YourHealthMatters

Will You Take the H1N1 Vaccine?

The public media campaign is certainly ramping up to get every person immunized against H1N1 rapidly this fall. The number of articles in the media describing possible dire consequences of H1N1 infection is mounting.

BUT - consider this - 10 million people die worldwide yearly from cigarette smoking. Of this staggering number 440,000 die every year in the US. Does anyone mount a big campaign to outlaw cigarettes altogether? Of course not. Does government spend as much money on trying to stop cigarette sales as on the campaign to get us immunized against H1N1? I doubt it. Of course there is the matter of tax revenues from cigarettes sales to consider.

The current projected deaths from swine flu this year in the US is now estimated at 90,000 if we don't act fast. And estimated cases of swine flu in this country are forecast to be up to 120 million (up from 40 million projected just a few weeks ago)

This recent article in Time presents some interesting aspects of the testing and preparation of the vaccine. It should be available in mid-October. I am already seeing cases of flu every week and have been all summer. The people are recovering quickly with Tamiflu and so far I have not seen other family members get sick soon after the patients I have seen. This suggests so far the H1N1 is mild and does not spread easily in a family. However, stopping the spread of the virus, as mentioned in the Time article is paramount for everyone's safety.

You should also read this recent article posted on MSNBC for some opposite views to the Time article.

And this article in the Washington Post provides some more information.

H1N1 immunization will likely require two shots spaced three weeks apart and immunity may take 6-8 weeks after the second shot. Do the math and figure out when this immunization should be protecting us from H1N1 if you get the shots starting in late October.

These articles do not mention Guillain-Barre syndrome, which did occur in a few people after the swine flu shots in 1976.  Do you know what Guillain-Barre syndrome is? The FDA claims about 25 cases for every 100,000 shots given occurred in 1976. Again if we immunize 120 million people, how many might develop GBS?

The World Health Organization is now calling for worldwide immunization and even saying the H1N1 vaccination program should be made mandatory. They also advocate enforcing quarantines by the military if necessary. Four countries in Europe have already passed laws in accordance with the WHO mandate. The Public Health Departments are supposed to provide plans to us on what to do if an outbreak occurs in a school or other businesses.

drBob

For My Patients - Advance Holiday Notice

Lynda and I will be away on a short holiday from noon on Thursday Sept. 10 until Sept. 20. The office re-opens on Monday Sept. 21. The office staff will be here daily while we are away except on Friday, Sept. 18.

Please check refill dates on your prescriptions before we leave. Thanks

drBob

How Dangerous Will H1N1 Be ?

Right after I wrote about ways to reduce your risk of the H1N1 flu comes an article from Newsweek entitled "Will You Die From the Swine Flu?" This article is a MUST-READ for all of us.

It can be found here. The article clearly puts into perspective the possible death rate compared to what FDA wants us to believe and then gives the death rates from cancer, heart disease,etc.

The last line is important - "And while it’s always good sense to wash your hands and not cough on strangers, there’s no need to break out the protective masks and quarantine kit quite yet. Instead, hit the gym, eat some fiber, and wear your seat belt." 

To which I add - read my previous post and follow its advice too.

drBob

Can We Prevent the Flu?

If you search the Web on this topic you will find many products and recommendations to help strengthen your immune system and/or prevent the flu. With few exceptions, there is little or no research on how to prevent the flu aside from frequent hand-washing and avoiding crowds where the flu virus could be prevalent.
A recent article posted by Dr. Mercola on his website does give some suggestions I like -
1. Recent research showed children given a probiotic supplement daily had fewer colds, missed fewer school days and needed fewer antibiotics. The probiotics were given twice daily for 6 months. which is similar to the flu season we are in. Good bacteria in your gut (probiotics), strengthen your immune system, 80% of which lines the lining of your gut and so sees invaders early on. The probiotic I recommend for older children and adults is Jarrodophilus EPS.

2. Get your Vitamin D tested and take supplements to raise it to appropriate levels. The people with lowest Vitamin D levels report significantly more colds and flu in recent research which has been duplicated more than once. More than one study has also shown that vitamin D deficiency is a major epidemic in the US and Canada. 70% of children are deficient and 77% of adults have been shown to have less than 30 ng/ml vitamin D in their blood. The optimal level for adults is 55 ng/ml.

3. Avoid or greatly reduce sugar intake for two reasons. First, studies have shown that school children taking in ONE teaspoon of sugar decrease their immune strength by 50% for 5 hours!. Guess how many teaspoons of sugar are in a can of soda?? Second, all bacteria and viruses feed on sugar.

