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Monday, February 11, 2013

Surprising Health Hazards Associated with All-Fruit Diet


By Dr. Mercola
Fruits are loaded with healthy antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which is why eating them in moderation is fine for healthy people. However, many benefit by restricting their fruit intake.
Fructose, a simple sugar found in fruit, is preferentially metabolized to fat in your liver, and eating large amounts has been linked to negative metabolic and endocrine effects. So eating very large amounts – or worse, nothing but fruit – can logically increase your risk of a number of health conditions, from insulin and leptin resistance to cancer.
For example, research has shown that pancreatic tumor cells use fructose, specifically, to divide and proliferate, thus speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer.
As a general health rule, I recommend limiting your total fructose consumption to about 25 grams per day on average, and that includes fructose from fruit. However, if you have insulin resistance, heart disease, cancer or high blood pressure, you may want to cut it down to 15 grams or less.

Kutcher Lands in Hospital After Adopting All-Fruit Diet

Actor Ashton Kutcher recently disclosed health issues brought on by following an all-fruit diet,1 adopted in preparation to play the character of Steve Jobs in the upcoming film “Jobs,” due out April 19.
Jobs had adopted an all-fruit diet in his younger days, and even the brand he co-founded – Apple – was a nod to his dietary obsession. Kutcher recently told USA Today:2
"First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues. I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying ... considering everything."
The “everything” is likely a reference to pancreatic cancer – the disease that killedSteve Jobs on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56. Even though Jobs consumed a fruitarian diet years before he contracted his pancreatic cancer, there could be some relationship.

Why Large Amounts of Fruit May Not Be Healthy

While people are becoming increasingly aware of the connection between excessive fructose consumption and obesity and chronic disease, many forget that fruit is a source of fructose as well. Many tend to believe that as long as fruit is natural and raw they can have unlimited quantities without experiencing any adverse metabolic effects.
Eliminating processed foods and soda – which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup – and replacing it with an all-fruit diet is likely not going to improve your health. As Marisa Moore, registered dietician and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told CNN Health:3
“When you only eat fruit, you're excluding a lot of valuable nutrients from your diet. Protein is one of the main ones that comes to mind... Protein acts like a building block for your muscles and skin and organs. The same goes for fats. Although they often get demonized, fats play an important role in our hormone levels and brain function.”
It’s important to consider ALL sources of fructose, and to try to limit your total consumption if you want to optimize your health. Granted, fruits contain beneficial dietary fibers, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which is why they’re an important part of a healthy diet – as long as they’re eaten in moderation. I believe most people would benefit by replacing the fruit with 50-70 percent of their calories from healthy fat. You also need moderate amounts of high quality protein.
An all-fruit diet is essentially an all-fructose diet, and this is bound to spell disaster for your health, at least long-term. Studies have shown that fructose can induce:
Impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, and diabetesElevated triglyceridesAbdominal obesity
Leptin resistanceInflammation and oxidative stressEndothelial dysfunction
Microvascular diseaseHyperuricemiaRenal (kidney) damage
Fatty liver diseaseHigh blood pressureMetabolic syndrome

The Fructose Pancreatic Cancer Connection

Pancreatic cancer is one of the faster spreading cancers; only about four percent of patients can expect to survive five years after their diagnosis. Each year, about 44,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S., and 37,000 people die of the disease. Cancer of the pancreas has a terrible prognosis--half of all patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer die within 10 months of the diagnosis; half of those in whom it has metastasized die within six months.
Your pancreas contains two types of glands: exocrine glands that produce enzymes that break down fats and proteins, and endocrine glands that make hormones like insulin that regulate sugar in your blood.
Steve Jobs died of tumors originating in the endocrine glands, which are among the rarer forms of pancreatic cancer. His cancer was detected during an abdominal scan in October 2003, as Fortune magazine reported in a 2008 cover story.4 He reportedly spent nine months on "alternative therapies," including what Fortune called "a special diet,” although there was no mention of what type of diet this might have been. In 2004, after the cancer had spread, Jobs opted for surgery. Unfortunately, it did not cure him.
Five years later, he underwent an experimental procedure called peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), which involves delivering radiation to tumor cells by attaching one of two radioactive isotopes to a drug that mimics somatostatin, the hormone that regulates the entire endocrine system and the secretion of other hormones. This treatment also failed. After having a liver transplant, Jobs succumbed to the cancer in 2011.
Interestingly enough, research published in 20105 suggests fructose may have a particularly significant impact on pancreatic cancer.
Insulin production is one of your pancreas’ main functions, used by your body to process blood sugar, and, in the laboratory, insulin promotes the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. However, there’s more to it than that. The research in question showed that the way the different sugars are metabolized (using different metabolic pathways) is of MAJOR consequence when it comes to feeding pancreatic cancer cells and making them proliferate. According to the authors:
"Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different... These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation."
The study confirms the old adage that sugar feeds cancer – a finding that Dr. Warburg received a Nobel Prize for over 90 years ago. Tumor cells do thrive on glucose and do not possess the metabolic machinery to burn fat. However, the cells used fructosefor cell division, speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer. If this difference isn't of major consequence, then I don't know what is. Whether you're simply interested in preventing cancer, or have cancer and want to live longer, you ignore these facts at your own risk.
There’s reasonable cause to suspect that if your body maintains high levels of insulin, you increase the pancreatic cancer's ability to survive and grow. In fact, researchers now believe that up to a third of all types of cancers may be caused by diet and lifestyle. So if you want to prevent cancer, or want to treat cancer, it is imperative that you keep your insulin levels as low as possible.

Should You Eliminate Fruit from Your Diet?

