(Natural Blaze by Alex Pietrowski) For years it has been a supposed mystery, but it is finally being acknowledged that a primary cause of cancer in the world today is diet. Studies are now showing that obesity plays an enormous role in one’s chances of getting cancer, and the main cause of obesity is the type of foods people eat. It is in large part a lifestyle disease, and the most important relevant lifestyle choice is food.
Overall, we estimated that 40.8% of incident cancer cases were attributable to exposure to the 24 factors included in the analysis (Table 2). Tobacco smoking was responsible for the greatest cancer burden, accounting for an estimated 15.7% of all incident cancer cases (2485 cases), followed by physical inactivity and excess body weight, which were responsible for an estimated 7.2% and 4.3% of incident cancer cases, respectively. All other exposures of interest were estimated to be responsible for less than 4.0% of incident cancer cases each. [Source]
More specifically, researchers are pointing out the connection between the body’s insulin response to food and cancer metabolism. In short, there is a paradigm shift taking place and we are admitting that food can either feed or starve cancer cells. Here, in a piece for The Los Angeles Times, writer Sam Apple explains this connection:
… researchers have made progress in understanding the diet-cancer connection. The advances have emerged in the somewhat esoteric field of cancer metabolism, which investigates how cancer cells turn the nutrients we consume into fuel and building blocks for new cancer cells.
Largely ignored in the last decades of the 20th century, cancer metabolism has undergone a revival as researchers have come to appreciate that some of the most well-known cancer-causing genes, long feared for their role in allowing cancer cells to proliferate without restraint, have another, arguably even more fundamental role: allowing cancer cells to “eat” without restraint. This research may yield a blockbuster cancer treatment, but in the meantime it can provide us with something just as crucial — knowledge about how to prevent the disease in the first place. [Source]
Does this mean that these new revelations about cancer and the foods which cause it will trigger a widespread shift in the consumption habits of ordinary people? Will people switch to real food and abandon fake food?
Could it also mean that major food companies will face some degree of liability for producing addictive foods which are extremely high in sugars, artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates and other ingredients which trigger the body’s insulin response?
Meanwhile, expensive cancer treatments are increasingly being recognized as a common detriment to surviving cancer, and all the while alternative treatments are still being suppressed and banished from the country.
It’s important to remember that there is a wealth of information on how diet affects both the likelihood to get cancer, but also how diet can play a significant role in surviving cancer. Celebrity Tommy Chong told us how diet and cannabis cured his cancer. Blogger and activist Chris Wark recorded his recovery from cancer with the help of improved diet, and now shares survivor stories.
It is also important to remember that programs like Raw for Thirty are demonstrating significant results in helping people to reverse the symptoms of diabetes by switching to a raw foods diet.
Healthy choices clearly have a big impact on cancer, and now that mainstream sources are telling us that almost half of all cancers may potentially be preventable with dietary and lifestyle changes, we have all the info we need to drastically reduce cancer rates.
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
(Natural Blaze By Alex Pietrowski) Among the many pharmaceutical options available for treating mental health issues, antipsychotic medications are some of the most overprescibed. So much so, in fact that in 2015 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report urging lower uses of antipsychotic meds for elderly patients suffering from symptoms of dementia, citing a number of dangerous side effects of this class of drugs.
They blunt behaviors. They can cause sedation. It increases a patient’s risk for falls. And, if you just want to get to the very basic bottom line, why should someone pay for something that’s not needed? ~Bradley Williams, geriatric pharmacist, University of Southern California [Source]
Just as is with depression and anxiety, numerous cases demonstrate that dietary changes and other lifestyle changes can often times achieve better results, more safely, than using psychotropic medications.
Georgia Ede, MD, psychiatrist and pharmacologist in Massachusetts reports on two interesting cases where low-carb diets, specifically ketogenic diets, seemed to be exceptionally beneficial in improving conditions in patients who would ordinarily have been prescribed antipsychotic medications.
