A new study proves that eating at certain times, e.g. just before bed, does influence weight gain.¦lt;br /> This new study, from Northwestern University, and recently published in the journal Obesity, found that mice that were fed a high-fat diet during normal sleeping hours gained significantly more weight over 6 weeks (48%), than mice eating the same high-fat diet and amount of food during naturally waking hours (20% increase).
Both groups of mice were allowed to eat as much as they wanted during their daily 12-hour feeding phase. Since mice are nocturnal, the 12-hour feeding phase was during the day for those fed during normal sleeping hours and during the night for those fed during naturally waking hours. Food was not provided during the other 12 hours of their day.
The researchers hypothesize that because our circadian clock, or biological timing system, governs our daily cycles of feeding, activity, energy use and sleep, with respect to external dark and light cycles any disruption to the ‘natural’ times for feeding can have knock-on effects.
Fred Turek, lead author states:
“How or why a person gains weight is very complicated, but it clearly is not just calories in and calories out…..we think some factors are under circadian control. Better timing of meals, which would require a change in behaviour, could be a critical element in slowing the ever-increasing incidence of obesity.”
Archive for October, 2009
Don’t Eat Late-Night Snacks
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009NEW FEARS OVER HEART PILL TAKEN BY MILLIONS - from The Daily Express
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009FEARS over the side-effects of heart drugs used by four million Britons have sparked a two-year investigation.
Statins have been hailed as a “wonder drug” for reducing cholesterol and preventing tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes.
But experts are becoming worried by the unpleasant reactions that some patients are experiencing.
Scientists at Nottingham University have been given £250,000 to investigate the problem. They want patients over 65 who suffer from muscle aches – a common side-effect – to help them with their work.
Statins are already known to cause tummy upsets, liver problems and muscle pains in some users as well as a rare but serious lung disorder.
Packets warn patients of these side-effects but last year manufacturers were forced to add new cautions, telling patients that statins can sometimes cause memory loss, sexual problems, depression and disturbed sleep.
The research team wants to discover why people are suffering such unpleasant reactions to the drugs and how widespread the problem is.
The side-effects have not deterred the use of statins by the National Health Service.
Later this year, family doctors will be asked to screen everyone over the age of 40 for their risk of cardiovascular disease and prescribe statins to those most at risk – an estimated 1.4 million more Britons.
Last week, a report by the NHS watchdog found that 400,000 patients with heart disease still have cholesterol levels that are too high. Some of them have been prescribed statins, but stop taking them because of the unpleasant side-effects.
Dr Rosemary Leonard, a GP and the Daily Express doctor, said: “This research is a good idea.
“Statins are wonderful for patients who tolerate them well, but a lot of people can’t. The more we prescribe them the more we realise they are not the benign drugs we thought.”
HPV Vaccine - for Cervical Cancer
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009|
|
|
With so much talk of the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer it is hard to know what to think. There is a lot of controversy over it’s safety and not many facts to go on. Well help is at hand, a clever new website set up by a concerned Mum has the information you need to make an informed decision. It is aimed at the girls being offered the vaccine, so they can make an informed choice about their own bodies. They are of an age where peer pressure is probably more prevalent than at any other time in their lives and they need to feel in control of what they want to do. It is great for parents too and packed full of information. Have a look by clicking the link below and pass on to people you know who may need this information. |
|
|
|
|
Heart attacks drop by tenth due to smoking ban
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009The ban on smoking in public places has triggered a 10 per cent fall in the number of heart attacks.
Published: 13 Sep 2009
Early results of a study commissioned by the Department of Health revealed heart attack rates dropped by about a tenth in England in the year after the ban was introduced in July 2007.
Separate research found an even sharper decrease - 14 per cent - in Scotland, where the ban was imposed a year earlier. Another study in Wales is expected to reveal similar results.
The research into heart attack rates in England is being led by Anna Gilmore of Bath University. She told The Sunday Times: ”There is already overwhelming evidence that reducing people’s exposure to cigarette smoke reduces hospital admissions due to heart attacks.”
John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University, said: ”We always knew a public smoking ban would bring rapid health benefits, but we have been amazed by just how big and how rapid they are.”
Ellen Mason, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ”Exposure to cigarette smoke induces rapid changes in blood chemistry, making it much more prone to clotting. In someone who has narrowed or damaged coronary arteries, smoke exposure can tip the balance and cause a heart attack.”
