There is a metabolic disadvantage from eating carbs, particularly high glycemic ones. They are directly converted into glucose, which raises insulin. Too much insulin output is the culprit hormone of weight (fat) gain and heart attacks. Yes, insulin is atherogenic (causes blood vessels to clog up and "harden"). Not only does insulin transport glucose into our cells for fuel, but it prompts the liver to make and release fat (triglycerides) as well as encourage its storage in our adipocytes (fat cells). This not only makes us fatter, but also causes the adipocytes to release their toxic cytochymes promoting chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Unlike carbs which are 100% burned or stored, with fats and proteins, it costs our metabolism about 10% more to convert it to usable glucose. With time our poor pancreas becomes overtaxed and cannot keep up with the insulin demand of our foolish brain for over consuming those lousy carbs and it starts to fail. That is the real beginning of the end with the rise of blood sugar that denatures our living tissue with AGE (Advanced Glyciated End products), ALE (Advance Lipid End products), and APE (Advance Protein End products). This is before we even get diabetes which, with a carb-based diet, is inevitable. Although Agriculture was an important part of the survival of our species, time will show it was the worst mistake of human history for our personal longevity and the primary cause of degenerative disease. Not only, cardiovascular, but dementia, arthritis, and cancer is caused by awful carbs.
HIGH glycemic carbs and prepared foods are indeed weapons of mass destruction. Fructose is particularly sweet and dangerous. Half of every sugar molecule and over half (55%) of high fructose corn syrup, the most abundant sweetener in our society, is treacherous fructose. As noted above it is not the calorie, but from where the calorie comes that determines its health benefit or detriment. ALL CALORIES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! It is not how many calories we consumed but what our body does with these calories that count! Of course there are ADIPOGENIC (fat producing) Risk Factors-that include birth weight, age, sex, genetic metabolism, friends, activity and endocrine balance.
Indeed we are all biologically different. But despite this we can loose weight if we really want. No matter a how much you imagine you eat, if you wish to lose weight you must eat less. And no matter how much you imagine you exercise, to lose weight you must exercise more. It can be done, but for some with Adipogenic Risk Factors one must eat like a bird and exercise like a horse. But don’t despair, there is good science to help and I will detail ways to successfully not only loose weight, the somewhat easier part, but to keep it off which is the harder part. There is no magic diet, but suggestions for a lifestyle that will guarantee success, not just for looks but also for health and longevity in your future.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
THE ULTIMATE DIET
There is no best diet, only fundamental nutrition. There is an ideal diet for any individual for a given time, depending on their genes, biology, age and their environment. Having an understanding of this new nutrition will enable a person to choose the correct foods for both health and longevity. The following information should help you make the right choices.
The underpinnings of our food and drink is for what we were genetically adapted. However, there are rarely two of us who are exactly alike in how we look, how we act or metabolically. Our genes have been in existence since the very beginning of life on earth but our current chromosomes have been here for 2.4 million years and have sustained man as a species for the last two hundred thousand years. But eating habits, desire and in particular food availability have determined what consumption in Homo sapiens was best for their, and now our, health and fitness. This time line represents 99% of our evolutionary history.
It is only in the last 25 thousand years that we evolved from gathers, pickers, fishers, pluckers, and ghouls* to hunters. As a species, we hunted small game and fish with hands and cunning for eons. With the advent of tools such as nets, spears and clubs, big game became obtainable for hunting groups about 15 thousand years ago. In the last 10 thousand years agriculture and animal husbandry developed. Most importantly, in the dawn of the industrial revolution refined foods became available. But our metabolic machinery was not prepared for this. We are still in a state of evolution and may never be prepared for the junk we consume in the name of food!
No one would argue that an infant needs a different diet than an adult, or a Type 1 diabetic a dissimilar diet from a “healthy” individual or an elderly person different fare than a younger person. But a female diet being different from a male may be a stretch for some. In the broader sense, scientists and pseudo scientists organized special diets for metabolic types based on Blood type, body shapes (apples vs. pears), personalities, or anthropomorphic measurements such as arm span and variations of tooth anatomy. In the future, we will be able to look at ones genes and give a precise diet for ones best health.
The best recommendation for diet is the new VAP (Vertical Athrogenic Profile), which in the last two months was priced at less than $100 so that everyone, even those not insured could afford to know about them. With the right information, one can predict their own destiny in what could cause them disease and when it will happen. The premise of the VAP is the detection of not just the good HDL cholesterol, but also its division of inert HDL and the active HDL for reverse cholesterol transport. Also included are the small dense nefarious lousy LDL and the not so bad light fluffy LDL. These and the glucose/insulin ratio gives the best metabolic indicator of both cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Metabolic Syndrome in which insulin resistance is the genetic predisposition for poor health and an early demise (which is now epidemic in America) can be detected before it starts to impact our health. This is added to some basic truths for human food consumption and life and a few more for a healthy existence:
• The human body (and most mammals) has a given requirement for protein and fat, but none for carbohydrate other than disposable energy.
• Carbohydrate is a fuel that is converted to glucose for immediate usage or is stored in the liver as animal “starch”, glycogen.
• Micronutrients (Vitamins, Macro-minerals, Trace minerals) are needed in adequate amounts for proper metabolism.
• Essential Fatty acids are necessary for both structure and function of the organism.
• Essential Amino Acids are also obligatory for formation and working of the living being.
• Glyconutrients (on cell walls for inner communication) from sugars can be internally produced from non-carbohydrate foodstuffs.
• Enough water is required to maintain the shape and flow in our life form.
• Fiber is needed to give substance to the food in our alimentary tract to properly propel it forward and to feed our gut flora.
• Bacteria (Probiotic) and its food (Prebiotic), which is soluble fiber, are required to complete our digestion and to produce micronutrients such as Vitamin B12.
*Ghoul- Early man ate bone marrow and brains from carrion because he had rocks and the ability to open bones.
The underpinnings of our food and drink is for what we were genetically adapted. However, there are rarely two of us who are exactly alike in how we look, how we act or metabolically. Our genes have been in existence since the very beginning of life on earth but our current chromosomes have been here for 2.4 million years and have sustained man as a species for the last two hundred thousand years. But eating habits, desire and in particular food availability have determined what consumption in Homo sapiens was best for their, and now our, health and fitness. This time line represents 99% of our evolutionary history.
It is only in the last 25 thousand years that we evolved from gathers, pickers, fishers, pluckers, and ghouls* to hunters. As a species, we hunted small game and fish with hands and cunning for eons. With the advent of tools such as nets, spears and clubs, big game became obtainable for hunting groups about 15 thousand years ago. In the last 10 thousand years agriculture and animal husbandry developed. Most importantly, in the dawn of the industrial revolution refined foods became available. But our metabolic machinery was not prepared for this. We are still in a state of evolution and may never be prepared for the junk we consume in the name of food!
No one would argue that an infant needs a different diet than an adult, or a Type 1 diabetic a dissimilar diet from a “healthy” individual or an elderly person different fare than a younger person. But a female diet being different from a male may be a stretch for some. In the broader sense, scientists and pseudo scientists organized special diets for metabolic types based on Blood type, body shapes (apples vs. pears), personalities, or anthropomorphic measurements such as arm span and variations of tooth anatomy. In the future, we will be able to look at ones genes and give a precise diet for ones best health.
