Currently viewing the category: "illness"

Random? Half Cancers Preventable

By On · Add Comment · In cancer, central obesity, health, healthy behaviors, illness, random, smoking, universe

Some people think we live in a random universe, nothing but probability–a chance for this, and a chance for that. Some also think that health is random. Some people get sick, others do not. A roll of the dice for the most part. In fact, that’s what insurance is for: you purchase insurance hoping that you won’t get sick, but if by chance you do…

This approach to health, however, is foolish. We know that health and wellness are not random. What we do regularly determines whether we will experience health or not. It certainly is about probability when it comes to our health. The more we engage in healthy behaviors, the greater the probability we will remain healthy; and the more we  engage in unhealthy behaviors, the greater the probability we will develop illness or disease. True, it’s never one hundred percent, as Jim Fixx showed that any fitness enthusiast can drop dead from a heart attack, while George Burns smoked cigars into his 100s. Go figure.

But what we do is still the most important determinant of health. Take a recent study that now shows 50% of all cancers are preventable. That’s right folks! And the big C is the second leading cause of death following another preventable condition…you got it–heart disease.

The numbers one and two killers in the U.S. are preventable. Smoking is blamed for 33% of all cancers, while 75% of lung cancers are due to smoking. Shoot, I used to smoke, I get it. I liked smoking, heck yeah…but I quit. Simple as that. My cancer risk went way down. Probabilities.

Here’s another: Obesity is responsible for 20% of all cancers in the U.S. Throw in booze, pollution, poor diet, prescription drugs by the pounds… Why, heck…of course cancer is the number two killer–people are poisoning themselves.

And the political perspective is that these people just don’t have enough resources. State smoking cessation programs are being financially undercut, and people don’t have money, or the insurance, to be treated once they get sick. Random.

But by quitting smoking, eating well, minimizing junk food (like sodas), and exercising regularly actually helps lessen the risk of heart disease and cancer. Not random.

Duh.

California Lettuce Recall–Possible Contamination

By On · Add Comment · In California lettuce recall, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), illness, listeria, True Leaf Farms of Salinas

What?!?!  Now recalled lettuce?  You got that right–a California farm has now recalled bags of chopped romaine lettuce because of possible contamination with listeria, although no illnesses have been reported. 

True Leaf Farms of Salinas announced the recall of 90 cartons that were shipped to an Oregon food service distributor. From the distributor, it might have gone to at least two other states, Washington and Idaho.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified the company that a sample from one bag taken as part of a random check tested positive for listeria.  Officials have said they’ve gotten better at detecting contamination, so they are seeing it more often now in produce.

This now amid the cantaloupe recall that has sickened 72, and killed up to 16 people, in 18 states.  

The recall covers packaged lettuce product with a use by date of Sept. 29. The bag and box code is B256-46438-8.  Please check your bagged lettuce and toss if necessary.  But seriously folks, how ’bout some fresh stuff?  Just wondering.

Obesity and Natural Selection: Some Thoughts

By On · Add Comment · In body mass index (BMI), disease, genes, genetic theory of obesity, high frequency mutation, human evolution, human genome, illness, natural selection, obese, Scientific American
Just read a great article on human evolution and how advantageous traits are likely selected for over time.  It got me thinking again about the genetic theory of obesity.  Now you all know how I feel about this subject–I pretty much find it a convenient excuse to absolve obese people from their personal responsibility.  Put another way: Gene or no gene, you’ve still got to eat well, exercise, and practice discipline.  Hey, we all have to that.

But reading this article in the September issue of Scientific American (I know I’m behind…cut me a break…I’ve got kids) titled, How We Are Evolving, got me thinking that obesity very well may have a genetic link.  According to recent research, most traits that provide genetic advantage or disadvantage likely take tens of thousands of years to disseminate throughout a population, not the thousands of years a high frequency mutation was once thought to dominate natural selection.  I won’t get into the science here; read the article to get the details–it is excellent.  Suffice it to say that the data shows evolution to be a long, drawn-out process, as natural selection takes time.

Okay, so what about obesity?  Well, let’s just say there is a gene, or genes, that increase one’s susceptibility to becoming obese; we might just find that that genetic makeup actually does lead to enough of a disadvantage that it eventually gets selected out of the human genome.

Think about it like this: obesity offers a disadvantage by making a person more susceptible to illness and disease–like many cancers, heart disease, stroke, and the list goes on and on.  Up until now it hasn’t conferred enough disadvantage to be selected out of the population–that is, obese people can still pass on their genes.

However, as more of the population gets obese–34% of all adults in the U.S. and 300 million worldwide–less and less may find the opportunity to reproduce.  What do you mean, Campos?  Just a thought, but when approximately 20% of our children here in the U.S. are obese…that’s a BMI over 30!…there may come a time when these people are just not considered reproduction material.

