Antibiotics
barely beat probiotics for UTI relief
The only thing worse than the burning pain of a urinary tract infection is the burning pain of a urinary tract infection that keeps coming back again.. and again.
And if your doctor's only solution is to keep pumping antibiotics into you, direct your anger at him -- because he's likely the reason you're not getting any better, especially if he's giving you "preventive" antibiotics.
Now, the latest research shows that "preventive" antibiotics don't do nearly as much preventing as claimed (although, if you've taken them, you probably already learned this the hard way).
In women given the antibiotic co-trimoxazole every day for a year, the average number of annual infections fell from 7 to 2.9. An improvement? Not when you consider that bacteria eventually wise up to any drug you throw at them -- and when they do, they come back twice as hard.
That's not a solution... that's just a delay tactic and a recipe for long-term disaster.
Besides, there's a much better way to slash the number of UTIs without any of those risks -- because in the same study, a probiotic worked almost as well as the drugs. In fact, a second group of women were given Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 -- and they cut their UTIs from an average of 7 per year down to 3.3.
The only downside is that probiotics didn't cure 100 percent of the infections (but remember, the antibiotics didn't either) -- but at least the bugs that cause UTIs won't learn to resist them.
If you're battling UTIs, add a probiotic -- and then be sure to follow grandma's advice and get more cranberry, because she knew way back when what researchers are just starting to grudgingly admit today: Cranberries work.
Just be sure to use unsweetened cranberry extract or cranberry tablets -- not the big bottles of blended sugar water you'll find in the supermarket.
The only thing worse than the burning pain of a urinary tract infection is the burning pain of a urinary tract infection that keeps coming back again.. and again.
And if your doctor's only solution is to keep pumping antibiotics into you, direct your anger at him -- because he's likely the reason you're not getting any better, especially if he's giving you "preventive" antibiotics.
Now, the latest research shows that "preventive" antibiotics don't do nearly as much preventing as claimed (although, if you've taken them, you probably already learned this the hard way).
In women given the antibiotic co-trimoxazole every day for a year, the average number of annual infections fell from 7 to 2.9. An improvement? Not when you consider that bacteria eventually wise up to any drug you throw at them -- and when they do, they come back twice as hard.
That's not a solution... that's just a delay tactic and a recipe for long-term disaster.
Besides, there's a much better way to slash the number of UTIs without any of those risks -- because in the same study, a probiotic worked almost as well as the drugs. In fact, a second group of women were given Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 -- and they cut their UTIs from an average of 7 per year down to 3.3.
The only downside is that probiotics didn't cure 100 percent of the infections (but remember, the antibiotics didn't either) -- but at least the bugs that cause UTIs won't learn to resist them.
If you're battling UTIs, add a probiotic -- and then be sure to follow grandma's advice and get more cranberry, because she knew way back when what researchers are just starting to grudgingly admit today: Cranberries work.
Just be sure to use unsweetened cranberry extract or cranberry tablets -- not the big bottles of blended sugar water you'll find in the supermarket.
Antioxidant
improves behavior in autistic kids
When you see a kid flip out in public, don't just assume it's a run-of-the-mill brat throwing a run-of-the-mill tantrum.
But some of these kids aren't bad -- they're autistic.
The throwing, kicking and hitting behavior is ugly, but it's not like they're in control -- and believe me, it's not like the parents WANT this to happen. And if you happen to be the parent or grandparent of one of these kids, I've told you before how good nutrition can make all the difference in the world.
Now, the latest research backs me up, showing how the antioxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) can cut the number of bad behaviors almost in half with no ill effects.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital randomly assigned 31 autistic children with serious behavior issues -- like the throwing, kicking, and hitting -- to either a placebo or NAC.
The kids who got the NAC were like different kids. Their scores on a standardized checklist of bad behavior fell almost in half, from an average of 131 at the start of the study all the way down to 7.2.
That's not quite on par with the supposed success rate of the antipsychotic meds often given to autistic kids who act out -- but you know what passes for "success" when it comes to those drugs: A kid who's practically catatonic.
