This Week on The Health Hub…The End of Alzheimer’s? A Differential Diagnosis Toward a Cure with Dr. Thomas Lewis

 

Dr. Thomas J. Lewis is a Medical Scientist. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from MIT and certification from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is an entrepreneur and healthcare professional with expertise in toxic substances, drug development, biotechnology, health technology, and medical protocol development. For the past 12 years he has worked closely with senior researchers and clinicians at Harvard Medical School and has developed a program for chronic disease root cause prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Alzheimer’s disease and the most serious eye diseases, macular degeneration and glaucoma have been a particular focus. 

Learning Points:

  • What are vital present and future interventions for Alzheimer’s disease?
  • From current research are there strategies for preventing Alzheimer’s disease?
  • Are there relevant diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease?

 

Listen live or catch the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!

 


Every Tuesday from 11am -12pm I host The Health Hub, an interactive, forward thinking talk show on Radio Maria Canada.   Call, tweet or email your questions as together we explore health issues that are relevant to you from new and innovative points of view.

TheHealthHub is now on iTunes!

Subscribe and don’t miss a single episode!

 

 


Follow us on Social Media


How To Listen Live

Visit our website and learn how to listen live to our show each week.
http://www.radiomaria.ca/how-to-listen


Let us know!

If you have a health topic that you would like us to discuss or are a health care specialist who wants to be a guest on our show let us know!

Here is our email.  We would love to hear from you!
thh@radiomaria.ca

 

 

 

 

Oncologists Endorse Integrative Therapies for Breast Cancer Patients

Perhaps the best way to start here is to give you an understanding of what Integrative Oncology is.

Integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field of cancer care that utilizes mind and body practices, natural products, and/or lifestyle modifications from different traditions alongside conventional cancer treatments. Integrative oncology aims to optimize health, quality of life, and clinical outcomes across the cancer care continuum and to empower people to prevent cancer and become active participants before, during, and beyond cancer treatment.¹

So let’s break this down. In its purest form Integrative oncology uses evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional cancer care. It is meant to work with standard of care allopathic cancer treatments i.e. surgery, chemotherapy and radiation not in place of them. Integrative oncology considers the whole person, mind, body and spirit providing a health protocol to work alongside the medical one.

It is estimated that between 60 to 80 percent of cancer patients use at least one form of integrative medicine following a cancer diagnosis². Frequently met with resistance from oncologists, cancer patients are often faced with a decision of hiding therapies from their doctors or eliminating them while in active treatment.

But, at least for breast cancer patients, the tide is changing. An expert panel from American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, recently endorsed clinical practice guidelines for integrative therapies presented by the Society for Integrative Oncology, SIO.

“If patients are using these therapies in addition to effective scientifically proven cancer therapies and their doctors are aware of it, we’re comfortable with it,” said ASCO senior statesman Dr. Gary Lyman of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center…The only time it becomes an issue is when these are not disclosed or are used instead of conventional effective therapies.”³

Not all therapies were endorsed but the following have been:

  • Music therapy, meditation, stress management, and yoga are recommended for anxiety/stress reduction.
  • Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage, and music therapy are recommended for depression/mood disorders.
  • Meditation and yoga are recommended to improve quality of life.
  • Acupressure and acupuncture in addition to anti-nausea medications are recommended for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

It is noted that breast cancer was selected by SIO because it has the largest patient population and the largest amount of scientific data.

ASCO’s endorsement for these therapies is not only a positive step for breast cancer patients but for the area of Integrative Oncology as a whole.


References

¹http://www.ascopost.com/issues/february-10-2018/the-state-of-integrative-oncology-a-new-era/

²https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-asco-endorses-oncology-guidelines-breast.html

³https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2018/06/asco-endorses-integrative-oncology-guidelines-for-breast-cancer-patients.html

http://www.ascopost.com/News/55552

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180612092128.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Week on The Health Hub…The Ocular Biome: The Microbiome in Your Eyes with Dr. Harvey Fishman

 

Dr. Fishman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Physical-Analytical Chemistry at Stanford working in the area of lasers, microfluidics, and neuroscience. After his PhD, Dr. Fishman went on to earn his MD from Stanford and conducted post-doctoral research in Neurobiology working in the field of optic nerve regeneration.  After completing a medical internship in San Francisco, Dr. Fishman joined Stanford Ophthalmology to become the founder and director of the Ophthalmic Tissue Engineering Laboratory where he was awarded one of the first BIO-X grants on his work on an implantable artificial retina prosthesis.  After completing his residency training in advanced ocular surgery and medical treatment for eye diseases at Stanford, Dr. Fishman started his own concierge ophthalmology practice in Palo Alto where he conducts both basic science and clinical research in ocular surface disease and novel diagnostics for dry eye, cancer detection, and the ocular microbiome. Dr. Fishman has a special interest in digital health and has co-founded 3 companies in tele-ophthalmology.  Dr. Fishman has co-authored 34 Peer-reviewed Publications, 11 U.S. Patents, and his research has been highlighted in Scientific American, The Economist, JAMA, Technology Review: An MIT Enterprise, and recently in Ophthalmology Times.

 

Learning Points:

  • What is the Ocular Biome?
  • How can we improve the health of our Ocular Biome?
  • What are symptoms of an unhealthy Ocular Biome?

 

 

Listen live or catch the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!

 


Every Tuesday from 11am -12pm I host The Health Hub, an interactive, forward thinking talk show on Radio Maria Canada.   Call, tweet or email your questions as together we explore health issues that are relevant to you from new and innovative points of view.

TheHealthHub is now on iTunes!

Subscribe and don’t miss a single episode!