Short answer, no, it wouldn’t be wise to eliminate fruit entirely. Fruit is definitely a source of fructose, and one that can harm your health if you eat it in vast quantities, but eating small amounts of whole fruits is fine if you are healthy.
In vegetables and fruits, the fructose is mixed in with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all of which help moderate the negative metabolic effects. However, if you suffer with any fructose-related health issues, such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity or cancer, you would be wise to limit your total fructose consumption to 15 grams of fructose per day. This includes fructose from ALL sources, including whole fruit.
If you are not insulin resistant, you may increase this to 25 grams of total fructose per day on average.
If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you'd consume about 15 grams per day. Today the average is 73 grams per day which is nearly 500 percent higher a dose and our bodies simply can't tolerate that type of biochemical abuse. So please, carefully add your fruits based on the following table to keep your total fructose below 15-25 grams per day, depending on your current health status.
FruitServing SizeGrams of Fructose
Limes1 medium0
Lemons1 medium0.6
Cranberries1 cup0.7
Passion fruit1 medium0.9
Prune1 medium1.2
Guava2 medium2.2
Date (Deglet Noor style)1 medium2.6
Cantaloupe1/8 of med. melon2.8
Raspberries1 cup3.0
Clementine1 medium3.4
Kiwifruit1 medium3.4
Blackberries1 cup3.5
Star fruit1 medium3.6
Cherries, sweet103.8
Strawberries1 cup3.8
Cherries, sour1 cup4.0
Pineapple1 slice (3.5" x .75")4.0
Grapefruit, pink or red1/2 medium4.3
 
FruitServing SizeGrams of Fructose
Boysenberries1 cup4.6
Tangerine/mandarin orange1 medium4.8
Nectarine1 medium5.4
Peach1 medium5.9
Orange (navel)1 medium6.1
Papaya1/2 medium6.3
Honeydew1/8 of med. melon6.7
Banana1 medium7.1
Blueberries1 cup7.4
Date (Medjool)1 medium7.7
Apple (composite)1 medium9.5
Persimmon1 medium10.6
Watermelon1/16 med. melon11.3
Pear1 medium11.8
Raisins1/4 cup12.3
Grapes, seedless (green or red)1 cup12.4
Mango1/2 medium16.2
Apricots, dried1 cup16.4
Figs, dried1 cup23.0

How to Determine Your Individual Susceptibility to Fructose Damage

As already stated, those who need to be careful about their fruit intake are people with high insulin levels. You can measure your fasting insulin level to find out for sure, but if you have any of the following problems it is highly likely you have insulin resistance syndrome:
  • Overweight
  • High Cholesterol
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Yeast Infections
Besides that, you can also use your uric acid levels as a marker for your susceptibility to fructose damage, as some people may be able to process fructose more efficiently than others. The higher your uric acid, the more sensitive you are to the effects of fructose. The safest range of uric acid appears to be between 3 and 5.5 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), and there appears to be a steady relationship between uric acid levels and blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, even down to the range of 3 to 4 mg/dl.
According to Dr. Richard Johnson, the ideal uric acid level is probably around 4 mg/dl for men and 3.5 mg/dl for women.
If you are one of those who believes that fruit is healthy no matter how much you eat, I would strongly encourage you to have your uric acid level checked to find out how sensitive you are to fructose. Eat the amount of fruit you feel is right for you for a few weeks and then check your uric acid level and see if your levels are healthy. If they are elevated you might try reducing the fruit to recommended levels and rechecking your uric acid level. Many who are overweight likely have uric acid levels well above 5.5. Some may even be closer to 10 or above. Measuring your uric acid levels is a very practical way to determine just how strict you need to be when it comes to your fructose – and fruit -- consumption.

Is there Such a Thing as an Ideal Diet for Everyone?

Nutritional requirements can vary wildly from one person to the next, which is why I’ve been a longtime proponent of eating in accordance with your nutritional type. For example, if you’re a protein type, fruits are generally not beneficial for you with the exception of coconut, which has a higher fat content that is beneficial for protein types. On the other hand, carbohydrate types tend to fare well with fruit and can safely consume moderate amounts. This is an important distinction, and everyone should try to eat primarily the specific fruits that are best for their unique biochemistry.
However, many find nutritional typing to be too complex. So to simplify matters, while still allowing for a fully personalized program, I recently updated and revised my Nutritional Plan. It consists of three levels, from beginners to advanced, and covers the basic requirements of a healthy diet.
Keep in mind that emerging evidence suggests your diet should be at least half healthy fat, and possibly as high as 70 percent. My personal diet is about 60-70 percent healthy fat, and both Paul Jaminet, PhD., author of Perfect Health Diet, and Dr. Ron Rosedale, M.D., an expert on treating diabetes through diet, agree that the ideal diet includes somewhere between 50-70 percent fat. It's important to understand that your body requires saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources (such as meat, dairy, certain oils, and tropical plants like coconut) for optimal functioning.
When you take this into account, it’s easy to see that an all-fruit diet could wreak absolute havoc with your health.
Keep in mind that frequent hunger may be a major clue that you're not eating correctly. Not only is it an indication that you're consuming the wrong types of food, but it's also a sign that you're likely consuming them in lopsided ratios for your individual biochemistry. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on carbs and feel ravenous, remember this is a sign that you haven't replaced them with sufficient amounts of fat. You do want to make sure you're adding the correct types of fat though, such as:
Olives and Olive oilCoconuts and coconut oilButter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw nuts, such as, almonds or pecansOrganic pastured egg yolksAvocados
Grass-fed meatsPalm oilUnheated organic nut oils

If You Seek Optimal Health, Pay Careful Attention to Your Insulin Levels

Three lifestyle issues keep popping up on the radar when you look at what’s contributing to pancreatic cancer: sugar intake, lack of exercise, and vitamin D deficiency. Obesity and physical inactivity makes your body less sensitive to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin. Diminished sensitivity to insulin leads to higher blood levels of insulin, which in turn can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer.
It’s a no-brainer that an all-fruit diet can seriously jeopardize your insulin sensitivity, thereby raising your risk of any number of health problems, including pancreatic problems. It’s simply FAR too much fructose for most people. I personally developed diabetes when I tried the "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" diet, which included eating large amounts of fruit for breakfast. So please, be careful of any diet that seems to extreme, and remember the human body NEEDS healthful fats and high quality protein for proper functioning.
Remember to listen to your body over the long term to guide you as to the best food selections. If your energy level deceases, you have a difficult time maintaining your ideal weight or are hungry all the time, there is a good chance that you have yet to find the optimal fuel for your body. As for fruits, use caution if you have any kind of insulin related health issues, as discussed above, and limit your total fructose consumption to 15-25 grams of fructose per day, depending on your health status.