With this in mind it is worth considering hypnotherapy for ceasing smoking. With a solution focused approach results are typically achieved in just one session and without leaving you with the horrible craving left by other methods. This makes it a worth while investment in your health.
Contact NTA for details
There are healthy alternatives to sugar
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009Our nutrition expert answers your queries on the subject of sugar substitutes.
Following a report last week that claimed artificial sweeteners can actually lead you to absorb more calories I have received lots of letters about “healthy” alternatives to sugar and have answered some of your most common questions below.
It has traditionally been assumed that these sweeteners are a good thing, because if you substitute a can of standard cola for a diet version, you are saving around 140 calories. However, research is now questioning whether things are as straightforward as this. New work carried out by Professor Soraya Shirazi-Beechey and her team from the University of Liverpool has discovered that some intense artificial sweeteners stimulate “sweet receptors” in our intestines that in turn increase the body’s capacity to absorb more sugar.
Despite the reassuring studies on the safety of intense sweeteners, many people prefer not to risk even the vague possibility that consuming them may be linked with anything from headaches to increased risk of cancer. Many people — including myself — play it safe by sticking to naturally calorie-free options such as water and products such as plain yoghurt with your own fruit added.
Is agave nectar better for you than sugar?
Agave nectar looks and tastes like honey, but comes from the cut stem of a Mexican plant known as the century or blue agave. The natural sweetness of agave comes from fruit sugar, also known as fructose, which raises blood sugar levels gently after eating. This helps to keep cravings for sweet foods at bay and our moods balanced. The slow digestion of agave gives it a glycaemic index of 40 — that of granulated table sugar (officially known as sucrose) is 68, and tends to send blood sugar high quickly, encouraging our bodies to store excess sugar as fat.
Fructose, and therefore agave nectar, is about a third sweeter than sugar, which means that you can get away with using a third less. In other words, you get the same sweetness using two thirds of a teaspoon of agave with 14 calories as in a teaspoon of sugar with 20 calories.
It can be used to replace sugar in both hot and cold drinks because it dissolves in both, in baking and on cereal or yoghurt.
Granulated forms of fructose are also widely available in supermarkets these days and have similar nutritional advantages.
I’ve seen a sweetener called ‘xylitol’ on some sugar-free mints and chewing gum. What is it and why is it linked with teeth on packaging?
Xylitol is a type of “bulk” sugar that is extracted from birch trees in Finland. Like fructose xylitol is sweeter than sugar, but in this case, twice as sweet. A teaspoon of granulated xylitol (available as Perfect Sweet or Xylobrit) has around 10 calories.
It is important to note that xylitol, along with other bulk sweeteners like sorbitol, manitol and lactitol found in many sugar-free sweets, can all cause loose stools if over-consumed. Stick to limits advised by manufacturers.
Is honey better for you than sugar?
From a calorie point of view, honey provides 288 calories per 100g and sugar 394 calories, so gram for gram, it offers a saving. In reality, because honey is rather dense, a heaped teaspoon weighs 17g and provides 49 calories compared with a heaped teaspoon of sugar weighing just 6g with 24 calories. This is worth remembering if doing a straight swap of honey for sugar in drinks or yoghurts.
From a general health perspective, honey is probably better than sugar. It has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ills including everything from stomach pains to gut disorders, which we now call irritable bowel syndrome. It has also traditionally been applied directly to wounds. Research also shows that honey has antimicrobial properties that kill off a wide range of bacteria including Listeria and strains that cause stomach ulcers.
All these natural alternatives and more are available at Vitality Health Store in Basingstoke town centre. Their stocks include:
In stock we have Xylitol, It is actively good for teeth, but cannot be used in bread making as it will nor raise the yeast.
Fruisana, another fruit sugar, which has a GI of 19, is sweeter than normal sugar and so you need to use less. Can be used in all cooking and baking.
Barley malt extract from organic barley and organic malted barley contains a complex mix of carbs, trace elements and vitamins. Can be used in baking or as a soothing evening beverage stirred into hot milk.
Rice syrup can be used in the same way as barley extract and is made by the traditional malting of cereal grains, producing a rich flavour and a good balance of maltose and complex sugars.
Agave Syrup is from the agave cactus, and produced using only wind and solar power!
