Food Phosphates Might Spur Lung Cancer

(HealthDay News) — A diet rich in the inorganic phosphates found in many natural and processed foods accelerated the growth of lung cancers in rats, South Korean researchers report.

“Our study suggests that dietary regulation of inorganic phosphates may be critical for lung cancer treatment as well as prevention,” Myung-Haing Cho, lead author of a report in the first January issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, said in a statement. Read More

Lung Cancer: Still the Biggest Cancer Killer, by Far

(HealthDay News) -- It's the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more people each year than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney and melanoma cancers combined.

It's typically discovered too late to be treated successfully, with about 85 percent of victims dead within five years of diagnosis.

And nine out of 10 cases of the disease are tied to a single behavior -- moking.

Lung cancer killed 160,390 people in 2007, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance. That's an average of 439 people a day.

And tobacco caused 90 percent of those deaths, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

"Smoking is the most lethal legal activity in our society," said Dr. James Mulshine, a professor of internal medicine and associate provost for research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Researchers are trying to find better ways to detect lung cancer and to find genetic warning signs, or markers, that could predict who might be at increased risk.

But doctors say anti-smoking measures have proven the only effective weapon against the disease.

"At this point, the progress in decreasing lung cancer death rates is due solely to men quitting smoking since the early 1990s," said Dr. Michael Thun, vice president of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society.

The death rate for men fell from 90.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 1990 to 69.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2005, Thun said. But the death rate for women peaked in 1998 at 41 deaths per 100,000 and has remained in that range ever since, he said.




"Lung cancer rates have been falling in men since 1991, since men began to quit smoking," Thun said. "They have leveled off in women, but are not declining. Women started smoking later than men in our society and are having more trouble quitting."

For some time, it was thought that women might be more susceptible to tobacco-related lung cancers than men. However, recent research from the National Cancer Institute has disproved that notion.

"It looks like the effect of tobacco is the same for women as it is for men," said Dr. Tim Byers, deputy director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and a professor with the university's department of preventive medicine and biometrics.

Other recent research has discovered a genetic variant tied to lung cancer risk. Doctors earlier this year found a 70 percent increased risk of the disease among carriers of a deficient gene called Alpha 1-antitrypsin.

But given that smoking is the cause of nearly all lung cancers, doctors aren't sure that knowledge of a genetic link will prove useful in the near term. "There's nothing that can be done about this genetic variant," Thun said.

The most promising area of new research involves early detection of lung cancer through the use of spiral CT scans.

Currently, when lung cancer is detected, the disease has already spread outside the lung in 15 percent to 30 percent of cases, according to the National Cancer Institute. That's because chest X-rays can only detect larger tumors of 1 centimeter or more.

But spiral CT, a technology introduced in the 1990s, can pick up tumors well under 1 centimeter.

About 50,000 current or former smokers are participating in the National Lung Screening Trial, a study that hopes to determine in the near future whether CT scans can allow early intervention that would save a person's life.

"We all have our fingers crossed that the trial will show there is a screening procedure that will make a difference," Byers said. "We're probably about two to three years away from knowing the results of that trial."

In the meantime, doctors say the best way to save lives from lung cancer is to throw more energy into measures that will prevent smoking.

Studies have shown that raising the price of cigarettes through taxation, clean air laws that prohibit smoking in public places, and counter-advertising have all helped reduce smoking rates in the United States, Thun said.

"We know those tactics work, but, for political reasons, they're not being fully applied," he said.

Quitting smoking also will allow people to avoid the host of other health problems that come with it, most notably cardiovascular disease.

"If you avoid smoking, you have avoided the Mount Everest of avoidable health hazards," Thun said.

More information
To learn more, visit the Lung Cancer Alliance.

Everyone today is exposed to heavy metals and toxic chemicals

Everyone today is exposed to heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Particularly for slow metabolizers, a very good method to detoxify the body is the far-infrared sauna. Its dry, warming energy is highly compatible with the human body. It heats the tissues several inches deep, enhancing metabolic processes. Read more

The Best Holiday Toys Are Safe Holiday Toys

(HealthDay News) -- The shiny toy seems perfectly safe, held snug in bright packaging and proudly displayed on the shelf of a reputable store.

But recent experience has shown that looks aren't everything.

A wave of toxic toy recalls in 2007 shook up parents and toy buyers, forcing them to rethink the dependability of purchased playthings.

A new set of consumer laws passed in the wake of those recalls could make this the most secure holiday season in some time, in terms of toy safety. Still, experts are urging parents to not let their guard down when it comes to assessing this year's gifts.





"A lot of the new standards don't go into effect until next year, but we're hoping the manufacturers and retailers will get ready early," said Liz Hitchcock, a public health advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and part of the team that puts together the organization's annual toy safety report.

"At the same time," she added, "we don't want parents to think, 'Problem solved, let's go to the store,' thinking everything in the bill has been implemented. Parents need to be vigilant about what's in the toy box."

