by drsjbecker on April 16, 2013
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)
by drsjbecker on April 16, 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)
by drsjbecker on February 26, 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)
by drsjbecker on February 26, 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) -
by drsjbecker on January 22, 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)-