The best recommendation for diet is the new VAP (Vertical Athrogenic Profile), which in the last two months was priced at less than $100 so that everyone, even those not insured could afford to know about them. With the right information, one can predict their own destiny in what could cause them disease and when it will happen. The premise of the VAP is the detection of not just the good HDL cholesterol, but also its division of inert HDL and the active HDL for reverse cholesterol transport. Also included are the small dense nefarious lousy LDL and the not so bad light fluffy LDL. These and the glucose/insulin ratio gives the best metabolic indicator of both cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Metabolic Syndrome in which insulin resistance is the genetic predisposition for poor health and an early demise (which is now epidemic in America) can be detected before it starts to impact our health. This is added to some basic truths for human food consumption and life and a few more for a healthy existence:
• The human body (and most mammals) has a given requirement for protein and fat, but none for carbohydrate other than disposable energy.
• Carbohydrate is a fuel that is converted to glucose for immediate usage or is stored in the liver as animal “starch”, glycogen.
• Micronutrients (Vitamins, Macro-minerals, Trace minerals) are needed in adequate amounts for proper metabolism.
• Essential Fatty acids are necessary for both structure and function of the organism.
• Essential Amino Acids are also obligatory for formation and working of the living being.
• Glyconutrients (on cell walls for inner communication) from sugars can be internally produced from non-carbohydrate foodstuffs.
• Enough water is required to maintain the shape and flow in our life form.
• Fiber is needed to give substance to the food in our alimentary tract to properly propel it forward and to feed our gut flora.
• Bacteria (Probiotic) and its food (Prebiotic), which is soluble fiber, are required to complete our digestion and to produce micronutrients such as Vitamin B12.
*Ghoul- Early man ate bone marrow and brains from carrion because he had rocks and the ability to open bones.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
SILVER
Silver has been used since antiquity for its healing and preserving powers. The ancient Greeks kept their medicinal liquids (and expensive foods) free of contamination by placing them in the silver jars. Since the Middle Ages, silver was a staple for cooking ware and eating with silver pans, plates, and utensils. Silver and its salts have been used for centuries for disease treatment, one hundred-fifty years ago for syphilis, in the last hundred years for eye and nose drops, gargles, douches, and the recent 40 years topically for burns, skin ulcers, and impregnation into the material from which medical devices are made including urinary and venous catheters as well as surgical instruments by mainstream physicians.
Silver and its compounds have an electrical/oligodynamic effects that are toxic for bacteria, algae, and fungi and some parasites. The is typical for heavy metals like lead and, mercury. Among the elements that have this, silver is the least toxic for humans. The medicinal action of silver is dependent on the electrical aspects of the silver ion, which irreversibly damages key enzyme systems in the cell membrane of certain pathogens to include staph and the internal organization of some viruses.
Today colloidal silver is made in ultramicroscopic particles in a solution suspended naturally in deionized water by natural electromagnetic charges. This ultra fine 99.999% silver has a particle size from 0.0001 to 0.001 microns (1 to 100 ug). A red blood cell is a giant compared to this being 7 microns or 7 million times bigger! After ingestion, this metal enters the blood stream within 20 minutes and all over our body Colloidal silver can be obtained for less than $4 an ounce at health food stores. Or with equipment costing less than $100, one can make gallons of it for $5. Since it is light sensitive, the silver should be kept in darkly tinted glass bottles in a cool place. Plastic containers magnetize easily and the silver particles will stick to the sides. Also keep it away from magnetic fields such as electronics or motors since they will interfere with the ions, holding the colloid in solution. If placed in the refrigerator, the silver may fall out of solution.
Colloidal silver is predictably safe. As a pre-1938 medicinal it is out of the control of the FDA. In general, silver exhibits low toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to excess intake. Argyria is usually benign and limited to blue skin discoloration. There are isolated reports of more serious neurologic (seizures), renal, or hepatic complications, as well as headaches, stomach distress, fatigue, and skin irritation. Colloidal silver may react with certain drugs, such asthyroid, and antibiotics (quinalones and tetracyclines). The reference dose, published by the EPA, is the daily exposure that is unlikely to incur a appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime, is 5 µg/kg/d; meaning 5 micrograms of silver per kilo of weight per person each day – about 1 liter of 10 ppm colloidal silver per month for a 66kg person.
In order to guarantee the effectiveness of colloidal silver, it is necessary to buy a product that provides 10 particles of silver per million of water. Do not consume more than a quart daily for safety sake. Review the label or the specifications in the literature with the product. It is essential to get this health supplement from suppliers that have good feedback from customers and the above specifications. Some products like American Biotech Labs combines oxygen with purified silver, which is said to disrupt the pathogen’s ability to produce energy even more and increases the bioavailability of the silver particles.
My opinion on Colloidal Silver is not as bullish as it has been a decade ago. There has never been a good randomized double blind study to support it in Evidence Based Medicine, but in my experience (Experience Based Medicine), it should be considered in mild infections when antibiotics are not only more expensive but more dangerous! It should also should be considered in hard to eradicate infections along with other therapies such as HIV and Lyme Disease. No doubt it is very helpful when used topically in wounds. Again watch the label for 10 ppm and 5 ng particle size and no more than a quart a day! My colleagues may not agree with me but to those that believe no evidence is necessary and to those that do not believe no evidence is sufficient.
Silver and its compounds have an electrical/oligodynamic effects that are toxic for bacteria, algae, and fungi and some parasites. The is typical for heavy metals like lead and, mercury. Among the elements that have this, silver is the least toxic for humans. The medicinal action of silver is dependent on the electrical aspects of the silver ion, which irreversibly damages key enzyme systems in the cell membrane of certain pathogens to include staph and the internal organization of some viruses.
Today colloidal silver is made in ultramicroscopic particles in a solution suspended naturally in deionized water by natural electromagnetic charges. This ultra fine 99.999% silver has a particle size from 0.0001 to 0.001 microns (1 to 100 ug). A red blood cell is a giant compared to this being 7 microns or 7 million times bigger! After ingestion, this metal enters the blood stream within 20 minutes and all over our body Colloidal silver can be obtained for less than $4 an ounce at health food stores. Or with equipment costing less than $100, one can make gallons of it for $5. Since it is light sensitive, the silver should be kept in darkly tinted glass bottles in a cool place. Plastic containers magnetize easily and the silver particles will stick to the sides. Also keep it away from magnetic fields such as electronics or motors since they will interfere with the ions, holding the colloid in solution. If placed in the refrigerator, the silver may fall out of solution.
Colloidal silver is predictably safe. As a pre-1938 medicinal it is out of the control of the FDA. In general, silver exhibits low toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to excess intake. Argyria is usually benign and limited to blue skin discoloration. There are isolated reports of more serious neurologic (seizures), renal, or hepatic complications, as well as headaches, stomach distress, fatigue, and skin irritation. Colloidal silver may react with certain drugs, such asthyroid, and antibiotics (quinalones and tetracyclines). The reference dose, published by the EPA, is the daily exposure that is unlikely to incur a appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime, is 5 µg/kg/d; meaning 5 micrograms of silver per kilo of weight per person each day – about 1 liter of 10 ppm colloidal silver per month for a 66kg person.
