as in metastasis).

This research correlates to other research that continues to come out about the links between alcohol and cancer. Back in February, the University of Oxford reported in its Million Women study that "Each additional alcoholic drink regularly consumed per day was associated with 11 additional breast cancers per 1000 women up to age 75."  The conclusion was that even moderate social drinking has major impacts on the incidence of cancer.

Regardless of what you do if you are cancer free, if you have any form of cancer, it seems wise to eliminate all forms of alcohol, as cancer cells seem to prefer being "under the influence."