About Dr Kevin Lau


Dr Kevin Lau DC is a Singapore chiropractor and the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.

By Dr. Mercola
Fruits are loaded with healthy antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which is why eating them in moderation is fine for healthy people. However, many benefit by restricting their fruit intake.
Fructose, a simple sugar found in fruit, is preferentially metabolized to fat in your liver, and eating large amounts has been linked to negative metabolic and endocrine effects. So eating very large amounts – or worse, nothing but fruit – can logically increase your risk of a number of health conditions, from insulin and leptin resistance to cancer.
For example, research has shown that pancreatic tumor cells use fructose, specifically, to divide and proliferate, thus speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer.
As a general health rule, I recommend limiting your total fructose consumption to about 25 grams per day on average, and that includes fructose from fruit. However, if you have insulin resistance, heart disease, cancer or high blood pressure, you may want to cut it down to 15 grams or less.

Kutcher Lands in Hospital After Adopting All-Fruit Diet

Actor Ashton Kutcher recently disclosed health issues brought on by following an all-fruit diet,1 adopted in preparation to play the character of Steve Jobs in the upcoming film “Jobs,” due out April 19.
Jobs had adopted an all-fruit diet in his younger days, and even the brand he co-founded – Apple – was a nod to his dietary obsession. Kutcher recently told USA Today:2
"First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues. I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying ... considering everything."
The “everything” is likely a reference to pancreatic cancer – the disease that killedSteve Jobs on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56. Even though Jobs consumed a fruitarian diet years before he contracted his pancreatic cancer, there could be some relationship.

Why Large Amounts of Fruit May Not Be Healthy

While people are becoming increasingly aware of the connection between excessive fructose consumption and obesity and chronic disease, many forget that fruit is a source of fructose as well. Many tend to believe that as long as fruit is natural and raw they can have unlimited quantities without experiencing any adverse metabolic effects.
Eliminating processed foods and soda – which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup – and replacing it with an all-fruit diet is likely not going to improve your health. As Marisa Moore, registered dietician and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told CNN Health:3
“When you only eat fruit, you're excluding a lot of valuable nutrients from your diet. Protein is one of the main ones that comes to mind... Protein acts like a building block for your muscles and skin and organs. The same goes for fats. Although they often get demonized, fats play an important role in our hormone levels and brain function.”
It’s important to consider ALL sources of fructose, and to try to limit your total consumption if you want to optimize your health. Granted, fruits contain beneficial dietary fibers, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which is why they’re an important part of a healthy diet – as long as they’re eaten in moderation. I believe most people would benefit by replacing the fruit with 50-70 percent of their calories from healthy fat. You also need moderate amounts of high quality protein.
An all-fruit diet is essentially an all-fructose diet, and this is bound to spell disaster for your health, at least long-term. Studies have shown that fructose can induce:
Impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, and diabetesElevated triglyceridesAbdominal obesity
Leptin resistanceInflammation and oxidative stressEndothelial dysfunction
Microvascular diseaseHyperuricemiaRenal (kidney) damage
Fatty liver diseaseHigh blood pressureMetabolic syndrome

The Fructose Pancreatic Cancer Connection

Pancreatic cancer is one of the faster spreading cancers; only about four percent of patients can expect to survive five years after their diagnosis. Each year, about 44,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S., and 37,000 people die of the disease. Cancer of the pancreas has a terrible prognosis--half of all patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer die within 10 months of the diagnosis; half of those in whom it has metastasized die within six months.
Your pancreas contains two types of glands: exocrine glands that produce enzymes that break down fats and proteins, and endocrine glands that make hormones like insulin that regulate sugar in your blood.
Steve Jobs died of tumors originating in the endocrine glands, which are among the rarer forms of pancreatic cancer. His cancer was detected during an abdominal scan in October 2003, as Fortune magazine reported in a 2008 cover story.4 He reportedly spent nine months on "alternative therapies," including what Fortune called "a special diet,” although there was no mention of what type of diet this might have been. In 2004, after the cancer had spread, Jobs opted for surgery. Unfortunately, it did not cure him.
Five years later, he underwent an experimental procedure called peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), which involves delivering radiation to tumor cells by attaching one of two radioactive isotopes to a drug that mimics somatostatin, the hormone that regulates the entire endocrine system and the secretion of other hormones. This treatment also failed. After having a liver transplant, Jobs succumbed to the cancer in 2011.
Interestingly enough, research published in 20105 suggests fructose may have a particularly significant impact on pancreatic cancer.
Insulin production is one of your pancreas’ main functions, used by your body to process blood sugar, and, in the laboratory, insulin promotes the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. However, there’s more to it than that. The research in question showed that the way the different sugars are metabolized (using different metabolic pathways) is of MAJOR consequence when it comes to feeding pancreatic cancer cells and making them proliferate. According to the authors:
"Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different... These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation."
The study confirms the old adage that sugar feeds cancer – a finding that Dr. Warburg received a Nobel Prize for over 90 years ago. Tumor cells do thrive on glucose and do not possess the metabolic machinery to burn fat. However, the cells used fructosefor cell division, speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer. If this difference isn't of major consequence, then I don't know what is. Whether you're simply interested in preventing cancer, or have cancer and want to live longer, you ignore these facts at your own risk.
There’s reasonable cause to suspect that if your body maintains high levels of insulin, you increase the pancreatic cancer's ability to survive and grow. In fact, researchers now believe that up to a third of all types of cancers may be caused by diet and lifestyle. So if you want to prevent cancer, or want to treat cancer, it is imperative that you keep your insulin levels as low as possible.