Dr. Palmer described the experiences of two adults in his practice with schizoaffective disorder who had tried a ketogenic diet. Whereas schizophrenia is characterized primarily by psychotic symptoms, people with schizoaffective disorder have to cope not only with psychosis but also with overlapping periods of severe mood symptoms. Signs of psychosis include paranoia, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, intrusive thoughts/images, and/or disorganized thinking. Mood episodes may include depression, euphoria, irritability, rage, suicidal thoughts, and/or mood swings. As a practicing psychiatrist for more than 15 years, I can tell you that schizoaffective disorder is a particularly challenging diagnosis for people to live with and for psychiatrists to treat. Even the most potent antipsychotic and mood stabilizing medications available often don’t bring sufficient relief, and those medications come with a significant risk of side effects. [Source]
The first case outlined involved a 31-year-old woman with an eight-year diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder who had tried twelve different medications, including, “a powerful antipsychotic agent considered by many psychiatrists to be the medication of last resort due to its risk of serious side effects.” The patient had also undergone extensive electroshock therapy, but saw incredible results with a ketogenic diet.
She had also undergone 23 rounds of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or what used to be called “electric shock treatments”), yet remained troubled by serious symptoms. She decided to try a ketogenic diet with the hope of losing some weight. After four weeks on the diet, her delusions had resolved and she’d lost ten pounds. At four months’ time, she’d lost 30 pounds and her score on a clinical questionnaire called the PANSS (Positive and Negative Symptom Scale), which ranks symptoms on a scale from 30 (best) to 210 (worst), had come down from 107 to 70. [Source]
In a second case, a 33-year-old man with a fourteen-year diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder who had tried seventeen medication without success, and had decided to try a ketogenic diet for weight loss.
Within three weeks, he reported “dramatic” reduction in auditory hallucinations and delusions, as well as better mood, energy, and concentration. Over the course of a year, he lost a total of 104 pounds. When in ketosis, his PANSS scores improved significantly—falling from 98 to only 49. His daily function and quality of life also improved dramatically; he moved out of his father’s home, began dating, and started taking college courses. [Source]
In both of these cases, the patient’s negative side-effects returned once the ketogenic diet was abandoned, giving a strong indication of the power of a low-carb diet to treat the mental disorders for which antipsychotic medications are prescribed. Read more articles by Alex Pietrowski.
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
(Natural Blaze by Karen Foster) In one of the largest microbiota studies conducted in humans, scientists have shown a potential link between healthy aging and a healthy gut — finding that the overall microbiome composition of healthy elderly people was similar to that of people decades younger, and that the gut microbiota differed little between individuals from the ages of 30 to over 100.
Health care of the future may include personalized diagnosis of an individual’s “microbiome” to determine what probiotics are needed to provide balance and prevent disease. They’re thought to encode more than 3 million genes in the body, and this complexity of bugs may also be responsible for immune dysfunction that begins with a “failure to communicate” in the human gut, scientists say.
Led by researchers from the Lawson Health Research Institute at Western University, Canada, and Tianyi Health Science Institute in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China the study analysed gut bacteria in a cohort of more than 1,000 Chinese individuals in a variety of age-ranges from 3 to over 100 years-old who were self-selected to be extremely healthy with no known health issues and no family history of disease.
The results showed a direct correlation between health and the microbes in the intestine.
”The main conclusion is that if you are ridiculously healthy and 90 years old, your gut microbiota is not that different from a healthy 30 year old in the same population,” said lead researcher Greg Gloor at the Lawson Health Research Institute.
“The aim is to bring novel microbiome diagnostic systems to populations, then use food and probiotics to try and improve biomarkers of health,” added Professor Gregor Reid, also of the Lawson Health Research Institute. “It begs the question – if you can stay active and eat well, will you age better, or is healthy ageing predicated by the bacteria in your gut?”
Cause or Effect?
Whether the findings are the result of cause or effect is unknown, but the team behind the study point out that it is the diversity of the gut microbiota that remained the same through their study group.
