LIPITOR, CRESTOR USE ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER. Somehow, some way, mainstream medicine has become enamored with this class of drugs called statins. We hand them out like candy to patients with high cholesterol, despite the fact that the research on their effectiveness, quite frankly, sucks. There has even been some talk about using them to lower rates of cancer (despite very limited evidence). However, this class of drugs, besides the fact that they don’t work very well, are associated with destruction of the muscles (a condition called rhabomyolosis) even without muscle pain! Far scarier, though, is the hint that there is actually an increased risk of cancer when we synthetically drive cholesterol levels too low with statins. So much for a $25 billion a year industry riding in on a white horse to save us all from heart attacks, huh? Read More…
Pancreatic Cancer
Stem Cell Chiropractor Mesa AZ
Bad Choices Lead To All Diseases
SO, YOU KNOW THAT BLOCKAGE IN YOUR HEART WE FOUND? IT GETS WORSE…. I’ve often wondered if I should start a radio show. But upon deeper reflection, I realized that after about a week I would begin to sound like a broken record. Caller: I want to avoid heart disease. Me: more exercise, less stress, higher phytonutrients, lower calories. Caller: I want to avoid breast cancer. Me: more exercise, less stress, higher phytonutrients, lower calories. Caller: I want to avoid osteoporosis. Me: more exercise, less stress, higher phytonutrients, lower calories. You get the idea. The bottom line is that, if you are making the wrong choices with your health, you are not at risk for just one chronic disease, but ALL of them. In this particular study, there was a strong association between early colorectal tumors and problems with the blood vessels going to the heart (aka heart attack waiting to happen). It’s not just your heart or bones or breasts or brain or prostate at risk. It is ALL of you. Read More…
What is the True Cause of Cancer?
IS THIS THE TRUE CAUSE OF CANCER? I was at a meeting recently with a representative of a new cancer center coming to Phoenix and she noted that there were at least 100 different types of known cancers. I haven’t really looked too hard into how many cancer types there are because it’s irrelevant to the what I do. You can see that if there are 100 different types of cancers, that actually finding a “cure” to cancer is not really feasibly possible. However, the mechanism of cancer initiation is likely to be limited to only a few mechanisms. Oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction are highly implicated in the onset of cancer. That’s cancer period. Not breast, colon or prostate cancer, but CANCER. Doesn’t this make prevention seem so much easier? Focus on the basics. Do everything that protects your mitochondria and avoid everything that damages them. Pretty simple approach to cancer, whether we’re talking about prevention OR treatment.
Simple Life Changes Can Make A Big Difference In Your Life
WE KNOW IT WORKS, SO WHY DON’T WE DO IT? I’m looking for feedback from anyone who comes across this post. Much more often than not, patients do not follow the obvious recommendations to make some simple dietary change or increase their activity levels. This is yet another study in a very long list of studies that finds a reduction in risk (23% less cases) of cancer (in this case colon) with limited, simple lifestyle changes (exercise, smoking, ideal body weight, better diet, reduce alcohol intake). Even if only ONE change was made, the reduction in risk was 13%. I truly do not understand why patients are not willing to make simple changes that can have such a massive impact on their life. IT’S THEIR LIFE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT! So every time a patient runs through a fast food drive thru, they are weighing that short term gratification (and seriously…have you REALLY tasted fast food lately?) against death. It’s that simple. It is apparently worth it for many people. Worse yet, for their children. So, for those reading this post who have not made a simple change, why? Please post your feedback so we can all learn. Time? Money? I think it goes much deeper than that because it’s easy to show that these aren’t valid concerns. So why else? Read More…
Exercise Can Lower Your Risk Of Chronic Diseases
SO YOU’RE AWARE OF BREAST CANCER…BUT DOES “PINK” TELL YOU TO DO THIS? Most know that I take issue with all the “awareness” campaigns and money for breast cancer. Seriously…who is not “aware” of breast cancer?? What seems to be lacking in awareness is what to do to prevent it. In this particular study, those walking briskly at least 1 hour per day had a 15% lower risk of breast cancer. Now, 15% may not seem like a lot, but this kind of exercise will also lower your risk of a horde of other chronic diseases (Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease, stroke..). Can someone tell me what else mammograms lower your risk for…? Read More…
Pancreatic Cancer; Are You Already at Risk?