In order to guarantee the effectiveness of colloidal silver, it is necessary to buy a product that provides 10 particles of silver per million of water. Do not consume more than a quart daily for safety sake. Review the label or the specifications in the literature with the product. It is essential to get this health supplement from suppliers that have good feedback from customers and the above specifications. Some products like American Biotech Labs combines oxygen with purified silver, which is said to disrupt the pathogen’s ability to produce energy even more and increases the bioavailability of the silver particles.
My opinion on Colloidal Silver is not as bullish as it has been a decade ago. There has never been a good randomized double blind study to support it in Evidence Based Medicine, but in my experience (Experience Based Medicine), it should be considered in mild infections when antibiotics are not only more expensive but more dangerous! It should also should be considered in hard to eradicate infections along with other therapies such as HIV and Lyme Disease. No doubt it is very helpful when used topically in wounds. Again watch the label for 10 ppm and 5 ng particle size and no more than a quart a day! My colleagues may not agree with me but to those that believe no evidence is necessary and to those that do not believe no evidence is sufficient.
Friday, July 30, 2010
THE BEST BREAST TEST
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20-59. Cancer of the breast will happen in 15% of all women during their lifetime. Approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, resulting in 40,000 deaths annually. An early diagnosis may be helpful, but a before time indication may be curative! A PAP test for the Breast is the ultimate early warning that the lady is in harm's way. In the past this procedure called for a needle aspiration of the milk duct for NAF (Nipple Aspirate Fluid) and was not only uncomfortable but occasionally elicited pain.
A newer, more comfortable test can be performed in the physician’s office using a small device called the HALO with two adjustable cups that go over the ends of the breasts. Unlike a Mammogram, these do not cause much, if any, discomfort. There is a compression at the end of the breast to help elicit the fluid and then suction, which actually draws the fluid out. After five minutes, the practitioner will check to see if any fluid has been elicited, it will be put into a non-gynecological cytology container then sent to the lab doing the cervical paps. The results are usually given back to the patient or doctor, within 24 to 36 hours.
Dr. Papanicolaou discovered the “pap” in 1938 to look at the epithelial cells in the lining of a woman’s milk ducts and the cervix for precancerous predispositions. At that time cervical cancer was the number one cancer found in women. Doctors and women marched in lock step to eradicate this scourge. As a result of the cervical pap, that cancer now kills less than 3,000 women a year in the U.S. So few women have cervical cancer, I no longer do cervical paps. With the advent of the papilloma vaccine, there will be even less of this venereal disease. The cervical smear is relatively easy to obtain through a pelvic exam, but not so with a breast smear, unless the women have an abnormal discharge.
In 1958 Dr. George Papanicolaou et al., first demonstrated the ability to find abnormal cells in NAF with the purpose of identifying women at high risk for breast cancer. NAF and the Pap test are both based on the cytological examination of changes in epithelial cells to determine risk for developing cancer. The presence of abnormal cells, or atypia, in NAF, which is secreted from the milk ducts where nearly all (95%) of invasive breast cancers begin, is a trait proven to increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Multiple studies have concluded that atypia increases a woman's likelihood of developing breast cancer four to five fold.
The examination of NAF can provide insight into a woman’s breast health. Finding atypia (abnormal changes) years before it might develop into a lesion enables a woman and her doctor to develop the appropriate "care path" for optimal management of her breast health. The problem is finding an easy non-invasive way to collect the breast fluid. Historically it has been gathered in three ways. One is the Sartorius Method, which is warm towel’s compression and that takes at least a half hour and is successful in only 25% of the cases. Another way of eliciting the fluid is a fine-needle procedure going into the nipple to draw out the fluid. The third way was a product that came out a few years ago called ductal lavage, or First Cyte. This involved putting a small tube or cannula, into the nipple, lavaging the milk ducts then analyzing the fluid and the epithelial cells cytologically as we do for atypia. The HALO is a wonderful collection device. By having a fully automated, five-minute, non-invasive procedure, we can now get nipple aspirate fluid in an efficient way. In a 500 patient trial, women rated the pain of the HALO procedure as a three to four on a scale of 1 to 10. A mammogram was rated 8!
The best current screening to assess a woman’s breast health and risk of developing breast cancer is review of family history, personal history, physical breast exam, plus the new guidelines of regular mammography for women over 50. Mammograms have 30% false positives and 38% false negatives. Some scientists even believe that putting the breast under pressure and irradiating it can cause cancer. Also clinical experience has shown that the vast majority of women who develop breast cancer have no risk factors that are identifiable with these methods and go unnoticed for years until an abnormality, a lump, is accidently discovered.
Mammography is often not as effective for women on Hormone Replacement who tend to have dense breasts that make it harder to detect abnormalities. Though young women do not develop breast cancer as often as women over 50, the disease in this population tends to be more advanced and have less favorable outcomes. A recent study found that younger women’s tumors tend to have a set of biological and genetic factors that made them more aggressive and more difficult to treat than cancers in older women. Digital Imaging Thermography has only limited utility and is not accepted by the majority of practicing physicians.
The medical community’s focus has traditionally been on detection and treatment. But by the time an abnormality can be identified via mammography, it has been growing for approximately eight years. As a result, more emphasis is now being placed on individualized “risk assessment and prevention.” Taking bio-identical progesterone, and testosterone eating broccoli sprouts or taking supplements such as DIM or I3Carbinol, limiting alcohol, fat and smoking will go a long way in reversing early atypia and preventing breast cancer.
A newer, more comfortable test can be performed in the physician’s office using a small device called the HALO with two adjustable cups that go over the ends of the breasts. Unlike a Mammogram, these do not cause much, if any, discomfort. There is a compression at the end of the breast to help elicit the fluid and then suction, which actually draws the fluid out. After five minutes, the practitioner will check to see if any fluid has been elicited, it will be put into a non-gynecological cytology container then sent to the lab doing the cervical paps. The results are usually given back to the patient or doctor, within 24 to 36 hours.
Dr. Papanicolaou discovered the “pap” in 1938 to look at the epithelial cells in the lining of a woman’s milk ducts and the cervix for precancerous predispositions. At that time cervical cancer was the number one cancer found in women. Doctors and women marched in lock step to eradicate this scourge. As a result of the cervical pap, that cancer now kills less than 3,000 women a year in the U.S. So few women have cervical cancer, I no longer do cervical paps. With the advent of the papilloma vaccine, there will be even less of this venereal disease. The cervical smear is relatively easy to obtain through a pelvic exam, but not so with a breast smear, unless the women have an abnormal discharge.
In 1958 Dr. George Papanicolaou et al., first demonstrated the ability to find abnormal cells in NAF with the purpose of identifying women at high risk for breast cancer. NAF and the Pap test are both based on the cytological examination of changes in epithelial cells to determine risk for developing cancer. The presence of abnormal cells, or atypia, in NAF, which is secreted from the milk ducts where nearly all (95%) of invasive breast cancers begin, is a trait proven to increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Multiple studies have concluded that atypia increases a woman's likelihood of developing breast cancer four to five fold.
