Alternative Health Blog

This is the sort of news that will not surprise most people, but it is likely to knock us off balance. A new report shows that American kids are prescribed with antidepressants and stimulants three times as often as European children (as represented by Germany and the Netherlands). For the class of antipsychotic medications, the ratio is 2-to-1 toward the American kids.

The researchers of this sobering report speculated the significant margin can be attributed  to differences in government regulatory practices,  cultural beliefs and the way children are diagnosed and treatments. For example, the governments of Germany and the Netherlands put cost restrictions on how much can be spent on children’s medications.

Another differential is what the researchers called “the U.S. trend of increasing bipolar [disorder] diagnosis is children and teens not reflected in European practice.” What’s more, there is a larger number of child psychiatrists in the U.S. compared to Germany and the Netherlands. In terms of treatment, American physicians are willing to prescribe two or more different psychotropic drugs in the same year for kids, not at all common in European nations.

No doubt the most controversial issue is the use of Ritalin in children diagnosed with ADD ADHD. The diagnosis itself has been open to criticism, both in terms of doctors labeling a child as needing medications to modify behavior and parents eager to try drugs to “solve” or “cure” emotional problems, even before trying a full run of cognitive therapy. European doctors and parents, along with public health officials, are significantly less willing to turn to drugs for attention-deficit tendencies.

Diagnosing depression in U.S. kids and teens, then practically going straight to medications, runs a close second in the debate whether this country’s kids are overmedicated. There is no researcher or doctor who is about to say that all children prescribed drugs for ADD ADHD or depression have been wrongly prescribed. But there are plenty of informed observers who contend that kids are receiving prescriptions too soon, before behavioral therapy can take its natural course.

It’s up to parents and even children, not just the docs, to make the decision of how early too early. It is clear from anecdotal case studies that children themselves, especially preteens and teens, can identify when they want to stop taking a drug that doesn’t leave them feeling quite right. Prime example: America’s gold-medalist superstar swimmer Michael Phelps, approached his single-parent mom as a middle schooler to convince her that he needed to quit his ADD ADHD meds. She agreed, but only if the two of them partnered to monitor his behavior without the drugs.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

In some ways, staying younger longer is all about feeling younger longer. You know, a perception is greater than reality scenario.

Rock star John Mayer sings in one of his hits, you can’t stop this train of growing older. And, seeking advice of his dad in the song, he hears that “you turn 68, you re-negotiate.”

Mayer has a telling line in the lyrics: He sings “I’m only good at being young.”

Part of being young and staying young, in all of our minds, is a healthy sexual/sensual life. It means different things to different people—and, trust me, the Alternative Health Blog is not looking to define any terms here. But there is no debate that feeling sexually energetic and sensually alive is part of feeling young.

So when the University of Chicago published its 2007 study showing that Americans in their 60s, 70s and 80s did not forego sex because they were too old, you realize staying younger longer is in part a choice we make. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is considered the first comprehensive analysis of the sex lives of older Americans.

Lead researcher and gynecologist Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau explained that approaching the formerly taboo subject of sex among older adults provided a loud and clear message that age alone is no block to lovemaking.

One block is poor health, not to be confused with age. Eight of 10 healthy men between 57 and 85 years old said they had been sexually active in the past year, compared to 47 percent of men in poor health. Half of all healthy women in the same age range reported sexual activity, in contrast to just a quarter of women in poor health.

Contrary to myth, women are not less sexually active because menopause dulls the libido. Other studies have refuted that myth. The primary reason why the healthy women’s percentage is lower? They outlive their partners. Plus, some sociology researchers have published studies noting that a certain number of U.S. women 65 and older say they believe sexual activity is no longer age-appropriate, while men don’t tend to hold that view.

Yet a significant number of older Americans, men and women are thinking and acting younger in terms of a sex life. And that should be encouraging to all of us.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

The Alternative Health Blog is presenting “Stay Younger Longer Week” from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27.

Women know all about how menopause can lead to weight gain. In fact, they are clear that the extra pounds seem to materialize in the perimenopause years when irregular periods, intermittent hot flashes and other symptoms signal  the life phase change.

Men are less clued about a natural tendency to gain weight as they grow older. Yes, all adults will gain weight if they are sedentary as they grow older, mostly because our bodies naturally produce less human growth hormone (HGH), which tends to be a fat burner and muscle builder. But lots of men are affected by a drop in testosterone. The male hormone is predominantly connected with libido (Saturday’s entry for Stay Younger Longer Week is sex appeal). But testosterone is also a highly efficient fat-burning substance.

Some practitioners might talk to women about hormone replacement therapy and to men about testosterone medications. Here at Alternative Health Blog, we scour for options that keep you away from the pharmacy as much as possible. So here are two lifestyle changes that can help you stay younger—and leaner—longer.

