The following information is from Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University via Dr. Stephen Chaney.
Today we're going to look at a study called the "The Women's Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Study".
I've already told you that in the same study vitamin E reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 23% for those women with a previous history of cardiovascular disease (Cook et al., Arch. Intern. Med., 167: 1610 - 1618, 2007).
Today I'm going to talk about the results of another part of the study - the effects of B vitamins on the risk of invasive cancer, particularly breast cancer, in women.
In this portion of the study 5442 female health professionals received a daily vitamin pill containing
2.5 mg of folate, 50 mg of vitamin B6 and 1 mg of vitamin B12 or a placebo and were followed for an average of 7.3 years.
The headlines that you may have seen said "B vitamins do not prevent total cancer or breast cancer in women".
But, once again, the headlines did not tell the whole story.
In the women who were 65 years old or older, B vitamin supplementation reduced the risk of total invasive cancer by 25% and the risk of breast cancer by 38%. So the headlines could just as well have said "B vitamins reduce the risk of total cancer and breast cancer in older women".
But I guess that wasn't deemed to be newsworthy.
Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD
How you can get all B vitamins, is simple. Click here.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
An aspirin a day
Another popular myth has been busted!
I'm sure that you have heard this one before.
Many doctors advise their patients to take a baby aspirin every day to reduce their risk of heart attack.
Is this good advice?
Probably not, accordingly to a new study done by Dr.
Gerry Fowlkes of the Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Edinburgh Scotland.
In a study that he presented at the most recent meeting of the European Society for Cardiology in Barcelona Spain he and his colleagues followed 3,000 men at very high risk for developing heart disease for an average of eight years.
Half of the group was randomly assigned to take an aspirin every day and the other half was given a placebo.
At the end of eight years there was no difference in the rate of heart attacks or stroke - or risk of death from any cause - between the two groups.
In other words, an aspirin a day did not decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke and had no discernable health benefits in this study.
Even worse, there were 34 major bleeds in people taking the aspirin compared to only 20 in people taking the placebo.
And if you looked at internal bleeding that was so serious that it required hospitalization, the risk was almost double for the aspirin users compared to the placebo users.
The conclusion of this study was that for otherwise healthy people the risks of taking aspirin outweigh the benefits.
The scientists cautioned that for people who have already had a heart attack the benefits of taking an aspirin a day might outweigh the risks.
But I would encourage you to investigate natural alternates rather than relying on a drug to reduce your risk of heart disease.
For example several recent clinical studies have shown that as little as 500 mg/day of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from fish or from supplements, can reduce the risk of a second heart attack in someone who has already had one heart attack by 30-40%.
And, of course, the Landmark study showed that people who have used the Shaklee supplements for 20 years or more have 1/3 the incidence of angina, heart attack, stroke or congestive heart failure as do people using other company's multivitamins or no supplements at all.
Information was provided by Dr. Stephen Chaney
For information on Shaklee products, click here.
I'm sure that you have heard this one before.
Many doctors advise their patients to take a baby aspirin every day to reduce their risk of heart attack.
Is this good advice?
Probably not, accordingly to a new study done by Dr.
Gerry Fowlkes of the Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Edinburgh Scotland.
In a study that he presented at the most recent meeting of the European Society for Cardiology in Barcelona Spain he and his colleagues followed 3,000 men at very high risk for developing heart disease for an average of eight years.
Half of the group was randomly assigned to take an aspirin every day and the other half was given a placebo.
At the end of eight years there was no difference in the rate of heart attacks or stroke - or risk of death from any cause - between the two groups.
In other words, an aspirin a day did not decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke and had no discernable health benefits in this study.
Even worse, there were 34 major bleeds in people taking the aspirin compared to only 20 in people taking the placebo.
And if you looked at internal bleeding that was so serious that it required hospitalization, the risk was almost double for the aspirin users compared to the placebo users.
The conclusion of this study was that for otherwise healthy people the risks of taking aspirin outweigh the benefits.
The scientists cautioned that for people who have already had a heart attack the benefits of taking an aspirin a day might outweigh the risks.
But I would encourage you to investigate natural alternates rather than relying on a drug to reduce your risk of heart disease.
For example several recent clinical studies have shown that as little as 500 mg/day of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from fish or from supplements, can reduce the risk of a second heart attack in someone who has already had one heart attack by 30-40%.
And, of course, the Landmark study showed that people who have used the Shaklee supplements for 20 years or more have 1/3 the incidence of angina, heart attack, stroke or congestive heart failure as do people using other company's multivitamins or no supplements at all.
Information was provided by Dr. Stephen Chaney
For information on Shaklee products, click here.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Swine Flu--Shot or Not
If you are questioning whether you should get the Swine Flu Shot(s), yes doctors recommend two shots, here is reliable advice from a friend of mine, Dr. Stephen Chaney. Take a moment to read this valuable information and then decide.