Should You Eliminate Fruit from Your Diet?

Short answer, no, it wouldn’t be wise to eliminate fruit entirely. Fruit is definitely a source of fructose, and one that can harm your health if you eat it in vast quantities, but eating small amounts of whole fruits is fine if you are healthy.
In vegetables and fruits, the fructose is mixed in with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all of which help moderate the negative metabolic effects. However, if you suffer with any fructose-related health issues, such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity or cancer, you would be wise to limit your total fructose consumption to 15 grams of fructose per day. This includes fructose from ALL sources, including whole fruit.
If you are not insulin resistant, you may increase this to 25 grams of total fructose per day on average.
If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you'd consume about 15 grams per day. Today the average is 73 grams per day which is nearly 500 percent higher a dose and our bodies simply can't tolerate that type of biochemical abuse. So please, carefully add your fruits based on the following table to keep your total fructose below 15-25 grams per day, depending on your current health status.
FruitServing SizeGrams of Fructose
Limes1 medium0
Lemons1 medium0.6
Cranberries1 cup0.7
Passion fruit1 medium0.9
Prune1 medium1.2
Guava2 medium2.2
Date (Deglet Noor style)1 medium2.6
Cantaloupe1/8 of med. melon2.8
Raspberries1 cup3.0
Clementine1 medium3.4
Kiwifruit1 medium3.4
Blackberries1 cup3.5
Star fruit1 medium3.6
Cherries, sweet103.8
Strawberries1 cup3.8
Cherries, sour1 cup4.0
Pineapple1 slice (3.5" x .75")4.0
Grapefruit, pink or red1/2 medium4.3
 
FruitServing SizeGrams of Fructose
Boysenberries1 cup4.6
Tangerine/mandarin orange1 medium4.8
Nectarine1 medium5.4
Peach1 medium5.9
Orange (navel)1 medium6.1
Papaya1/2 medium6.3
Honeydew1/8 of med. melon6.7
Banana1 medium7.1
Blueberries1 cup7.4
Date (Medjool)1 medium7.7
Apple (composite)1 medium9.5
Persimmon1 medium10.6
Watermelon1/16 med. melon11.3
Pear1 medium11.8
Raisins1/4 cup12.3
Grapes, seedless (green or red)1 cup12.4
Mango1/2 medium16.2
Apricots, dried1 cup16.4
Figs, dried1 cup23.0

How to Determine Your Individual Susceptibility to Fructose Damage

As already stated, those who need to be careful about their fruit intake are people with high insulin levels. You can measure your fasting insulin level to find out for sure, but if you have any of the following problems it is highly likely you have insulin resistance syndrome:
  • Overweight
  • High Cholesterol
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Yeast Infections
Besides that, you can also use your uric acid levels as a marker for your susceptibility to fructose damage, as some people may be able to process fructose more efficiently than others. The higher your uric acid, the more sensitive you are to the effects of fructose. The safest range of uric acid appears to be between 3 and 5.5 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), and there appears to be a steady relationship between uric acid levels and blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, even down to the range of 3 to 4 mg/dl.
According to Dr. Richard Johnson, the ideal uric acid level is probably around 4 mg/dl for men and 3.5 mg/dl for women.
If you are one of those who believes that fruit is healthy no matter how much you eat, I would strongly encourage you to have your uric acid level checked to find out how sensitive you are to fructose. Eat the amount of fruit you feel is right for you for a few weeks and then check your uric acid level and see if your levels are healthy. If they are elevated you might try reducing the fruit to recommended levels and rechecking your uric acid level. Many who are overweight likely have uric acid levels well above 5.5. Some may even be closer to 10 or above. Measuring your uric acid levels is a very practical way to determine just how strict you need to be when it comes to your fructose – and fruit -- consumption.

Is there Such a Thing as an Ideal Diet for Everyone?

Nutritional requirements can vary wildly from one person to the next, which is why I’ve been a longtime proponent of eating in accordance with your nutritional type. For example, if you’re a protein type, fruits are generally not beneficial for you with the exception of coconut, which has a higher fat content that is beneficial for protein types. On the other hand, carbohydrate types tend to fare well with fruit and can safely consume moderate amounts. This is an important distinction, and everyone should try to eat primarily the specific fruits that are best for their unique biochemistry.
However, many find nutritional typing to be too complex. So to simplify matters, while still allowing for a fully personalized program, I recently updated and revised my Nutritional Plan. It consists of three levels, from beginners to advanced, and covers the basic requirements of a healthy diet.
Keep in mind that emerging evidence suggests your diet should be at least half healthy fat, and possibly as high as 70 percent. My personal diet is about 60-70 percent healthy fat, and both Paul Jaminet, PhD., author of Perfect Health Diet, and Dr. Ron Rosedale, M.D., an expert on treating diabetes through diet, agree that the ideal diet includes somewhere between 50-70 percent fat. It's important to understand that your body requires saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources (such as meat, dairy, certain oils, and tropical plants like coconut) for optimal functioning.
When you take this into account, it’s easy to see that an all-fruit diet could wreak absolute havoc with your health.
Keep in mind that frequent hunger may be a major clue that you're not eating correctly. Not only is it an indication that you're consuming the wrong types of food, but it's also a sign that you're likely consuming them in lopsided ratios for your individual biochemistry. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on carbs and feel ravenous, remember this is a sign that you haven't replaced them with sufficient amounts of fat. You do want to make sure you're adding the correct types of fat though, such as:
Olives and Olive oilCoconuts and coconut oilButter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw nuts, such as, almonds or pecansOrganic pastured egg yolksAvocados
Grass-fed meatsPalm oilUnheated organic nut oils