The examination of NAF can provide insight into a woman’s breast health. Finding atypia (abnormal changes) years before it might develop into a lesion enables a woman and her doctor to develop the appropriate "care path" for optimal management of her breast health. The problem is finding an easy non-invasive way to collect the breast fluid. Historically it has been gathered in three ways. One is the Sartorius Method, which is warm towel’s compression and that takes at least a half hour and is successful in only 25% of the cases. Another way of eliciting the fluid is a fine-needle procedure going into the nipple to draw out the fluid. The third way was a product that came out a few years ago called ductal lavage, or First Cyte. This involved putting a small tube or cannula, into the nipple, lavaging the milk ducts then analyzing the fluid and the epithelial cells cytologically as we do for atypia. The HALO is a wonderful collection device. By having a fully automated, five-minute, non-invasive procedure, we can now get nipple aspirate fluid in an efficient way. In a 500 patient trial, women rated the pain of the HALO procedure as a three to four on a scale of 1 to 10. A mammogram was rated 8!
The best current screening to assess a woman’s breast health and risk of developing breast cancer is review of family history, personal history, physical breast exam, plus the new guidelines of regular mammography for women over 50. Mammograms have 30% false positives and 38% false negatives. Some scientists even believe that putting the breast under pressure and irradiating it can cause cancer. Also clinical experience has shown that the vast majority of women who develop breast cancer have no risk factors that are identifiable with these methods and go unnoticed for years until an abnormality, a lump, is accidently discovered.
Mammography is often not as effective for women on Hormone Replacement who tend to have dense breasts that make it harder to detect abnormalities. Though young women do not develop breast cancer as often as women over 50, the disease in this population tends to be more advanced and have less favorable outcomes. A recent study found that younger women’s tumors tend to have a set of biological and genetic factors that made them more aggressive and more difficult to treat than cancers in older women. Digital Imaging Thermography has only limited utility and is not accepted by the majority of practicing physicians.
The medical community’s focus has traditionally been on detection and treatment. But by the time an abnormality can be identified via mammography, it has been growing for approximately eight years. As a result, more emphasis is now being placed on individualized “risk assessment and prevention.” Taking bio-identical progesterone, and testosterone eating broccoli sprouts or taking supplements such as DIM or I3Carbinol, limiting alcohol, fat and smoking will go a long way in reversing early atypia and preventing breast cancer.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Music is Healthy
Youthful Aging by Norm Shealy, is one of the e-Newsletters I receive. He, like I, feels that some, but not all, music is healthy and to some extent anti-aging. In addition to binaural music which entrains the brain waves to the Alpha (relaxed) and the Delta (sleep) state, there are other ways music heals as noted by an expert in the field. If a frequency is imputed into one hear with a simple earbud and the other side another frequency, the brain will “subtract” one from another in time and the result will be the difference. For example the same tune with an effective frequency of 186 Hz is piped into the left ear and 180 into the right, the brain will resonate at 6. This is the tranquil alpha state. Steve Halpern details much more on this with his interview with Dr Shealy. Steve is a true scholar of modern meditational and healing forms of music. Norm Shealy MD, a former neurosurgeon, whom I had the pleasure to meet and dine with, is a true genius of metaphysical medicine. His website is http://www.selfhealthsystems.com
STEVE HALPERN HEALING MUSIC
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, SOUND HEALING and RELAXATION SUITE. Hear samples at www.stevenhalpern.com I have been a great fan of Steven's music since the mid-70s (Norm Shealy)
The Power of Steven Halpern's Healing Music
Considerations on Choosing and Using Music for Relaxation and Healing
(c) Steven Halpern 2010
The healing powers of sound and music have been revered for thousands of years, but only recently have leading edge researchers and musicians begun to understand fully the deeper and more subtle implications of this most ancient of the healing arts.Over the past 40 years, key secrets have been identified that expand greatly upon the classical bias of orthodox music therapy and disinterest of the entertainment-oriented music industry.
The field has attracted the attention of millions of individuals who want an easy way to reduce stress, enhance health and well-being while simultaneously being pleasant listening. A great deal of misinformation, however, has made it confusing for many listeners to know how to choose and use healing music in their personal and professional lives. In this short article I will share my perspective both as an artist and as a customer.
In a few moments you'll know more about the field than is taught in most colleges, and will be empowered to make more informed choices to get the most benefit for your time and money.
A Personal Note
I am often asked, "How did you get into this field?" The answer is simple: "It got into me! On one hand, about 40 years ago, I began hearing beautiful music in my mind's ear that made me feel so peaceful and relaxed, I longed to be able to hear it with my physical ears. On the other hand, my doctor told me that if I didn't learn how to reduce my stress level, I would soon suffer from many of the stress-related diseases like hypertension, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and getting sick more often.
Having read in books about that music was used in ancient societies for healing, I searched for suitable soundtracks for health. There was very little music composed expressly for this purpose, and even less research into the healing powers of music. As a trained musician, I realized I was in a perfect position to combine my personal and professional proclivities.
When I performed my healing music in public, people always asked me for a recording that they could use at home. I was encouraged to establish my own independent record label, and soon discovered that composing the music was the easy part. I soon learned that I had to educate the public, as well as the growing ranks of holistic, alternative and integrative health care practitioners about healthful and stress-reducing aspects of music that had not been addressed before.
Keynotes of Sound Health
How do we respond to music? Many individuals never consider this topic. Traditionally, this question was answered with respect to the elements of melody, harmony and rhythm. tone color/timbre was added in more modern textbooks. The psychology of music, as a field, and music therapy, historically focused on our emotional, psychological and physical responses. Physiological responses were limited to gross motor responses, like the knee jerk response, or blood flow through a finger. Until I conducted landmark research studies using brainwave biofeedback EEG), Galvanic Skin Response(GSR) and Kirlian(subtle energy field/aura) photography, no one had researched music's effect on subtle energies and consciousness.
In my work, I have identified deeper levels of response-ability, building upon the pioneering research of Hans Jenny (cymatics) and quantum physics. Here is a brief overview. For this discussion, I'll limit my remarks to focus on an understanding that self-healing occurs most effectively in a state of deep relaxation. Sound and music can be a potent force to engage this response. But most music may NOT be your best choice if your goal is health rather than entertainment.
Most music was not composed for true relaxation purposes. (Nor am I suggesting that music should ONLY be composed for that purpose. But using the wrong music virtually sets you up for failure if you with regard to healthful responses. It would be like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. That's not the function of caffeine-laden coffee. Why would you use the musical equivalent of coffee to help you relax?
Lesser known is that most music evokes more of a stressful response than people realize. The reduction of stress, and enhancement of relaxation, is therefore fundamental to most all healing music. (Herbert Benson, MD, bestselling researcher and author of"The Relaxation Response") That is why my CDs are composed with the intention and compositional constructs that provide stress reduction.....at the speed of sound.
Your One Minute Guide to Understanding Healing Music
1.The Rhythm Factor:
The law of rhythm entrainment describes the phenomenon in which a stronger, external stimulus overrides the natural internal rhythm of the heart and causes it to synchronize to its stronger beat. If you listen to music whose tempo is faster than a relaxed heartbeat, (top range about 60 beats per minute) then your heart will be forced to beat in time to the music, which is commonly from 90-140 beats per minute !
