Bear with me
for a few of these messages. The “scientific” words can’t be cut without
losing the intent of the message. If you can’t handle these big words, read the
highlighted type and skip to the green comment at the end of each article. Chlorophyllin Intervention Reduces Aflatoxin-DNA Adducts in Individuals at High Risk for Liver Cancer Egner PA, Wang JB, Zhu YR, Zhang BC, Wu Y, Zhang QN, Qian GS, Kuang SY, Gange SJ, Jacobson LP, Helzlsouer KJ, Bailey GS, Groopman JD, Kensler TW Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Fancy words to say, “Eat your green vegetables and you’ll
get healthy!” Oltipraz Chemoprevention Trial in
Qidong, People’s Republic of China: Modulation of Serum Aflatoxin
Albumin Adduct Biomarkers. Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA In 1995, 234 adults from Qidong, People’s Republic of China, were enrolled and followed in a Phase IIa 4-methyl-5-(N-2-pyrazinyl)-1,2-dithiole-3-thione (oltipraz) chemoprevention trial. Residents of this area are at high risk for development of hepatocellular carcinoma, in part due to consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated foods. The intervention was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Elements of the study design and clinical outcomes have been recently published (Jacobson et al, Cancer Epidemiol. Biomark. Prev., 6: 257-265, 1997). The primary objective was to conduct a preliminary assessment of the ability of oltipraz to modulate levels of a validated biomarker of aflatoxin exposure and of the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma by determining levels of aflatoxin-albumin adducts in sera. Healthy eligible individuals were randomized into three arms to receive p.o. 125 mg of oltipraz daily, 500 mg of oltipraz weekly, or placebo for 8 weeks. There were no consistent changes in biomarker levels in the placebo arm over the 16-week observation period, nor was any apparent effect observed in the arm receiving 125 mg of oltipraz each day. However, individuals receiving 500 mg of oltipraz once a week for 8 weeks showed a triphasic response to oltipraz. No effect was observed during the 1st month of the intervention, whereas a significant (P = 0.001) diminution in adduct levels was observed during the 2nd month of active intervention and during the first month of follow-up. A partial rebound in adduct levels toward baseline values was observed during the 2nd month post-intervention. Linear regression models up to week 13 confirmed a significant (P = 0.008) weekly decline of biomarker levels in the group receiving 500 mg of oltipraz once a week. However, despite these effects relative to baseline values within the 500-mg weekly arm, there were no statistically significant differences in biomarker trajectories between treatment arms. The genotype for glutathione S-transferase M1, an oltipraz-inducible isoform involved in the detoxification of aflatoxin B1, did not appear to affect either baseline levels or rates of decline in the biomarker. A follow-up Phase IIb trial with a longer intervention period will be necessary to determine the full extent to which aflatoxin biomarker burden can be reduced and whether diminution of biomarkers can be sustained over the long term. Oltipraz is a drug used in cancer research. Unlike the first study in
this issue, which apparently used people in the same area with chlorophyllin as their
drug, these folks did not appear to achieve any remarkable results. I assume, therefore,
that this oltipraz is a synthetic chemical drug. Again, it looks like eating your veggies
is better than taking drugs… J Effectiveness of Nystatin in Polysymptomatic Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind Trial with Nystatin Versus Placebo in General Practice. University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
METHODS: We conducted a 4-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 116 individuals selected by a seven-item questionnaire to determine whether the antifungal agent nystatin, given orally, was superior to placebo. At the onset of the study, the patients were free to select either their regular diet or a sugar- and yeast-free diet, which resulted in four different subgroups: nystatin + diet (ND); placebo + diet (PD); nystatin (N); and placebo (P). RESULTS: Nystatin was significantly better than placebo in reduction of the overall symptom score (P < 0.003). In six of the 45 individually recorded symptoms, the improvement was significant (P < 0.01). All three active treatment groups reduced their overall symptom scores significantly (P < 0.0001), while the placebo regimen had no effect (P = 0.83). The benefit of diet was significant within both the nystatin (ND > N) and the placebo groups (PD > P). CONCLUSIONS: Nystatin is superior to placebo in reducing localized and systemic symptoms in individuals with presumed fungus hypersensitivity as selected by a seven-item questionnaire. This superiority is probably enhanced even further by a sugar- and yeast-free diet. Gee, what have I been telling you folks for months? Nystatin is an