If You Seek Optimal Health, Pay Careful Attention to Your Insulin Levels

Three lifestyle issues keep popping up on the radar when you look at what’s contributing to pancreatic cancer: sugar intake, lack of exercise, and vitamin D deficiency. Obesity and physical inactivity makes your body less sensitive to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin. Diminished sensitivity to insulin leads to higher blood levels of insulin, which in turn can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer.
It’s a no-brainer that an all-fruit diet can seriously jeopardize your insulin sensitivity, thereby raising your risk of any number of health problems, including pancreatic problems. It’s simply FAR too much fructose for most people. I personally developed diabetes when I tried the "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" diet, which included eating large amounts of fruit for breakfast. So please, be careful of any diet that seems to extreme, and remember the human body NEEDS healthful fats and high quality protein for proper functioning.
Remember to listen to your body over the long term to guide you as to the best food selections. If your energy level deceases, you have a difficult time maintaining your ideal weight or are hungry all the time, there is a good chance that you have yet to find the optimal fuel for your body. As for fruits, use caution if you have any kind of insulin related health issues, as discussed above, and limit your total fructose consumption to 15-25 grams of fructose per day, depending on your health status.



About Dr Kevin Lau


Dr Kevin Lau DC is a Singapore chiropractor and the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.
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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Ky. Rural Health Association seeks entries in reporting contest

The Kentucky Rural Health Association invites nominations for its annual rural health reporting awards, which aim to encourage more and better coverage of Kentucky’s rural health-related issues by the state’s newspapers.

The contest has daily and non-daily divisions, each with two categories: series and single story. Each of the four winners gets a plaque and a $100 prize at KRHA's summer conference. Articles must originally have been published during the preceding fiscal year. Entries will be accepted from staff writers, editors, freelance writers and others affiliated with a Kentucky-based newspaper, and from KRHA members and community members at large on the writers’ or newspapers’ behalf. Each entry should include three copies of the article as it originally appeared in the newspaper. The awards will be based on relevance to rural health, quality of reporting, impact on health care policy and new insights generated by the reporting.

For entry information, contact Ernie L. Scott of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health at 750 Morton Blvd., Hazard KY 41701, or 606.439.3557 ext. 83689, or ernie.scott@uky.edu.
The Kentucky Rural Health Association invites nominations for its annual rural health reporting awards, which aim to encourage more and better coverage of Kentucky’s rural health-related issues by the state’s newspapers.

The contest has daily and non-daily divisions, each with two categories: series and single story. Each of the four winners gets a plaque and a $100 prize at KRHA's summer conference. Articles must originally have been published during the preceding fiscal year. Entries will be accepted from staff writers, editors, freelance writers and others affiliated with a Kentucky-based newspaper, and from KRHA members and community members at large on the writers’ or newspapers’ behalf. Each entry should include three copies of the article as it originally appeared in the newspaper. The awards will be based on relevance to rural health, quality of reporting, impact on health care policy and new insights generated by the reporting.

For entry information, contact Ernie L. Scott of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health at 750 Morton Blvd., Hazard KY 41701, or 606.439.3557 ext. 83689, or ernie.scott@uky.edu.
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About Dr Kevin Lau


Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.



About Dr Kevin Lau


Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.
Read More


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Statewide smoking ban close to House vote, Stumbo says

For the second straight year, the state House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill that would ban smoking in enclosed public places or workplaces. It is still unlikely to become law, but might get farther in the legislative process.

"The proposal has never been voted on by the full House, and it would probably have a rough road in the Republican-controlled Senate," Beth Musgrave reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said that the government shouldn't tell businesses they cannot regulate smoking on their own property." (Stivers' hometown does just that; it is one of 22 Kentucky jurisdictions with smoking bans.)

House Speaker Greg Stumbo told Musgrave that he supports the measure, House Bill 190, and that sponsors are close to getting the votes it needs to pass the full House. The House has 100 members, but a bill can pass with as few as 40 votes as long as enough members abstain and it has a plurality.

The bill passed the committee Wednesday by a vote of 11-0, with four Republicans abstaining: Reps. Tim Moore of Elizabethtown, Robert Benvenuti of Lexington, Ben Waide of Madisonville and Addia Wuchner of Burlington.

Rep. Julie Adams of Louisville, the bill's Republican sponsor, told Musgrave that 29 states have statewide smoking bans, 24 with bans like the bill would impose. "This is a mainstream issue," she said. "The Kentucky General Assembly is way behind the general public." (Read more)

Basketball star Derek Anderson will join Smoke-Free Kentucky for its annual lobbying day in Frankfort Thursday, Feb. 14. He said in a press release, “Kentucky has so much to be proud of.   We are known for our hoops and horses.  Unfortunately, we are also number 1 in the number of deaths from lung cancer.  This is unacceptable to me. I want to be a part of the movement to change that.”  He added, “I am a businessman.  Smoke-free workplaces make good economic sense.” (Read more)

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy
For the second straight year, the state House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill that would ban smoking in enclosed public places or workplaces. It is still unlikely to become law, but might get farther in the legislative process.

"The proposal has never been voted on by the full House, and it would probably have a rough road in the Republican-controlled Senate," Beth Musgrave reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said that the government shouldn't tell businesses they cannot regulate smoking on their own property." (Stivers' hometown does just that; it is one of 22 Kentucky jurisdictions with smoking bans.)

House Speaker Greg Stumbo told Musgrave that he supports the measure, House Bill 190, and that sponsors are close to getting the votes it needs to pass the full House. The House has 100 members, but a bill can pass with as few as 40 votes as long as enough members abstain and it has a plurality.

The bill passed the committee Wednesday by a vote of 11-0, with four Republicans abstaining: Reps. Tim Moore of Elizabethtown, Robert Benvenuti of Lexington, Ben Waide of Madisonville and Addia Wuchner of Burlington.