We also have Date Syrup which can be used as a sweetener or to flavour ice cream, flapjacks and more.
And good old maple syrup, tapped from North American Maple Trees. The sap is concentrated into a syrup that can be used on desserts, ice creams and pancakes.
Contact Vitality for more information 01256 331132, Wote Street, Basingstoke.
Call for fewer hysterectomy ops BBC News article Aug 09
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009Heavy periods can cause a lot of pain for some women
Too many women may be undergoing hysterectomies for heavy periods when alternative treatments should be considered first, a study suggests.
An audit of 51,500 women in England found large variations in the type of surgery done for the condition. Overall, four in 10 women had a hysterectomy, but regional figures ranged from 25% to 54%.
Experts said women may not be given enough information about the treatment options available. Heavy menstrual bleeding, also called menorrhagia, can be caused by conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and hormonal imbalance, and can severely impair a women’s quality of life.
Women need to be informed of the risks and benefits of each surgical option before decisions are made.
It is estimated that around one in 20 women aged 30 to 49 years old go to their GP each year because of heavy periods.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) say women should be given full information about the range of treatments available before considering irreversible operations such as hysterectomy. But the researchers said the variation shown in their study suggests this is not happening.
If you suffer from heavy periods you may want to look at the nice guidelines on their website www.nice.org.uk . There are CAM alternatives for heavy periods such as Nutrition, Homeopathy, Acupuncture and Osteopathy, all available at NTA. Most therapists find their approach very effective at helping this condition.
The Alternative Medicine Cabinet: Arnica for Pain Relief
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
The New York Times What alternative remedies belong in your home medicine cabinet?
Natural remedies have an obvious appeal, but how do you know which ones to choose and whether the claims are backed by science? Today, The Remedy: Arnica
The Claim: It relieves pain.
The Science: Arnica Montana, a plant native to mountainous areas of Europe and North America, has been used for centuries to treat a variety of pain. Athletes rub it on muscles to soothe soreness and strains, and arthritis sufferers rub it on joints to reduce pain and swelling. Either way, scientists have found good evidence that it works. One randomized study published in 2007 looked at 204 people with osteoarthritis in their hands and found that an arnica gel preparation worked just as well as daily ibuprofen, and with minimal side effects. Another study of 79 people with arthritis of the knee found that when patients used arnica gel twice daily for three to six weeks, they experienced significant reductions in pain and stiffness and had improved function. Only one person experienced an allergic reaction.
The Risks: Arnica gels or creams can cause allergic reactions in some people, but it is generally safe when used topically. However, it should never be rubbed on broken or damaged skin, and it should only be ingested when in a heavily diluted, homeopathic form.
Muscle and joint pain accounts for half of work absences in Europe
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Muscle and joint pain account for half of absences from work and almost two-thirds of permanent incapacity in the European Union, according to a new study today.The Work Foundation said 100 million Europeans suffer from chronic musculo-skeletal pain - more than 40 million of whom were workers - with up to 40 per cent having to give up work due to their condition.
The estimated cost to society of poor health due to muscle and joint pain in Europe is up to 240 billion euro, said the report.
‘Musculoskeletal disorders clearly have a serious, negative impact on the EU workforce, as they were responsible for millions of lost working days - 9.5 million were lost in one year in the UK alone,’ said Stephen Bevan, managing director of the Work Foundation.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘This report highlights what trade unions have been demanding for many years, which is access to early rehabilitation for those with muscle and back problems.
‘In the UK just two per cent of workers have access to comprehensive occupational health services through their employer and most people have to rely on a referral from their GP. This can take many months, by which time the problem may be chronic.
‘Many of these illnesses are caused or made worse by work. The huge number of cases shows that the current European regulations on manual handling and working on computers are failing to prevent work-related musculo-skeletal disorders.’
Natural Therapy Advice can help you to access quality treatments for muscle and joint pain, call us on 01256 463899
Vaccines and autism: piecing together the jigsaw - from The Mail on Sunday
Thursday, October 1st, 200926th September 2009
In November 2007, a landmark decision by the US Department of Health and Human Services ruled that Hannah Poling from Georgia, now ten, had developed autism triggered by vaccinations. A healthy baby, Hannah developed normally until 19 July 2000, when, aged 19 months, she was given nine vaccines in five injections.
