Even though gallstones are considered an avoidable cause of death, every year about 460,000 U.S. residents have a cholecystectomy. (1,2) Few people realize that gallbladder disease can progress to serious disorders such as acute gallstone pancreatitis and gallbladder cancer. A variety of factors can contribute to gallbladder disease, and individuals may be symptom-free for years
Growth hormone (somatotropin) has an important role in many physiological processes, such as bone and organ growth, calcium balance, fat metabolism and the maintenance of lean body mass. Lower levels of growth hormone are associated with increasing age.1 Growth hormone is secreted by the pituitary gland; levels are highest in children and adolescents and decline
In addition to food digestion, the gastrointestinal tract is one of the body’s primary defenses against the external environment. The loss of these intestinal defenses is commonly called “leaky gut”, and it may contribute to food allergy and food sensitivity reactions.1 Increased intestinal permeability (“leakiness”) can contribute to chronic inflammatory disease and increase the risk
Published In: Townsend Letter By Shalima Gordon, ND 5a-Androstane-3β,17β-diol, (or 3β-Adiol, for short) is a testosterone metabolite that has been shown to provide protection against prostate cancer. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that 3β-Adiol inhibits the proliferation, migration, invasiveness, and metastasis of prostate cancer cell lines via estrogen receptor β (ERβ) activation in
Published in: Dr. Jonathan Wright’s Nutrition & Healing By: Jonathan V. Wright, MD Vitamin D deficiency is making a roaring comeback. That means some of the conditions vitamin D plays a key role in preventing-like osteoporosis, and even prostate and breast cancer-are also on the rise. And, unfortunately, some of the things the “experts” have
Published in: Naturopathic Doctor News & Review By: Pushpa Larsen, ND Ralph Holsworth, DO, recently shared a story with me about a patient he had in Colorado many years ago. He was an intern in a Denver hospital when he admitted a patient diagnosed as having a blood clot in his leg. Dr Holsworth started
Research published in the journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine demonstrated that dehydration increases systolic blood viscosity by 9.3% and diastolic blood viscosity by 12.5%. The results are from a study of 12 healthy men who sat for 4 hours at a dry-bulb temperature of 23.0-23.5¡C and a relative humidity of 18-36%. The purpose of
Increasing evidence supports the importance of hemodynamic forces that are directly related to the work of the heart as the primary triggering event of atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis. The factors that primarily determine the work of the heart include systolic blood pressure (BP), blood viscosity, and the volume of blood the myocardium has to pump. The
The Blood Viscosity Test can be used as a diagnostic tool for pre-screening and monitoring patients receiving dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids (or fish oil). Fish oil supplements (i.e., eicosopentaenoic acid or EPA) have been shown in a double-blind, randomized study to lower Systolic Blood Viscosity (blood thickness) and Diastolic Blood Viscosity (blood stickiness)
