All posts by J S

Lifestyle, Mind Health

Fight dementia & Alzheimer’s: Dump the bread

Renowned neurologist, David Perlmutter, says that it’s neither consistent with reality nor current science to deny the negative effects of bread, cereals, pasta and other wheat products on brain health. He says that he feels “we owe it to the public to tell them that gluten, carbohydrates and sugar represent a modern brain threat”. He notes that medications for many common brain disorders are detrimental to health, especially for children. He notes that we do not understand the long term consequences of medication for ADHD kids, for example.

Dr. Perlmutter points out that he puts nearly all of his patients on a gluten free diet because of the overwhelmingly positive results.

Women taking antidepressant medications are 45% more likely to have a stroke and increase their risk of death by 32%, statistics that Dr. Perlmutter calls “horrifying”. If you are depressed he points to a study that claims it increases the risk of having gluten sensitivity by 230%. Movement disorders, like Parkinson’s and others, have been powerfully responsive to the removal of gluten from the diet.

Dr. Perlmutter is a board-certified neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He is the author of “Grain Brain” (#1 New York Times bestseller), “The Better Brain Book”,  and “Power Up Your Brain”. Website: http://www.drperlmutter.com

Kids

Gangs are online & coming “tweetly” to your kids

In a January 24th, 2013 article in The Cutting Edge, Desmond Patton, a University of Michigan researcher on young African American men and gang culture,  we are made aware that gangs are using social media to make threats that sometimes result in homicide.  This is called “Internet banging.”

What his studies show
Patton says that it’s the assertive voice of urban youth as heard in hip-hop music, “it’s this identity, along with unemployment and poor educational opportunities, that fuels the behavior of some African-American men?
A slow, steady growth
 Twenty years ago, I was hearing that schools on the south side were being invaded during the day by gang members who climbed into classroom windows and pulled young boys out while teachers stood by helplessly. That was the beginning of my understanding of how pervasive the gang culture had become in Chicago.  That also seemed to be the beginning of the perfusion of drugs into middle class neighborhoods on the south side. It was the beginning of the destruction of a culture that had previously extended parenting rights to nearly every adult on the block. It was the slow and steady transformation of safe neighborhoods into a network of crack houses and turf wars.
The substitute baby sitter
Since then, gangs seem to have replaced family structure in their capacity to raise our young men. And they have raised them in the art of war – war against themselves – and one that can’t be won. The very essence of gang life is one that cannibalizes its’ young –our young. Where did the parents go? How might things have changed if our sons with learning problems and diminished self-esteem were properly diagnosed, adequately supported and helped to develop their innate strengths into employable skills?
Do you know where your child is?
Friends in Chicago note that parents are unable to be effective in challenging local gangs, but gang members are someone’s grandson, or cousin or classmate from elementary school. They come from somewhere. Most Chicago blacks are the grandchildren of the Great Migration of blacks from the South. People used to ask us, “Who are your people?” The answer was presumed to tell them something about our character. It’s been a long time since then and over that time we’ve become disconnected from our people. We have lost our attachment to values that were passed down – values that held our lives securely in the family web. A beehive of disenfranchised, disregarded young men have eaten away that web while we adults have become again the slaves of the economy.
Just soldiers in a battle for the neighborhood/economy?
As with the slavery (better understood as our manpower) that brought America to economic greathood, this new voluntary slavery leaves us without control of our children’s destiny – and therefore without control of our own destiny.  Only that’s not happening just through gang members crawling into school windows. Now gangs can extend their reach right into your home, through the Internet. What can you do?
To learn more about Desmond Patton’s research, check out these articles:
Patton, D., Woolley, M., & Hong, J. (in press). Community violence, student fear and low academic achievement: African American males in the critical transition to high school. Children and Youth Services Review. Patton, D., & Johnson, D. (2010).
Community violence and social capital: African-American students in the critical transition to high school. Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy. Patton, D., & Garbarino, J. (2009).
The hurting child inside the black man. In K. Vaughans & W. Spielberg (Eds.), The psychology of black boys and adolescents: Practical and applied psychology.
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Kids, Lifestyle

Do everyday foods affect our kids’ sexuality?

In the 70’s Rachel Carson, a noted scientist, began warning that pesticides used on food crops and landscaping, could have a damaging effect on our health and that of the planet.  At the time, few people took her seriously.   Now it’s  clear that she was on top of her game.

There are tens of thousands of chemicals that are used to grow, process and store foods and for use in household products. Many of these chemicals have never been studied for their effects on humans. We know now that many everyday chemicals are “hormone disruptors” and affect the functioning of sex hormones in our children’s bodies along with affecting their brains.

Effects on their brains result in changes in their moods, intelligence and perception. Hormone disruption may affect their reproductive systems, gender identity and vulnerability to disease, (i.e. cancer).

The website, www.whfoods.org (World’s healthiest foods) provides an excellent and thorough description of foods, their nutrients and ways to spice up your diet and ensure your health. Another website, www.FoodMatters.com has great information, available in video format for viewing and book format. This site will keep you up to date on what you need to know about the food you eat.  Protect your health and that of your children.

Lifestyle

Chill Out Crabby Coworkers With This

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In a study of the effects of aromatherapy in the workplace,  researchers found that cancer nurses experienced a reduction of nearly 30% in stress from tension, worry and workplace demands. While this study was small and only six weeks in duration, it offers a novel but time-honored means of bringing about changes in everyday stress. Aromatherapy, often associated with spas or luxury retail stores, is being used more and more to lift moods and enhance surroundings due to the documented effects on brain function. Essential oils such as lavender, lemon grass, ylang ylang and patchouli rather than synthetic chemical scents are popular favorites.  Whether you use electric diffusers or just put a drop or two on a cotton ball, these scents are said to calm nerves and improve memory and focus.