It’s not exactly a stunner to report that working out as we age can hold off weight gain. But it’s important to note that a brand-new study from the University of Pittsburgh shows that regular exercise is what helps the body to shed fat and retain muscle, as compared to a diet-only strategy in which you will lose the same pounds but in combination of fat and, less desirable, muscle or lean body mass.

While lean body mass is good for looking younger (even buff if that’s your thing), the retention of muscle even more importantly allows us to keep our sense of balance and agility as we age. You will be more independent and less prone to falls and other mishaps that can throttle quality of life.

A growing number of studies are linking increased intensity with burning fat, adding muscle and, nice, increasing the body’s natural production of human growth hormone. Bottom line: Add short all-out bursts to your cardio workout for the greatest HGH boost. “All-out” means at least 90 percent of the hardest you can walk/run/swim/cycle. Do no more than 30 seconds hard, followed by no less than 90 seconds at a recovery pace. You can add up to eight of these 30-90 cycles during one or two workouts each week.

The second strategy is eat smaller, more frequent meals. A new federal study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that eating big meals can contribute to the gain of body fat in older adults. Researchers discovered that volunteers in their 60s and 70s burned fat and calories in equal amounts to 20-year-olds in the study when the meals were 500 calories or less. But when the meals approached 1,000 calories (in this case, two peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches plus a large glass of milk), the older adults burned fat at a rate 30 percent lower than the 20-somethings.

The study is the first of its kind and was conducted at the highly respected Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. More research is required, but the findings are worth factoring into daily life without any wait.

“Body fat typically doubles between the ages of 20 and 50 to 60 years old,” said Susan Roberts, lead author of the studies. She said smaller mini-meals—not less overall food in a day—can help you stay leaner and better protected against heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Alternative Health Blog is presenting “Stay Younger Longer Week” from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27.

Forget the whole cutesy “beauty sleep” thing. What we need to know about how sleep can keep us younger is crystallized in a study by Eve Van Cauter and colleagues at the University of Chicago.

Van Cauter scared up about a dozen healthy young men, easy enough to do on a college campus. She asked them to stay overnight in the university sleep lab facility for six consecutive nights.

Then she and her fellow researchers methodically disrupted the sleep patterns of these young men, waking them up frequently, turning on lights, requiring certain mental tasks before going back to sleep. The subjects averaged four hours of sleep each night

Which sounds like a typical sleep pattern during finals week.

After the six nights the young men were tested for vital signs. Their results for blood pressure, insulin response and cortisol (stress hormone) levels matched a diabetic man in his 60s.

Staying younger longer starts with getting enough sleep. Four hours is clearly not enough and, face it, neither is six hours. Averaging seven hours per night is the minimum and eight is better. There is some evidence that sleeping longer than nine hours could be counterproductive.

If you still insist you are exception, that you can prosper on four to six hours of sleep per night—or you have a loved one who makes the claim—here are a few more studies to connect feeling and looking younger to getting seven to eight hours, on average, most nig

– One 2005 study of 10,000 Americans shows those adults between 32 and 49 years old who sleep less than seven hours are significantly more likely to be obese or at least 20 percent over a healthy body weight. It is believed that short sleep corrupts the body hormones that regulate appetite, a biological finding confirmed in the University of Chicago research.

–  The long-standing Harvard Nurses Health Study reveals that lack of sleep is linked to increased risk for colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In particular, insufficient sleep appears to wreak havoc with our hormonal systems

– Other studies point to increased inflammation in the body with lack of sleep. Inflammation is believed to be at the root of cardiac episodes and an overall shorter life span.

On the more hopeful side: One researcher, Alexandros N. Vgontzas at Penn State University has found that a person who sleeps less than seven hours per night can protect against biological damage by adopting a habitual napping habit that gets total hours sleeping up to at least seven hours per day. 

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Alternative Health Blog is presenting “Stay Younger Longer Week” from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27.

Here’s a hopeful fact about the world’s best marathon runners. They tend to peak in their  mid to late 30s, which tells us something about endurance as we get older.

The message? It’s loud and clear that running, walking, swimming, bicycling and using any of the various cardio machines at the gym are good ways to build and maintain endurance well into our older ages. It’s a sure-fire route to staying younger longer. You will feel stronger and less fatigued than, say, your formerly sedentary self.

Endurance training, which is also called cardio or aerobic training, can significantly protect your heart and lungs. It’s not a young person’s domain. Landmark studies conducted at Tufts University in Boston has even revealed that sedentary individuals who are 70 and older can significantly improve endurance—and report feeling younger and more independent—if they take up aerobic training in their eight decade and beyond.

A new Stanford University study reported that people who are regular runners enjoy a longer span of active life and fewer disabilities as they grow older than adults who do not follow a running or aerobic exercise habit. The Stanford findings make an important point: It’s not always just how long you live, but how you are able to live those years.

Along with increased physical stamina, a cardio exercise habit of walking, swimming, running or cycling will keep you more flexible, according to a University of Buffalo study. And a 2008 study by Brazilian researchers shows that regular endurance training can boost the immune system. The Brazilian scientists concluded that we can’t control all aspects of aging, but that regular aerobic workouts can “decelerate age-related decline in immune function.”