 

 


Follow us on Social Media


How To Listen Live

Visit our website and learn how to listen live to our show each week.
http://www.radiomaria.ca/how-to-listen


Let us know!

If you have a health topic that you would like us to discuss or are a health care specialist who wants to be a guest on our show let us know!

Here is our email.  We would love to hear from you!
thh@radiomaria.ca

 

 

 

 

Common Food Preservatives. Know What You Are Eating!

Food preservatives are added to MANY of our food items to give them a longer shelf life.  They are added to foods that go bad quickly and are found in all kinds of products in our grocery stores.

It is of interest to note that different types of preservatives work in different ways. Some prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.  Others prevent delicate fats from going rancid.

There are many different types of preservatives used. And while the most commonly used ones are “approved,” this doesn’t mean that they are necessarily healthy.  Added to this, foods with preservatives tend to be more processed and less-nutritious foods to begin with.  Not a good 1-2 punch for cancer prevention.

So let’s learn more about a few common food preservatives.

SALT

Back in the day, before that advent of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food.

But in today’s day and age, with the advent of refrigeration, salt is not needed for food preservation nearly as much. But our taste buds still seem to crave it on an epic scale. The average American eats over 3,400 mg of sodium per day, well over the recommended 2,300 mg/day. Much of this is because salt is found in many processed foods.

According to Harvard Health:

“… reducing dietary salt (table salt that is only sodium, chloride and iodine) will lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, and save lives.”

So, salt is one of those all-too-common food preservatives that most of us will do better with less of.

Nitrites (nitrates and nitrosamines)

 

Nitrites are preservatives added to processed meats. They’re not bad in and of themselves, but they do turn into harmful chemicals called nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. Nitrites form nitrosamines when they are cooked at high heat, and sometimes even when exposed to the high acid environment of the stomach.

Nitrites are added to meats to keep the pink-red colour and prevent “browning.” They are found mainly in bacon, ham, sausages and lunch meats.

Of note, processed meats have been linked with colon cancer. Because of the nitrites? Perhaps, but either way, nitrosamines are a confirmed health-buster.

Since nitrosamines (from nitrites) are the bad guys and are formed by cooking nitrites at high heat, what are nitrates?

Nitrates are naturally found in many healthy foods like vegetables. They’re especially high in beets.

Sometimes our enzymes or gut bacteria change these healthy nitrates into nitrites. However, they rarely form nitrosamines.

BHA & BHT

Have you seen BHA & BHT on any packaging?  Perhaps on cereal packages or in gum?

“BHA/BHT has been added to the package to help maintain freshness?”

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are preservatives.  They are antioxidants added to many processed foods. The main way BHA and BHT work is by preventing fats from going rancid. Are they safe? Well, they’re approved for use as a preservative in small doses. However, some studies have shown that they can cause cancer in animals at high doses.

So how do we minimize our exposure to preservatives?

First and foremost this is best accomplished by eating fresh, whole foods.  This will ensure that your diet is low in preservatives and loaded with important nutrients to fuel your good health.

Secondly read your labels.  Know what you are consuming.  Knowledge is power!

References:

https://authoritynutrition.com/are-nitrates-and-nitrites-harmful/

https://authoritynutrition.com/9-ways-that-processed-foods-are-killing-people/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-endocrine-disruptors

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/salt-and-your-health

https://examine.com/nutrition/scientists-just-found-that-red-meat-causes-cancer–or-did-they/

https://authoritynutrition.com/chewing-gum-good-or-bad/

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/food-labelling-for-industry/list-of-ingredients-and-allergens/table/eng/1369857665232/1369857767799

This Week on The Health Hub…The Importance of Preconception Health with Dr. Rebecca Genuis

 

Dr. Rebecca Genuis was born and raised in Burlington, Ontario. She attended McMaster University where she first got her Bachelor of Health Sciences. She went on to attend the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine and obtained her medical degree. During this three year program, she was at a medical conference and heard a physician speak about his practice of Environmental Medicine. Intrigued, she visited Alberta to spend some elective time learning about this emerging field of medicine. While working in his clinic, Dr. Genuis was fascinated with seeing new scientific information being translated into clinical practice to target the root causes of diseases. After two weeks, she had found a new side of medicine that she was certain she would incorporate into her future practice.

After completing medical school, she married an Albertan man and moved out west, where she began her family medicine residency through the University of Alberta. Dr. Genuis found that she enjoyed caring for women throughout their reproductive years while continuing to be fascinated by the field of environmental medicine. Given the rising rates of numerous childhood illnesses, Dr. Genuis decided to begin her work in preconception care – helping women to prepare their bodies for pregnancy to help women have healthy pregnancies and prevent adverse health outcomes in children.

Dr. Rebecca Genuis has written for several medical journals on topics ranging from preconception care, nutrition and environmental health to medical ethics. She is a mother to 3 children and having seen the benefits of healthy living in her children, she is passionate about educating women to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.

 Learning Points:

  • What is preconception care?
  • Why is it important to take care of your health before conception?
  • Is preconception health important for men as well?

 

Listen live or catch the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud!

 


Every Tuesday from 11am -12pm I host The Health Hub, an interactive, forward thinking talk show on Radio Maria Canada.   Call, tweet or email your questions as together we explore health issues that are relevant to you from new and innovative points of view.

TheHealthHub is now on iTunes!

Subscribe and don’t miss a single episode!

 

 


Follow us on Social Media


How To Listen Live

Visit our website and learn how to listen live to our show each week.
http://www.radiomaria.ca/how-to-listen


Let us know!

If you have a health topic that you would like us to discuss or are a health care specialist who wants to be a guest on our show let us know!

Here is our email.  We would love to hear from you!
thh@radiomaria.ca