4. Get enough rest- we need regular and long enough sleep to keep our immune system at optimal vigilance and strength.

5. Manage your stress levels. In this economy with so many changes coming we all have increased stress to cope with potentially. I have recommended Rhodiola for years to people for helping respond to stress better. Rhodiola seems to make many parts of your system function better, including all the neurotransmitters that create your moods. It also affects the immune system in a positive way and helps balance other hormones also. It is quite safe for longterm use. The best book detailing all the research findings on this amazing herb is "The Rhodiola Revolution" which you can purchase here.

Another way to manage stress is learn relaxation techniques by regular use of tapes to help you learn this technique. My favorite source for relaxation exercises is Dr. Emmett Miller,MD. I have recommended his 10 Minute Stress Manager for many years to people and use it myself. With regular use it really helps reduce our stress responses, relax us, and likely helps us keep all our system, including our immune system at peak performance levels.

You can find all his products including more tapes and MP3 downloads for stress management here. Then click on the left hand column over  "Complete List of Products" and scroll through the list. You can order each product as either a CD or a downloadable MP3 file.

6. Dr. Mercola did not address ways to strengthen your immune system with supplements, possibly because good evidence on using these supplements to reduce your risk of flu is lacking. If I were to pick (based on my own experience) two supplements that strengthen immune strength and response, I'd pick Russian Choice Immune and Immune Protect, both which I can obtain for interested patients of mine.

drBob

Pillar# 7 - Restore Healthy Fat Cell Signaling

When we eat too many carbs our insulin will increase production of triglycerides when it can't get all the sugars into our cells. This is the end result of insulin resistance which many of us have, and all adult diabetics and pre-diabetics have. The triglycerides are stored in our fat cells which then swell and we get fatter.

Even though we may try to diet by eating less, take supplements and follow other weight loss practices, often we fail to lose weight. The problem likely is in our fat cells and the signaling system they have with our brain. Fat cells (adipocytes) secrete three hormone signals that the brain can interpret to determine how much fat we have stored. When working properly these three - leptin, adiponectin, and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase - will rise with increasing fat and the brain will respond appropriately to prevent us from making more fat.

Leptin is supposed to signal the brain when enough food has been consumed and shuts down appetite. It then signals the fat cells holding all those triglycerides stores to burn off the fat. But the leptin receptors on cells become resistant to leptin just as the insulin receptors become resistant to insulin. This happens when we eat too many pro-inflammatory foods on a daily basis. Dr. Galland published "The Fat Resistance Diet" a few years ago and it contains the foods that turn off this inflammatory response and increase leptin sensitivity. I have recommended this diet to many people and seen weight loss occur when they follow it. It is easy to follow, based on very healthy recipes that are easy to prepare and the tastes are awesome! I was able to purchase every food and spice in this diet right here in Liberal, KS. I highly suggest you purchase this book and follow it when you are on a weight loss program. It can also help any inflammaory disease such as arthritis, asthma, allergy and polycystic ovary syndrome. Sugar craving is markedly reduced on this diet. The new supplement, Irvingia gabonensis, also improves leptin receptor sensitivity on fat cells in addition to this diet.

Adiponectin is increased when you have more fat cells and actually helps protect your arteries from plaque damage and the increased adiponectin also improver insulin sensitivity. Irvinigia gabonensis increases adiponectin levels in the blood.

Glycerol-3-phopsphate dehydrogenase (G3PD) increases the conversion of blood sugar into stored triglycerides and must be decreased in amount and activity to slow your building of fat. This enzyme is inhibited by Irvingia.

These three hormones must be addressed in any weight reduction program you begin. I now have in the office a new supplement containing Irvingia gabonensis. In a double-blind study using this Irvingia gabonensis, over 6 months use with no dietary restriction, resulted in an average weight loss of 24 pounds in the participants.