So the question is, what is regular endurance or cardio training? A good place to start is performing an aerobic activity three times a week for 30 minutes per session or four times a week for 20 minutes per session. That doesn’t count a three- to five-minute warmup at a pace that prompts you to break into a light sweat. Work at about 60 percent of your maximum heart rate (the max rate is 220 minus your age) for starters; even 50 to 55 percent is acceptable if you are coming off an extended period of not exercising. 

As you become conditioned to the length and pace of these workouts—which usually happens in six to 12 weeks, then change up the routine by 1. Exerting at 65 to 70 percent of max heart rate; 2. Adding 10 minutes to your workouts or 3. Alternating among two to three cardio activities each week.

Of course, before you undertake any strenuous workout program, please be sure to consult your health practitioner. Then go out for a guaranteed path to being younger longer.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Alternative Health Blog is presenting “Stay Younger Longer Week” from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27.

You probably know this already, but there is no guaranteed method for keeping your skin younger longer. But research shows there are some documented habits that can keep your skin as young-looking and wrinkle-free as possible. Best of all, these habits will keep your skin healthier longer, which will not only improve what you hope to see in the mirror but also protect the body from illness. After all, the skin is the body’s largest organ. Try these habits as part of any skin care regimen;

Drink water. OK, know it, got it, what’s next? Guessing that is what you think when you see “drink water.” And, yes, it is common knowledge that getting your fluids keeps skin elastic and allows cells to rejuvenate. What you might not know? Any level of dehydration will show your wrinkles more.

Eat foods rich in vitamin C. Research shows eating multiple servings each day of citrus, strawberries, kiwi, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and sweet peppers help fortify the skin against the development of wrinkles, fine or heavy. Whole foods are always better, but drinking a daily mix of water and vitamin C powder (1,000 milligrams) is good strategy. Just be careful; too much vitamin C at one time doesn’t get absorbed and too much in one day can lead to diarrhea.

Get enough linoleic acid in your diet. Linoleic acid is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. It is plentiful in sunflower oil and seeds, plus most nuts (not peanuts, which are technically legumes).  Eating salmon is another good habit. What linoleic acid does is help prevent skin dryness and skin thinning that is common as we age.

Respect the sun. A new government study reports that 90 percent of skin aging can be directly linked to overexposure to ultraviolet A and B rays. Don’t interpret this to mean you avoid sun or slather the sunscreen every time you go outside. Moderate exposure to the sun each day (10 to 20 minutes on the face and forearms without sunblock) is good for the body and, by extension, the skin. The problems arise when people connect a “healthy-looking” tan to healthy skin. Moderate sun, good. Too much sun, not wearing sunscreen from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., working for that perfect tan, bad. Simple as that.

Consider changing up your sleep positions. People who sleep on their sides (researchers say women dominate this group) in the same positions for years are likely to develop wrinkles or sleep lines on the cheeks or chin. It starts with those lines apparent when you look in the mirror first thing, then they never disappear all day. Individuals who sleep with their faces pressed down into pillows (men dominate this group) will develop sleep lines on their foreheads. Sleeping on your back avoids wrinkles since skin isn’t habitually folded and crinkled against the pillow.

Where there is smoke, there is aging skin. The research is clear. Smoke and you develop wrinkles sooner. One study found wrinkling equivalent to a person in his/her 40s among smokers in their 20s. There’s even some evidence that long-term smoking can yellow the skin. Yuck.

Tuesday: Stay Younger Long Week continues with a look at maintaining physical stamina.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

Big Tobacco might have lost some rounds with state government lawsuits, but cigarette companies are running up the score on college campuses like a Top 10 football team playing a weak nonconference opponent. A new report from the American Lung Association shows an “unacceptably high” one of five college students are smokers.

The Lung Association looked at the issue from both sides. It surveyed students at 119 American colleges and kids at 109 schools confirmed they are consistently exposed to tobacco promotions at campus events. Citing last available numbers, the researchers said tobacco companies spent more than $1 million per day, on average, during the 2005-06 school year to fund events and giveaways aimed at college students.

Here’s one reason why Big Tobacco is primed with promotional dollars on campus. Many college kids are social or occasional smokers. Cigarette companies exploit that experimentation and look to make products available in hopes of converting the social smokers into habitual smokers. Bernadette A. Toomey, president and CEO of the Lung Association, said “every college student in American has a target on [his/her] back as far as the tobacco industry is concerned.”

What should bother parents, administrators and even the students themselves even more is the profound adverse impact that a smoking habit brings to the typical adult life. The risk of lung cancer is obvious—even if it did decades too long to become fact—but researchers continue to find that smoking accelerates heart disease and stroke.

For example, a recent Norwegian study presented at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology revealed that women who are regular smokers will suffer heart attacks more than a dozen years earlier than women who don’t smoke. The male gap is six years between smokers and smokers.