That's also like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. You essentially set yourself up for failure. And you'll be awake all night to think about it!
It's easy to identify for yourself whether the music is relaxing for you. Measure your resting heartbeat, and then measure your heartbeat while listening to the music. If your heartbeat is faster, this would NOT be a good choice for your relaxation library. (although it might be a fine choice for other uses). This is precisely the reason that my own recordings do not have a strong central rhythm. I was inspired by my yoga training to compose with the implicit rhythm of a deep, slow yogic breath. (Most reviewers, likely listening after drinking three cups of coffee, were unable to perceive this secret). But your heartbeat will immediately appreciate the opportunity to reset its rhythm into the natural rhythm of a deep breath. This is as apparent to many first-time listeners as well as long-time fans.
2. Melody and Harmony
I'd like to discuss melody and harmony together as 'distraction factors' in evoking the relaxation response. For psychological responses, much has been written. We have been culturally conditioned (by Western classical and pop music) to respond to familiar patterns in predictable fashion, when we hear scale-based melodies or harmonic progressions. We are unconsciously forced to project into the future...where the music is going.
In live presentations, I always demonstrate this secret by singing a scale....and stopping on the seventh note. I do not complete the sequence with the eighth tone of the octave note. You can prove it to yourself right now: Take a moment to imagine me singing a scale..(Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La- Ti....) and notice that you are predictably holding your breath because I did not finish the pattern!
I coined the phrase 'scalus interruptus' to describe this phenomenon, and why you are left feeling 'future tense.' In other words, simply listening to 'ordinary music' CREATES stress and tension!
Relaxation, on the other hand, happens only in the present moment.' You can't relax 'in the future.' You can only relax ' in the now'. Or, to paraphrase spiritual teacher Ram Dass,(Be Here Now), I say, "Hear. Now. Be." tm Remember, we are human be-ings, rather than human do-ings.
Trying to relax while listening to music that keeps you off balance and out of the NOW is therefore not an effective choice if you want to relax. Listen to even 30 seconds of my Chakra Suite, Relaxation Suite, or Ocean Suite and you can feel the relaxing change that comes over your body .It's that easy, and that quick.
Your body is hard-wired to shift gears into a state of relaxation, if you only give it a chance. That's why people the world over enjoy being out in nature, at the ocean, by a lake, on the farm or in a mountain meadow. And when you can't get out in nature, properly composed relaxing and healing music can bring nature to you by giving your 'human instrument' the chance it wants and needs for optimal health.
3. Resonance
Resonance describes the reality that every atom, molecule vibrates at a specific frequency, and functions as both a transmitter and receiver of vibrations at that frequency. Therefore, every organ, gland and muscle in our body has a specific natural frequency which exist within the range of audible sound.
In essence, when you listen to music, you are receiving a vibrational massage. If the music is organized to resonate specific frequency-specific areas of the body, like my Chakra Suite, than we can use sound to assist our body to resonate at a higher level of coherence and efficiency.
Resonance is what you feel when part of you is tingling or buzzing when you hear quartz crystal bowls or Tibetan singing bowls being played, The tones of the Rhodes electric piano are produced by precisely tuned 'tuning forks' that are struck lightly by a hammer attached to the keyboard. It is not a synthesizer. That is the secret of why its tone is so pure, and why it changed my life the moment I bought one: I now had the most beautiful healing instrument at my fingertips, ready to play and record healing music.
4, Tonal Color and Timbre
In my earlier career as a professional performing musician, I played trumpet and electric guitar. The basic sound of these instruments is not intended for relaxation. That was one of the reasons I had to switch to the gentler sounds of electric and grand piano, and atmospheric, psycho-active sounds I could play with electronic keyboards, Many acoustic instruments, like violin and oboe, actually produce waveforms that are irritating and stress-inducing for many people, whether they are aware of them or not.
In my dreams and meditations, I heard music that sounded like celestial bells and heavenly harps. When the instrument was invented, I became one of the early advocates of the Rhodes electric piano, which is featured on my Chakra Suite and many other recordings.
I also learned how to adjust and record the glorious grand piano to remove the harsh attack and enharmonic overtones that interfered with my relaxation as I composed or listened. Every instrument on my recordings is chosen for its relaxation and healing effects. There's a time and a place for brittle and dissonant tones, but not in my healing music.
5. Intention and Music: Thought Field Resonance
In my experience, there is an additional dimension that should be discussed with respect to subtle energy factors. When I first went public with my music and theories in the early l970s, I described the power of intention of the composer or performer as being a critical factor determining what the overall effect would be. For instance, the same melody or notes could have a positive or negative effect depending on the stress level of the performer.
It's as if this 'meta-information' is broadcast and transmitted by the musician to the listener, albeit in an inaudible manner. Quantum physicists have now proven what mystics and musicians have known for millennia.
I coined a phrase to describe this phenomenon thusly: "Music is a carrier wave of consciousness." Now that intention has become such a popular concept, it's easy to understand that it's not just the notes, but the energy that comes thru the notes, that must be considered when choosing healing music.
Depending on the sensitivity of the listener, music intended for meditation and healing can help the listener to quiet the mind, and get into the gap between thoughts. Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have written eloquently about this. I have always described my own compositional process as 'getting into the spaces between the notes'.
In either case, by quieting the mind, such music creates the proper vibrational resonance in which the individual's brainwaves more easily attune to the natural harmonic resonance of the earth (Schuman resonance , 7.83 Hz) It may therefore be impossible to calibrate how much healing happens because of the music itself, vs how much occurs 'automatically' when the listener gets into the proper alpha brainwave state facilitated by the music.The bottom line is that some music is much more effective in this regard than others.
My approach to sound healing has always been first and foremost to compose soundtracks that will serve the highest good for the highest number of listeners, rather than to impress the listener with the complexity of my compositions or technical virtuosity. I believe that the large and growing international audience that my music has created provides a strong testimonial that it has succeeded in its intention.
Listening at low volume creates a soothing mood and relaxing ambiance for general background use at home, at school, at work, for yoga, or massage, pain control, post-operative recovery, in clinics, hospitals and hospice care.
Many individuals have also discovered the beauty, benefits and blessings of listening with intention and focused attention (especially with headphones, and not multi-tasking), and thus enjoy a greater depth of experience. Listening to this music in this way can indeed transport you into the gap between thoughts, leaving you feeling uplifted, relaxed and renewed, at peace with yourself and the world.
Sound Matters - For The Record
Most people have no idea how profoundly the sounds and music in our life affects us, for better or worse. Here are just a few of the most significant effects:
Common effects of stressful music and noise pollution include (cf "Sound Health", Steven Halpern, Harper & Row,l985): Hypertension, higher stress levels in general, as well as higher cortisol hormone levels, irritability, difficulty sleeping, concentrating, fatigue, digestive problems, weight gain, alcoholism and hyperactivity (especially in children)
Common Effects of Healththy Music
Reduced stress, enhanced relaxation, improved sleep, enhanced concentration and focus, improved digestion (less gas and more efficient digestion, which also often promotes weight loss, better dispensation, greater ease in holding and stretching into yoga postures, enhanced rapport with one's significant other both emotionally and sexually. In sum, the music one listens to can make a significant addition to one's personal health and wellness program.
