Total Health Breakthroughs: Alternative Solutions for Mind, Body, and Spirit

Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease differ by individual, as well as day-to-day. Some signs may be so subtle that they may go unnoticed by family or friends, while other symptoms will become increasingly obvious over time.

The following checklist was written by the Alzheimer’s Association¹ to assist individuals determine if they or a loved one have the early warning signs of the disease. We thank them for making this valuable information available to the public.

1. Memory loss. One of the most common early signs of dementia is forgetting recently learned information. While it’s normal to forget appointments, names or telephone numbers, those with Alzheimer’s disease will forget such things more often and not remember them later.

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks. People with Alzheimer’s disease often find it hard to complete familiar, everyday tasks which they previously did without thinking. A person with Alzheimer’s may forget how to cook, make repairs or how to play cards.

By now we are all familiar with the class of cholesterol lowering drugs called statins. A recent study, which was actually looking to see if statins cause liver toxicity, found that not only were statins clearly correlated with increased liver enzymes, they were also associated with increased cancer risk.¹

Another trial was looking to find out if a newer combination drug for cholesterol lowering, called Vytorin, could prevent the progression of aortic heart-valve disease– they found out it did not. Other findings from the study were a mixed bag of good and bad, but of great concern was that more people taking the drug ended up getting cancer, compared to those on placebo — 40% more.²

A re-analysis of the data from some of these trials was done to see if the cholesterol lowering drugs really did increase cancer risk or if that occurred by chance — the authors came away convinced the increased cancer risk was a fluke. Interestingly though, a group of editors of the New England Journal of Medicine said in effect, “Not so fast,” because they calculated that the odds that this finding was just by chance could be as low as 7 in 1000.³

In the meantime, another study has suggested that it may not be the drugs that are increasing the cancer risk, but the low LDL levels (LDL is considered the “bad” type of cholesterol). This study followed Chinese patients with type II diabetes who had no previous history of cancer. Those with an LDL level of 107 had a 33% increased risk of cancer and death, and those with an LDL level of 87 had a 50% increased risk.⁴As the LDL decreased, cancer risk increased. It will be awhile before the issue is completely sorted out, and I am glad to see that at least some experts are concerned by these results.

But even with the increased risks, most of these researchers and medical organizations such as the American College of Cardiology are not suggesting that people who are on statins to manage heart disease stop taking them.⁵ Why? Because heart disease is a more immediate threat.

Society has a love-hate relationship with plastic. We sure use a lot of it, but even before an actor whispered “Plastics…” as a word of advice in the movie The Graduate, plastic often meant shoddy, imitation, and uncool.

Ardent environmentalists tend to hate plastic. You know the issues there.

Now there are other concerns about plastics — namely, that they are poisoning our food supply. These concerns stem from the fact that unsavory chemicals in some plastics can leach into food. Canada highlighted the issue by proposing a ban of plastics containing bisphenol-A, a compound with significant toxicity.

Recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed even more startling findings about bisphenol-A.¹ In a large population study of individuals between the ages of 18 and 74, it was found that people with higher levels of bisphenol-A in their urine also had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

This is especially worrisome because bisphenol-A is found in a plastic called polycarbonate used to make baby bottles. While the study authors were clear that this does not necessarily show a cause and effect relationship, it is well worth noting the risk.

The question of safety regarding polycarbonates raises a larger question — just how safe are all the plastics that we come into regular contact with? Or phrased differently, what are the risks of packaging and serving food and beverages in plastic?

Can you hear me now?

How does the idea of playing Russian roulette with your brain sound? How’d you like to live a healthy lifestyle and come down with a horrible disease, like Alzheimer’s, simply because you were using your cell phone?

Not too pleasant a thought, is it?

Well, perhaps you’re aware of the recent news from the prestigious University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center warning of cell phone risks to your immune system and bone marrow. Their recent research report, published online, reveals that the electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phones may pose a serious risk for developing brain cancer, as well as eye cancer and acoustic neuromas, a benign tumor of the nerve in the ear leading to deafness, which needs surgery to be removed.^1,2

Recently, Dr. Paul Song, a radiation oncologist from Los Angeles, appeared on Larry King live and was asked about the dangers of carrying your cell phone on your hip and holding it next to your head. Here is what he said:

“Surprisingly, the concern about radio frequency exposure is not so much for the brain or the hip, but really the testes or the eyes. Those are the areas that are most sensitive to radio frequency, because they get hot and they don’t have the blood vessels to cool off.”³

But that’s not all.

An earlier published paper revealed that cell phone radiation kills brain cells that are associated with learning and memory, and may therefore trigger Alzheimer’s.⁴

How can that be?

Just because you are not obese, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook when it comes to increased risk for heart disease and diabetes — known as cardiometabolic disease. If you’re just a little pudgy around the middle, you may pat your belly and chuckle about those few extra beers you had last night, but it is no laughing matter.

Two studies recently looked at the cardiometabolic health of three categories of white adults: normal weight, overweight, and obese. Researchers measured blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and assessed whether the study subjects were insulin resistant.

What they found was eye opening — 23.5% of “normal weight” adults were metabolically abnormal — and surprisingly, the research done by Wildman’s group found that approximately 30% of the “obese” group was actually metabolically pretty healthy.¹ In the “overweight” group, it was split about 50-50 between those who were metabolically healthy and those who were at increased risk according to these measures.

Energy drinks have been promising consumers more daily “oomph” for several years. It’s not surprising then that sales in the US have risen sharply for the last decade. In fact, it’s estimated the energy drink market will top $10 billion by 2010. While this is great news for the energy drink companies, it could mean a different story for those who drink it.

Years ago I started educating health professionals and patients in my practice about birth control pills. If they — or their wives, daughters, or patients were taking them — they should make sure to supplement with a multivitamin and mineral containing higher dosages of B vitamins.

The reason? Studies have found that oral contraceptives deplete several nutrients including vitamins B2, B6, and B12, folate, vitamins C and E, magnesium, and even CoQ10.^1-5 These nutrient depletions have far-reaching effects; they can contribute to everything from depression, migraines, and anemia — to cervical dysplasia — the precursor to cervical cancer.

“In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the aspartame in the diet soda. . . and literally dying a slow, and miserable death .”1

Comments, case reports and claims like this are sprouting up all over — especially on the web. The above quote comments on aspartame, but other artificial sweeteners come under fire as well.

Just how scary are artificial sweeteners? Are these compounds actually toxins? Have the guardians of our food supply been bought out by big business?

We live on a heavily industrialized planet inhabited by an ever increasing population. Here in the US, rivers and lakes may no longer carry cholera and typhoid fever, but keeping our supply of water safe still requires constant vigilance.

Here’s a news bulletin for you: The most damaging ingredient in the American diet is not fat.

It’s sugar.