What’s more, women who smoke put themselves into the risk category of all males, who tend to have heart attacks earlier in life than females. Among the nearly 1,800 adults followed at a Lillehammer hospital in Norway, the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn’t smoke and at 64 if they were habitual smokers.

For women who don’t smoke, on average, they suffer first heart attacks at 81 but at 66 if they are smokers. Notice that female smoker age is just a couple years behind male smokers and six years earlier than non-smoker men. Remember these are Norwegian numbers, not necessarily American heart attack age points, but it is still instructive that smoking can wipe out any female advantage.

Scientists believe women avoid heart attacks in mid-life because raised levels of the hormone estrogen are believed to also raise HDL or good cholesterol that cleans out plaque from the blood vessels, lowering the chance for blockage. Once women go through menopause, the protective effect diminishes. The theory is smoking will push a woman into menopause sooner.

None of that probably matters much to college females or males. But that doesn’t mean we don’t make them aware of Big Tobacco’s target on their backs.

Bob Condor blogs for the Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Anyone who has ever struggled with vertigo, temporarily or long-term, knows it is about as disruptive to daily life as most any condition. Earlier this summer, the American Academy of Neurology offered some hope in a new research-based guideline that a simple series of head and body movements with a therapist or doctor can ease or stop vertigo symptoms.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the official term for what we call vertigo. It is an inner ear disorder that causes dizziness, even while still in bed. Room spinning is the norm, standing or sitting.

Two techniques are recommended by the neurology professional group. One is called Canalith repositioning of the head and body (some practitioners will call the Epley maneuver, and, really, who cares which person gets the credit if it works?). The other technique is the Semont maneuver in which the head through a sequence of four positions. Both therapies are safe for all ages—and beat the alternative of being urged to “wait it out” or try medications.

The physiological manipulation is the body is based on the hypothesis that vertigo is caused by loose calcium carbonate crystals in the sensing tubes of the inner ear. The Canalith/Epley and Semont are both aimed at transporting those crystals to another part of the ear to be absorbed.

A therapist is likely to instruct a patient on how to perform these maneuvers at home, if someone is prone to recurrence of vertigo. It is safe enough for a layperson to try the techniques, but it require, literally, some hands-on training from a practitioner.

One anecdotal note: Some patients who have long struggled with vertigo but now are free of frequent attacks link their release from symptoms to not oversleeping. For these individuals, sleeping seven to eight hours is good while more than that was destructive. It’s best if the night’s sleep is approximately the same hours of the night and morning. There is no research to support this remedy, yet it clearly has worked in real life. 

For several years, researchers have discovered the Chinese ancient healing art of tai chi can help an older person maintain balance—or regain it—while avoiding the nasty falls that plague a number of our elders. Now the findings are directly helping in communities.

For seniors, those falls can lead to broken hips among other adversities, and often mark the beginning of a downhill slide of health. Any number of us have observed this wrong-way spiral in our own parents or other loved ones.

Some sharp workers at senior community centers in Lane County, Oregon were clearly reading and paying attention to the promising link between tai chi and staying younger—and in one piece. A recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health detailed how seniors in Lane County were avoiding falls and improving their overall health. The Oregon state department of human services was impressed enough to begin tai chi programs in four counties.

Now that’s community organizing

The study was funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify whether tai chi could be taught by lay people at the senior centers and still represent a therapeutic intervention. Public health researchers regularly debate whether controlled programs in experiments can translate to the real world, and it doesn’t more real than brittle bones associated with growing older.

Seniors observed in the study attended tai chi class twice a week for three months. The instructors were trained in how to teach and operate the classes, but none were masters in the art. Even so, participants significantly improved balance and, big stuff, increased function in everyday life while experiencing a lot fewer falls.

Interestingly, the researchers also evaluated whether administrators at the centers were enthused about tai chi and if it would remain on the programming list after the three months. No worries there. Both the administrators (who liked the results and the low costs)  and senior participants at the centers were dedicated to keeping up the tai chi momentum gained in the first three months.

Here’s an provocative new finding about over-the-counter pain relievers and prostate cancer: Researchers found regular use of aspirin or ibuprofen lowers the amount of a specific protein in the blood that is used for prostate cancer screening.  The question is, do the pain reliever lower the risk of cancer or simply make it harder for prostate tumors to be detected because a lower number on the blood test might well give both a man and his doctor a false sense of security?

Researchers from the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center who performed the study say they don’t know yet. More research is needed, they write, and by no means does these findings suggests a man should take aspirin or ibuprofen as a preventive strategy for prostate cancer.

There are three factors to raise here. First, long-term and chronic use of pain relievers can greatly disrupt your digestive function and lead to ulcers among other conditions. It is important to remember that painkillers can work wonders for the muscles and joints, but often at the expense of the gut. That tradeoff is rarely worth it.