Rep. Julie Adams of Louisville, the bill's Republican sponsor, told Musgrave that 29 states have statewide smoking bans, 24 with bans like the bill would impose. "This is a mainstream issue," she said. "The Kentucky General Assembly is way behind the general public." (Read more)

Basketball star Derek Anderson will join Smoke-Free Kentucky for its annual lobbying day in Frankfort Thursday, Feb. 14. He said in a press release, “Kentucky has so much to be proud of.   We are known for our hoops and horses.  Unfortunately, we are also number 1 in the number of deaths from lung cancer.  This is unacceptable to me. I want to be a part of the movement to change that.”  He added, “I am a businessman.  Smoke-free workplaces make good economic sense.” (Read more)

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy
Read More


Long term treatment with meloxicam in cats

Gowan RA, Baral RM, Lingard AE, et al. A retrospective analysis of the effects of meloxicam on the longevity of aged cats with and without overt chronic kidney disease. J Feline Med Surg. 2012; 14: 876-81.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pain and inflammation in humans, dogs, and horses. Meloxicam is metabolized primarily through the oxidative pathway rather than the glucuronidation pathway, an important factor in limiting toxicity in cats. The dependence of many NSAIDs on the glucuronidation pathway is part of the reason for the cat’s susceptibility to NSAID toxicity. Meloxicam is a COX-2 selective inhibitor with a COX-1/COX-2 ratio of inhibition of 2.7; thus, adverse effects of meloxicam are still of concern and primarily involve the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys due to the dependence of these organs on COX-1 for health. In the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, meloxicam is licensed for long-term treatment of chronic pain in cats. In the United States, meloxicam has a black box label for avoiding its repeated use due to an increased risk of acute renal failure and death. This unacceptable risk has not been a concern in other countries, possibly due to better patient selection and the lower doses used. Regardless of licensed or extra-label use of meloxicam, previous studies have shown that it can be administered safely to aged cats with or without chronic kidney disease (CKD), at least at low therapeutic doses and provided they are clinically stable and monitored carefully.



This study builds on previous work of Gunew et al. and Gowan et al. and further examines the effect of long-term meloxicam administration on renal function in cats with and without pre-existing CKD by providing long-term survival data. A total of 82 cats were enrolled in the study of which 47 had CKD and 35 did not have evidence of overt CKD. Treatment with meloxicam did not appear to decrease longevity in cats with pre-existing CKD, as survival times (median 1608 days) were not reduced when compared with previously published data. Quality of life is a major concern for cat owners, in particular with regard to chronic painful conditions. In conclusion, these authors recommend that meloxicam should be considered as part of a therapeutic regimen in cats with chronic painful conditions, with or without overt stable CKD. [GO]

See also:
Sparkes AH, Heiene R, Lascelles BDX, et al. ISFM and AAFP consensus guidelines: Long-term use of NSAIDs in cats. J Feline Med Surg. 2010; 12: 521-38.

Gowan RA, Lingard AE, Johnston L, Stansen W, Brown SA and Malik R. Retrospective case-control study of the effects of long-term dosing with meloxicam on renal function in aged cats with degenerative joint disease. J Feline Med Surg. 2011; 13: 752-61. 

Related blog articles:
Meloxicam for feline arthritis (June 2008)
Cats and arthritis (2009)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Gowan RA, Baral RM, Lingard AE, et al. A retrospective analysis of the effects of meloxicam on the longevity of aged cats with and without overt chronic kidney disease. J Feline Med Surg. 2012; 14: 876-81.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pain and inflammation in humans, dogs, and horses. Meloxicam is metabolized primarily through the oxidative pathway rather than the glucuronidation pathway, an important factor in limiting toxicity in cats. The dependence of many NSAIDs on the glucuronidation pathway is part of the reason for the cat’s susceptibility to NSAID toxicity. Meloxicam is a COX-2 selective inhibitor with a COX-1/COX-2 ratio of inhibition of 2.7; thus, adverse effects of meloxicam are still of concern and primarily involve the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys due to the dependence of these organs on COX-1 for health. In the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, meloxicam is licensed for long-term treatment of chronic pain in cats. In the United States, meloxicam has a black box label for avoiding its repeated use due to an increased risk of acute renal failure and death. This unacceptable risk has not been a concern in other countries, possibly due to better patient selection and the lower doses used. Regardless of licensed or extra-label use of meloxicam, previous studies have shown that it can be administered safely to aged cats with or without chronic kidney disease (CKD), at least at low therapeutic doses and provided they are clinically stable and monitored carefully.



This study builds on previous work of Gunew et al. and Gowan et al. and further examines the effect of long-term meloxicam administration on renal function in cats with and without pre-existing CKD by providing long-term survival data. A total of 82 cats were enrolled in the study of which 47 had CKD and 35 did not have evidence of overt CKD. Treatment with meloxicam did not appear to decrease longevity in cats with pre-existing CKD, as survival times (median 1608 days) were not reduced when compared with previously published data. Quality of life is a major concern for cat owners, in particular with regard to chronic painful conditions. In conclusion, these authors recommend that meloxicam should be considered as part of a therapeutic regimen in cats with chronic painful conditions, with or without overt stable CKD. [GO]

See also:
Sparkes AH, Heiene R, Lascelles BDX, et al. ISFM and AAFP consensus guidelines: Long-term use of NSAIDs in cats. J Feline Med Surg. 2010; 12: 521-38.

Gowan RA, Lingard AE, Johnston L, Stansen W, Brown SA and Malik R. Retrospective case-control study of the effects of long-term dosing with meloxicam on renal function in aged cats with degenerative joint disease. J Feline Med Surg. 2011; 13: 752-61. 