antifungal drug that confines its activity to the gut (it does not enter the bloodstream
through the intestines as most drugs do). That, plus a diet free of yeasts (a form of
fungi) and sugar (that which feeds fungi) makes you healthier. Health Alerts? Thousands of EPA Scientists Issue Warning on Fluoride
Some of us having been saying fluoride was bad for us for dozens of
years. Why does it take government scientists so log to catch up? Government Study: High Levels of Pesticides in Kid’s Diets
Now watch carefully because when this goes public, the cost of
organic foods will skyrocket! After all, only the rich can afford to eat healthy foods. L Also, if the suggestion is made to change school lunch programs to
all-organic food, there will be a tax increase to offset the costs. Skipping Breakfast Can Break
Your Diet – Fast by Melinda Beck Does this sound like anyone you know? He or she typically has a muffin or doughnut in the morning, or skips breakfast entirely. Lunch might be a sandwich or yogurt on the run. By around 4 p.m., this person is ravenous and hits the vending machine or snacks on cookies sitting around the office. At home, the kids’ leftovers are fair game, and the grazing continues until bedtime. Stephen Gullo, a New York psychologist and diet counselor, calls this the “Wall Street Eating Syndrome,” because it sums up the habits of so many of his patients in the financial industry. But it applies to millions of other Americans -- and it’s a prime recipe for gaining weight. There is an emerging consensus that skimping on meals early in the day sets people up for compulsive snacking later -- causing weight gain. Skipping breakfast, says Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist and author of “The South Beach Diet,” “allows blood sugar to drop and hunger to increase all morning, resulting in powerful cravings for a lunch that includes carbs of questionable value ...” Of course, eating a good breakfast is hardly revolutionary advice. But many Americans haven’t taken it to heart. The NPD Group, which has been tracking food trends for 25 years, says 12 percent of Americans regularly skip breakfast. But eating the wrong breakfast can be just as bad as skipping it. Starting the day with a doughnut or sweetened cereal and orange juice -- or other refined carbohydrates -- can activate your appetite instead of controlling it, says Dr. Walter Futterweit, a specialist in diabetes and other endocrine disorders at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “You’re getting a
sudden burst of pure sugar, which causes an immediate release of insulin,” prompting
your blood sugar to drop, Futterweit says. “An hour or two later, you may start
feeling edgy, irritable, have difficulty concentrating and you’re driven to eat
again.” Gullo says his patients weren’t
overeating because of a lack of willpower. “These people have extraordinary
willpower,” he says, but “were fighting their own body chemistry.” Besides being too busy to eat enough early in the day, victims of “Wall Street Eating Syndrome” inadvertently set themselves up for binge snacking in late afternoon, Gullo writes in his book, “The Thin Commandments.” If you go without food for more than three or four hours, and then eat simple carbohydrates such as cookies or pretzels, you spark a sudden rise in a natural body protein called neuropeptide Y. It’s like putting “a match to gasoline,” he explains The best way to keep your blood sugar stable and your appetite under control, many nutritionists agree, is to fill up on protein for breakfast -- ideally, an egg omelet or nonfat yogurt. More lean protein and a salad or other vegetables for lunch will help keep you feeling full for hours. A mid-afternoon snack with
protein and fiber -- hard-boiled
eggs, low-fat cheese or a low-fat, high-protein energy bar -- will protect you from
needing a high-carb fix around 4 o’clock. At
dinner, go for lean meat and a salad or vegetable. For a late-night snack, try a low-calorie ice pop.