Second, a good number of men are told by their doctors to take a baby aspirin per day. One big reason is stroke risk, especially if it runs in the family. This new study seems to provide a bit more motivation to take that baby aspirin (about one-third the amount of a normal tablet and much easier on the gut)

Third, and it’s the perspective we will always take here at the Alternative Health Blog, is if aspirin and ibuprofen (Motrin, Alleve) are capable of lowering a man’s PSA (prostate-specific antigen) reading by a significant 10 percent, then maybe dietary supplements with anti-inflammatory properties will do the same. So if  a guy regularly uses flax or omega-3/fish oil supplements, glucosamine or probiotics, it might affect PSA. Of course, you can get the flax, omega-3 fats and probiotics  in foods, along with turmeric and ginger for anti-inflammatory effects.

It remains to be seen whether using an anti-inflammatory medication or supplement reduces prostate cancer risk or masks a prostate tumor. But it is good for every man to know that his PSA might be affected, and there are certainly advantages to eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties even if it means factoring the positive effect into a re-calculation of your PSA reading.

Welcome to the weekend. It’s possible you enjoyed a glass of red wine with dinner last night. After all, that is by most research accounts a healthy habit. So, good for you in more ways than one.

Of course, whenever a red wine study is published and, inevitably, covered widely in the media, there is an important proviso: Don’t begin drinking alcohol for the health benefit. What worries researchers is not that a glass or two of wine will be anything but a plus; in fact, there is solid evidence that so-called teetotalers don’t live as long, on average, as moderate drinkers. The problem is when that one glass becomes three, four, five.

Alcohol researchers have duly covered both ends of the age spectrum. Studies show a growing number of seniors (65 and over) are starting “happy hours” early in the afternoon and embarking on a unhealthy mix of cocktails and depression symptoms. Other studies have reported on the disturbing rate of binge drinking among college students; university substance abuse counselors are on the front lines and say it’s never been this widespread. 

Apparently, the problem of how much is way too much isn’t strictly in the American domain. Last weekend, British media were quick to report the country’s public health minister Dawn Primarolo criticizing radio deejays who “glorify” being drunk. She was commenting on a government-commissioned study about how radio hosts might be influencing listeners, especially younger generations.

Primarolo singled out BBC host Chris Moyles, who talks regularly about alcohol and makes remarks such as “hangover from hell” and “fun is just a bottle away.”

If we are going to change the nation's drinking habits," she said, "we really need to change the way we talk about alcohol."

Researchers at the University of the West of England performed the government study. They found more than 700 references to alcohol when they monitored 1,200 hours of radio from six stations between December 2007 and this February. About 75 percent of the comments encouraged the use of alcohol and 13 percent even promoted execessive drinking.

One rock station deejay was recorded as saying it is “quite easy to drive if you’ve had a few beers.”

Yikes.

To its credit, the BBC aired a campaign all week asking listeners “to think about the amount of alcohol you drink and how it might affect your health, looks and behavior.”

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

The artichoke’s reputation precedes itself. Most people consider the veggie to be more trouble than it’s worth in whole form. A new study says, think again, artichoke avoiders, because the plant’s leaves have cholesterol-busting properties.

But artichokes are a hassle to prepare, right? That’s why you pick up organic artichokes heart flash-sealed in a can or perhaps on the progressive salad bar in your neighborhood.

And, OK, maybe some folks grew up to love steamed artichoke leaves as an appetizer with dip or discovered the same as adults. But let’s just say that artichokes only come before, oh, broccoli, carrots and spinach in the alphabet.

Until now. Researchers at the University of Reading in England reported in the July issue of the journal Phytomedicine that over-the-counter artichoke leaf extract can lower cholesterol in individuals with moderately raised levels of the substance widely associated with plaque buildup and cardiovascular disease. With Americans spending millions on cholesterol drugs, this study offers a natural and money-saving upside.

Not bad for a vegetable maligned on the classic, old-time television show, “The Little Rascals,” when during one episode a character was urged to try the veggie: “It might have choked Arty, but it’s not gonna choke me,” replied one of the Rascals.

The British study is no joke. Seventy-five volunteers were give four 320-milligram capsules daily for 12 weeks. Compared to a control taking a placebo, the artichoke leaf extract group enjoyed a favorable reduction in total cholesterol.

Researchers used an extract made from globe artichokes that are what we all recognize as an artichoke. The dietary supplement is widely available here in the U.S., costing about $14 to $18 for 180 500-milligram capsules.

Glove artichokes have been used in European folk medicine for centuries to improve digestion and urinary tract health. Preparations of the extract are marketed in Germany and Switzerland as potential healing agents for irritable bowel syndrome.

The study’s researchers were moved to point out that volunteers in the study were otherwise healthy individuals who had raised cholesterol. They are not suggesting that artichoke leaf extract be substituted for prescribed cholesterol drugs about that the dietary supplemenrt “may provide another option which people could try over and above a healthy diet in order to help lower cholesterol.”

