Eggs are not the villains

We’ve always been told that eggs are bad for our heart, and especially for raising cholesterol levels. But now researchers have reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that they can reduce high blood pressure, another risk to heart health. Boiled and fried eggs act as a natural ACE inhibitor, which reduces blood pressure levels – and fried eggs are the more powerful of the two. This new study follows recent papers that suggested healthy people can eat eggs without increasing their heart disease risk, and just to celebrate I am off to have egg and chips!

Calcium and decreased digestive cancer risks

Women who have a higher calcium intake than the average may be reducing their risk of colorectal and other digestive cancers. A seven year review of a large clinical database in the US by the National Cancer Institute has made this link and its findings also apply to men, but not in such a significant way as for women.

The total cancer risk decreased in women as their calcium intake increased, but that was not the case in men who got no overall benefit. For digestive cancers – particularly colon cancer – the increased calcium seemed to protect both men and women equally.

The recommended daily amount of calcium for adults over the age of 50 is 1,200 mg in order to protect bone health and a recent addition in the USA has been a guideline to add three cups of fat-free or low-fat dairy products to the daily diet. The benefit appears to be the same whether the calcium is from food or from supplements.

Male infertility can pose increased testicular cancer risk

Testicular germ cell cancer is the most common cancer among young men living in industrialized countries. The rate of increase has almost doubled from 1972-2002, and has been accompanied by a decline in semen quality and male fertility during the same period.

Many factors have been cited, including environmental pollutants, and this new research linking infertility and testicular cancer comes from a study of men who have come with their partners to get treatment for their infertility.

The study found that the men who had male factor infertility were nearly three times as likely to develop cancer as those free from the condition though the researchers are keen to stress that the absolute risk of developing testicular cancer remained low in this study and the link has yet to be confirmed but that compared with what would be expected among the general population, men with male factor infertility showed a trend toward an increased risk of testicular cancer.

If a man is undergoing fertility treatment this could be an early warning to watch for any physical signs of testicular cancer though it cannot be diagnosed on symptoms alone, so it is important to also see a doctor if you are concerned.

The most common symptom of testicular cancer is a painless lump on a testicle. In some cases the lump is uncomfortable, but severe pain is rare. Sometimes the testicle may be enlarged or swollen without a lump. Men with testicular cancer may also have a heavy or aching feeling in the lower belly or scrotum. Each normal testicle has an epididymis, which feels like a small bump on the upper or middle outer side of the testis. Normal testicles also contain blood vessels, supporting tissues, and tubes that conduct sperm. These can feel bumpy and are sometimes confused with cancer if doing a simple self-examination.

If you have any doubts, ask your doctor.

Synthetic bone breakthrough

Australian researchers at Queensland University of Technology have developed a synthetic biomaterial that encourages the body to create bone. This breakthrough could be the answer to successful bone grafts and treating bone disease because the new material interacts with blood and activates the initial stages of bone healing.

When you break a bone your body responds immediately by attracting blood clots and specialized cells to the site. The necessary proteins, hormones and other cells are immediately dispatched to create new bone, but sometimes the body cannot carry out this natural process if the break is too great, or a tumour has been removed which leaves too great a gap for the body to fill. There are already bone grafts or synthetic materials being used but they have their limitations.

The new biomaterial encourages the body’s natural clotting process, and promotes bone growth. The difference lies in its surface structure, which is coated by a special arrangement of polymers that attract the right proteins to the damaged bone. Some polymers attract proteins and others repel them and the Australian team believe that they have got the right balance so that the new material induces the proteins and hormones needed for the initial inflammatory response that starts the bone regeneration process.

It is hoped to run a patient trial later this year and that this will be a significant move in treating the many patients who are not able to have bone grafts or other treatments to deal with their fractures.

New Vitamin D treatment for Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin condition that can bring not just physical, but emotional and social challenges for sufferers. News is just in of new topical treatments that are about to become available in the USA for psoriasis. Of the new options, one is a calcitriol ointment and one is a Hydrogel Patch, but this has only limited availability. What is really exciting is the calcitriol option that was presented by the vice chairman of dermatology at the University of California at a recent Skin Disease Education Foundation Dermatology Seminar in Hawaii.

Calcitriol is a vitamin D ointment that was approved by the FDA earlier this month and will be on general sale in pharmacies within two months. It has been shown to be successful in treating moderate to severe psoriasis of the scalp, when applied twice daily over a period of eight weeks. When extended to use twice daily for a year, there was a good improvement in 64% of patients.