NAC, on the other hand, will help your autistic child act better without turning him into a drug-addled zombie -- and in the new study, the benefits didn't end there. These kids also had fewer of the repetitive behaviors that often mark autism.
If there's an autistic kid in your life, I feel your pain. There's no easy answer -- but early treatment and natural therapies can work wonders.
Revealed:
The filthiest spots in your hotel roomWhen you see a kid flip out in public, don't just assume it's a run-of-the-mill brat throwing a run-of-the-mill tantrum.
But some of these kids aren't bad -- they're autistic.
The throwing, kicking and hitting behavior is ugly, but it's not like they're in control -- and believe me, it's not like the parents WANT this to happen. And if you happen to be the parent or grandparent of one of these kids, I've told you before how good nutrition can make all the difference in the world.
Now, the latest research backs me up, showing how the antioxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) can cut the number of bad behaviors almost in half with no ill effects.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital randomly assigned 31 autistic children with serious behavior issues -- like the throwing, kicking, and hitting -- to either a placebo or NAC.
The kids who got the NAC were like different kids. Their scores on a standardized checklist of bad behavior fell almost in half, from an average of 131 at the start of the study all the way down to 7.2.
That's not quite on par with the supposed success rate of the antipsychotic meds often given to autistic kids who act out -- but you know what passes for "success" when it comes to those drugs: A kid who's practically catatonic.
NAC, on the other hand, will help your autistic child act better without turning him into a drug-addled zombie -- and in the new study, the benefits didn't end there. These kids also had fewer of the repetitive behaviors that often mark autism.
If there's an autistic kid in your life, I feel your pain. There's no easy answer -- but early treatment and natural therapies can work wonders.
Think bedbugs are bad? At least you can see them if you know where to look.
Your hotel room is probably crawling with zillions of other bugs that you can't see, including filthy poop bacteria all over the light switches.
It's safe to assume whoever had the room before you wasn't big on hand washing -- and that assumption is just about the only "safe" spot in the room, because a new study of nine hotel rooms in three states finds that the rest of the room is jumpin' with germs.
That light switch, for example, contained an average of 112.7 colony-forming units of bacteria on every square centimeter, and most of them were of the fecal variety.
To give you an idea of how big that number is, it's more than 22 times higher than the standard for hospitals -- and 11 times higher than the more lax standard set by the researchers who conducted the new study.
In addition to filthy light switches, the researchers found an average of 67.6 colony-forming units of bacteria per centimeter on the remote controls and 20.2 on the telephone keypads.
They also tested the cleaning equipment used by hotel maids and found at least 500 colony-forming units of aerobic and fecal bacteria on the sponges -- the same sponges used to wipe down your room. No wonder it's so filthy.
Fish
oil protects vision
You won't believe the amount of junk building up in your eyes, right now.
The older you are, the more garbage you have floating around in there, with the amount of toxins in the retina doubling with age.
Your eye doctor calls it "getting older". But you can beat "getting older," at least as far as your eyes are concerned, by simply filling up with the same delicious omega-3 fatty acids that can help protect your heart, brain, and more -- because a new study finds they can literally carry the junk right out of your eyes.
In a series of experiments on mice, animals given DHA supplements saw no change in the levels of the toxin lipofuscin in the retina. Those that got no DHA, on the other paw, saw their levels shoot right up.
If the same holds true for people, that could mean plain old fish oil supplements will help you to see better, longer -- and that's not the only way omega-3 fatty acids can help protect your peepers.
In other studies, fish oil has been shown to help slash the risk of both wet and dry age-related macular degeneration by about a third.
Throw in the fact that fish oil is great for everything from the brain to the heart, and you've got every reason in the world to put salmon on your plate tonight and a fish oil supplement in your cabinet right next to your multi.
You won't believe the amount of junk building up in your eyes, right now.
The older you are, the more garbage you have floating around in there, with the amount of toxins in the retina doubling with age.