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A decade ago, physical therapists who started exercise programs for cancer patients were considered avant-garde—and maybe even a little too proactive in helping people recover and prevent recurrence. Some medical doctors were questioning workout programs for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation. There was doubt about whether exercise and physical activity made much of difference in preventing cancer cells from forming or reforming in the body.

Since then, researchers have built a strong case for being physically active. Every cancer care center offers exercise programs or points patients where they can find tailored workouts. A new study puts an exclamation point on the evidence.

Researchers at Japan’s National Cancer Center in Tokyo followed more than 79,000 adults for 10 years, finding regularly active men and women developed a lower risk to a range of cancer. The most protective effects related to colon, liver, stomach and pancreative cancers. The results were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The subjects were between 45 and 74 years old when the study began. An insightful result is cancer risk reduction was greatest among healthy-weight men and women. The researchers explained that this finding aligns with other studies showing weight control helps prevent cancer, just as much as other conditions including heart disease, diabetes and strokes.

Being overweight increases cancer risk, even if the person does exercise, said the researchers. The risk differences between overweight exercisers and the overweight  sedentary population was not statistically significant in the Japan study.

Interesting point here. We tend to associate extra weight as a strain on the heart. Most people don’t equate being overweight with upping the risk for cancer cells to form in the body. Scientists theorize that controlling body fat helps discourage cancer growth, and that physical activity can stimulate the immune system while tamping down the body’s production of substances (including certain hormones and insulin byproducts) that otherwise might feed tumors.

The Japan study contributes one more fresh angle. Physical activity was not strictly defined as exercise, but included the minutes per day that subjects walked, did housework or performed physical labor. Score one for being more active in any way possible during the day and not just when you can make it to the gym.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The results are in, and let’s just say here at the Alternative Health Blog there is no surprise. A new study appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer, a publication of the American Cancer Study, shows that most U.S. cancer patients seek out alternative healing therapies in conjunction with any treatment from MDs.

Some numbers: Sixty-one percent of more than 4,000 respondents said they used prayer and spiritual practice as part of their recovery and prevention. Relaxation techniques checked in at 44 percent, while faith/spiritual healing was 42 percent and nutritional supplements/vitamins rounded out the most popular alt-med options at 40 percent. Fifteen percent said meditation was a cornerstone, while 11 percent said the same about religious counseling or massage therapy. Support groups were used by about 10 percent of the cancer patients. Biofeedback, hypnosis and acupuncture/acupressure all rated one percent or less.

For this study, researchers drew from a survey database called the Study of Cancer Survivors or SCS-1. The patients were polled 10 months to two years after diagnosis, and provided a choice of 19 different healing modalities to identify as a therapy they used.

Interestingly, it was found that survivors of kidney cancer and melanoma were least likely to seek out alternative therapies while, much less surprising, women with breast or ovarian cancer were the most likely users of alternative medicine.

There are strong trends in the survey about faith and prayer in healing. Six of 10 people identified prayer and other spiritual practice, four of 10 (some overlap, no doubt) looked to faith and spiritual healing. Prayer and faith life continue to establish numerous footholds on the climbing wall of healing. Prayer is particularly not considered just a peripheral activity by health practitioners, including a growing majority of MDs. Faith life is associated with longevity in several research studies.

The guess here is one reason prayer is gaining medical acceptance is many practitioners and even scientists turn to it themselves when the adversity of cancer strikes them or someone they love.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

Favorite TV shows, your local professional sportteam, political campaigns, Jon Stewart, even the health segment on the evening news. Question: What do they all have in common?

Answer: Watching these things on TV can add up to a drag on your health goals—and that’s even if you are a regular exerciser. A 2008 study published by Australian researchers in the professional journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, reports that women who moderately or intensely worked out several times per week but also watched 43 to 86 minutes of televison per day might have trouble maintaining healthy weight compared to women exercisers who watched little or no TV.

What’s more, those TV-viewing women who worked out experienced higher blood pressure and a jump in the heart disease blood marker triglycerides versus the non-TV watchers who were exercisers.

David Dunstan, the lead researcher and an exercise scientist who specializes in diabetes and metabolism, speculates that such a daily “dose” of TV imposes prolonged sitting that may switch off  the release of enzymes that break down fat cells. That release of enzymes occurs when we exert ourselves during physical activity.

The new study is insightful for its suggestion that a TV habit might be so potently unhealthy that it negates the well-documented benefits of moderate to intense exercise. Television viewing has been cast as a villain in America’s obesity epidemic for more than a decade, but other researchers contend that a sedentary lifestyle processed foods (especially high fructose corn syrup and trans fats) are likely more at the core of weight problems.

More clever and, it says here, accurate hypotheses contend that TV and unhealthy eating habits work hand in hand. The act of watching TV is hard to do for many people without a snack or three. TV commercials focus frequently on foods and beverages, most of which are not something any of us would call healthy. The bandwidth given by the U.S. for advertisers on children’s programming alone is perhaps our greatest single health blunder as a society. For what it’s worth, other countries, especially European nations, have greatly restricted any junk food/drink commercials during kids’ shows.