“This demonstrates that maintaining diversity of your gut as you age is a biomarker of healthy aging, just like low-cholesterol is a biomarker of a healthy circulatory system,” said Gloor.
However, the team go further, by suggest that resetting an elderly microbiota to that of a 30-year-old might help promote health.
“By studying healthy people, we hope to know what we are striving for when people get sick,” said Reid.
The team noted that the present findings suggest that the microbiota of the healthy aged differ little from that of the healthy young in the same population, although the minor variations that do exist depend upon the comparison cohort.
“This baseline will serve for comparison for future cohorts with chronic or acute disease,” wrote the team. “We speculate that this similarity is a consequence of an active healthy lifestyle and diet, although cause and effect cannot be ascribed in this (or any other) cross-sectional design.”
They added that one surprising result was that the gut microbiota of persons in their 20s was distinct from those of other age cohorts.
“This result was replicated, suggesting that it is a reproducible finding and distinct from those of other populations,” said the team — who noted that further work will now investigate this unexpected finding.
“This observation may result from an altered diet, altered energy requirements, or an unknown cohort effect, although if the latter, it must have occurred countrywide as the same effect was observed in a population of university age students from Jiangsu Province and from police and military recruits originating from all provinces in China,” the Canadian and Chinese team concluded.
6 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT MICROBES IN YOUR GUT
1. What’s in Your Gut May Affect the Size of Your Gut
Need to lose weight? Why not try a gut bacteria transplant?
New research published in the journal Science suggests that the microbes in your gut may play a role in obesity.
2. Probiotics May Treat Anxiety and Depression
Scientists have been exploring the connection between gut bacteria and chemicals in the brain for years. New research adds more weight to the theory that researchers call “the microbiome–gut–brain axis.”
Research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that mice fed the bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus showed fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Researchers theorize that this is because L. rhamnosus acts on the central gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, which helps regulate emotional behavior.
L. rhamnosus, which is available as a commercial probiotic supplement, has also been linked to the prevention of diarrhea, atopic dermatitis, and respiratory tract infections.
While bacteria on the outside of your body can cause serious infections, the bacteria inside your body can protect against it. Studies have shown that animals without gut bacteria are more susceptible to serious infections.
Bacteria found naturally inside your gut have a protective barrier effect against other living organisms that enter your body. They help the body prevent harmful bacteria from rapidly growing in your stomach, which could spell disaster for your bowels.
To do this, they develop a give-and-take relationship with your body.
“The host actively provides a nutrient that the bacterium needs, and the bacterium actively indicates how much it needs to the host,” according to research published in The Lancet.
4. Gut Bacteria Pass from Mother to Child in Breast Milk
It’s common knowledge that a mother’s milk can help beef up a baby’s immune system. New research indicates that the protective effects of gut bacteria can be transferred from mother to baby during breastfeeding.
Work published in Environmental Microbiology shows that important gut bacteria travels from mother to child through breast milk to colonize a child’s own gut, helping his or her immune system to mature.
5. Lack of Gut Diversity Is Linked to Allergies
Too few bacteria in the gut can throw the immune system off balance and make it go haywire with hay fever.
Researchers in Copenhagen reviewed the medical records and stool samples of 411 infants. They found that those who didn’t have diverse colonies of gut bacteria were more likely to develop allergies.
But before you throw your gut bacteria a proliferation party, know that they aren’t always beneficial.
6. Gut Bacteria Can Hurt Your Liver
Your liver gets 70 percent of its blood flow from your intestines, so it’s natural they would share more than just oxygenated blood.
Italian researchers found that between 20 and 75 percent of patients with chronic fatty liver disease–the kind not associated with alcoholism–also had an overgrowth of gut bacteria. Some believe that the transfer of gut bacteria to the liver could be responsible for chronic liver disease.
How Do Probiotics Work?
Probiotics work in many different ways by their production of antimicrobial substances (organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins) that inhibit pathogen adhesion and degrade toxins produced by microbial invaders. Probiotics resist colonization by competing for binding sites as well as for nutrients with pathogens. In other words, they crowd out pathogens like candida and harmful E. Coli.