Related blog articles:
Meloxicam for feline arthritis (June 2008)
Cats and arthritis (2009)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Read More


Richard III, scoliosis and me

Seeing Richard III's skeleton, I felt a shiver of empathic pain. Scoliosis twisted both our spines

By 


UK - King Richard III Discovery
The remains of King Richard III, found beneath a Leicester car park. Photograph: University of Leicester/Corbis
The discovery of the bones of Richard III, lying quietly under a Leicester city council car park for 500-odd years, is historically fascinating and imaginatively compelling. But, inspecting the newspaper photograph of those meticulously laid-out, gingery and desiccated human remains, I am startled by another sensation: that of raw, physical connection. Because Richard and I share not only our height – a surprisingly tall five foot eight – but also our skeletal deformity: scoliosis. Though his was far more pronounced (and therefore disabling) than mine, still, just like him, my adult life has been dogged by an "S" curvature of the spine.
I was in my late teens, an energetic ballet and swimming type, when one day without warning my back went into spasm and I found myself crunched over in agony. I think I saw a chiropractor and that was that. Except that over the next few years, it only took one wrong move – sneezing, laughing, reaching for a drink of water – and I'd be suddenly skewed, immobile and in pain for days.
At 28, I had a baby. Then – rather quickly – another, and another. By the time the smallest was a few months old, I rarely had a day when I could move freely and without pain. Life went on – I still went to work – but I was a different person, rarely upright, never far from a bag of frozen peas, entertaining my children from the bed or the floor.
Finally, I had an MRI scan. The consultant grabbed a plastic spinal column off his desk and, with one vicious twist, bent it out of shape. "This is you," he said, demonstrating how my "mild to moderate" scoliosis was wearing out my vertebrae. I swallowed and asked him if swimming might help. He shrugged: "Not a lot. You'll find you get progressively more immobile as you get older." I was 31 years old. I sat in the hospital car park and cried.
In fact, I was lucky. An insightful friend insisted I try Pilates and today, after more than 20 years of twice-weekly classes, my scoliosis is hugely less pronounced – mild rather than moderate – and my fear of immobility mostly laid to rest. On a bad day, one shoulder and one hip will be noticeably higher than the other, and I'll ache a bit (all right, a lot). But I stretch every day – every hour if I have to – and at 52, I rather like that I'm now comparatively supple for my age.
And though over the years my scoliosis has frightened, exhausted and (frankly) enraged me, I now wouldn't want to be without it. It's taught me patience and – in constructive and unexpected ways – about pain. It's taught me to observe myself with curiosity and kindness, rather than tension and terror. More than anything, though, it's taken me on this wild, uncompromising journey through my body, and shown me how to relish the light, unthinking joy of movement. The truth is, I don't mind being like this. My deformity has become my friend.
Still, looking at what's left of the poor Plantagenet king, I find it hard to view that ancient, twisted snake of vertebrae without a shiver of empathic pain. Our bones are everything, the very core of us. They carry us through life – far more viscerally individual than those other pumping organs we can scarcely visualise. And because they (literally) create the shape and poise of us, even long-dead ones seem to contain clues of the living people we once were.
I know enough about living with scoliosis to understand that a curve like his would have informed and warped every moment of the day. He would have woken stiff and skewed, only to have to negotiate his way through a day of disability and paralysing spasm. Poor man. It touches me deeply to see his deformity – his and mine – lying there visible and exposed and still somehow pungent, when everything else has been rinsed by time and decay.




Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.
Seeing Richard III's skeleton, I felt a shiver of empathic pain. Scoliosis twisted both our spines

By 


UK - King Richard III Discovery
The remains of King Richard III, found beneath a Leicester car park. Photograph: University of Leicester/Corbis
The discovery of the bones of Richard III, lying quietly under a Leicester city council car park for 500-odd years, is historically fascinating and imaginatively compelling. But, inspecting the newspaper photograph of those meticulously laid-out, gingery and desiccated human remains, I am startled by another sensation: that of raw, physical connection. Because Richard and I share not only our height – a surprisingly tall five foot eight – but also our skeletal deformity: scoliosis. Though his was far more pronounced (and therefore disabling) than mine, still, just like him, my adult life has been dogged by an "S" curvature of the spine.
I was in my late teens, an energetic ballet and swimming type, when one day without warning my back went into spasm and I found myself crunched over in agony. I think I saw a chiropractor and that was that. Except that over the next few years, it only took one wrong move – sneezing, laughing, reaching for a drink of water – and I'd be suddenly skewed, immobile and in pain for days.
At 28, I had a baby. Then – rather quickly – another, and another. By the time the smallest was a few months old, I rarely had a day when I could move freely and without pain. Life went on – I still went to work – but I was a different person, rarely upright, never far from a bag of frozen peas, entertaining my children from the bed or the floor.
Finally, I had an MRI scan. The consultant grabbed a plastic spinal column off his desk and, with one vicious twist, bent it out of shape. "This is you," he said, demonstrating how my "mild to moderate" scoliosis was wearing out my vertebrae. I swallowed and asked him if swimming might help. He shrugged: "Not a lot. You'll find you get progressively more immobile as you get older." I was 31 years old. I sat in the hospital car park and cried.
In fact, I was lucky. An insightful friend insisted I try Pilates and today, after more than 20 years of twice-weekly classes, my scoliosis is hugely less pronounced – mild rather than moderate – and my fear of immobility mostly laid to rest. On a bad day, one shoulder and one hip will be noticeably higher than the other, and I'll ache a bit (all right, a lot). But I stretch every day – every hour if I have to – and at 52, I rather like that I'm now comparatively supple for my age.
And though over the years my scoliosis has frightened, exhausted and (frankly) enraged me, I now wouldn't want to be without it. It's taught me patience and – in constructive and unexpected ways – about pain. It's taught me to observe myself with curiosity and kindness, rather than tension and terror. More than anything, though, it's taken me on this wild, uncompromising journey through my body, and shown me how to relish the light, unthinking joy of movement. The truth is, I don't mind being like this. My deformity has become my friend.
Still, looking at what's left of the poor Plantagenet king, I find it hard to view that ancient, twisted snake of vertebrae without a shiver of empathic pain. Our bones are everything, the very core of us. They carry us through life – far more viscerally individual than those other pumping organs we can scarcely visualise. And because they (literally) create the shape and poise of us, even long-dead ones seem to contain clues of the living people we once were.
I know enough about living with scoliosis to understand that a curve like his would have informed and warped every moment of the day. He would have woken stiff and skewed, only to have to negotiate his way through a day of disability and paralysing spasm. Poor man. It touches me deeply to see his deformity – his and mine – lying there visible and exposed and still somehow pungent, when everything else has been rinsed by time and decay.