The take-away message for any of us who still want to enjoy a favorite show, big game, a DVD movie or even catch up on the campaign trail is that a regular nightly/daily TV habit can disrupt our wellness express train. It is best to be moderate about your screen time—and always find time to get up and move around even when you are watching.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

OK, weekend warriors, there is proof that your Saturday and/or Sunday workouts are doing you some serious good. Maybe not as much as several workouts per week but decidedly better than no regular, even once-weekly exercise in your life.

Harvard researcher I-Min Lee published a study in 2004 that tracked more than 8,400 men between the ages of 50 and 70 over a decade. Those men who maintained a weekend exercise habit over the years were significantly less likely to die before the average life expectancy for American males at 78 years old. And that’s even if the man doesn’t move much the rest of the week, perhaps because of job or family obligations.

There are some caveats. The men who lived longer and stronger expended about 1,000 calories from exercise, most of it during fairly intense weekend bouts that were nonetheless considered “recreational” by the men in the study. Lin analyzed the data from the Harvard Alumni Health Study. Also, the men living longer were generally healthy during their adult lives, maintaining normal body weight and experiencing few cardiovascular problems.

In contrast, men who were overweight and/or showed a history of heart troubles did not extend their life with regular weekend exercise. Lin showed these men might well be putting themselves at higher risk for cardiac episodes caused by trying to overdo it while not properly conditioned. In all cases, the weekend warrior exercise loses its health luster if you overdo it on your joints and muscles.

The next study we need to Lin or another sharp scientist to undertake: Can a regular weekend workout or, say, playing an intense game of tennis with a friend every Wednesday, lead to the desire to add more exercise to our weeks? A huge part of staying fit is building upon our success, whether it is a once-a-week pickup basketball/volleyball/golf game (walking with your bag), eating less saturated fat or waking up at the same time every morning even on weekends. All good ideas and all formidable first steps to a healthier lifestyle.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 

Don’t know about you but there never seems to be a reason to pass up a saffron dish on a Mediterranean menu. Now it appears there might be an even better reason than the spice’s delicate yet distinctive taste: A new study shows saffron can ease PMS symptoms.

Saffron has long been associated with expense, since it prices out at the highest to purchase among spices. It also has a solid reputation as an antidote for stomach pain and digestive problems, plus recent clinical trials point to saffron as a remedy for mild to moderate depression. Other studies suggest the ancient spice produced from flowers might effectively reduce tumor size and offset chemotherapy side effects.

Yet another positive health benefit is saffron might help regenerate brain cells lost to alcohol consumption. We, ahem, are always looking for practical applications to your healthstyle, particularly if a glass of wine is in your near weekend future.

The findings regarding depression have been linked to saffron’s ability to alter the brain chemical serotonin. A group of Iranian scientists wondered if saffron might also improve pre-menstrual cramps, bloating, irritability and fatigue in women because serotonin fluctuations are suspected as part of the PMS effect.

It turns out saffron supplements did indeed decrease symptoms in one group of volunteers when compared to a control taking a placebo capsule twice daily. The symptoms were self-reported as 50 percent less in the saffron group and 8 percent in the placebo group, according to the 2008 study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

What’s more, six of every 10 women in the saffron group were evaluated as showing improvement in PMS-associated depression, versus just one of every 10 women in the control group.

More research is needed, said the Iranian scientists. But, hey, nobody should be stopping women from opting for a dreamy paella or a blissful risotto this weekend at their favorite restaurant. Cooking at home? Saffron is perfect with rice and just a pinch or two will transform your dish. 

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Anyone struggling with chronic knee pain is all too familiar with the temptation of medications. One capsule a day might turn to, oh, three to control pain, especially if you are active. When a natural pain-relief remedy for knee pain appears on the health horizon, the Alternative Health Blog is eager to report it.

So here goes: A new study published in the mainstream Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery shows that the herb Garcinia kola or bitter kola is effective in significantly reducing the pain and swelling of osteoarthritis in the knee joint compared to a control group taking placebo. The study also included volunteers with knee pain who took the prescription drug Celebrex or over-the-counter naproxen (most commonly branded as Aleve).

While it is encouraging that Garcinia kola, also called G. kola, not only fared better than the placebo but held its own therapeutically when matched against Celebrex or naproxen. Both the Rx and OTC drugs relieved pain faster than G. kola and lasted longer, but, and here’s an important point, the African herbal remedy showed no adverse effects on heart, kidney or digestive health. The other painkillers have well-documented potential side effects in those areas when taken for extended periods. The G. kola dose of 100 milligrams was equivalent to 200 milligrams of Celebrex and 500 milligrams of naproxen.