Probiotics secrete various proteins that stimulate the immune system both locally and throughout the body, boost intestinal brush border enzyme activity and increase secretory-IgA (a family of antibodies lining mucous membranes). Enzymes like lactase, sucrase, maltase, alpha-glucosidase, and alkaline phosphatase are enhanced by probiotics. Cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels are metabolized and lowered by healthy probiotic populations. Probiotics are able to resist translocation, defined as the passage of pathogens from the GI tract to extraintestinal sites such as the mesenteric lymph node (MLN), spleen, liver, kidneys, and blood.
(Dr. Mercola) Back pain is perhaps one of the most common health complaints across the globe. Worldwide, 1 in 10 people suffers from lower back pain, and it’s the No. 1 cause of job disability. In the U.S., a whopping $90 billion is spent on back pain each year.1 Tragically, back pain is also a leading cause of opioid use, which now kills more Americans than car crashes.2
Seventy-five to 80 percent of back pain cases do resolve within two to four weeks,3 with or without treatment, although it’s important to note that back pain can also be symptomatic of something else entirely, including an aortic aneurysm, appendicitis, gynecological issues, osteoporosis, arthritis and kidney stones,4 so if your back pain is not the result of an injury or strain, it’s advisable to see a doctor for an assessment.
Few people want to be told that their pain is psychological or emotional in origin, but there’s quite a bit of evidence that backs this up. As noted in a 2014 scientific review:5
“Specifically with regard to pain, studies pointed to the need for a model encompassing the complexity of the pain phenomenon. The biopsychosocial perspective closes this gap by confirming the existence of a dynamic relationship among biological changes, psychological status and social context.
The difficulty to accept the multidimensional nature of pain is largely linked to the widespread acceptance of Cartesian principles separating mind from body. Conversely, the biopsychosocial approach tries to consider physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects not separately, but as an integrated whole … [S]everal studies show the major role of biopsychosocial factors in triggering chronic pain, in the process of acute pain chronicity and in patients’ incapacity.”
Back Pain — Is It All in Your Head?
The late Dr. John Sarno, a professor of rehabilitation medicine, used mind-body techniques to treat patients with severe low back pain. His specialty was those who have already had surgery for low back pain and did not get any relief. This is a tough group of patients, yet he claimed to have a greater than 80 percent success rate using techniques like the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). A recent Vox article6 discusses Sarno’s unconventional treatment strategies for back pain, citing feedback from enthusiastic patients:
“‘Thousands of people, including myself and my husband, cured our chronic back pain using [Sarno’s] methods,’ wrote Karen Karvonen. Another Sarno devotee, Steven Schroeder, said the doctor changed his life. Schroeder’s back pain flared whenever he was stressed — a busy time at work, an illness in his family.
After he absorbed Sarno’s books, the discomfort mostly vanished. ‘I still sometimes have pain now in times of stress — but I can literally make it go away with mental focus,’ Schroeder, a lawyer in Chicago, wrote in an email. ‘It is crazy.’
Though he may not be a household name, Sarno is probably America’s most famous back pain doctor. Before his death on June 22, a day shy of his 94th birthday, he published four books and built a cult-like following of thousands of patients … Many of them claim to have been healed by Sarno, who essentially argued back pain was all in people’s heads.”
Before his death, Sarno was even the subject of a full-length documentary, “All the Rage: Saved by Sarno,” produced through Kickstarter donations. The film is expected to become available on Netflix before the end of the year. He was also featured in a “20/20” segment in 1999 (below).
As noted by Sarno in “All the Rage” — a four-minute trailer of which is included above — “I tell [my patient] what’s going on, and lo and behold, it stops hurting.” The “what” that is going on is not a physical problem at all — it’s emotions: anger; fear; frustration; rage.