Breast cancer natural preventives

As I always believe prevention is better than cure, I am happy to report two new pieces of information this week on easy, natural and enjoyable ways to reduce breast cancer risk.

Breakthrough 1 gives you even more reasons to enjoy a nice cup of tea. If you are a regular black or green tea drinker then you are already helping to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and endometrial cancer. Regular tea drinking has two important functions: it inhibits uncontrolled cell growth, known as cell proliferation, and encourages the death of cancer cells, known as apoptosis. A recent study found that smokers who drank four cups of decaffeinated green tea per day showed a 31 percent decrease in oxidative DNA damage in white blood cells as compared to those who drank four cups of water. Oxidative DNA damage is implicated in the promotion of many forms of cancer. Now a new study has also linked tea to a substantial decrease in breast cancer risk. Particularly for women under 50, the risk is reduced by 37%, and as this is the group in whom the cancer can be particularly virulent and fast acting this is very worthwhile news. In fact, let’s raise a cup together, preferably green or white tea as these are the least processed. The darker the tea, the more processing as a rule, but these two have even more health benefits, and up that to three cups a day to boost your immune system and lower your cancer risk.

Breakthrough 2 concerns another favourite staple, and that is olive oil. Australian researchers have reported that that olive oil has a host of positive health effects, and now researchers from the Catalonian Institute of Oncology (ICO) in Girona have discovered specifically that extra virgin olive oil appears to be a powerful weapon against breast cancer.

The key ingredient is the polyphenols that are present in extra virgin olive oil. These are powerful natural antioxidants found in abundance in olive oil and are highly active against both HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers cells. Polyphenols in the oil not only inhibit the activity of cancer-promoting HER2 activity but also promotes the protein’s degradation.

As Jamie Oliver would say, give it a good glug and not only will your food taste better, but your cells will thank you.

How running could help your eyesight

Yet another good reason to get out the old running shoes has come a study done at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that tracked approximately 41,000 runners for more than seven years. They found that vigorous exercise, particularly running, can help reduce the risk of both cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness and macular degeneration can cause irreversible vision in older people and so far there have been few suggestions as to how to avoid these conditions. Running, or any vigorous cardiovascular exercise, may be one excellent preventive measure and certainly worth investigating by anyone with a family history of eye disease.

The trial was conducted with both men and women runners they found that men who ran more than 5.7 miles per day had a 35 percent lower risk of developing cataracts than men who ran less than 1.4 miles per day. The study also analyzed men’s 10-kilometer race performances, which is a good indicator of overall fitness. The fittest men had half the risk of developing cataracts compared to the least-fit men.

In the case of macular degeneration the results were even more remarkable. Runners who averaged between 1.2 and 2.4 miles per day had a 19 percent lower risk for the disease, and people who ran more than 2.4 miles per day had an impressive 42 percent and 54 percent lower risk.

If you aren’t keen on running, then the scientists involved in the study believe that it is quite likely that the studies’ results might apply to a lesser extent to smaller doses of more moderate exercise such as walking.

Why skin brushing helps more than just your skin

Our skin is the biggest organ of elimination that we have, in fact we get rid of more than 1lb a day in waste products through our sweat glands and pores. If our elimination is poor then the toxins become trapped in the system. One of the major factors in poor elimination is that the skin is being clogged with dead cells. Regular exfoliation is needed to keep these pores open and one of the simplest, and cheapest ways to do this is through regular dry brushing. The action of the brush stimulates the lymph and blood circulation and removes impurities from beneath the surface of the skin. This helps keep your pores clear, and as the bristles work directly on the lymph vessels and capillaries, you are stimulating the circulation so that toxins can be easily expelled through the pores.

When you brush daily you will see improvements in your skin texture, digestion and general energy levels. Because you are always brushing upwards you are also encouraging the flow of blood towards the heart and this is where the majority of lymphatic nodes are. In this way you are therefore improving the lymphatic drainage to your whole system and a sluggish lymphatic system can be the cause of many common ailments.

Clearing cellulite
Alternative practitioners have long advocated the use of dry skin brushing, but it is only in the last few years that its effect on cellulite has been recognized. There are many expensive anti-cellulite regimes on the market, but most experts agree that some simple steps are the most effective. The aim is to get rid of the toxins in the body, as it is these that cause the lumpy deposits we recognise as cellulite. Skin brushing works by gradually breaking down the fatty tissues and releasing the toxic fluids they contain so that they can be eliminated. It also stimulates the blood flow tothe heart and the lymph to the lymphatic ducts and this is the best way to gradually reduce those stubborn cellulite deposits.