As Dr Richard Halvorsen reports in the new edition of his book The Truth About Vaccines, ‘Within 48 hours, she developed a fever, became irritable and cried inconsolably. She refused to walk and instead crawled up and down stairs. Over the next three months, Hannah…avoided eye contact with her parents and lost all language. Four months after her vaccinations, she was formally diagnosed with autism.’
Although she had shown no symptoms before vaccination, tests revealed that Hannah has an abnormality called mitochondrial dysfunction (MD). Mitochondria are the power generators in cells; they’re particularly important for the energy-gobbling brain and muscles. The US government doctors felt that the vaccines aggravated Hannah’s MD and that this resulted in her developing autism. Recent research found that more than one autistic child in 25 has MD.
More than one child in 200 – at least 3,000 – is born with mitochondrial abnormalities in the UK every year, according to Dr Halvorsen, who believes some of these will be – like Hannah – at risk of autistic regression following vaccination. (Other problems possibly linked to vaccinations include asthma, eczema and diabetes.)
But the vaccine/autism link is not a straightforward case of cause and effect. It is ‘multi-factorial: MD is another part of the whole jigsaw puzzle,’ says Dr Halvorsen.
‘With Hannah, it may have been the mercury [a neurotoxin] in three of the vaccines, and/or the number of vaccines she was given – nine in a single hit.’ Although mercury (in thimerosal) has been discontinued since 2004 in most vaccines, Dr Halvorsen says that, ‘The continued use of aluminium [in mainstream vaccines] may also pose a risk, as it is highly toxic, causes brain damage and has been implicated in behavioural problems in children.’
Another theory for the vaccine/autism link is based on long-term research by the Autism Research Unit (ARU) at the University of Sunderland. Scientists there believe up to one in ten cases of autism are caused by a metabolic disorder, which involves an intolerance to compounds mainly found in dietary gluten and/or casein (a protein found in milk and often used in processed foods).
Problems can start when the balance of good and bad gut bacteria is disturbed, which can follow repeated doses of antibiotics. The particles of live measles virus in the MMR ‘triple’ vaccine (which contains three live viruses) may exacerbate existing problems in children with a vulnerable immune system.
Hannah’s father Jon, a neurologist, and mother Terry, a lawyer and nurse, used their knowledge to pursue Hannah’s case and win compensation so that their daughter could have the specialised care she needs. But the precedent set by this case is ‘hugely ignificant,’ says Dr Halvorsen, ‘because it’s the first time that any government doctors have accepted a link between vaccines and autism’.
At Natural Therapy Advice, we can give you information about support organisations and practitioners with experience of working with Autistic Spectrum children. Usung natural healthcare techniques, we can idenify what issues have affected your child and what ongoing issues continue to burden them. With treatments such as nutritional therapy, Homeopathy and Cranial Osteopathy it is possible to resolve some issues and help your child towards fulfilling their potential. Call for more information 0845 4638901
Forget cholesterol and statins - here’s how you REALLY avoid heart disease
Thursday, October 1st, 2009What’s the best way of telling if you are at a raised risk of heart disease? Most people would probably say their cholesterol level, because too much can block your arteries. That’s why the NHS spends more than £1/2 billion a year on statins to treat high cholesterol.
Coronary heart disease is the UK’s biggest killer, responsible for more than 115,000 deaths every year. Preventing it is clearly a hugely important task.
But this relentless focus on cholesterol could mean that we are missing out on the wider picture - and more effective, cheaper ways of protecting ourselves (without the risk of side-effects from drugs).
We all know that old age, smoking, raised blood pressure, lack of exercise and poor diet are significant - but what’s not so familiar is that these factors are linked. And that link is inflammation.
However, chronic inflammation makes heart disease more likely by damaging the lining of blood vessels.
This, in turn, lowers production of the nitric oxide that keeps blood vessels flexible; when that happens there is a raised risk of high blood pressure. Damage to the vessel lining also makes it easier for fatty deposits to build up - these can later break away and cause strokes and heart attacks.
Smoking, lack of exercise and a poor diet all keep inflammation going.
Scientists have known for years that long-term inflammation is a feature of most chronic diseases, including arthritis, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and Alzheimer’s; heart disease is no exception.