When choosing which music to buy for your own relaxing and healing sound library, consider that appropriate music should include the above-identified universal commonalities as well as your personal preferences and history. Making more informed choice empowers you and allows your body/mind/spirit the most benefit and pleasure in terms of your own health and self-healing.
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, Music for SOUND HEALING, GIFTS of the ANGELS, PEACE of MIND and RELAXATION SUITE. Read more about sound and healing at www.stevenhalpern.com
STEVE HALPERN HEALING MUSIC
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, SOUND HEALING and RELAXATION SUITE. Hear samples at www.stevenhalpern.com I have been a great fan of Steven's music since the mid-70s (Norm Shealy)
The Power of Steven Halpern's Healing Music
Considerations on Choosing and Using Music for Relaxation and Healing
(c) Steven Halpern 2010
The healing powers of sound and music have been revered for thousands of years, but only recently have leading edge researchers and musicians begun to understand fully the deeper and more subtle implications of this most ancient of the healing arts.Over the past 40 years, key secrets have been identified that expand greatly upon the classical bias of orthodox music therapy and disinterest of the entertainment-oriented music industry.
The field has attracted the attention of millions of individuals who want an easy way to reduce stress, enhance health and well-being while simultaneously being pleasant listening. A great deal of misinformation, however, has made it confusing for many listeners to know how to choose and use healing music in their personal and professional lives. In this short article I will share my perspective both as an artist and as a customer.
In a few moments you'll know more about the field than is taught in most colleges, and will be empowered to make more informed choices to get the most benefit for your time and money.
A Personal Note
I am often asked, "How did you get into this field?" The answer is simple: "It got into me! On one hand, about 40 years ago, I began hearing beautiful music in my mind's ear that made me feel so peaceful and relaxed, I longed to be able to hear it with my physical ears. On the other hand, my doctor told me that if I didn't learn how to reduce my stress level, I would soon suffer from many of the stress-related diseases like hypertension, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and getting sick more often.
Having read in books about that music was used in ancient societies for healing, I searched for suitable soundtracks for health. There was very little music composed expressly for this purpose, and even less research into the healing powers of music. As a trained musician, I realized I was in a perfect position to combine my personal and professional proclivities.
When I performed my healing music in public, people always asked me for a recording that they could use at home. I was encouraged to establish my own independent record label, and soon discovered that composing the music was the easy part. I soon learned that I had to educate the public, as well as the growing ranks of holistic, alternative and integrative health care practitioners about healthful and stress-reducing aspects of music that had not been addressed before.
Keynotes of Sound Health
How do we respond to music? Many individuals never consider this topic. Traditionally, this question was answered with respect to the elements of melody, harmony and rhythm. tone color/timbre was added in more modern textbooks. The psychology of music, as a field, and music therapy, historically focused on our emotional, psychological and physical responses. Physiological responses were limited to gross motor responses, like the knee jerk response, or blood flow through a finger. Until I conducted landmark research studies using brainwave biofeedback EEG), Galvanic Skin Response(GSR) and Kirlian(subtle energy field/aura) photography, no one had researched music's effect on subtle energies and consciousness.
In my work, I have identified deeper levels of response-ability, building upon the pioneering research of Hans Jenny (cymatics) and quantum physics. Here is a brief overview. For this discussion, I'll limit my remarks to focus on an understanding that self-healing occurs most effectively in a state of deep relaxation. Sound and music can be a potent force to engage this response. But most music may NOT be your best choice if your goal is health rather than entertainment.
Most music was not composed for true relaxation purposes. (Nor am I suggesting that music should ONLY be composed for that purpose. But using the wrong music virtually sets you up for failure if you with regard to healthful responses. It would be like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. That's not the function of caffeine-laden coffee. Why would you use the musical equivalent of coffee to help you relax?
Lesser known is that most music evokes more of a stressful response than people realize. The reduction of stress, and enhancement of relaxation, is therefore fundamental to most all healing music. (Herbert Benson, MD, bestselling researcher and author of"The Relaxation Response") That is why my CDs are composed with the intention and compositional constructs that provide stress reduction.....at the speed of sound.
Your One Minute Guide to Understanding Healing Music
1.The Rhythm Factor:
The law of rhythm entrainment describes the phenomenon in which a stronger, external stimulus overrides the natural internal rhythm of the heart and causes it to synchronize to its stronger beat. If you listen to music whose tempo is faster than a relaxed heartbeat, (top range about 60 beats per minute) then your heart will be forced to beat in time to the music, which is commonly from 90-140 beats per minute !
That's also like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. You essentially set yourself up for failure. And you'll be awake all night to think about it!
It's easy to identify for yourself whether the music is relaxing for you. Measure your resting heartbeat, and then measure your heartbeat while listening to the music. If your heartbeat is faster, this would NOT be a good choice for your relaxation library. (although it might be a fine choice for other uses). This is precisely the reason that my own recordings do not have a strong central rhythm. I was inspired by my yoga training to compose with the implicit rhythm of a deep, slow yogic breath. (Most reviewers, likely listening after drinking three cups of coffee, were unable to perceive this secret). But your heartbeat will immediately appreciate the opportunity to reset its rhythm into the natural rhythm of a deep breath. This is as apparent to many first-time listeners as well as long-time fans.
2. Melody and Harmony
I'd like to discuss melody and harmony together as 'distraction factors' in evoking the relaxation response. For psychological responses, much has been written. We have been culturally conditioned (by Western classical and pop music) to respond to familiar patterns in predictable fashion, when we hear scale-based melodies or harmonic progressions. We are unconsciously forced to project into the future...where the music is going.
In live presentations, I always demonstrate this secret by singing a scale....and stopping on the seventh note. I do not complete the sequence with the eighth tone of the octave note. You can prove it to yourself right now: Take a moment to imagine me singing a scale..(Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La- Ti....) and notice that you are predictably holding your breath because I did not finish the pattern!
I coined the phrase 'scalus interruptus' to describe this phenomenon, and why you are left feeling 'future tense.' In other words, simply listening to 'ordinary music' CREATES stress and tension!
Relaxation, on the other hand, happens only in the present moment.' You can't relax 'in the future.' You can only relax ' in the now'. Or, to paraphrase spiritual teacher Ram Dass,(Be Here Now), I say, "Hear. Now. Be." tm Remember, we are human be-ings, rather than human do-ings.
Trying to relax while listening to music that keeps you off balance and out of the NOW is therefore not an effective choice if you want to relax. Listen to even 30 seconds of my Chakra Suite, Relaxation Suite, or Ocean Suite and you can feel the relaxing change that comes over your body .It's that easy, and that quick.
Your body is hard-wired to shift gears into a state of relaxation, if you only give it a chance. That's why people the world over enjoy being out in nature, at the ocean, by a lake, on the farm or in a mountain meadow. And when you can't get out in nature, properly composed relaxing and healing music can bring nature to you by giving your 'human instrument' the chance it wants and needs for optimal health.