The Psychological Underpinnings of Pain
One of the most controversial aspects of Sarno’s theory is that spine and disc abnormalities have no bearing on pain. In this 20/20 segment, Sarno dismisses these issues as “normal abnormalities” that are unrelated to any pain you may be experiencing. Many with back pain have no detectable abnormalities or structural problems while some that do have them suffer no pain.
According to Sarno, you unconsciously cause your own pain. In a nutshell, the pain you’re experiencing is your brain’s response to unaddressed stress, anger or fear. When these kinds of emotions are suppressed, your brain redirects the emotional impulses to restrict blood flow to certain parts of your body, such as your back, neck or shoulder, thereby triggering pain.
This pain acts as a distraction from the anger, fear or rage you don’t want to feel or think about. The pain essentially acts as a lid, keeping unwanted emotions from erupting. You may feel anger at the pain, but you won’t have to face the fact that you’re actually angry at your spouse, your children or your best friend, or that you hate your job, or the fact that you feel taken advantage of.
As noted by Sarno, working hard and constantly trying to do everything perfectly to keep everybody around you happy, “is enraging to the unconscious mind.” The term Sarno coined for this psychosomatic pain condition is “tension myoneural syndrome,”7 and he firmly believed most people can overcome their pain by acknowledging its psychological roots.
Even if you struggle to accept such a concept, the mere knowledge of it can have therapeutic power. In other words, by considering the idea that your problem is in fact rooted in stress factors opposed to a physical problem can allow the pain to dissipate.
While many of Sarno’s patients got well without psychiatric help, he would often recommend seeking out a psychotherapist to explore repressed emotions, or to take up journaling to put your feelings on paper. Dr. David Hanscom, an orthopedic surgeon, also uses expressive writing as a primary treatment tool for back pain. To learn more about this, please see our 2015 interview linked above. Other dos and don’ts listed in Sarno’s book, “Healing Back Pain,” include:
Do:
Don’t:
Resume physical activity. It won’t hurt you
Repress your anger or emotions
Talk to your brain: Tell it you won’t take it anymore
Think of yourself as being injured. Psychological conditioning contributes to ongoing back pain
Stop all physical treatments for your back — they may be blocking your recovery
Be intimidated by back pain. You have the power to overcome it
Studies Support Mind-Body Connection in Painful Conditions
While many pain experts disagreed (and still disagree) with Sarno’s theories, recent research supports the idea that pain, in many cases, has psychological underpinnings. A study8 published last year found emotion awareness and expression therapy (EAET) reduced chronic musculoskeletal pain by at least 30 percent in two-thirds of patients; one-third of patients improved by 70 percent.
More recently, a study9 published in the journal Pain concluded that treating fibromyalgia pain with EAET was more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy and general fibromyalgia education. Other recent research10 found that feelings of stiffness in the back “may represent a protective perceptual construct.” Tasha Stanton, Ph.D., who investigates the neuroscience behind pain, explained her team’s findings:11
“People with chronic back pain and stiffness overestimate how much force was being applied to their backs — they were more protective of their back. How much they overestimated this force related to how stiff their backs felt — the stiffer [it] felt, the more they overestimated force. This suggests the feelings of stiffness are a protective response, likely to avoid movement …
In theory, people who feel back stiffness should have a stiffer spine than those who do not. We found this was not the case in reality. Instead, we found that the amount they protected their back was a better predictor of how stiff their back felt. [We] found that these feelings could be modulated using different sounds.
The feeling of stiffness was worse with creaky door sounds and less with gentle whooshing sounds. This raises the possibility that we can clinically target stiffness without focusing on the joint itself but using other senses.
The brain uses information from numerous different sources including sound, touch, and vision, to create feelings such as stiffness. If we can manipulate those sources of information, we then potentially have the ability to manipulate feelings of stiffness. This opens the door for new treatment possibilities, which is incredibly exciting.”
All Pain Is Regulated by Your Brain
It may be helpful to remember that while pain may be largely a product of your own mind, the pain is still “real.” As noted by Dr. Mel Pohl,12 a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, “all pain is regulated by the brain — whether there is an actual nail in your thumb or an old injury that should have healed by now but inexplicably keeps hurting — in both cases it is nerve fibers that are sending messages to your brain that cause you to feel pain.”