The concern of the British and US governments is based solely on the fact that a similar swine flu vaccine killed more people than it helped in the US in 1976.
Shortly after swine flu vaccinations started in 1976 people started coming down with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. By the time vaccinations were halted 10 weeks latter, 500 people had developed the disease and 25 people had died - more than were killed by the virus itself.
It was estimated that one in 80,000 people who were given that swine flu shot developed Guillian-Barre Syndrome, compared to the one in a million who develop the disease when given most seasonal flu shots.
However, I want to emphasize that there is no direct evidence that the current swine flu shot increases the risk of Guillian-Barre Syndrome more than the regular seasonal flu shots. The British and US governments simply view their warning letters to neurologists as a reasonable precaution under the circumstances.
In short, the risk of developing Guillian-Barre Syndrome or some other serious complication (miscarriages and sudden death are the other complications of most flu vaccines) from the swine flu shot is probably very, very small. It may be no greater than the one in a million chance of developing the disease that is associated with most flu vaccines - but it is not zero.
Now let's turn to the issue of effectiveness. There are several things that you should know about the effectiveness of the swine flu shot.
In the first place, there has been an active debate in the scientific community as to whether one shot or two shots will be required to give adequate protection against the swine flu.
Some scientists still think that two shots would be the better option. However, stocks of swine flu vaccine are limited so the recommendation is probably going to be for one shot so that as many people can be immunized as possible.
Secondly, you should know that the swine flu vaccine offers no protection against the seasonal flu and vice versa. Since both strains of flu will be around this fall & winter you need to be vaccinated against both if you really want to avoid the flu.
Finally, there is an interesting age distribution in regard to the susceptibility to the swine flu. It turns out that it is the young people who are most susceptible to the swine flu.
Those of us who are over 50 were apparently exposed to something similar to the current swine flu virus in the past, so we have some residual immunity.
That's important because it turns out that the swine flu virus is no more deadly than the usual seasonal flu virus. What that means is that the age group that is most susceptible to the swine flu is also the age group for which the swine flu is most likely to be merely a 3 to 5 day inconvenience.
The bottom line is that most immunizations make great sense from a public health perspective and for high risk individuals, which is why they are so strongly supported by the medical community.
However, for healthy individuals with strong immune systems and no pre-existing diseases the risk-benefit ratios are a not so clear cut. Sometimes the risks can outweigh the benefits.
That brings me to the last question - should you get a swine flu shot?
If you are a healthy individual that is a very personal decision, and I won't presume to make it for you. I've just given you some facts that you may not have known about to ponder as you make that decision.
For people who are at risk for developing severe complications from the swine flu itself (young children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and people with pre- existing diseases like diabetes) this is a decision that you should make in consultation with your physician.
To your health!
Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD
The concern of the British and US governments is based solely on the fact that a similar swine flu vaccine killed more people than it helped in the US in 1976.
Shortly after swine flu vaccinations started in 1976 people started coming down with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. By the time vaccinations were halted 10 weeks latter, 500 people had developed the disease and 25 people had died - more than were killed by the virus itself.
It was estimated that one in 80,000 people who were given that swine flu shot developed Guillian-Barre Syndrome, compared to the one in a million who develop the disease when given most seasonal flu shots.
However, I want to emphasize that there is no direct evidence that the current swine flu shot increases the risk of Guillian-Barre Syndrome more than the regular seasonal flu shots. The British and US governments simply view their warning letters to neurologists as a reasonable precaution under the circumstances.
In short, the risk of developing Guillian-Barre Syndrome or some other serious complication (miscarriages and sudden death are the other complications of most flu vaccines) from the swine flu shot is probably very, very small. It may be no greater than the one in a million chance of developing the disease that is associated with most flu vaccines - but it is not zero.
Now let's turn to the issue of effectiveness. There are several things that you should know about the effectiveness of the swine flu shot.
In the first place, there has been an active debate in the scientific community as to whether one shot or two shots will be required to give adequate protection against the swine flu.
Some scientists still think that two shots would be the better option. However, stocks of swine flu vaccine are limited so the recommendation is probably going to be for one shot so that as many people can be immunized as possible.
Secondly, you should know that the swine flu vaccine offers no protection against the seasonal flu and vice versa. Since both strains of flu will be around this fall & winter you need to be vaccinated against both if you really want to avoid the flu.
Finally, there is an interesting age distribution in regard to the susceptibility to the swine flu. It turns out that it is the young people who are most susceptible to the swine flu.
Those of us who are over 50 were apparently exposed to something similar to the current swine flu virus in the past, so we have some residual immunity.