drBob

The Many Faces of CoQ-10

Coenzyme Q-10 or CoQ-10 as it is referred to, has been available as a supplement for many years. I remember first using it with a patient with severe heart disease in Canada many years ago and how it improved her angina amazed me.
Since then there have a number of different formulations released and you should know the differences before starting it. I would recommend most adults use this supplement.
First the cheapest form of CoQ-10 is available as a fat-soluble supplement. This must be taken with fat to absorb and even then it is not well absorbed.
Second came Hydrosoluble CoQ-10®. This form was made water soluble and could be taken without fat. Blood levels were better than with the original fat soluble form. Now we have Citrus Solu-Q which uses a propietary delivery system to achieve hight blood levels than Hydrosoluble CoQ-10. This form contains 100 mg ubiquinone per capsule.
Lately a new form has arrived from Japan, the world's largest manufacturer of CoQ-10. This form is the actual reduced form known as ubiquinol. The other two forms noted above, are both in the oxidized form known as ubiquinone. They must be reduced back to the active form in the body before they can be used. Vitamin E can help with this change by the way. One source of this is the supplement CoQH-CF® which contains 100 mg of ubiquinol per capsule.
Ubiquinol has been shown to achieve 8 times higher levels in the blood than the original fat soluble form. Thus less dose to achieve higher concentration in the body equals less cost and yet more effect.

There are many places in the body where CoQ-10 has a role. At a cellular level is it essential for the so-called electron transport system to make energy for you. Since CoQ-10 is made in the liver by the same enzyme chain that also produces cholesterol, its production can be markedly reduced by the statin drugs such as Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor. I suggest anyone taking these drugs add a CoQ-10 supplement to their daily regimen of supplements.

It has been also been shown to help in the following situations:

Reduce growth of breast cancer
Protect the heart from the toxic effects of the chemotherapy agent doxorubicin
Strengthen the heart in cardiomyopathy - good research to support this
Reduce congestive heart failure - if dilated heart of present
Treat pulmonary hypertension - excellent results in my experience
Strengthen the immune system
Help with treating hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes
Help strengthen gums and treat gingivitis - very important for oral health
Increase sperm motility leading to enhanced fertility
May be used as part of the treatment for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
Reduce damage from stroke
Boost athletic performance
Enhance physical activity in people with fatigue syndromes
Improve exercise tolerance in individuals with muscular dystrophy
Improve symptoms of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears
Be beneficial in cosmetics for healthy skin
Delay the aging process and increase longevity
Helpful in cerebellar ataxia

You can see why I recommend all adults use CoQ-10 every day as a supplement.

drBob

Change the Channel on Pain

Many of my patients suffer from chronic pain of one kind or another, headache, backache, arthritis and injuries. There are many ways to help improve your pain if you are suffering.

First understand there are three components to pain. First there is the damaged physical part in your body that produces pain signals that go to the brain. Second, there is the perception of pain produced in your brain in the area responsible for feeling pain. Third, there is the emotional response you may have to pain. All of these areas need attention for best pain relief, especially if you have chronic pain.

It has been shown that chronic pain and chronic depression are like a double-sided mirror, one goes with the other. Often forgotten is this connection. People with chronic pain often have chronic depression because of the pain. Failing to acknowledge the depression and have it treated can intensify the pain. Managing the pain better can improve the depression also.

We have many drugs available for pain treatment. They come in two basic types. For short-lived acute injury pain we have short-acting drugs that all wear off in under 4 hours. As you take them for longer and longer periods, their effective period shortens to as little as a couple of hours. This is because the liver breaks down most drugs you take and after taking the same drug for a long enough time, the liver does this breakdown faster and faster. Some pains, especially migraine and muscle spasm-related pain will also respond often to acupuncture which I have used for 35 years in my practice.

For chronic pain that is not going to cease we have long-acting pain pills, virtually all based on narcotics. These drugs are supposed to last 12 or 24 hours and usually do when you first use them. As time goes on however the liver breakdown speeds up until they may last only 8 hours.

The brain has a very important role in pain perception and the emotional reaction to pain. There are some drugs that modify the pain perception of nerve-related pain such as Neurontin® and Lyrica®. There are many drugs that modify your emotions and may improve your chronic pain perception. Drugs such as amitryptiline, Effexor®, and Cymbalta® can help your emotional reactions to pain. The last two are even FDA-approved to be used for nerve pain from post-herpetic neuralgia and diabetic neuropathy.

To change your brain's response to pain you can use taped exercises that teach your brain a different response. These should be listened to daily with headphones for best results and never while driving. Some of the best tapes of this type have been produced by Dr. Emmett Miller, MD. They are available for purchase both as CD's and MP3 files which can be directly downloaded from his site. Here are my favorite titles he has produced for different types of pain.

Change the Channel on Pain

Headache Relief

Healing Your Back

Escape From Depression

These can all be found at his site by clicking here. In the left hand column then click on "All Products" and you will see a complete list of all his CDs, DVDs, and MP3 downloads. I highly recommend all his products and have used them with myself and with patients for over 25 years.

drBob

Pillar # 6 - Restore Resting Energy Expenditure Rate

Wouldn't it great if we couldn't just sit around and burn fat? But we can't without help. One of the important considerations in weight reduction is how to increase our resting fat burn. There have been countless supplements sold as thermogenic, meaning they increase the metabolic rate of the body tissue. Most don't work.