“The later you are eating, the lighter you should go on carbohydrates,” Gullo
says. Yeah, like staying the heck away from potato chips, Doritos, or
popcorn after dinner. Test Your Gullibility Factor Here’s short and fun test to find out exactly how gullible you
really are to the “Programming of America.” Answer the questions true or false,
then they will give you your score, analysis, and the correct answers with explanations. http://www.newstarget.com/gullibility.html Welcome to the
Town of Allopath A Modern and Appropriate Fable by Mike Adams (Reprinted with permission of the author) There once was a town called Allopath. It had many people, streets, and cars, but due to budget limitations, there were no stop signs or traffic lights anywhere in Allopath. Not surprisingly, traffic
accidents were common. Cars would crash into each other at nearly every intersection. But
business was booming for the auto repair shops and local hospitals, which dominated the
economy of Allopath. As the population of Allopath grew, traffic accidents increased to an alarming level. Out of desperation, the city council hired Doctor West, a doctor of the Motor Division (M.D.) to find a solution. Dr. West spent days examining traffic accidents. He carried an assortment of technical gear -- microscopes, chemical analysis equipment, lab gear -- and put them all to work as part of his investigation. The townspeople of Allopath watched on with great curiosity while Dr. West went about his work, meticulously documenting and analyzing each traffic accident, and they awaited his final report with great interest. After weeks of investigation, Dr. West called the people of Allopath to a town meeting for the release of his report. There, in front of the city council and most of the residents of Allopath, he announced his findings: “Traffic accidents are caused by skid marks.” As Dr. West explained, he found and documented a near-100% correlation between traffic accidents and skid marks. “Wherever we find these cars colliding,” he explained, “we also find these skid marks.” The town had “Skid Marks Disease,” the doctor explained, and the answer to the town’s epidemic of traffic accidents would, “...require nothing more than treating Skid Marks Disease by making the streets skid-proof,” Dr. West exclaimed, to great applause from the townspeople. The city paid Dr. West his consulting fee, then asked the good doctor to propose a method for treating this Skid Marks Disease. As chance would have it, Dr. West had recently been on a trip to Hawaii paid for by a chemical company that manufactured roadaceuticals: special chemicals used to treat roads for situations just like this one. He recommended a particular chemical coating to the city council: Teflon. “We can treat this Skid Marks Disease by coating the roads with Teflon,” Dr. West explained. “The streets will then be skid-proof, and all the traffic accidents will cease!” He went on to describe the physical properties of Teflon and how its near-frictionless coating would deter nearly all vehicle skids. The city council heartily agreed with Dr. West, and they issued new public bonds to raise the money required to buy enough Teflon to coat all the city’s streets. Within weeks, the streets were completely coated, and the skid marks all but disappeared. The city council paid Dr. West another consulting fee and thanked him for his expertise. The problem of traffic accidents in Allopath was solved, they thought. Although the cure was expensive, they were convinced it was worth it. But things weren’t well in Allopath. Traffic accidents quadrupled. Hospital beds were overflowing with injured residents. Auto repair businesses were booming so much that most of the city council members decided to either open their own car repair shops or invest in existing ones. Week after week, more and more residents of Allopath were injured, and their cars were repeatedly damaged. Money piled into the pockets of the car repair shops, hospitals, tow truck companies, and car parts retailers. The town economic advisor, observing this sharp increase in economic activity, announced that Allopath was booming. Its economy was healthier than ever, and Allopath could look forward to a great year of economic prosperity! There were jobs to be had at the car repair shops. There were more nurses needed at the hospital. “Help wanted” signs appeared all over town at the paramedic station, the tow truck shops, and the auto glass businesses. Unemployment dropped to near zero. But the traffic accidents continued to increase. And yet there were no skid marks. The city council was baffled. They thought they had solved this problem. Skid Marks Disease had been eradicated by the Teflon treatment. Why were traffic accidents still happening? They called a town meeting to discuss the problem, and following a short discussion of the problem, an old hermit, who lived in the forest just outside of Allopath, addressed the townspeople. “There is no such thing as Skid Marks Disease,” he explained. “This disease was invented by the roadaceuticals company to sell you Teflon