Your eye doctor calls it "getting older". But you can beat "getting older," at least as far as your eyes are concerned, by simply filling up with the same delicious omega-3 fatty acids that can help protect your heart, brain, and more -- because a new study finds they can literally carry the junk right out of your eyes.
In a series of experiments on mice, animals given DHA supplements saw no change in the levels of the toxin lipofuscin in the retina. Those that got no DHA, on the other paw, saw their levels shoot right up.
If the same holds true for people, that could mean plain old fish oil supplements will help you to see better, longer -- and that's not the only way omega-3 fatty acids can help protect your peepers.
In other studies, fish oil has been shown to help slash the risk of both wet and dry age-related macular degeneration by about a third.
Throw in the fact that fish oil is great for everything from the brain to the heart, and you've got every reason in the world to put salmon on your plate tonight and a fish oil supplement in your cabinet right next to your multi.
Statins
can cause fatigue in 4 of 10 women
Think it's exhausting trying to keep up with all the warnings on cholesterol drugs? You should see what happens when you actually take the darned things -- because the latest study finds statins can sap you of your energy faster than a weekend with the in-laws.
This isn't some minor "maybe" side effect and it's certainly not a rare one. New numbers show that up to 40 percent of women who take statins battle fatigue -- and 10 percent of them feel like they've been hit by a truck.
In a new study of more than 1,000 people, that 10 percent described their post-statin energy levels as "much worse" than they were before they started taking the meds.
The study in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at two statins -- simvastatin (Zocor) and pravastatin (Pravachol) -- and a placebo, and found fatigue hitting women who took either drug. But overall, the researchers say the effect was stronger in women who took simvastatin and that it was much less noticeable in men.
But if you're a guy, I've got an even better reason for you to lay off these drugs: Statins could shut down your internal testosterone factory and prevent erections.
And for men and women alike, the drugs have also been linked to serious and debilitating muscle pain, memory loss, cataracts, and diabetes -- and that's the short list of risks.
Many alternative doctors think you shouldn’t be worrying about cholesterol in the first place -- you've got enough on your mind as it is. As long as your total cholesterol is between 200 and 300, they believe you're doing just fine. Even accomplished heart surgeons are now agreeing that cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. Finally, the truth comes out after 30 years of misguided heart disease treatments.
The real problems begin when your cholesterol is TOO LOW -- and the best cure for that is the most delicious class of "drugs" on the planet: steak, bacon, sausage, and eggs. And of course avoiding Statin drugs in the first place.
Think it's exhausting trying to keep up with all the warnings on cholesterol drugs? You should see what happens when you actually take the darned things -- because the latest study finds statins can sap you of your energy faster than a weekend with the in-laws.
This isn't some minor "maybe" side effect and it's certainly not a rare one. New numbers show that up to 40 percent of women who take statins battle fatigue -- and 10 percent of them feel like they've been hit by a truck.
In a new study of more than 1,000 people, that 10 percent described their post-statin energy levels as "much worse" than they were before they started taking the meds.
The study in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at two statins -- simvastatin (Zocor) and pravastatin (Pravachol) -- and a placebo, and found fatigue hitting women who took either drug. But overall, the researchers say the effect was stronger in women who took simvastatin and that it was much less noticeable in men.
But if you're a guy, I've got an even better reason for you to lay off these drugs: Statins could shut down your internal testosterone factory and prevent erections.
And for men and women alike, the drugs have also been linked to serious and debilitating muscle pain, memory loss, cataracts, and diabetes -- and that's the short list of risks.
Many alternative doctors think you shouldn’t be worrying about cholesterol in the first place -- you've got enough on your mind as it is. As long as your total cholesterol is between 200 and 300, they believe you're doing just fine. Even accomplished heart surgeons are now agreeing that cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. Finally, the truth comes out after 30 years of misguided heart disease treatments.
The real problems begin when your cholesterol is TOO LOW -- and the best cure for that is the most delicious class of "drugs" on the planet: steak, bacon, sausage, and eggs. And of course avoiding Statin drugs in the first place.
Until next time, stay happy and healthy
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational
purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and
medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you
have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a
Naturopath).
No comments:
Post a Comment