In the nearly 11 years since researchers first rang alarm bells that women on hormone replacement therapy faced an increased risk of breast cancer, some have suggested that taking estrogen and progestin to treat symptoms of menopause might not be so dangerous after all.
Though it was generally agreed that woman who took the two hormones to curb their hot flashes and night sweats upped their chances of developing the disease, many studies suggested that the cancers the women developed were less likely to be deadly.

A new analysis of data from the Women’s Health Initiative now casts doubt on those findings. The study, published Friday by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, concludes that the prognosis for cancers related to hormone replacement therapy is just as dire as for other breast cancers. As a result, women who turn to the treatment are more likely to die of breast cancer than their peers who don’t take hormones.

Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) – By Eryn Brown – (Saturday, March 30, 2013)

It was breakfast time and the people participating in a study of red meat and its consequences had hot, sizzling sirloin steaks plopped down in front of them. The researcher himself bought a George Foreman grill and the nurse assisting him did the cooking.
For the sake of science, these six men and women ate every last juicy bite of the 8-ounce steaks. Then they waited to have their blood drawn.

Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic, who led the study, and his colleagues had accumulated evidence for a surprising new explanation of why red meat may contribute to heart disease. And they were testing it with this early-morning experiment.

The researchers had come to believe that what damaged hearts was not just the fat on steaks, but a little-studied chemical that is burped out by bacteria in the stomach after people eat red meat. It is quickly converted by the liver into yet another little-studied chemical called TMAO that gets into the blood and increases the risk of heart disease.

The New York Times (nytimes.com) – By Gina Kolata – (Monday, April 08, 2013)

Gut bacterial balance affects many different areas of health, but one of the most important to consider is the establishment of healthy gut bacterial balance during infancy. This is a topic Brenda Watson and I have covered many times. Brenda has blogged on this topic a few times, and we cover it in our bookThe Road to Perfect Health.

Healthy gut balance during early life is associated with protection against a range of health conditions, most notably the atopic diseases of childhood — asthma, eczema, and allergies. [1] Gut balance during infancy is dependent on factors such as mode of delivery, diet, and administration of probiotics or antibiotics. This early gut microbial development primes immune function that can have life-long effects on health.

The Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com) – Leonard Smith MD – (Monday, February 11, 2013)

Avocado addicts are likely to have a healthier diet and slimmer waistlines than the rest of the population, according to new research.

They also have better cholesterol readings and are less at risk of heart disease, strokes and diabetes, it is claimed.

The findings, published in the Nutrition Journal, emerge from a large US health and diet survey.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/21/avocado-benefits-thin-healthy-low-cholesterol_n_2734124.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy%20LivingThe Huffington Post UK (huffingtonpost.co.uk (Thursday, February 21, 2013) -

In part one and part two of this blog series, I explained that the calorie model of weight loss has failed miserably as a strategy for long-term body change. I have argued that it does not work, not because it is wrong, but rather because it is incomplete. Calories matter, but hormones matter more.

Calories don’t control metabolism — hormones do. Calories don’t determine what type of weight you will lose and where you may lose it from – hormones do. Calories have little influence over hunger, cravings, energy and mood — but hormones do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jade-teta/weight-loss_b_2060838.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

The Huffington Post – By Dr. Jade Teta - (Thursday, November 8, 2012)-

Yet more evidence to inspire you to get moving — new research shows that people who do regular physical activity, such as brisk walking, live longer than those who lounge in front of the television or computer, regardless of weight.

“This finding may help convince currently inactive persons that a modest physical activity program is ‘worth it’ for health benefits, even if it may not result in weight control,” says lead researcher Steven Moore from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, in the US.

NY Daily News (NY) – (Wednesday, November 7, 2012)-

Scientists have found an association between the odds of a white woman developing breast cancer and her consumption of red meat and poultry, but this association was not found among black women. Among white women, those who ate the most unprocessed red meat and poultry seemed to have a higher breast cancer risk than those who ate the least, especially among premenopausal white women.

There is no evidence that this link is a cause-and-effect relationship. However, every increase in weekly consumption of red meat or poultry appeared to raise the risk in white women. No association was found among black women, but this finding needs to be confirmed by further research. Limiting intake of both red meat and poultry in order to reduce the risk of breast cancer is in line with the previous recommendations from various groups (such as the American Institute for Cancer Research) advising a red meat intake of less than 500 grams per week.  This study was presented in Washington on November 1, 2012 at the American Institute for Cancer Research meeting. It has not yet been journal-published or posted online.

AANP - (Monday, November 5, 2012) -

Even when research finds that complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) or approaches are effective, these still may be shunned by health care’s major stakeholders. Employers, private insurers and government agencies like Medicare that pay for services often block inclusion due to concerns about costs.

The findings of an exhaustive, systematic review of cost studies on complementary and integrative medicine from 2001-2010, published in the British Medical Journal Open, begins to provide definitive guidance. The report, led by Patricia Herman, M.S., N.D., Ph.D., will not immediately please every integrative health advocate. Nor will it serve as marching orders for every health care benefits decision maker.

The Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com) – (Thursday September 27, 2012) By John Weeks, 2012 AANP Champion of Naturopathic Medicine

The health of your mouth could potentially be linked with your cancer risk, a new study in the journal Gut suggests.

Researchers from Brown University, the Forsyth Institute and Harvard University have found that high antibody levels against strains of the oral bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis are linked with a doubled risk of pancreatic cancer. The body generates antibodies as a response to foreign invaders, like bacteria.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/oral-bacteria-pancreatic-cancer_n_1893855.html

The Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com) – (Tuesday, September 18, 2012) -

Retail behemoth Walmart says it will soon be selling a new variety of genetically modified sweet corn developed by seed megacorp/frequent litigator Monsanto. This is the same corn that other big names like Whole Foods and General Mills have already said thanks but no thanks to.

This new corn, currently being harvested, is resistant to a common herbicide. Thus, farmers can spray their crops to kill weeds but not kill the corn. The Tribune reports that the corn also contains a toxin that fends off certain pests.

The Tribune reports that the corn also contains a toxin that fends off certain pests.http://consumerist.com/2012/08/03/walmart-and-monsanta-team-up-to-sell-genetically-modified-sweet-corn/

November 7, 2012 By Mary Beth Quirk