Dr Kevin Lau DC is the founder of Health In Your Hands, a series of tools for Scoliosis prevention and treatment. The set includes his book Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment, a companion Scoliosis Exercises for Prevention and Correction DVD and the innovative new iPhone application ScolioTrack. Dr Kevin Lau is a graduate in Doctor of Chiropractic from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. He is a member of International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), the leading international society on conservative treatment of spinal deformities. In 2006 I was awarded the "Best Health-care Provider Awards" by the largest Newspaper publication in Singapore on October 18 2006 as well as being interviewed on Primetime Channel News Asia as well as other TV and Radio. For more information on Dr Kevin Lau, watch his interviews or get a free sneak peek of his book, go to:

Website - http://www.hiyh.info.
ScolioTrack Website - http://www.ScolioTrack.com.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthInYourHands.
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/DrKevinLau.
Twitter - http://www.Twitter.com/DrKevinLau.
Read More


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Beshear calls for action to improve state's health, but says only that 'It's time for us to begin looking seriously' at a smoking ban

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

His priorities were education and tax reform, but Gov. Steve Beshear mentioned several health issues in his State of the Commonwealth speech tonight to a joint session of the General Assembly.

Beshear called for action to correct the state's "fundamental weaknesses," including "a population whose health ranks among the worst in the nation." Near the end of his speech, he said, "We need to continue improving the health of our people," but after about a minute of discussing tobacco and smoking he stopped short of endorsing a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. (KET photo)

"It's time for us to begin looking seriously at doing this on a statewide level," he said to some applause, after noting that nearly half of Kentuckians live in jurisdictions where smoking is legally restricted, that the state has the highest or next-to-highest smoking rate overall and among teens and pregnant women, and that "Our smoking-related mortality rate is the worst in the nation. . . . Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs and kills our people."

Beshear called for improving prenatal care and newborn screening, and for minor improvements in last year's bill to fight prescription drug abuse. He said the bill has caused a precipitous drop in abuse of prescription painkillers. "Kentucky at one time had the sixth highest rate in the nation, but . . . we improved 24 spots," he said. "Nearly half of the state's known pain management clinics have closed rather than submit to new rules that protect patients." He said use of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system "has increased nearly seven-fold . . . and prescriptions for some of the most abused drugs have dropped up to 14 percent from a year ago."

However, the problem of babies becoming addicted to drugs in their addicted mothers' wombs has skyrocketed in the last decade or so, Beshear said: "In 2000, reports showed 29 babies in Kentucky born addicted to drugs. But in 2011, there were 730 babies – more than 25 times as many. And that figure is thought to be under-reported." He did not say how he wants to improve screening.

Beshear did not mention perhaps the biggest health policy question facing the commonwealth, whether to use federal subsidies to expand the Medicaid program to people in households earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold. Now the program covers people in households earning up to 70 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would pay all the cost of the additional enrollees through 2016, when the state would start picking up part of the tab, up to 20 percent in 2020.

Some Republicans say the state can't afford the expansion, while some Democrats say it would be a good long-term investment in the state's health and economy. Beshear has said he wants to do it if the commonwealth can afford it, and expects to get cost estimates around the end of March -- about the time the legislature must adjourn.

For a PDF of the speech text, click here. For an audio recording, go here. For video from KET, here.
By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

His priorities were education and tax reform, but Gov. Steve Beshear mentioned several health issues in his State of the Commonwealth speech tonight to a joint session of the General Assembly.

Beshear called for action to correct the state's "fundamental weaknesses," including "a population whose health ranks among the worst in the nation." Near the end of his speech, he said, "We need to continue improving the health of our people," but after about a minute of discussing tobacco and smoking he stopped short of endorsing a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. (KET photo)

"It's time for us to begin looking seriously at doing this on a statewide level," he said to some applause, after noting that nearly half of Kentuckians live in jurisdictions where smoking is legally restricted, that the state has the highest or next-to-highest smoking rate overall and among teens and pregnant women, and that "Our smoking-related mortality rate is the worst in the nation. . . . Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs and kills our people."

Beshear called for improving prenatal care and newborn screening, and for minor improvements in last year's bill to fight prescription drug abuse. He said the bill has caused a precipitous drop in abuse of prescription painkillers. "Kentucky at one time had the sixth highest rate in the nation, but . . . we improved 24 spots," he said. "Nearly half of the state's known pain management clinics have closed rather than submit to new rules that protect patients." He said use of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system "has increased nearly seven-fold . . . and prescriptions for some of the most abused drugs have dropped up to 14 percent from a year ago."

However, the problem of babies becoming addicted to drugs in their addicted mothers' wombs has skyrocketed in the last decade or so, Beshear said: "In 2000, reports showed 29 babies in Kentucky born addicted to drugs. But in 2011, there were 730 babies – more than 25 times as many. And that figure is thought to be under-reported." He did not say how he wants to improve screening.

Beshear did not mention perhaps the biggest health policy question facing the commonwealth, whether to use federal subsidies to expand the Medicaid program to people in households earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold. Now the program covers people in households earning up to 70 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would pay all the cost of the additional enrollees through 2016, when the state would start picking up part of the tab, up to 20 percent in 2020.

Some Republicans say the state can't afford the expansion, while some Democrats say it would be a good long-term investment in the state's health and economy. Beshear has said he wants to do it if the commonwealth can afford it, and expects to get cost estimates around the end of March -- about the time the legislature must adjourn.

For a PDF of the speech text, click here. For an audio recording, go here. For video from KET, here.
Read More