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, passed by Congress in summer, requires that toys and infant products undergo extensive testing before they are sold. The act also bans lead and other harmful chemicals in toys.

Other parts of the act call for the creation of a comprehensive, publicly accessible consumer complaint database; increased civil penalties that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can assess against violators; and protection of whistleblowers who report product safety defects.

"We actually feel like this holiday season is going to be one of the safest because of the exposure we've gotten over the past couple of years," said Nychelle Fleming, a spokesperson for the CPSC.

There were an estimated 220,500 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2006, and about 165,100 of the injuries involved children younger than 15, according to the CPSC.

Another 22 children under age 15 died in toy-related accidents, according to the CPSC. The two main causes of death were airway obstruction from small toys and injuries sustained from riding toys.

The choking hazard posed by small toys, or toys containing small pieces, is well-known and highly publicized. Small balls, balloons and pieces of broken balloons are particularly dangerous, as they can block a child's airway.

Parents are urged to examine toys thoroughly, and even use a cardboard tube to test and see whether a piece could get lodged in their child's throat.

"You don't even have to bother buying a tube," Hitchcock said. "Just use a toilet paper tube you've got in your bathroom, anyway."

Less emphasized up to now has been the danger posed by riding toys. As scooters, skates and other such toys grow in popularity, however, more children are being hurt and even killed in accidents involving them.

In 2006, three deaths occurred when children riding on non-motorized scooters either hit or were hit by an automobile. Two deaths involved tricycle mishaps, and three more involved powered riding toys.

"If you're going to buy ride-on toys, anything that gives your child more mobility, we want to make sure you also are buying the proper safety equipment," Fleming said. "If you do buy that brand new shiny bike, you should also buy the helmet. You should get the complete package for your child."

Another toy hazard involves playthings with magnetic pieces. If a child swallows more than one magnet, they can attract each other in the body and cause blockages.

"If you swallow one, it may pass through," Fleming said. "If you swallow two or more, they can connect in the intestines. We've seen intestinal perforations resulting from this."

Experts also urge parents to pay attention to the labeling on packages and to buy age-appropriate toys.

Too often, parents buy toys for their kids that are out of their child's age range, because the child is considered bright enough to play with an advanced toy, Fleming said. The problem is, even bright children might not have the motor skills necessary to play with those toys in a safe manner.

"You have to understand that the age is there for safety, not just for comprehension levels," Fleming said. "We have to put those toys away and wait for the kids to reach those milestones."

There's one other hazard parents should keep in mind -- the packaging the toys come in. They should move quickly on Christmas morning to clean up all the mounds of debris left in the wake of gift-giving.

"The adult really needs to take away those packaging materials," Fleming said, noting such choking hazards as twist-ties, shrink-wrap plastic and small plastic anchors. "We don't want any of the packaging to turn into a deadly plaything, so the adult really needs to clean all of that up."

More information
To learn more about choosing safe toys, visit the Nemours Foundation.

Toxic Poinsettias? Hangover Cures? It May Be All Fiction

(HealthDay News) -- It's that magical time of year when people are willing to suspend disbelief just a little bit and hope that holiday miracles, like Santa delivering presents across the globe in a single evening, can actually happen.

It also appears to be a time of year when people might be willing to suspend critical thinking and buy into some common holiday and wintertime health myths, according to researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine.

In the Christmas issue of BMJ published online Dec. 18, the researchers pointed out six commonly believed myths that even some health professionals believe are true. But, when the researchers looked for evidence to back up the myths, they couldn't find it. The debunked myths include:

• Suicide rates are higher during the holidays.
• Poinsettias are toxic if eaten.
• Hangovers are curable.
• Sugar makes children hyperactive.
• You lose most of your body heat through your head. Eating at night makes you fat.

"We really don't know why some myths become so embedded," said one of the article's co-authors, Dr. Rachel Vreeman, an assistant professor of pediatrics.

"Sometimes you hear these myths from people you consider to be experts," suggested Vreeman's co-author, Dr. Aaron Carroll, director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research. "And, often, there's a kernel of truth in some of these myths. For example, sugar gives us energy, so some people might leap to the conclusion that too much sugar gives you too much energy."

But, he added, that's not the case. At least 12 double-blind, randomized, controlled trials have looked at the effect of sugar on children, and none found evidence for the sugar-equals-hyperactivity myth. In one study, children weren't even given sugar, but their parents were told they had been -- and parents who thought their children had eaten sugar rated their behavior as more hyperactive.

Another pervasive myth is that more people try to commit suicide over the holidays, but numerous studies have failed to find a peak of suicides during the holidays, according to Vreeman and Carroll.

Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, said he wasn't surprised that there was not an increase in suicides during the holidays, because people tend to be surrounded by other people in December. He wondered, however, what happens after the holidays.

"There are such high expectations around the holidays," he said. "Holiday anxiety and depression are very common, so a better question might be whether or not people are more unhappy during the holidays."