3. Resonance
Resonance describes the reality that every atom, molecule vibrates at a specific frequency, and functions as both a transmitter and receiver of vibrations at that frequency. Therefore, every organ, gland and muscle in our body has a specific natural frequency which exist within the range of audible sound.
In essence, when you listen to music, you are receiving a vibrational massage. If the music is organized to resonate specific frequency-specific areas of the body, like my Chakra Suite, than we can use sound to assist our body to resonate at a higher level of coherence and efficiency.
Resonance is what you feel when part of you is tingling or buzzing when you hear quartz crystal bowls or Tibetan singing bowls being played, The tones of the Rhodes electric piano are produced by precisely tuned 'tuning forks' that are struck lightly by a hammer attached to the keyboard. It is not a synthesizer. That is the secret of why its tone is so pure, and why it changed my life the moment I bought one: I now had the most beautiful healing instrument at my fingertips, ready to play and record healing music.
4, Tonal Color and Timbre
In my earlier career as a professional performing musician, I played trumpet and electric guitar. The basic sound of these instruments is not intended for relaxation. That was one of the reasons I had to switch to the gentler sounds of electric and grand piano, and atmospheric, psycho-active sounds I could play with electronic keyboards, Many acoustic instruments, like violin and oboe, actually produce waveforms that are irritating and stress-inducing for many people, whether they are aware of them or not.
In my dreams and meditations, I heard music that sounded like celestial bells and heavenly harps. When the instrument was invented, I became one of the early advocates of the Rhodes electric piano, which is featured on my Chakra Suite and many other recordings.
I also learned how to adjust and record the glorious grand piano to remove the harsh attack and enharmonic overtones that interfered with my relaxation as I composed or listened. Every instrument on my recordings is chosen for its relaxation and healing effects. There's a time and a place for brittle and dissonant tones, but not in my healing music.
5. Intention and Music: Thought Field Resonance
In my experience, there is an additional dimension that should be discussed with respect to subtle energy factors. When I first went public with my music and theories in the early l970s, I described the power of intention of the composer or performer as being a critical factor determining what the overall effect would be. For instance, the same melody or notes could have a positive or negative effect depending on the stress level of the performer.
It's as if this 'meta-information' is broadcast and transmitted by the musician to the listener, albeit in an inaudible manner. Quantum physicists have now proven what mystics and musicians have known for millennia.
I coined a phrase to describe this phenomenon thusly: "Music is a carrier wave of consciousness." Now that intention has become such a popular concept, it's easy to understand that it's not just the notes, but the energy that comes thru the notes, that must be considered when choosing healing music.
Depending on the sensitivity of the listener, music intended for meditation and healing can help the listener to quiet the mind, and get into the gap between thoughts. Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have written eloquently about this. I have always described my own compositional process as 'getting into the spaces between the notes'.
In either case, by quieting the mind, such music creates the proper vibrational resonance in which the individual's brainwaves more easily attune to the natural harmonic resonance of the earth (Schuman resonance , 7.83 Hz) It may therefore be impossible to calibrate how much healing happens because of the music itself, vs how much occurs 'automatically' when the listener gets into the proper alpha brainwave state facilitated by the music.The bottom line is that some music is much more effective in this regard than others.
My approach to sound healing has always been first and foremost to compose soundtracks that will serve the highest good for the highest number of listeners, rather than to impress the listener with the complexity of my compositions or technical virtuosity. I believe that the large and growing international audience that my music has created provides a strong testimonial that it has succeeded in its intention.
Listening at low volume creates a soothing mood and relaxing ambiance for general background use at home, at school, at work, for yoga, or massage, pain control, post-operative recovery, in clinics, hospitals and hospice care.
Many individuals have also discovered the beauty, benefits and blessings of listening with intention and focused attention (especially with headphones, and not multi-tasking), and thus enjoy a greater depth of experience. Listening to this music in this way can indeed transport you into the gap between thoughts, leaving you feeling uplifted, relaxed and renewed, at peace with yourself and the world.
Sound Matters - For The Record
Most people have no idea how profoundly the sounds and music in our life affects us, for better or worse. Here are just a few of the most significant effects:
Common effects of stressful music and noise pollution include (cf "Sound Health", Steven Halpern, Harper & Row,l985): Hypertension, higher stress levels in general, as well as higher cortisol hormone levels, irritability, difficulty sleeping, concentrating, fatigue, digestive problems, weight gain, alcoholism and hyperactivity (especially in children)
Common Effects of Healththy Music
Reduced stress, enhanced relaxation, improved sleep, enhanced concentration and focus, improved digestion (less gas and more efficient digestion, which also often promotes weight loss, better dispensation, greater ease in holding and stretching into yoga postures, enhanced rapport with one's significant other both emotionally and sexually. In sum, the music one listens to can make a significant addition to one's personal health and wellness program.
When choosing which music to buy for your own relaxing and healing sound library, consider that appropriate music should include the above-identified universal commonalities as well as your personal preferences and history. Making more informed choice empowers you and allows your body/mind/spirit the most benefit and pleasure in terms of your own health and self-healing.
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, Music for SOUND HEALING, GIFTS of the ANGELS, PEACE of MIND and RELAXATION SUITE. Read more about sound and healing at www.stevenhalpern.com
Monday, June 28, 2010
IS APO-E RIGHT FOR ME ?
Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), a blood test to predict premature cardiovascular and/or Alzheimer’s disease, was prohibitively expensive until June 2010. The Atherotec corp then reduced the price to less than $100 as an add-on study to the VAP (Vertical Atherogenic Profile) which is paid for by most insurance. This would include about 50 other very helpful tests as mundane as a blood sugar to the extremely sophisticated Plac2. This examines for the plaque burden of your arteries as of the moment the blood is drawn.
Regarding the ApoE each of us are given two copies (alleles} of the ApoE at birth and they remain that way lifelong. Therefore the test never has to be repeated again. There is no ApoE e1. We have one each of 2,3, and 4. A person can have e2/e3 or e2/e4 or double of each such as e4/e4. Those with ApoE e2/e2 alleles are at a higher risk of premature vascular disease, although some may never develop disease depending on their lifestyle. Likewise, they may have the disease and not have e2/e2 alleles because it is only one of the factors involved. Our genes cannot change but they can be modified by our diet, exercise and medications. ApoE genotyping adds additional information and, if symptoms are present, e2/e2 can help confirm type III hyperlipoproteinemia a cardiovascular risk factor. This has Chylomicron (Fat/triglyceride globules) remnants and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles which should be rapidly removed from the circulation by the liver. Apolipoprotein E, the main component of the chylomicron and VLDL, binds to a specific receptor on liver cells for disposal. In reference to e2 lipid abnormalities, it will improved lipids with alcohol consumption and there will be little response to diet. With e4, the lipids will improve with a low fat diet. So ApoE is an important determinant of metabolism and treatment of abnormally high lipids.
In addition to predicting age of death ApoE from cardiovascular disease, it predicts
Alzheimer’s(AD), perhaps a fate worse than dying of heart disease. AD is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's does occur before this age. In 2010, there were 30.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer's is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. And the ApoE test will go a long way to forecast it so you can do things NOW to prolong its onset and even prevent it!
