Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms – When My Lab Tests Are Normal?
By Datis Kharrazian, Morgan-James Publishing, 2010
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
If you are taking any thyroid medicine and reading this review, chances are you understand the basic pathway that stimulates the production of thyroid hormone:
By Datis Kharrazian, Morgan-James Publishing, 2010
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
If you are taking any thyroid medicine and reading this review, chances are you understand the basic pathway that stimulates the production of thyroid hormone:
HYPOTHALAMUS ➔ PITUITARY ➔ THYROID GLAND
So far, so good…but then what happens?
Health Article: Green Tea Changes Estrogen Metabolism and Breast Cancer Risk
By Case Adams, Naturopath, posted on greenmedinfo.com 03/09/2013
New research from the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows that the biochemicals in green tea change a women’s estrogen metabolism, revealing at least one of its mechanisms for reducing the risk of breast cancer.
The study comes from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, and was led by Dr. Barbara Fuhrman. The researchers tested the levels of urinary estrogens and metabolites among 181 healthy Japanese American women from California and Hawaii. Of the group, 72 of the women were postmenopausal. The remainder of the group was premenopausal.
By Case Adams, Naturopath, posted on greenmedinfo.com 03/09/2013
New research from the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows that the biochemicals in green tea change a women’s estrogen metabolism, revealing at least one of its mechanisms for reducing the risk of breast cancer.
The study comes from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, and was led by Dr. Barbara Fuhrman. The researchers tested the levels of urinary estrogens and metabolites among 181 healthy Japanese American women from California and Hawaii. Of the group, 72 of the women were postmenopausal. The remainder of the group was premenopausal.
The data was compiled using a combination of urinary testing along with personal interviews with each women. The woman’s intake of not only green tea, but black tea, coffee (decaffeinated or not) and soda (decaffeinated or not) was also queried and recorded and measured, and the results were adjusted with respect to caffeine consumption. Considerations such as soy consumption, body mass index, age and others were also made and adjusted.
The research found that those postmenopausal women who drank green tea daily had 20% less urinary estrone and 40% less urinary estradiol levels, when compared to those levels of women who drank green tea less than one time per week.
These estrogen levels followed their categorization with regard to the estrogen metabolism pathway involved. This allowed the researchers to determine that these urinary estrogen differences were related to their estrogen metabolism and their future risk of breast cancer.
The primary estrogen pathway connected with breast cancer is the 16-hydroxylated estrogens. As for the 16-hydroxylated estrogen pathway, both estradiol and estrone markers were 40% lower among those women who drank green tea at least one time daily compared to those women who drank less than one cup of green tea a week.
Levels of caffeine consumption did not change these dynamics among the women. And black tea consumption did not produce these decreases in estrogen metabolites.
Furthermore, estrogen levels of premenopausal women did not respond to green tea consumption. This did not surprise the researchers, as previous research has found that postmenopausal women respond differently to medications such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.
Interestingly, the research also found that the average urinary estrogen levels of the entire postmenopausal Japanese-American group was about half of the levels that were found in a recent study of postmenopausal women from New York who were primarily Caucasian. The researchers could not determine the reason for the difference – stating that it could be related to differences in diet, lifestyle factors or others.
While other studies have shown some differences in urinary estrogen levels and green tea drinking among women, this is the first study that analyzed a broad range of estrogen metabolites among peri- and postmenopausal women
Postmenopause follows one year after the stage of menopause, when a woman’s ovaries halt egg production. During this period, estrogen and progesterone production is reduced.
During this period a woman may experience symptoms related to lower levels of estrogen production. These include hot flashes, night sweating, insomnia, headaches, mood swings and other physical symptoms.
Many doctors recommend halting caffeine consumption during postmenopause, to help with menopause symptoms. This may run some conflict to green tea consumption, as a cup of green tea will typically contain about 20 milligrams of caffeine – as compared to about 30 milligrams in black tea and many sodas, and about 80 milligrams in a cup of coffee.
However, there are forms of green tea that contain less and even no caffeine. Gyokuro and Sencha Green teas will contain about half the caffeine content. The Joujicha green tea, the Genmaicha tea (mix of Bancha and Genmai – rice grain), and the Bancha green tea can contain up to ten times less caffeine than standard green teas.
In addition, there are now several decaffeinated green tea products available. The “Effervescence” decaffeination process, which uses water and carbon dioxide will retain over 90% of the green tea’s polyphenols. The other method, wherein ethyl acetate is used as a solvent, can lose as much as 70% of the green tea’s polyphenols during decaffeination.