After six weeks of treatment, G. kola was comparable to the medications in terms of increased mobility and reduced knee joint stiffness, both major elements in quality of life when confronting chronic pain. Bottom line: It appears G. kola takes a bit longer to build up a lasting effect to offset knee pain, yet once at that status there is significantly less risk of side effects.

The African researchers acknowledged that more research is needed to standardize G. kola doses (especially to control that you get the same dosage each time) and determine whether the bitter kola plant has any unwanted long-term effects.

Yet, honestly, publishing the study in a medically conservative American professional journal is a big step. We can anticipate some manufacturers looking for ways to bring the herb to market as quickly as is possible and safe.

It is no coincidence the research was conducted by African collaborators. G. kola is a tree than grows up to about 12 feet high and is cultivated throughout west and central Africa. The plant remedy has been used on that continent to treat bronchitis, throat infections, colic in babies, liver disorders and all symptoms of a common cold. 

Runner’s high? It can last for years, even decades.

The runner’s high has long been a way to describe the good feeling you get during a run. It appears that runner’s high lasts a lot longer than that.

The health benefits of a running habit are hard to dispute. Regular physical activity is a plus for any of us. You might be able to say that some runners exercise too often or run through injuries to a fault. But clearly those runners are enhancing cardiovascular health and, not unimportantly, boosting mental health.

Researchers at Duke University Medical School’s behavioral medicine department were the first to show that running and other forms of exercise can reduce symptoms of depression. George Sheehan, a Boston physician and bestselling author of running books during the jogging boom of the 1970s, was fond of explaining, “the first half-hour of my run is for my body; the second half-hour is for my head.”

Now comes new research from Stanford University showing that a regular running habit can provide a physical upside even as those runners grow older and convert from runners to walkers. In fact, running as a young adult can reduce risk for disabilities in middle age and later in life.

The Stanford researchers tracked two groups. One represented regular runners and the other group consisted of individuals who did not engage in regular exercise. The runners not only enjoyed fewer disabilities but also increased aerobic capacity (or not becoming short of breath), higher bone mass, less inflammation, improved memory and even better responses to flu vaccines. What surprised the Stanford researchers is runners who stopped their jogging in their 60s, 70s and 80s still enjoyed the physical benefits of their previous running workouts during those decades.

If you are wondering, any regular vigorous exercise, such as cycling or simming, can accomplish the same protective effect. In fact, even non-exercisers who took up running in middle age could still extend health benefits—especially protection against potential disabilities—well into their 70s, 80s and even 90s.

That’s the best kind of runner’s high.

Bob Condor blogs every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for Alternative Health Journal.

We all know people who work too much. That might include the one you see reflecting back in the mirror.  Here’s hoping Labor Day was an off day in any case.

We also know people who think they work too much, whether that is true or not. There’s room to debate, say, whether the person who logs 10 hours at the office every weekday actually works all 10. Or whether the person jumping online for a time at night is working more than surfing.

So there is perception versus reality in determining work overload, which is fitting because research shows it is perceived lack of control on the job that creates the most stress for workers. A landmark study showed that British civil workers on the lowest rungs of an organizational chart experienced the highest amount of stress. That covers even middle-management supervisors who you might think would feel the pressure from above and below their authority levels.

The British study, performed four decades ago, was the first introduce the connection between sense of control and stress. Numerous other studies have confirmed that general finding, but there has been some distinction between work stress among men and women.

For instance, one recent study conducted by researchers across various European countries monitored blood pressure and pulse of clerical and supervisor during a typical work day from wakeup to end of shift. While blood pressure and resting pulse are reliable indicators of stress, the researchers took the additional step of taking cotton swab of the workers’ saliva every half-hour to measure cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone associated with stress in the body. The results showed elevated blood pressure and pulse among both men and women clerical-level workers and lower blood pressure and pulse among male and female supervisors. But the cortisol measurements showed higher levels for female supervisors than the men and women who worked for those women bosses.

The study authors offered no direct explanation for this rise among female supervisors, yet speculated that women in higher status jobs have likely worked hard and sacrificed than men in the same management jobs. It would follow that those women would be more stressed about keeping their positions. 

Gender or org chart level aside, there is one documented way to decrease your stress level at the office. Researchers have discovered that a nature scene out of windows (grass, trees, flowers) can reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels. In fact, even indoor plants have a similar positive biological effect.

Two University of Michigan researchers, Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, have studied this phenomenon for a couple of decades as colleagues and married partners. They are inspiring a new generation of researchers linking nature and stress relief. Here are some findings:

• One study of public housing projects showed living neare trees resulted in “more civility, less aggression and girls more likely to study.”
  
• AIDS caregivers who were most successful in avoiding stress-related burnout were those who made time, even minutes a day, to walk, run or bike. Caregivers who watched TV in their down reported feelings of burnout much sooner than the walk/run/bike group.
  
• Researchers evaluating prisoners at a Michigan prison found that those with cell views of farmland required less health care than those men in cells with no views of nature.