The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be 'age-related' concerns, or manifestations of stress In the early stages, the most commonly recognized symptom is inability to acquire new memories, such as difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration of the disease varies. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis. When AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, such as a MMSE or a CDR and often I order a MRI looking at the hippocampus volume and if in real doubt a PET scan with a PIB contrast. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration and severity of the disease varies much from patient to patient. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis.
Over 60% percent of those who have late onset AD have paired ApoE e4 (e4/e4) alleles. While genetic mutations of the PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP genes are associated with AD in a very small number of specific family lines, they are associated with early onset AD, rather than late onset. The E4 variant is the largest known genetic risk factor for late-onset AD in a variety of ethnic groups. Caucasian and Japanese carriers of 2 E4 alleles have between 10 and 30 times the risk of developing AD by 75 years of age, as compared to those not carrying any E4 alleles. Research suggests an interaction with amyloid. AD is characterized by plaques consisting of amyloid. Apolipoprotein E enhances proteolytic break-down of this peptide, both within and between cells. ApoE-4 is not as efficient as others at catalyzing these reactions resulting in increased vulnerability to Alzheimer's in individuals with this gene. Among ApoE4 carriers, another gene, GAB2, is thought to further influence the risk of getting AD. However, the relationship does not appear as strong as e4, since in the Japanese population, gab2 is not a risk factor. There is also evidence that the ApoE2 allele may serve a protective role in AD. Thus, the genotype most at risk for Alzheimer's disease is ApoE e4/4. The ApoE 3,4 genotype is at increased risk, though not to the degree that those homozygous for ApoE 4 are. The genotype ApoE 3/3 is considered at normal risk for Alzheimer's disease. The genotype ApoE 2/3 is considered at less risk for Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly, people with both a copy of the 2 allele and the 4 allele, ApoE 2/4, are at normal risk similar to the ApoE 3/3 genotype. Other than e4, the other “e s” do get better with Medium Chain Triglyceride Therapysuch as Coconut Oil. Knowing if you are in harms way for either Vascular or Alzheimers disease early in life should give the impetus to change lifestyle. “An enemy known is better than one unknown!”
Regarding the ApoE each of us are given two copies (alleles} of the ApoE at birth and they remain that way lifelong. Therefore the test never has to be repeated again. There is no ApoE e1. We have one each of 2,3, and 4. A person can have e2/e3 or e2/e4 or double of each such as e4/e4. Those with ApoE e2/e2 alleles are at a higher risk of premature vascular disease, although some may never develop disease depending on their lifestyle. Likewise, they may have the disease and not have e2/e2 alleles because it is only one of the factors involved. Our genes cannot change but they can be modified by our diet, exercise and medications. ApoE genotyping adds additional information and, if symptoms are present, e2/e2 can help confirm type III hyperlipoproteinemia a cardiovascular risk factor. This has Chylomicron (Fat/triglyceride globules) remnants and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles which should be rapidly removed from the circulation by the liver. Apolipoprotein E, the main component of the chylomicron and VLDL, binds to a specific receptor on liver cells for disposal. In reference to e2 lipid abnormalities, it will improved lipids with alcohol consumption and there will be little response to diet. With e4, the lipids will improve with a low fat diet. So ApoE is an important determinant of metabolism and treatment of abnormally high lipids.
In addition to predicting age of death ApoE from cardiovascular disease, it predicts
Alzheimer’s(AD), perhaps a fate worse than dying of heart disease. AD is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's does occur before this age. In 2010, there were 30.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer's is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. And the ApoE test will go a long way to forecast it so you can do things NOW to prolong its onset and even prevent it!
The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be 'age-related' concerns, or manifestations of stress In the early stages, the most commonly recognized symptom is inability to acquire new memories, such as difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration of the disease varies. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis. When AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, such as a MMSE or a CDR and often I order a MRI looking at the hippocampus volume and if in real doubt a PET scan with a PIB contrast. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration and severity of the disease varies much from patient to patient. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis.
Over 60% percent of those who have late onset AD have paired ApoE e4 (e4/e4) alleles. While genetic mutations of the PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP genes are associated with AD in a very small number of specific family lines, they are associated with early onset AD, rather than late onset. The E4 variant is the largest known genetic risk factor for late-onset AD in a variety of ethnic groups. Caucasian and Japanese carriers of 2 E4 alleles have between 10 and 30 times the risk of developing AD by 75 years of age, as compared to those not carrying any E4 alleles. Research suggests an interaction with amyloid. AD is characterized by plaques consisting of amyloid. Apolipoprotein E enhances proteolytic break-down of this peptide, both within and between cells. ApoE-4 is not as efficient as others at catalyzing these reactions resulting in increased vulnerability to Alzheimer's in individuals with this gene. Among ApoE4 carriers, another gene, GAB2, is thought to further influence the risk of getting AD. However, the relationship does not appear as strong as e4, since in the Japanese population, gab2 is not a risk factor. There is also evidence that the ApoE2 allele may serve a protective role in AD. Thus, the genotype most at risk for Alzheimer's disease is ApoE e4/4. The ApoE 3,4 genotype is at increased risk, though not to the degree that those homozygous for ApoE 4 are. The genotype ApoE 3/3 is considered at normal risk for Alzheimer's disease. The genotype ApoE 2/3 is considered at less risk for Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly, people with both a copy of the 2 allele and the 4 allele, ApoE 2/4, are at normal risk similar to the ApoE 3/3 genotype. Other than e4, the other “e s” do get better with Medium Chain Triglyceride Therapysuch as Coconut Oil. Knowing if you are in harms way for either Vascular or Alzheimers disease early in life should give the impetus to change lifestyle. “An enemy known is better than one unknown!”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
MICROWAVED FOOD (UN)HEALTHY ?
It had been thought for 20 years that microwaved food may not have all its nutrients. According to most studies, however, the reality is quite the opposite. Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature.
Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients.
Some scientists feel that much of the benefit of food is due to vibration of energy. Microwaves cause isomerization which is the rearrangement of electrons which morphs into another form such an amino acid going from L. lysine to D lysine. Living tissue recognizes the L. but not the D form. This is much more in theory than proof.
However, microwaved heating of banked blood has reportedly caused at least one death. Also, people who were given microwaved foods were shown to have depletion of some vital enzymes. It may be years before the truth is known. But for now I use the microwave mostly to heat water and not food. I am still moderately concerned about the devitalization of the micronutrients in food. Study after study has shown that the more any food is cooked by any method, the less nutrition it has "if it's not raw don’t eat it at all".
Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients.
Some scientists feel that much of the benefit of food is due to vibration of energy. Microwaves cause isomerization which is the rearrangement of electrons which morphs into another form such an amino acid going from L. lysine to D lysine. Living tissue recognizes the L. but not the D form. This is much more in theory than proof.
However, microwaved heating of banked blood has reportedly caused at least one death. Also, people who were given microwaved foods were shown to have depletion of some vital enzymes. It may be years before the truth is known. But for now I use the microwave mostly to heat water and not food. I am still moderately concerned about the devitalization of the micronutrients in food. Study after study has shown that the more any food is cooked by any method, the less nutrition it has "if it's not raw don’t eat it at all".
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