Oncology Nursing Conference, 39th Annual Conference, Poster 42, May 1, 2014

Lifestyle, Mind Health

No Amount of Alcohol is Safe

The 2014 World Cancer Report from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes that no amount of alcohol is safe.  This, despite the fact that consumers have come to believe in the concept of “Responsible drinking”.

Even Light Drinking Puts You at Risk
Most people think that a couple of drinks nightly are good for heart health and overall well being but that appears to be a misconception. While research shows that the more alcohol a person drinks, the higher the risks of cancer, even one glass a night, especially when combined with smoking, is associated with breast cancer, for example.

In a meta-analysis of 222 studies comprising 92,000 light drinkers and 60,000 nondrinkers with cancer, it was estimated that in 2004 worldwide, 5000 deaths from oropharyngeal cancer, 24,000 from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 5000 from breast cancer were attributable to light drinking. Light drinking was not associated with cancer of the colon-rectum, liver or larynx.

Trace the trail
Actually, due to the carcinogens in alcohol – some which are formed naturally in the process of creating alcohol – sites in the body which are more likely to develop cancer are exactly the sites that alcohol reaches first as it travels through the body. While hard liquor was most damaging to the esophagus where fine cilia are most sensitive to ethanol found in hard liquor, the further alcohol travels through the body, the less the effects.

Other cancers that were found to be directly caused by wine, beer and spirits, along with hard liquor are cancers of the: mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon-rectum, liver and female breast. A significant connection was found between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer.

Strong links have also been made between drinking and leukemia, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina and skin. Researchers note that fewer studies have looked at those connections. Dr. J. Rehm, the lead on the IACR study says, “For the cancers that have been identified as being causally (not casually) linked with alcohol, we are absolutely certain that alcohol causes these cancers.

Alcohol contains lots of carcinogens
Alcoholic beverages can contain at least 15 carcinogenic compounds, including acetaldehyde, acrylamide, aflatoxins, arsenic, benzene, cadmium, ethanol, ethyl carbamate, formaldehyde, and lead. Ethanol is the most important carcinogen in alcoholic beverages. How the body breaks down ethanol is determined by your genetic profile.

There are many other factors that determine how and whether alcohol leads to cancer in individuals. For example, in some people due to their genetic profile, the ethanol in alcohol interferes with their ability to obtain folate from their diet. In breast cancer, alcohol increases estrogen levels and overstimulates breast cells. It is also thought that alcohol may increase the absorption of carcinogens in cigarettes. Because of this smoking and drinking is considered “a particularly dangerous mix”.

Avoidance of cigarettes and alcohol could prevent up to 80% of oral cancer cases and 90% of laryngeal cancer cases.

The amount counts
When it comes to the notion of one glass with dinner being helpful to heart health, more is not better; in fact, more is dramatically worse. Heavy alcohol use causes hypertension, atrial fibrillation, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, and nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

This is a special concern for young drinkers where “binge-drinking” is popularized. The young more  frequently suffer the adverse consequences of acute intoxication (accidents, violence, and social problems). In fact, among males aged 15-59 years, alcohol abuse is the leading risk factor for premature death.

With what is known now about alcohol causing so many cancers, the question should be similar to that for lung cancer. When we hear of someone dying of lung cancer we almost automatically ask, “Did they smoke?” When we hear of someone getting breast cancer now, perhaps we should also ask, “Do they, or did they, drink?”

While this may be disheartening news for those of you who feel the work week was created so that you can hit the bars on the weekend, there are other options. Researchers have found that people respond well to knowledge about their risks and begin changing habits. One of the best options can be found in the other activity that many clubs provide: dancing. Great for the heart and great for the spirit. No alcohol required! Music alone is known to effect the brain and start the endorphins flowing (free, too!). Many alcohol screening tools are available. Behavior change and positive effects have been observed in adolescents, adults, older adults, and pregnant women following alcohol screening and brief interventions aimed at reducing alcohol intake.

While physicians were recommended to “Investigate new drugs that mimic the milder effects of alcohol”, we’ve heard of some things even closer and more natural to Mother Earth. No, not marijuana, but natural, non-addictive herbs that are not known to damage brain cells – herbs like lemon balm, chamomile, mint, etc. or herbal preparations like Perfect Calm or St. John’s Wort (Read up on combinations to avoid and don’t use if you are taking antidepressants,  psychotropic medications, etc. Be aware that in the same way that alcohol affects each person differently, so do herbs.) Check our posts for more articles on natural relaxants – coming up.

References
Rehm J, Shield K. Alcohol consumption. In: Stewart BW, Wild CB, eds. World Cancer Report 2014. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2014.

Lachenmeier DW, Przbylski MC, Rehm J. Comparative risk assessment of carcinogens in alcoholic beverages using the margin of exposure approach. Int J Cancer. 2012;131:E995-E1003. Abstract

Seitz HK, Becker P. Alcohol metabolism and cancer risk. Alcohol Res Health. 2007;30:38-41, 44-47.

Hamid A, Wani NA, Kaur J. New perspectives on folate transport in relation to alcoholism-induced folate malabsorption-association with epigenome stability and cancer development. FEBS J. 2009;276:2175-2191. Abstract

Al-Sader H, Abdul-Jabar H, Allawi Z, Haba Y. Alcohol and breast cancer: the mechanisms explained. J Clin Med Res. 2009;1:125-131.

O’Keefe JH, Bhatti SK, Bajwa A, DiNicolantonio JJ, Lavie CJ. Alcohol and cardiovascular health: the dose makes the poison…or the remedy. Mayo Clin Proc. 2014;89:382-393.