PODCAST #28 9-1-08

WELCOME TO THE 28th EDITION OF THE HEALTH AND HAPPINESS PODCAST

Beta carotene: Long term vitamin users are healthier: Dangers of CAT scans.

   Harvard researchers follower more than 4,000 men who were given either 50mg. of beta carotene every other day or a placebo pill. After an average of 18 years, the men who took beta carotene demonstrated significantly higher scores on several cognitive tests compared with the placebo group.
This study also included a short-term group that was followed for an average of one year. The researchers found no difference in cognitive tests results for both groups after this shorter period of time, highlighting the importance of long term use of beta carotene for cognitive protection.
   Note: It also shows you should continue your vitamin-herb intake for your long lifetime.
   Note2: This study shows that vitamin studies are different then drug studies. All drugs studies show results in a year if they are going to show results. Lately the drug companies in order to discredit vitamins are doing short term vitamin studies with insufficient dosage. That is why the vitamin studies in the last 8 years show that vitamins don’t work

   Quit the clean plate club. Don’t eat every thing you are served. When eating out take half home. At home, take smaller portions. Excess food is poison!

   According to a report in Nutritional Journal, long term multiple dietary supplement users were less likely to have elevated blood pressure and diabetes compared with both non-users and those who supplemented with a vitamin-mineral alone.
   Researchers obtained information from 278 individuals regarding long-term multiple supplement use patterns, health, and nutrition through questionnaires and physical examination. Using a cross sectional study design, and adjusting for potential confounding factors, they compared this information with data obtained from nearly 800 non-users and single multivitamin-mineral supplement users.

   Consumers of multiple supplements were less likely to have hypertension and diabetes and more likely to have low levels of chronic disease related biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein which is associated with chronic inflammation, and homocysteine both of which have been associated with elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Multiple supplement users were also more likely to have optimal levels of triglycerides and beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL).

   One of the most important advances in modern medicine is the CAT or CT scan. Used in the emergency room it can quickly diagnosis information about a patient’s coronary blood flow that can help save a patient’s life.

   Unfortunately CT scans produce a large amount of radiation, often equivalent 750 chest X-rays. The radiation exposure from CT scans can lead to DNA breaks that may foster the initiation of cancer. With one or more CT scans, it is possible to accrue the amount of radiation exposure experienced by survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who later succumbed to cancer.

   While CAT scans have an important role in diagnosing symptomatic patients, they should not be used as screening tools for healthy individuals. There are no demonstrated benefits of screening asymptomatic patients, while the risks of radiation exposure are well documented.

   Arch. Inter. Med. 2007 showed that a brief 30-minute catnap at least 3 days a week can lower your risk of a heart attack by over 30%.

That’s all for PODCAST #28. I hope you found it interesting and informative. The next PODCAST will be the week of Oct. 1

IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED ON THE HEALTH AND HAPPINESS PODCAST OUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IS
health@lencolabs.com.

For more information on this subject and other subjects go to www.lencolabs.com, thank you for listening to the health and happiness podcast with--Leonard Austin