And of course, black tea has the most caffeine, and does not provide the same medicinal benefits. Even though black tea is made from the same plant – Camellia sinensis – black teas are dried and oxidized under intense heat and/or sun, during which they lose much of their medicinal constituents.
These constituents include polyphenols such as epigallocatechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate. These catechins can comprise up to 30% of the dry weight of fresh tea leaves.. These catechins have been shown to inhibit tumors in laboratory studies. The NIH researchers suggested that these polyphenols were the reason for the change in the estrogen metabolites:
“As a rich source of phytochemicals that can interact with and regulate xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, green tea may modify metabolism or conjugation of estrogens and may thereby impact breast cancer risk.”
Another 2013 study from Italy’s University of Calabria found that epigallocatechin gallate specifically down-regulates a gene that stimulates cancer growth.
Other foods containing catechins, such as olives, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, grapes, apples, papayas, mangoes among many others, also have shown anti-cancer effects. Many herbal teas also contain catechins.
For additional research on Green Tea’s health benefits visit: Green Tea benefits.
For additional research on evidence-based, natural compounds with ant-breast cancer activity visit: natural Breast Cancer therapies
References
Fuhrman BJ, Pfeiffer RM, Wu AH, Xu X, Keefer LK, Veenstra TD, Ziegler RG. Green tea intake is associated with urinary estrogen profiles in
Japanese-American women. Nutr J. 2013 Feb 15;12(1):25.
Yang CS, Wang X, Lu G, Picinich SC: Cancer prevention by tea: animal studies, molecular mechanisms and human relevance. Nat Rev Cancer2009, 9(6):429–439.
Case Adams is a California Naturopath and holds a Ph.D. in Natural Health Sciences. His focus is upon science-based natural health solutions. He is the author of 20 books on natural health and numerous print and internet articles. His work can be found at http://www.caseadams.com.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff. This article is provided for informational use only.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Cambridge Naturals or its staff. This article is provided for informational use only.
Book Review: The Breakthrough Depression Solution
James Greenblatt, a local psychiatrist practicing in Waltham, MA gives special attention to the role nutrition can play in mental illness.
He works with both adults and children and, though fully prepared to prescribe medications when useful, he also points to the statistics showing the limited effectiveness of such drugs. In the last twenty years the number of Americans on psychiatric disability leave has trebled. What’s wrong with this picture?
By James Greenblatt, MD
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
A Personalized 9-Step Method for Beating the Physical Causes of Your Depression
James Greenblatt, a local psychiatrist practicing in Waltham, MA gives special attention to the role nutrition can play in mental illness.
He works with both adults and children and, though fully prepared to prescribe medications when useful, he also points to the statistics showing the limited effectiveness of such drugs. In the last twenty years the number of Americans on psychiatric disability leave has trebled. What’s wrong with this picture?
Book Review: AN EPIDEMIC OF ABSENCE
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
Moises Velasquez-Manoff is a journalist – a science writer primarily — who has taken on the job of translating an ambitious scope of research for the non-medical reader. The central thesis is that we evolved with parasites, mostly insects and worms, and without their stimulus our immune systems get restless and look for targets that often end up being some part of ourselves. This sort of ‘friendly fire’ becomes allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases. It’s important to point out that the many examples in the book are based on correlation, not causality. The correlations are indeed compelling, however. One, for instance, is that mothers who live on farms with animals have children with less asthma and fewer allergies. Another correlation links the end of malaria in Sardinia to a rapid rise in two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes. This book is dense with such examples.
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
Moises Velasquez-Manoff is a journalist – a science writer primarily — who has taken on the job of translating an ambitious scope of research for the non-medical reader. The central thesis is that we evolved with parasites, mostly insects and worms, and without their stimulus our immune systems get restless and look for targets that often end up being some part of ourselves. This sort of ‘friendly fire’ becomes allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases. It’s important to point out that the many examples in the book are based on correlation, not causality. The correlations are indeed compelling, however. One, for instance, is that mothers who live on farms with animals have children with less asthma and fewer allergies. Another correlation links the end of malaria in Sardinia to a rapid rise in two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes. This book is dense with such examples.
It is a book built on the premise that such immune-mediated disorders “arise in direct proportion to affluence and Westernization.” We no longer live in the kind of environment that we – including our immune systems – evolved to expect. And that leads to problems: allergies, asthma, autism and autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and nearly a hundred others. Why is this? The author, a sufferer from both allergy and alopecia (his immune system attacked his hair follicles when he was a boy so he has been bald since then) has done a very extensive search for the answer to that question and believes that “…much of our immune system evolved precisely to manage the problem of parasites.” That being so, those parasites aren’t really dispensable and are, in fact, even symbiotic, what he calls ‘mutualists.’ They need us and we need them. The result is a delicate balance for the immune system in which force to control the invaders must not become so much force as to destroy the self. He even claims that “parasites more than any other factor (diet, climate) have influenced our evolution.” In short, we are their creatures, not the other way around!