Cleansing the Colon
Many practitioners advise skin brushing as the best start to any new health regime. It is a vital part of any colon-cleansing programme, and herbalist Kitty Campion recommends it to all her clients as a first step on their way back to health. As well as it’s acknowledged health benefits she believes it helps prevent premature ageing and brings a sense of well-being and energy as the blood and oxygen supply to the body is stimulated.

What’s Involved?
Dry skin brushing is suitable for everyone except if you have broken skin, eczema or psoriasis. The right brush is essential, you need one with sufficiently hard natural bristles to produce the necessary stimulating effect.

Dry skin brushing is simple, and is best carried out before your bath or shower. Your skin may feel tender at first, but you will soon gain the benefits if you persevere. Always begin with light pressure and move up the body from the feet to the head. Use long strokes upwards towards the heart for all of the body except for the head and shoulders where you will be brushing down towards the heart. For the buttocks circular movements will bring you the most benefit, particularly for working on cellulite. After a few weeks you can adjust the pressure of your strokes to what feels comfortable for you.

Never brush over areas of broken skin or varicose veins, and you can help the elimination process by paying attention to your diet. Make sure you are drinking a lot of water and minimising red meat, dairy, caffeine and sugar.

If you can’t find a good natural skin brush locally there is a very good one from Simply Nature. Call them on 01580 201687 or visit their website at www.simply-nature.co.uk.

Bone marrow transplants – Good news

Finding a compatible bone marrow donor can be a heartbreaking process. Even if family and friends come forward they are not always an ideal match and the wait for the perfect donor can sometimes be longer than the time available to the patient.

Now there is good news from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation which can effectively bypass the bone marrow route in appropriate cases by using a unit of mismatched blood from umbilical cords.

This work was presented by Duke University Medical Center who reported on a ten year study on children with malignant and genetic disorders, including leukaemia. Using cord blood for transplants offers some advantages over bone marrow because it is more widely available, has more immature cells, involves fewer complications, and donor match is not as important.

The study found that there was a four of six HLA matches of blood given to children and this meant low rates of failure and graft-related disease from the patient’s own body. Survival rates over one, three and ten years were also impressive for this type of patient, being 54.8%, 46.6%, and 43%, respectively which is comparable to those achieved with unmatched bone marrow transplants and substantially better than if the patients had not received transplants at all. In many cases the patients would have died without a transplant and although there was a failure rate in 6.7% of the patients, a slightly higher figure than the norm for bone marrow transplants, this is still low. Nor is that the end of the road for those patients as in many cases they can get a second transplant, something that is rarely available with bone marrow.

The time element is also an important factor and for patients who need an urgent transplant it could be a lifesaver. On average it takes two to three months for an unrelated bone marrow donor to become available and only about two weeks for an unrelated cord blood donor.

This breakthrough opens up the possibility of transplant to many more patients and although considered to be at a preliminary stage will make surgery available for those who previously were unable to find a matched donor.

80 % increased prostate cancer risk with artificial light

In the west, we take for granted that we can have light all day and night – and in our cities we are never away from artificial light. Now, a new study at the University of Haifa, reported on 4 February, 2009, has discovered that countries with the highest levels of artificial light at night also have the highest rates of prostate cancer. This is found worldwide, and confirms previous studies at Haifa that found a connection between exposure to artificial light at night and the incidence of breast cancer.

They studied a database on cancer incidence in men in 164 countries and even at the early stage of the study it was apparent that there is a marked link between the incidence of prostate cancer and levels of artificial illumination at night. Countries with low exposure to such light showed an incidence of prostate cancer of 66.77 patients to 100,000 inhabitants. An increase of 30% was found in those countries with medium exposure, and those countries with the highest level of exposure to artificial light at night shoed a huge leap of 80%: with 157 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.

There could be many reasons for this increase; with high levels of light melatonin production is reduced and this affects our immune system and our own internal biological body clock gets affected as it cannot distinguish between night and day.

It’s not just health that is affected by artificial lighting either. The World Health Organization regards it as a serious source of environmental pollution, so our city planners may need to take this into account in future. On a personal level, turn the lights out at night, and don’t have electronic devices in the bedroom which use lighting such as clocks, televisions and video games.

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