coatings.” The townspeople were horrified to hear such a statement. They knew Skid Marks Disease existed. The doctor had told them so. How could this hermit, who had no Motor Division (M.D.) degree, dare tell them otherwise? How could he question their collective town wisdom in such a way? “This is a simple problem,” the hermit continued. “All we need to do is build stop signs and traffic lights. Then the traffic accidents will cease.” Without pause, one city council member remarked, “But how can we afford stop signs? We’ve spent all our money on Teflon treatments!” The townspeople agreed. They had no money to buy stop signs. Another council member added, “And how can we stop anyway? The streets are all coated with Teflon. If we build stop signs, we’ll waste all the money we’ve spent on Teflon!” The townspeople agreed, again. What use were stop signs if they couldn’t stop their cars anyway? The hermit replied, “But the
stop signs will eliminate the need for Teflon. People will be able to stop their cars and
accidents will cease. The solution is simple.” But what might happen if stop
signs actually worked, the townspeople wondered. How would it affect the booming economy
of Allopath? Realizing the consequences, a burly old man who owned a local repair shop
jumped to his feet and said, “If we build these stop signs, and traffic accidents go
down, I’ll have to fire most of my workers!” It was at that moment that most
of the townspeople realized their own jobs were at stake. If stop signs were built, nearly
everyone would be unemployed. They all had jobs in emergency response services, car repair
shops, hospitals and Teflon coating maintenance. Some were now sales representatives of
the roadaceuticals company. Others were importers of glass, tires, steel and other parts
for cars. A few clever people were making a fortune selling wheelchairs and crutches to
accident victims. One enterprising young gentleman
started a scientific journal that published research papers describing all the different
kind of Skid Marks Diseases that had been observed and documented. Another person, a
fitness enthusiast, organized an annual run to raise funds to find the cure for Skid Marks
Disease. It was a popular event, and all the townspeople participated as best they could:
jogging, walking, or just pushing themselves along in their wheelchairs. One way or another, nearly
everyone in Allopath was economically tied to Skid Marks Disease. Out of fear of losing this economic prosperity, the townspeople voted to create a new public safety agency: the Frequent Drivers Association (FDA). This FDA would be responsible for approving or rejecting all signage, technology and chemical coatings related to the town’s roads. The FDA’s board members were
chosen from among the business leaders of the community: the owner of the car shop, the
owner of the ambulance company, and of course, Dr. West. Soon after its inception, the FDA
announced that Skid Marks Disease was, indeed, very real, as it had been carefully
documented by a doctor and recently published in the town Skid Marks Disease journal.
Since there were no studies whatsoever showing stop signs to be effective for reducing
traffic accidents, the FDA announced that stop signs were to be outlawed, and that any
person attempting to sell stop signs would be charged with fraud and locked up in the town
jail. This pleased the townspeople of
Allopath. With the FDA, they knew their jobs were safe. They could go on living their
lives of economic prosperity, with secure jobs, knowing that the FDA would outlaw any
attempt to take away their livelihood. They still had a lot of traffic accidents, but at
least their jobs were secure. And so life continued in
Allopath. For a short while, at least. As traffic accidents continued at a devastating
rate, more and more residents of Allopath were injured or killed. Many were left
bed-ridden, unable to work, due to their injuries. In time, the population dwindled.
The once-booming town of Allopath eventually became little more than a ghost town. The
hospital closed its doors, the FDA was disbanded, and the Skid Marks Disease journal
stopped printing. The few residents remaining
eventually realized nothing good had come of Skid Marks Disease, the Teflon coatings and
the FDA. No one was any better off, as all the town’s money had been spent on the
disease: the Teflon coatings, car parts and emergency services. No one was any healthier,
or happier, or longer-lived. Most, in fact, had lost their entire families to Skid Marks
Disease. And the hermit? He continued to
live just outside of town, at the end of a winding country road, where he lived a simple
life with no cars, no roads, no Teflon coatings and no FDA. He outlived every single resident
of Allopath. He gardened, took long walks through the forest, and gathered roots, leaves
and berries to feed himself. In his spare time, he constructed stop signs, waiting for the
next population to come along, and hoping they might listen to an old hermit with a crazy
idea: ...that prevention is the answer, not the treatment of symptoms. |