Click here to download the full review.
Book Review: COULD IT BE B-12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
By Sally M. Pacholok & Jeffrey Stuart
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
“Epidemic of Misdiagnoses,” the subtitle of this book, sounds like hyperbole. But to some of those who have been misdiagnosed it may, on the contrary, seem tame, especially if psychotic or demented or paralyzed from nerve damage because the lack of vitamin B-12 was not noticed by their doctors. Similarly, wouldn’t a parent whose aloof and silent toddler is labeled autistic – instead of being cured with B-12 injections — find that subtitle reasonable? So think the authors of this book.
Vitamin B-12 is essential to the human diet because we don’t manufacture it but we need it. B-12 is functionally diverse, playing a significant role in the nervous, cardio-vascular, gastric, immune and mental systems.
Who is at risk for B-12 deficiency? Vegans and those who avoid animal products; people who take pills to suppress stomach acid; people with intestinal or other problems that interfere with B-12 absorption; and people whose dentist has used laughing gas instead of Novocain. There are also some with a genetic anomaly that gives them pernicious anemia, the name of the blood disorder, which results from B-12 deficiency.
Book Review: Perfect Health Diet: Four Steps to Renewed health, Youthful Vitality, and Long Life
By Paul & Shou-Ching Jaminet, YinYang Press, 2010
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
If you’re interested in the so-called “paleo diet” or if you’re interested in knowing why we might benefit from eating as our distant ancestors did, those ancestors who evolved before the development of agriculture, then this book will interest you. Even if you feel perfectly healthy on another regime, you might well be interested in reading in these pages about ways to combat disease through diet.
By Paul & Shou-Ching Jaminet, YinYang Press, 2010
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
If you’re interested in the so-called “paleo diet” or if you’re interested in knowing why we might benefit from eating as our distant ancestors did, those ancestors who evolved before the development of agriculture, then this book will interest you. Even if you feel perfectly healthy on another regime, you might well be interested in reading in these pages about ways to combat disease through diet.
Book Review: Minimally Invasive Dentistry – How to Reverse Tooth Decay
Cure Tooth Decay By Ramiel Nagel
Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye By Ellie Phillips, DDS
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye and Cure Tooth Decay are two books singing in the same choir but not quite harmonizing.
Both authors believe in minimally invasive dentistry, relying on prevention and on the re-mineralization of teeth. Re-mineralization is the good news! The self-repair of teeth is an alternative to drilling and filling. The authors disagree, however, on several topics: the use of fluoride, the use of xylitol, and whether bacteria cause tooth decay.
Book Review: The Acid Alkaline Balance Diet
By Felicia Drury Kliment
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
A Yin-Yang-pH Approach to Health and Disease
If you’ve heard that the acid/alkaline balance in your body might be important for your health and want to know why, this is a good book to read. The presentation is comprehensible, clear but not overly technical for the lay reader. Handy summaries of the author’s recommendations for each ailment make this a useful reference book as well as an explanatory text.
Book Review: The Trophoblast and the Origins of Cancer: One Solution to the Medical Enigma of Our Time
By Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, and Linda Isaacs, MD
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
An Intriguing Approach to Cancer and How to Treat It
Where does cancer come from? What’s going on in our bodies when we get cancer? This intriguing, seriously researched book offers a plausible – but unorthodox – explanation for at least the 90% of cancers. These are the tumors that initiate in the epithelium, the lining of our organs and glands. Researchers have long puzzled over why healthy somatic cells should, or could, become malignant. Drs. Gonzalez and Isaacs propose that it is stem cells that go awry, stem cells that in being pluripotential, or “invested with full power,” can become anything.
Book Review: Food and Mood for 2009
Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
Let’s face it— we’d all like to eat something to brighten our mood…..and it doesn’t at all brighten our mood to hear that we should cut out sugar, though many in the field of nutrition agree that added sugar in any consistent quantity is ultimately a depressant.
Sugar, when first consumed, picks you right up, as digestion turns dietary sugar into blood glucose, which fires the brain. But then the pancreas responds with insulin to bring the blood glucose into healthy bounds, whereupon your mood droops – and you get a little fatter into the bargain. In fact, too much sugar is rather like an economic bubble. It feels great at first but “Buyer, beware!”