An acute injury doesn’t have to have a psychological trigger, but if the pain persists long after the injury has healed, there may well be an emotional aspect involved. Pain can also carve figurative grooves in your brain. When pain is perceived over an extended period of time, the number of pain-causing neurotransmitters in your nervous system increase and your pain threshold tends to get lower. Essentially, you become more sensitized to pain.
Like Sarno, Hanscom and many others, Pohl also believes emotions are a primary cause of pain, triggering as much as 80 percent of all pain. This does not detract from its validity or intensity, however. Writing for Psychology Today, he says:13
“Based on studies conducted [in 2013] … published in the journal NatureNeuroscience, we now have conclusive evidence that the experience of chronic pain is strongly influenced by emotions. The emotional state of the brain can explain why different individuals do not respond the same way to similar injuries.
It was possible to predict with 85 percent accuracy whether an individual (out of a group of forty volunteers who each received four brain scans over the course of one year) would go on to develop chronic pain after an injury, or not.
These results echo other data and studies in the psychological and medical literature that confirm that changing one’s attitudes — one’s emotions — toward pain decreases the pain. I believe that one of the most important things people with chronic pain can do to help themselves is to notice what they are feeling.”
Physical Movement Is a Crucial Treatment Component for Most Pain
Your body needs regular activity to remain pain-free, and this applies even if you’re currently in pain. Not only does prolonged sitting restrict blood flow, which may trigger or exacerbate pain, sitting may even be the cause of the pain in the first place. For example, when you sit for long periods of time, you typically end up shortening your iliacus, psoas and quadratus lumborum muscles that connect from your lumbar region to the top of your femur and pelvis.
When these muscles are shortened, it can cause severe pain upon standing, as they will effectively pull your lower back (lumbar) forward. When there’s insufficient movement in your hip and thoracic spine, you also end up with excessive movement in your lower back. Most people tend to “baby” the pain and avoid moving about as much as possible, but in most cases, this is actually contraindicated. In fact, experts now agree that when it hurts the most, that’s when you really need to get moving.14
A scientific review of 21 studies15 confirmed that not only is exercise the most effective way to prevent back pain in the first place, it’s also the best way to prevent a relapse. Among people who had a history of back pain, those who exercised had a 25 percent to 40 percent lower risk of having another episode within a year than those who did not exercise.
Strength exercises, aerobics, flexibility training and stretching were all beneficial in lowering the risk of recurring pain. The video above, featuring Lisa Huck, demonstrates and explains the benefits of dynamic movement, and how it can help prevent and treat back pain.
New Treatment Guidelines for Back Pain Stress Nondrug Interventions
Fortunately, doctors are increasingly starting to prescribe activity in combination with a wait-and-watch approach for back pain patients.16 Dr. James Weinstein, a back-pain specialist and chief executive of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System, told The New York Times:17
“What we need to do is to stop medicalizing symptoms. Pills are not going to make people better … [Y]oga and tai chi, all those things are wonderful, but why not just go back to your normal activities? I know your back hurts, but go run, be active, instead of taking a pill.”
This view has now become the new norm. In fact, on February 14, 2017, the American College of Physicians issued updated treatment guidelines18,19 for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain, now sidestepping medication as a first-line treatment and recommending nondrug therapies instead. This is a significant change, and one that could potentially save thousands of lives by avoiding opioid addiction. The new guidelines include three primary recommendations:
1.“Given that most patients with acute or subacute low back pain improve over time regardless of treatment, clinicians and patients should select nonpharmacologic treatment with superficial heat … massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation … If pharmacologic treatment is desired, clinicians and patients should select nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or skeletal muscle relaxants …
2.For patients with chronic low back pain, clinicians and patients should initially select nonpharmacologic treatment with exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction … tai chi, yoga, motor control exercise, progressive relaxation, electromyography biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, operant therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or spinal manipulation …
3.In patients with chronic low back pain who have had an inadequate response to nonpharmacologic therapy, clinicians and patients should consider pharmacologic treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as first-line therapy, or tramadol or duloxetine as second-line therapy.
