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A new Paradigm on Acid Reflux |
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Every day, 70
million people in the United States suffer from digestive
problems like
heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, constipation and diarrhea.
Many turn to prescription drugs to control the acid in their
stomachs, but some doctors say acid isn’t the problem.
“It’s very simple; we’re not digesting our food,” Mayer
Eisenstein, M.D., medical director of Homefirst Health Services
and host of the weekly XM satellite radio show The Dr. Mayer
Eisenstein Radio Show, told Ivanhoe. He says adding digestive
enzymes and probiotics to our diets can help solve this issue.
According to Dr. Eisenstein, the body has a limited supply of
digestive enzymes and every 10 years, we lose about 13 percent
of them. Western diets also typically consist of cooked and
processed food, which can further deplete enzymes. Probiotics,
or lactic acid bacteria, can help digest dairy products as well
as nutrients like folic acid, riboflavin and vitamin B12, Dr.
Eisenstein says.
Using enzymes, probiotics and stevia -- a natural sweetener
which has also been show to aid in heartburn -- Dr. Eisenstein
created a chewable tablet that he estimates has helped up to 98
percent of the 5,000 patients he’s treated with it. To also aid
in digestion, he recommends people eat slower, cook foods less
thoroughly and chew sugarless gum after a meal, which has been
shown to ease acid reflux. He also says not to drink fluids
during a meal, which can wash food into the stomach before the
enzymes in saliva break it down.
Proton pump inhibitors (Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec) -- a type of
acid-reducing medication -- are supposed to be prescribed for
only two months, but, according to Dr. Eistenstein, the average
patient uses them for five years. Dr. Eisenstein says he never
prescribes antacid drugs to his patients because they have been
shown to increase the risk of developing pneumonia and, in
people over 50, increase the incidence of breaking a hip.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Mayer Eisenstein, M.D.; 16th
Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine &
Regenerative Biomedical Technologies in Orlando, Fla., April 23
- 27, 2008
Copyright: Ivanhoe 2008
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Insulin, Aging and Long Life |
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Insulin, Aging and Long Life
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It may not be the fountain of youth, but
new research on insulin shows it plays an important role in
aging and lifespan.
Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Irvine, Calif.,
report insulin inhibits a master gene regulator protein called
SKN-1; increased SKN-1 activity increases lifespan, according to
researchers.
“The major implication is that we have found something new that
affects lifespan and aging and an important new effect that
insulin and/or a related hormone called insulin-like growth
factor-1 may have in some tissues,” T. Keith Blackwell, M.D.,
Ph.D., senior investigator at Joslin Diabetes Center and an
associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and a
faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, was quoted as
saying. “The implications go far beyond diabetes.”
Dr. Blackwell, who is also the author of the paper, adds that
fine tuning SKN-1 could also lead to increased resistance to
other chronic diseases.These findings came as a result of
experiments done on a microscopic worm often used as a model
organism.
Researchers found SKN-1 controls a network of genes that defend
cells and tissue against damage from free radicals and
environmental toxins. “You can manipulate the expression of
SKN-1 and the worms live longer,” Dr. Blackwell said.
The experiments will be repeated in mammals, but according to
Dr. Blackwell, other findings from this particular worm model
have turned out to be applicable to mice and humans.
SOURCE: Cell, 2008;132:1025-1038
Copyright: Ivanhoe 2008
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Leaves Found to Protect the Liver |
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A plant found in the mountains of China and Russia may one day
have a role to play in protecting the liver from damage.
A new study out of India suggests the leaves from the sea
buckthorn can help keep the liver functioning properly, even
when a liver damaging agent is injected into the organ.
The research was carried out in rats that were divided into six
different groups. The first group received a harmless saline
solution for five days and served as the control group. The
second group received saline for four days, then was given an
injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) -- a known liver
damaging agent. The third group received a daily dose of
silymarin (milk thistle extract, which is thought to have a
positive effect on the liver) for five days, followed by CCI4.
And the final three groups received varying doses of the sea
buckthorn leaf extract for five days before being injected with
CCI4.
Rats who didn’t receive the leaf extract before being injected
with CCI4 suffered significant liver damage, while those who
received the two highest doses of the extract (100 milligrams
and 200 milligrams) had only minimal damage from the CCI4.
Previous research linked the berries of the sea buckthorn plant
to lower cholesterol, but this is the first study to identify a
health role for the leaves, although doctors have long known the
plant is rich in healthful components like antioxidants and
essential fatty acids.
SOURCE: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture,
published online May 23, 2008
Copyright: Ivanhoe 2008
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