There’s a simple blood test that tells you if you’ve got a high level of inflammation - it checks for CRP (c-reactive protein). So could a CRP test help you protect yourself more effectively against heart disease than knowing your cholesterol levels?
‘CRP is far from perfect as a biomarker, but I think it is probably a useful warning that you have early signs of disease,’ says Dr. Ian Graham, professor of epidemiology and public health at the Royal College of Surgeons, and a cardiologist at Trinity College, Dublin. ‘Knowing about it could encourage people to start taking better care of their health earlier. Having your levels tested certainly makes sense.’
This would mean you could treat inflammation before it allowed the furring up of your arteries. Being aware of inflammation also brings the focus of fighting heart disease back to lifestyle measures instead of drugs.
‘What worries me about statins is that they make people less likely to take responsibility for their own health,’ says Dr Graham. ‘They encourage the idea you can sit on the sofa, eating dreadful food but you’re safe because your cholesterol is coming down.’
So how do you go about beating inflammation?
Losing weight helps because the extra fat you’re carrying around your belly isn’t just a storage depot; some of the chemicals it produces cause inflammation. Cutting out sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet also reduces inflammation because high levels of blood glucose and the extra insulin it triggers can inflame and damage arteries.
Fish oils have been found to reduce the risk of heart failure patients dying or being hospitalised
Making sure you get a good daily intake of omega 3 fatty acids is a way of damping down the inflammatory response. One trial reported in the summer found that fish oils reduced the risk of patients with heart failure dying or being hospitalised by nine per cent.
And then there are statins - the main drugs being tested as a way of tackling inflammation. That’s because as well as lowering cholesterol, statins also target a protein that’s involved in immune reactions.
A major trial called Jupiter reported recently that giving a statin to people with high CRP levels but who are otherwise healthy improved their chances of surviving the next four to five years. But critics have pointed out that the benefits of statins were small - for those on the drug, the chances of surviving was 94.9 per cent and if you weren’t it was 94.3 per cent.
And then there are the potential side effects- - while doctors usually say that muscle pain (myopathy) from statins is rare, a new Canadian study suggests it can affect 10 per cent to 15 per cent of patients.
There are many options for Natural, side effect free treatments for lowering cholesterol - call NTA on 01256 463899 for advice.
Many of the ways inflammation and heart disease tie up are still controversial and more research is certainly needed. ‘Inflammation is a key player in events triggering a heart attack and also in setting the conditions that lead up to it,’ says Professor Peter Weissberg medical director of the British Heart Foundation.
‘When you use a drug such as a statin it is hard to separate out the effect it has on inflammation from its effect on cholesterol.’
But possibly one of the reasons that trials of lowering CRP haven’t proved very effective is because they have been targeting the wrong thing. ‘CRP just tells you that there is inflammation,’ says Dr Kilmer McCully, Chief of Pathology at the Veterans Hospital in Boston.
‘There is evidence going back a long way that bacteria and viruses are involved in heart disease. They certainly trigger an immune response that would raise CRP but if you don’t get rid of them you are not going to have much of an effect.’
So how do you get rid of these bacteria and viruses? ‘The best defence is an effective immune system and the best way to get that is a highly nutritious diet.’
And CRP is not the only sign of inflammation. An amino acid called homocysteine can contribute to inflammation in the blood vessel walls and research has linked high levels of it with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Homocysteine is produced when we eat meat and dairy products. Normally, the body quickly turns it into other useful chemicals, but sometimes that process goes wrong and levels start to rise.
‘There is no dispute that raised homocysteine is a good predictor of future disease events and death from cardiovascular problems,’ says David Smith, professor of pharmacology at Oxford. ‘If you are otherwise healthy, high homocysteine is a sign your system isn’t working as efficiently as it should be.’
Finally, there is another vitamin that is emerging as a leading player in the fight against inflammation.
‘We could all do with more vitamin D,’ says Dr Oliver Gillie, one of the leading authorities on it in the UK.
‘As many as 90 per cent of us are deficient by the end of winter because we can’t make any from exposure to the sun for about six months of the year this far north. We now know it’s not just used for building bones.
‘It’s involved in many processes, including boosting production of chemicals that calm down inflammation and cutting back on the pro-inflammatory ones.’
• TESTS for both c-reactive protein and homocysteine are available on the NHS through your GP; you can also get them done via Natural Therapy Advice. Call us on 01256 463899