Biologically speaking, organisms seek out the most fit individuals with which to mate so that the possibility of passing on one’s genes increases.  That’s the idea anyway.  As the numbers of obese individuals increases, as well as society’s disdain (just read the news!) for obesity, you might just see more of these people ostracized sexually.  Not large numbers right away, mind you–this is where the article got me thinking–but over time.  Could be tens of thousands of years.  Remember, natural selection works slowly.  I mean, things would really have to change societally for this to be considered no big deal.

And yes, obese mating with obese is always a possibility, but that will simply raise the risk, in my opinion, for the genes to become selected out.  This, of course, all predicates on whether a genetic cause (susceptibility?) of obesity actually exists.

My advice to everyone is, once again, gene or no gene, you can prevent obesity by doing the right things.  If my thoughts are correct–and sorry, you and I will never get to know–then you’ll be assuring your genes get passed on to future generations by removing and preventing obesity in your life.  Just a thought, anyway.

Illness: A Mind Trip

By On · Add Comment · In death, healthy, illness, immunity, innate healing power, internal environment, poor health, resistence, sick, thoughts

Get ready for this one. I believe that people who are sick a lot–you know the ones: the co-worker who is often absent from work, your Aunt Tilly with the bad case of rheumatism, the lady down the street with 30 different maladies–create an internal environment of poor health. This unhealthy internal environment weakens the body, and over time, stresses of the external environment break down the body and lead to premature death.

What is this internal environment? It starts with the mind. People who see themselves as sick, people who use being sick as a tool for emotional support, and/or people who wholeheartedly buy into their illness as described to them by their doctors or the popular culture, lower their resistance and immunity, and hamper the innate healing power of their bodies. In other words, the mind that sees itself as sick, gets sick and stays sick.

BS Campos? Really, check this out: A recent British study found that people who were out sick from work for extended periods, even if generally “healthy” at the time of the study, were more likely to die prematurely than people who didn’t take such time off. What? Listen again: The study looked at approximately 6,500 government workers from 1985-1988 and followed them through 2004. The workers who had one or more periods of extended leave–out of work for more than one week–were 66% more likely to die in the study period than people who hadn’t taken such leave.

Now wait a second, Campos; weren’t these people simply ill to begin with? Of course, they’ll die earlier.

No. Many of the workers who died “were in good health at the beginning of the study,” according to Jenny Head, a statistician at University College London who led the study. True, it would make sense for people who had cancer or circulatory problems to need extended leaves of absence, and also to die earlier. However, the results also showed earlier death for people who had called in sick for minor complaints such as coughs and colds and flu. Wow! Mind tripper.

So I go back to my original point: People who see themselves as sick; that is, they believe they are ill, not well, unhealthy, and so forth, create an internal environment, through their thoughts, that weaken the body and leave them susceptible to early breakdown and disease, and eventually death. People who see themselves as healthy know they will bounce back, and that they will be OK. What do people who know they’ll be OK do? They move on with their lives. They go back to work, or don’t take off at all–they know that they’ll feel better shortly, so they keep on truckin’.

The researchers did not come to this conclusion. It’s mine. It hasn’t been tested yet, nor proved. It’s simply my theory. The researchers did not know the connection between early extended sick leave and premature death; they only found it a curiosity and thought it might be useful data for doctors to screen or be able to predict later illness and death in people. Yeah, I definitely think it’s good for that. But I also think I have a good working hypothesis. It’s the direction of my current research. Stay tuned.

Humble Pie

By On · Add Comment · In extraction, healing, health, illness, infection, medicine, Motrin, pain, pain medication, perfect health, root canal, tooth ache

I’d like to share a story to ring in the new year. This story will have several lessons in it, and will also illustrate a few key principles. We’ll call it a modern-day health parable.

Last Saturday, just as I was bragging about my recent blood work and stellar chem panel, I started to notice a wee bit of tooth ache. Yes, wee bit; that would be the last time I’d remember life as I once knew it.

By Sunday, my tooth really started to ache, and by New Year’s Eve–forget about it–I was dying. This little conundrum I found myself in illustrates a few very important principles. First, the minute you get too elated about anything, expect something to come along and balance it out. Bragging about my health was sure to lead to a pedestal collapse. As it turns out, I cracked my tooth. Ouch! And it got infected. Double ouch!

The second principle, and one which I discuss in depth in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, is that there is no such thing as perfect health. We actually cycle between health and illness all the time. That’s normal and, in fact, it is healthy. This does not make it futile to focus on health–no indeed–but to become attached to the concept of constant health is both futile and foolish. I’ll let you read about it further in my book (it’s coming, I swear!)

So, as I said, by New Year’s Eve the pain was pretty excruciating. No dentist to be found, so I had to rely on over-the-counter Motrin. All I can say is thank God for modern medicine.

But wait Campos, you’re always dissing medicine.

No, I’m not. In fact my message is, and always has been, that medicine is very valuable in times of crisis; and I was in the most pulsating, hammer and chisel to the head crisis I’ve ever been in. So I say once again–THANK GOD FOR MODERN MEDICINE!