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the scariest cancers out there. Very painful and fatal in almost every case. The survival rate is dismal.
I have written before that if the resources available to Patrick Swayze and Steve Jobs were not enough to overcome this cancer, the rest of us don’t stand a chance. The good news is that pancreatic cancer is almost completely preventable.
The scary thing is that you may already be at risk. But lowering your risk starts by preventing another disease.
Given that the pancreas is our principle organ to dealing with sugar handling it should come as no surprise that the diabetic spectrum (from prediabetes to diabetes) is the problem.
Prediabetes has already been linked to almost every chronic disease, including multiple types of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The reasons for this are many and likely have to do with the elevated levels of insulin (which causes cells to divide more—a precursor to cancer) as well as the unhealthy cells that no longer respond to the insulin in the correct manner. Elevated insulin will also lead to cancer cells having more access to sugar to divide faster (a concept known as the Warburg effect).
This particular study looks at the relationship between blood sugar levels and the risk of pancreatic cancer in 2408 patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer by looking across 9 different studies.
Here’s what they found:
- The risk of pancreatic cancer went up 14% for every 10 mg/dL increase in fasting blood sugar.
The important thing to notice about this is that these results don’t talk about a blood sugar value ABOVE a certain amount. In other words, the relationship between higher blood sugar and pancreatic cancer is direct. Higher levels = higher risk. In situations like this, lower is always better and it also means that, even at NORMAL blood sugar levels, there is still an increased risk.
While it is always a good idea to live an anti-diabetic lifestyle, avoiding pancreatic cancer is an added advantage. If you’re not sure all that this entails (which is far too large of a topic for this post), feel free to check out my Diabetes eBook by clicking here.
Pancreatic Cancer and Prediabetes
CAN WE PREVENT ONE OF THE DEADLIEST CANCERS?? There’s little hope for those with pancreatic cancer (although Dr. Peter Gonzalez is probably the best resource on this), but there is much we can do to prevent it. Obviously not smoking is a biggie. Possibly even more powerful is avoiding prediabetes and the resultant abdominal obesity. Prior studies have found a 400% increase in risk with those that are prediabetic. This study further confirms the link. Read More
Surprising Cause of Pancreatic Cancer: 5 Ways to Fix It
Smoking. Family history. Having a history of pancreatitis. Being prediabetic (biggie!). All help to cause pancreatic cancer. But this one’s going to surprise you.
Chronic inflammation is never good for anything related to health. Heart disease? Probably THE major player. Osteoporosis? Sucks bones dry. Alzheimer’s dementia? Destroys brain cells. But what about cancer?
Even here inflammation plays a role. Anything that keeps the flame of inflammation alive will increase your risk of cancer, and the two organ systems most responsible are the gut and the mouth. While bacteria hover and hide in almost every nook and cranny of your body, the alimentary tract is nice and warm and dark. The perfect breeding ground for many types of bacteria. We just need to make sure that the bacteria growing in these crannies are the ones we want growing in the crannies. This is where things like avoiding antibiotics and the use of probiotics become important.
This particular study illuminates just how strong the link is between chronic inflammation in the mouth and your risk of pancreatic cancer. Specifically, they look at antibodies against the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis, a bacteria commonly associated with periodontal disease. Here’s what they found:
- Those who had higher levels of antibodies to P gingivalis had more than double the risk of pancreatic cancer (214% to be exact).
- On the flip side, in those who had higher levels of antibodies against oral bacteria that do NOT cause periodontal disease (the friendlier ones) had a 45% lower risk of pancreatic cancer.
Clearly there is a deadly link here between poor oral health and yet another cause of pancreatic cancer. As I’ve noted in prior posts, pancreatic cancer is one of the worst cancers out there with a dismal survival rate. Of all the cancers where “prevention is better than a cure,” pancreatic cancer is the poster child.
How can you prevent pancreatic cancer via good oral health? Here’s a few tips:
- Of course, visit a dentist regularly.
- Overall healthy lifestyle choices will reflect on good gum and oral health.
- Make sure you use a tongue scraper several times per week.
- Brush using a high quality toothbrush and floss daily.
- Use a xylitol based chewing gum with NO artificial sweeteners.
These really aren’t tough choices, but can go a long way towards avoiding a situation that is now known to cause pancreatic cancer.