That's important because it turns out that the swine flu virus is no more deadly than the usual seasonal flu virus. What that means is that the age group that is most susceptible to the swine flu is also the age group for which the swine flu is most likely to be merely a 3 to 5 day inconvenience.
The bottom line is that most immunizations make great sense from a public health perspective and for high risk individuals, which is why they are so strongly supported by the medical community.
However, for healthy individuals with strong immune systems and no pre-existing diseases the risk-benefit ratios are a not so clear cut. Sometimes the risks can outweigh the benefits.
That brings me to the last question - should you get a swine flu shot?
If you are a healthy individual that is a very personal decision, and I won't presume to make it for you. I've just given you some facts that you may not have known about to ponder as you make that decision.
For people who are at risk for developing severe complications from the swine flu itself (young children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and people with pre- existing diseases like diabetes) this is a decision that you should make in consultation with your physician.
To your health!
Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD
Monday, August 24, 2009
Guard Dog
Do you have a Guard Dog? Actually I am not referring to the four legged kind. We each have our own Guard Dog, it is our Immune System.
Here are some facts about the immune system:
Here are some facts about the immune system:
- Having a balanced immune sytem guards against cancer, lupus, MS and the common illnesses" such as colds, flus and viruses
- Exercise boosts the immune system
- The immune system is the "heart" of our healt
Here are things that negatively impact the immune sytem:
- Stress
- Sugar
- White Flour
- White Sugar
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
What can you do to have a balanced immune system?
- Exercise
- Healthy diet. Eat healthy 80% of the time, 20% of the time eat what you want and enjoy it. Healthy consists of: fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and water
- Supplementation. You know vitamins, minerals, herbs.
A product exclusive (a world wide patent) to Mama Bear Productions is Nutriferon. Nutriferon is a potent up-regulator of Natural Killer Cells, which are specific white blood cells that target tumor cells and cells infected by pathogen like viruses.
This summer two people in my life passed away. They both had cancer. People are waiting for a cure, but if you could do everything you could to prevent it, wouldn't you? Follow my 1,2, 3s and you are on the road to doing just that.
For your Personal Phone Nutrition Consultation, call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308. The fist consultation is complimentary.
Creating a healthy family is like a game of Follow the Leader. Take care of yourself first!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Belly Fat is DANGEROUS
In an inteview with Dr. Oz, he discusses how belly fat (aka Omentum Fat or Visceral Fat) really harms our health and how it affects the major organs in the body.
- Poisons the liver. The fat gets from the stomach to the liver. Basically the liver is the body's filter. So the poisons from belly fat are now distributed to the rest of the body.
- Omentum fat (belly fat) is actually under the muscle. It blocks the Pancrease from functioning, which means it can't produce insulin, causing diabetes.
- The omentum fat squeezes the kidneys. This causes blood pressure to go up.
So belly fat causes: High blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Those three things are called Metabolic Syndrome. Now Metabolic Syndrome is the cause of:
- Number one cause of heart attacks
- Number one cause of strokes
- Causes imputence, wrinkles, etc.
How can you determine if you have excess belly fat (omentum fat)? Get a tape measure and measure your waist at the navel (belly button). Your waist size should be no more than 1/2 the inches of your height. For example, if you are six feet tall (72 inches), your waist should not be more than 36 inches.
On the average less than 37 inches of belly fat for men and 32 1/2 inches for women. BUT the best way to know if you have belly fat is the above formula.
Belly fat can take 15 years off your life!
To listen to this interview, click here.
Belly fat's worst enemy, Cinch.
Mary Beth Potrykus
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Summer Schedule
How is your summer going?
Summer for me is always great, no matter what the weather is. I am blessed with my health and my family's health, we have a lovely home, and business is good. However, my schedule...well let's say I really don't have one.
With my children being out of school I am spending more time with them and taking them to places. The one constant is how I start my day. I start it with my delicious soy protein smoothie and take my supplements. This has been my regiment for almost 12 years now. It was a habit I got into. I thought in the beginning "WILL I BE DOING THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?" YOU BET! Why?
I had my children late in life. I was 36 when I had my son and 39 when my daughter was born. They are now 15 and 12 (do the math and you'll know how old I am). My goal is to see my great granchildren and be active with them. It is always nice to see the shocking look on people's faces when they find out how old I am!
Now I don't always get as many fruits and vegetables in my diet that I would like. That is where supplementation comes in. Vitamins supplement my diet what I don't get in my food and what foods I can't always eat daily. It is my health insurance plan.
So many people are getting cancer, MS, Lupus, fibromyalgia and I am doing everything I can NOT TO! What is in you, on you and around you becomes a part of you.
My good friend introduced me to this lifestyle and I am so grateful. I've learned a great deal over the past 12 years from doctors, nurses, nutritionists and people who have chosen a healthy lifestyle for decades. They are my mentors.