Saw a dentist on Wednesday night and found out then about the cracked tooth and infection. I also found out that I’d need a root canal, and maybe even an extraction. Wah! Whatever, Doc. Pull it; do something, anything…please! He set me up for the root canal on Friday and gave me some better drugs. Have I said this yet: Thank God for modern pharmaceuticals, too. Man, they were the only things that got me through this mess. You guys know, some of you saw me, because I went to work anyway. I was a pathetic sight, that’s for sure.

Anyway, I had the root canal and the pain didn’t just go away. No problem, I expected that, because I know that the healing process takes time, so I certainly didn’t expect an overnight miracle. The bottom line is this: Pain medication is sometimes necessary; it can help you get over a very difficult hump. But when one looks to medicine as the answer, they are playing with fire. Use the meds while you work on fixing the problem, then wean off of them.

I’m weaning now. I’ve cut the dosage in half, and by mid-week, I anticipate I’ll be drug free. Cool. And the moral of the story is this: When you want to puff-up your plumage and show-off to the world, make sure you don’t bite down too hard on anything you eat, otherwise, you might just spend the next two weeks feasting on humble pie.

Never A Pleasant Situation

By On · Add Comment · In bad breath, digestive system, halitosis, illness, oral hygeine

We’ve all had the experience of speaking to somebody who has bad breath. It’s never a comfortable situation. Do you hand them a mint or do you try very hard to hold your breath for ten second increments and get out of there as fast as possible? Especially hard is when that person is your friend or your loved one. You’ve just got to let them know – you’re their friend, dammit. It’s your duty.

Well, medical and dental science is now making bad breath, or halitosis, a top priority. Last week, nearly 200 scientists attended the International Conference on Breath Odor Research in Chicago. Attendees included dentists, chemists, microbiologists, psychologists and even flavor researchers. The topics of the conference included causes of bad breath, studies on the most effective natural flavors for treating it, the development of an artificial nose for sniffing out oral malodor, and links between exhaled air and disease.

O.k., bravo, bravo, for finally understanding that bad breath is a health issue. It’s true that some bad breath issues come from poor oral hygiene; however, I am convinced that many cases of severe bad breath – halitosis – come from deep in the digestive system. I’ve met a few people in my travels who couldn’t cover their bad breath with chewing gums or mints, no matter how hard they tried. That’s a internal issue. In these cases, I believe it stems from one of three things:

  1. The person is ingesting a food substance, usually something they eat regularly, that he or she cannot properly digest.
  2. The person is on drugs or medications that dry out the mouth.
  3. The person has another underlying disease
Either way, it is necessary to look into the issue. If you find that you have chronic bad breath, or that no one wants to be around you, make note of any medications you’re taking and discuss it with your doctor. Get checked out by your doctor for any illness, especially if their are other accompanying symptoms, like bloating, gas, pain, diarrhea, or anything else. And finally, start eliminating foods categorically to find the offending agent. I assure you if you go on the hunt, you’ll find the problem and reverse it.

Our Civil Liberties Being Challenged Once Again

By On · Add Comment · In Avandia, cervical cancer, disease, FDA, health, HPV, human papilloma virus, illness, lifestyle choices, mandate, mandatory, sexual behavior, Thalidomide, vaccinate, vaccinations, vaccine, Vioxx
Mandatory HPV vaccinations are once again at the top of the legislative agenda. California is the latest state to introduce a bill requiring girls entering sixth grade to receive the three standard doses of the HPV vaccine.

HPV stands for the human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted organism that is the cause of genital warts and 70% of all cervical cancers. On the surface, this may seem like a good idea to protect the lives of young women of our society. However, forcing people to vaccinate themselves against a disease that results from lifestyle choices is simply preposterous. This is no morality trip – I don’t think this mandate, in any way, is going to encourage young women to engage in sexual behavior as some suggest. But, I do think that when it comes to our health, the choice should be ours alone.

Now, this is very different from the scenario of being at risk of developing illness by being in the same room as someone who, say, has measles, or tuberculosis or even the flu. You cannot catch HPV without sexual contact, so the public health is not threatened in any way. Using the argument that mandatory vaccination will save lives is using the ends to justify the means. It would be like vaccinating people against drugs and alchohol – a la A Clockwork Orange – to prevent drunk driving deaths.

Sound like an exaggeration to you? It’s not. Consider this: I have a beautiful, healthy and happy 14-month-old daughter, Delilah, who is the apple of my eye. I don’t know anything about this vaccine other than the government (i.e. the FDA) says it’s safe. Do you know how many substances the FDA has deemed safe that we found out later were not? Here are a few:

So why would I want to give a vaccine to my daughter that hasn’t been comprehensively tested? I’m never the first to try out the new version of Internet Explorer, either. Quite frankly, I’d rather take my risk with my daughter contracting HPV, then inject her with something I know very little about. That’s just my opinion. If you want to vaccinate your daughter, go ahead. Nobody wants to stop you. If I, or she, decide down the road that we should do it, then we will – just don’t force it down our throats.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.