LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Diet Choices for Your Best Health

POSITIVE HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOY DECREASES RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER – (02-04-08)

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Dietary Isoflavones May Protect against Prostate Cancer in Japanese Men

There are no shortage of websites out there touting that soy is killing us all, causing infertility, breast cancer, thyroid cancer and mineral deficiencies. The research just doesn’t match all this fear. While allergy is a concern, I feel it’s more from overdosing infants with soy-based formulas then anything else.

Here we have yet another study finding positive health benefits of soy, with men with the highest levels of isoflavones in the blood having a whopping 58% decreased risk of prostate cancer in Japanese men when compared to men with the lowest. Now, there are other things to consider here. Not only is the intake of soy products important, but we have to have the right type of bacterial flora in the gut to convert the isoflavones in soy to their more potent counterparts–the aglycone form. So antibiotic use could drastically alter the protective effect of soy on risk of prostate cancer. So…next time your PCP gives you that antibiotic prescription for a viral infection, ask how this is going to alter your risk of prostate cancer by destruction of normal flora.

Read entire article here

NF-KAPPA-B IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF INFLAMMATION – (02-04-08)

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Anthocyanins Inhibit Nuclear Factor-kappaB Activation in Monocytes and Reduce Plasma Concentrations of Pro-Inflammatory Mediators in Healthy Adults

Don’t let the long title scare you off. NF-kappa-B is the holy grail of inflammation. It is the molecule that turns on DNA to produce inflammatory chemicals like TNF-alpha and IL-8 and start the cascade of inflammation. Lower activity of NF-kappa-B and you can greatly stem inflammation. The REAL answer is to address all the factors that kick off NFKB in the first place (lower EFAs, stress, food allergies, poor nutrient intake, insulin resistance…), but Mother Nature provides many compounds that assist in the process.

This particular study looks at protective compounds from bilberry and black currant and finds that they have a pretty strong ability to lower NFKB activation.

Read entire article here

ASSOCIATION OF DIETARY PATTERNS WITH CANCER RECURRENCE – (02-11-08)

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Association of Dietary Patterns With Cancer Recurrence and Survival in Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer

There is an unfortunate attitude among many (if not most) oncologists in this country. Basically, the human body and its own inherent physiology no longer matters in the outcome of the cancer. Along these same lines, any type of supplementation or dietary change will be inconsequential in the total picture. However, this attitude is blatantly false with much research to back it up. That’s all fine and dandy, but the patient’s life is literally hanging in the balance.

In today’s day and age, with the amount of research backing it up, it should be considered malpractice for an oncologist NOT to fully integrate physiology-based natural interventions to lower the risk of side effects and increase the outcomes of cancer patients.

In this study alone, we see patients adopting a typical Western-type diet having more than TRIPLE the risk of death or recurrence of colon cancer. Triple?

Read entire article here

RISK OF ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE – (02-25-08)

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Plasma and erythrocyte biomarkers of dairy fat intake and risk of ischemic heart disease

I can tell you that there are a few things that I really get drilled hard on because of patients deep seated beliefs based on truly admirable marketing. Top of the list is my aversion to dairy.

When you look hard at the research, there just isn’t much positive about dairy, and plenty in the negative column. Linked to pancreatic cancer, triples prostate cancer risk, common allergen, mucous forming, non-organic stuff contains antibiotics and hormones….and, in case that’s not enough, up to 2.36 times the risk of ischemic heart disease.

What amazes me is the depth to which the idea that dairy is good for us has permeated every level of health recommendation. While soy milk is a good alternative, just like anything else, too frequent is not good. Our household rotates between soy, almond and rice milk.

Read entire article here

HERBAL AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR TREATMENT OF ANXIETY DISORDERS – (02-25-08)

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Herbal and Dietary Supplements for Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Wow. Can’t get much better than an “A” rating when it comes to the use of Kava for anxiety, especially when a meta analysis was done by the Cochrane group and the side effects in all the studies were minimal. Compared this with the use of pharmacological agents with their long list of side effects as well as potential for dependence.

Read entire article here

A STUDY ON VIT E, EXERCISE, STRESS MANAGEMENT AND “HEALTHY” DIET – (03-17-08)

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Combined Effect of Low-Risk Dietary and Lifestyle Behaviors in Primary Prevention of Myocardial Infarction in Women

One of the things that consistently irritates me about studies on “natural” approaches is that they frequently look at single interventions. A study on Vit E. A study on exercise. A study on stress management. A study on a “healthy” diet. While these interventions usually fair well, this is NEVER the approach from a functional medicine standpoint. Functional medicine involves looking at all aspects of a patient’s lifestyle.

So what happens when you do address more than one factor? How about a staggering 92% reduction in heart attacks in women? And the dietary recommendations, while good, are non-specific. This is the elimination of heart disease. So why, after 6 months, did this study not get picked up by the mainstream press when statins are all over with a mere 4% or so reduction (at the tune of billions of dollars per year)??

Read entire article here

ARE WE OVERPRESCRIBING ANTIREFLUX MEDICATIONS FOR INFANTS WITH REGURGITATION? – (04-28-08)

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Are We Overprescribing Antireflux Medications for Infants With Regurgitation?

I still remember vividly the first time I had a patient come in and say their newborn was place on acid suppressive therapy for reflux. I was dumbfounded. I knew pediatricians have a tendency to be a little off when it comes to medical research, but suppress a normal function as vital as digestion in an infant is just unthinkable. Or at least it was then…now, it seems like every body knows someone who’s baby is on this stuff. The real kicker is that any spitting up is likely going to be related to food allergies, and NOT “too much acid.”

The dangers of NOT addressing the cause of the problems coupled with the dangers of suppressing a natural antibiotic like stomach acid are many. Thankfully, I’m not the only one who’s noticed. These authors ran a study looking at acidity in a group of infants on acid suppressive therapy and found that only 8 of 44 infants actually met the criteria for acid reflux.

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FOOD ADDITIVES AND HYPERACTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN CHILDREN – (04-28-08)

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Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community

While none of this should come as a surprise, it still has not been widely accepted as a factor in addressing hyperactivity disorders. And there is NO downside to feeding your children less processed foods, so the idea of trying every child with some degree of hyperactivity on a less processed diet should be mainstream.

Read entire article here