If you are a savvy mom or savvy dad, and life is busy for you and you have the same goal as I do, click here and look at the healthy prescription.
Mama Bear Productions offers a wide variety of services. The one that is in most demand is Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultation can be done in person or by telephone, with the convenience of the internet. The consultations are confidential and the first one is at no charge.
Call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308 to find out more about the consultations.
Happy summer and many blessings!
Summer for me is always great, no matter what the weather is. I am blessed with my health and my family's health, we have a lovely home, and business is good. However, my schedule...well let's say I really don't have one.
With my children being out of school I am spending more time with them and taking them to places. The one constant is how I start my day. I start it with my delicious soy protein smoothie and take my supplements. This has been my regiment for almost 12 years now. It was a habit I got into. I thought in the beginning "WILL I BE DOING THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?" YOU BET! Why?
I had my children late in life. I was 36 when I had my son and 39 when my daughter was born. They are now 15 and 12 (do the math and you'll know how old I am). My goal is to see my great granchildren and be active with them. It is always nice to see the shocking look on people's faces when they find out how old I am!
Now I don't always get as many fruits and vegetables in my diet that I would like. That is where supplementation comes in. Vitamins supplement my diet what I don't get in my food and what foods I can't always eat daily. It is my health insurance plan.
So many people are getting cancer, MS, Lupus, fibromyalgia and I am doing everything I can NOT TO! What is in you, on you and around you becomes a part of you.
My good friend introduced me to this lifestyle and I am so grateful. I've learned a great deal over the past 12 years from doctors, nurses, nutritionists and people who have chosen a healthy lifestyle for decades. They are my mentors.
If you are a savvy mom or savvy dad, and life is busy for you and you have the same goal as I do, click here and look at the healthy prescription.
Mama Bear Productions offers a wide variety of services. The one that is in most demand is Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultation can be done in person or by telephone, with the convenience of the internet. The consultations are confidential and the first one is at no charge.
Call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308 to find out more about the consultations.
Happy summer and many blessings!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wellness in Harsh Times
The economic grind has contributed to this particular blanket being thrown off, and food supplements are revealing themselves to be more than capable of surviving the economic chill.
In the US, market analyst, IRI, notes food supplement sales were up eight per cent in the period ended December, 2008, over the same time a year previous. Similar trends are being reported elsewhere from China to Europe, South Korea, South Africa and Australia.
US vitamin retailer, Vitamine Shoppe, notes 20 per cent of customers in the past six months are first-time food supplements buyers of the likes of omega-3s, multivitamins, herbal extracts, probiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin.
US natural foods merchandiser, Whole Foods, reported its first-ever negative quarter recently, but noted food supplements were the star performer in its nationwide chain of stores.
Self-medication
With fewer shekels in the coffers of household budgets around the world, food supplements are increasing in appeal as fear-ridden consumers look for ways and means to dodge the potential budget-busting hell of the mainstream medical system.
Doctors in white coats; hastily scribbled prescription notes; drug store visits for high-powered and high-cost drugs; hospital stays; clinic visits…no thanks.
As Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics at Princeton university in the US, told The New York Times last week: “When you go to the formal health system, you very quickly lose control over what this costs you.”
This information was provided by Food Quality News.
Mama Bear Productions provides Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultations are confidential, help us to determine which supplements are right for you, the consultations are available in person or over the telephone, and with a high level of customer service to ensure you are getting results.
Contact Mary Beth Potrykus at 810-813-3308 for your initial complimentary consultation.
In the US, market analyst, IRI, notes food supplement sales were up eight per cent in the period ended December, 2008, over the same time a year previous. Similar trends are being reported elsewhere from China to Europe, South Korea, South Africa and Australia.
US vitamin retailer, Vitamine Shoppe, notes 20 per cent of customers in the past six months are first-time food supplements buyers of the likes of omega-3s, multivitamins, herbal extracts, probiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin.
US natural foods merchandiser, Whole Foods, reported its first-ever negative quarter recently, but noted food supplements were the star performer in its nationwide chain of stores.
Self-medication
With fewer shekels in the coffers of household budgets around the world, food supplements are increasing in appeal as fear-ridden consumers look for ways and means to dodge the potential budget-busting hell of the mainstream medical system.
Doctors in white coats; hastily scribbled prescription notes; drug store visits for high-powered and high-cost drugs; hospital stays; clinic visits…no thanks.
As Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics at Princeton university in the US, told The New York Times last week: “When you go to the formal health system, you very quickly lose control over what this costs you.”
This information was provided by Food Quality News.
Mama Bear Productions provides Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultations are confidential, help us to determine which supplements are right for you, the consultations are available in person or over the telephone, and with a high level of customer service to ensure you are getting results.
Contact Mary Beth Potrykus at 810-813-3308 for your initial complimentary consultation.
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