Another common holiday myth surrounds hangover cures. Although most everyone has a favorite that they swear works for them, the only real cure for a hangover is not to drink excessively in the first place. Also, Siegel pointed out that some hangover cures, such as aspirin or acetaminophen, can actually create troubles, such as liver problems or stomach irritation, in people who've been drinking.

As for the other myths? Vreeman and Carroll said that poinsettias, even in large doses, appear to be safe, though they certainly don't recommend consuming them. Your head, like the rest of your body, releases heat, but it's no more important to shield your head than to protect other parts of your body against the cold.

And, finally, they said that eating at night won't make you fat as long as what you're eating doesn't put you over your normal daily calorie total. Generally, they said, people who eat at night tend to gain weight, because those calories consumed nocturnally are in addition to three regular meals and snacks.

So, Santa, if you've already had breakfast, lunch and dinner, maybe you'd better put down the milk and cookies.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information on other important health myths.

Could Anxiety Be Increasing My Blood Pressure?

Dr. Wolever is a clinical health psychologist and the Clinic Director at the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.... Read more

ozone therapy applications + indications of medical ozone

slides show presentation for the systemic forms of application and indications for ozone therapy. download pdf (size 1.4mb)

Chemical & Heavy Metal Cleanse Advanced Kit $379.54 [ learn more ] Kit Includes: 1 MineralCheck® test kit, 1 Bottle of Zeotrex™, 6 Packages of Dr. Group's Detox Foot Pads, and 1 Secret to Health Kit. Cleanses: One Chemical & Heavy Metal Cleanse. Takes 30 days to complete cleanse. Dr. Group's Opinion: Concentrated cleansing of chemical and heavy metals.

Health and Parasites

In the world today so many people are sick from diseases that modern medicine does not seem to cure. Is it normal to have low energy, skin rashes, painful joints and bones? How many people around the globe are on medication with little or no change in their health? Could it be that the medical establishment has forgotten to look for worm and parasite infection in the human body? In recent studies taken at major hospitals over the last ten years, experts in this field have found that well over 95%of all people have parasitic animals living in them. Read more

Rid your body of toxins, pollutants, and parasites to allow your body to naturally regenerate itself back to vibrant health.

Rid your body of toxins, pollutants, and parasites to allow your body to naturally regenerate itself back to vibrant health. The building blocks to an effective parasites cleansing program should always include the removal of the waste in the colon. If the colon is not functioning at optimal abilities, poor digestion will always culminate with toxic waste materials in the bowels.

The intestinal track functions as both the nutrient absorption and the waste removal system of the body. It is a dysfunctional colon, coupled with the presence of toxic waste in the bowels that generally forms the breeding grounds for most of the common parasitical infestations that we humans (and our pets) suffer from. This toxic waste creates the environment in which intestinal parasites thrive and propagate. Unfortunately the condition of a dysfunctional bodily waste removal system is one the most prevalent conditions in modern society; but it don't have to remain this way. Read more

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A good cleansing program should always begin by removing the waste in your colon

A good cleansing program should always begin by removing the waste in your colon, the last portion of your food processing chain. If you attempt to clean your liver, blood, or lymph system without first addressing a waste filled colon, the excreted toxins will only get recycled back into your body.One of the most frequent bowel problems that people experience today is constipation. Constipation is generally attributed to a low fiber diet and lack of sufficient water, which cause our fecal matter to become condensed and compressed. Read more

More Alternative Health videos at 5min.com

Contact Lens Cases Often Contaminated

(HealthDay News) -- Contamination is common in contact lens storage cases, say Israeli researchers who found at least one pathogen in two-thirds of 30 storage cases used by 16 people.

The tests of contact lens disinfection solution in the storage cases found that Pseudomonas -- a known cause of severe corneal infections -- was the most common type of pathogen (41 percent), while fungal pathogens accounted for about 3.3 percent of contamination.

Pathogens were found in all the types of storage solutions examined in the study, and some of the solutions tested positive for pathogens every time they were tested. These pathogens can cause keratitis, an often painful inflammation of the cornea. Complications from keratitis can lead to vision loss.

The findings were presented at a recent joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the European Society of Ophthalmology.

"The picture that arises from this study is disturbing," wrote Dr. Assaf Kratz and Dr. Tova Lifshitz of the Soroka Medical Center. "It seems that the commonly used disinfecting solutions provide little protection from contamination of contact lens storage cases."

The researchers advised contact lens users to closely adhere to contact lens care guidelines, including frequent cleaning and replacing their lens case regularly in order to prevent contamination.

About 24 million people in the United States use contact lenses. If contact lenses aren't properly cleaned and disinfected, there's an increased risk of severe eye infection. Any lens that's removed from the eye needs to be cleaned and disinfected before it's reinserted. Care of contact lenses includes cleaning the storage case, since it's a potential source of infection, the AAO said.

More information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about contact lens safety.