A number of natural agents have shown the ability to increase resting metabolic rate. Fucoxanthin and pomegranate oil are two. Others include green tea extract when taken in large doses, the fish oils DHA and EPA, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and ginger extracts. Virgin coconut oil contains oils that also increase metabolic rate when consumed daily. These various agents should be tried to see if they help you increase your metabolism. Although there is evidence they work, they do not work well unless you follow the other steps in this series.

Of course, muscle building resistance training also provides an increase in metabolic rate. There is controversy about whether this increased metabolism lasts after the exercise is finished. Most importantly if you eat soon after exercise, which many people do, those calories may quickly make fat to replace what you just burned off. It may take 30 minutes to burn off 400 calories, but only a few minutes to consume this in fast food or pop.

My favorite exercise system for burning fat reliably with short periods of daily interval training is still Dr. Sear's PACE system which you can read about here and purchase as an eBook or a DVD.

drBob

PS - 4 pillars to go before I put this all together and introduce a plan based on these principles. Stay tuned....

Who Will Get the Swine Flu (H1N1) vaccine first?

With school set to open here very soon, it's clear the H1N1 vaccine will not be available soon enough. In fact deciding who gets the shot first  will have to be done. And of course there is still the usual flu shot for the other possible flu viruses we may get this year so you can look forward to two shots this year instead of one. The H1N1 vaccine should be available by October, the other flu shot will be here in mid-September. "The other flu shot" will not protect against swine flu (H1N1)."Safety" testing of the H1N1 vaccine has just started. As is other years there will a fee for "the other flu shot" The government has bought all the H1N1 doses and will be distributing to the states as needed. This shot may be free. In fact Wal-Mart has announced they will giving out this shot.

Here are two links to MSNBC stories about the problem with deciding who should first be given H1N1 vaccine.

Remember in your decision about this that Tamiflu still will kill the H1N1. I am prescribing it at least once per week this summer, unlike any other year previous. Remember frequent hand-washing prevents skin transmission of these viruses. Know the early signs of the flu and don't hesitate to seek medical help if you or a family member show flu signs and symptoms.

drBob

Only in America - a "Kill Granny" Campaign

President Obama has sparked a right-wing attack on his health care reform ideas by talking about living wills and right -to-die in his legislation proposals. He is suggesting Medicare actually pay for doctors to talk to seniors once every 5 years about preparing their living will and how they want to die on a VOLUNTARY basis. This has been jumped on by his opponents who are claiming he wants to kill off seniors, deny them care at the end of life,etc. Makes for good media content, doesn't it?

The MSNBC link to this idea is here.

Do I believe the government is out to kill Granny - absolutely not. Do I think talking about living wills and end-of-life issues is important? Absolutely yes, although once every 5 years is the real joke in all this. Don't people change their minds about such issues more often than that? Consider my own situation when I had to have neurosurgery to remove a cerebral aneurysm in 2008. I was not yet a "Grampa" and no doctor talked to me about living wills or end-of-life. Instead I went straight to my lawyer and had a living will prepared and much more importantly I had a Power of Attorney for Health Care prepared and signed to give my wonderful wife control of health decisions if I was unable to because of the surgery. This proved to be the most important preparation in my case. She spotted changes in me  in the first week that signaled problems and alerted the surgical staff who then quickly paid attention because she had Power of Attorney status. She and the neurosurgeon both were life-savers for me.
Again this whole media blitz misses the point. We should all have living wills and Power of Attorney documents prepared long before we reach "Granny" or "Grampa" age and why shouldn't this be a medical topic paid for whenever we want to talk about it to our doctor?
Doesn't this also prove that some opponents of health care reform will do or say anything to get media attention, even when they are totally wrong about the intent of the changes?
Doesn't this also prove that many bureaucrats know almost nothing about how health care reform should be done but they know how to get on the front page of their local paper?

Would I recommend all adults prepare and sign their living wills and Power of Attorney for Health Care long before they reach "Granny" or "Grampa" age - absolutely yes. Don't wait for government to tell you when to do this. You can never get these documents prepared too soon.

drBob

PS - if I sound a bit cynical in this post, I am. I worked 25 years for a terrible socialized health system in Ontario and 12 years here for a system that is too costly,  and doesn't work either.