Clinicians should only consider opioids as an option in patients who have failed the aforementioned treatments and only if the potential benefits outweigh the risks for individual patients and after a discussion of known risks and realistic benefits with patients … “
The guidelines stress that even in the rare case when an opioid is given, it should only be prescribed in the lowest dose and for the shortest duration possible. Steroid injections and acetaminophen are also discouraged, as studies suggest neither is helpful or beneficial. Acetaminophen does not lower inflammation, and a review of the research20 shows steroids are on par with placebo when it comes to treating back pain in the long term.
I certainly believe that your emotional health and your ability to effectively address stress is an essential component of optimal health, and can have a major influence on whether or not you’re effective in eliminating your pain. And so do many other doctors and scientists from various fields of medicine.
It’s unfortunate that so many people dismiss these types of treatment strategies simply because they seem “too simple to be effective.” We’ve been indoctrinated to believe that getting well involves radical, often painful treatment, when in most cases the complete opposite is true.
It’s also important to be fully aware of the addictive potential of opioid drugs, and to seriously weigh your need for a narcotic pain killer. There are many other ways to address pain. Below is a long list of suggestions. If you are in pain that is bearable, please try these options first. If you need a pain reliever, consider an over-the-counter (OTC) option.
Research21 shows prescription-strength naproxen (Naprosyn, sold OTC in lower dosages as Aleve) provides the same pain relief as more dangerous narcotic painkillers. However, while naproxen may be a better alternative to narcotic painkillers, it still comes with a very long list of potential side effects,22 and the risks increase with frequency of use.
Eliminate or radically reduce most grains and sugars from your diet
Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels and decrease insulin and leptin resistance, which is one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.
Take a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat
Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work, by manipulating prostaglandins.) Good sources include wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, and anchovies, which are all high in healthy omega-3s while being low in contaminants such as mercury. As for supplements, my favorite is krill oil, as it has a number of benefits superior to fish oil.
Optimize your sun exposure and production of vitamin D
Optimize your vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain. Sun exposure also has anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects that are unrelated to vitamin D production, and these benefits cannot be obtained from a vitamin D supplement.
Red, near-, mid- and far-infrared light therapy (photobiology) and/or infrared saunas may also be quite helpful as they promote and speed tissue healing, even deep inside the body.
Medical cannabis
Medical marijuana has a long history as a natural analgesic and is now legal in 28 states. You can learn more about the laws in your state on medicalmarijuana.procon.org.23
Kratom
Kratom (Mitragyna speciose) is another plant remedy that has become a popular opioid substitute.24 In August 2016, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a notice saying it was planning to ban kratom, listing it as Schedule 1 controlled substance. However, following massive outrage from kratom users who say opioids are their only alternative, the agency reversed its decision.25
Kratom is likely safer than an opioid for someone in serious and chronic pain. However, it’s important to recognize that it is a psychoactive substance and should not be used carelessly. There’s very little research showing how to use it safely and effectively, and it may have a very different effect from one person to the next.
Also, while it may be useful for weaning people off opioids, kratom is in itself addictive. So, while it appears to be a far safer alternative to opioids, it’s still a powerful and potentially addictive substance. So please, do your own research before trying it.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
EFT is a drug-free approach for pain management of all kinds. EFT borrows from the principles of acupuncture in that it helps you balance out your subtle energy system. It helps resolve underlying, often subconscious, and negative emotions that may be exacerbating your physical pain. By stimulating (tapping) well-established acupuncture points with your fingertips, you rebalance your energy system, which tends to dissipate pain.
Meditation and Mindfulness Training
Among volunteers who had never meditated before, those who attended four 20-minute classes to learn a meditation technique called focused attention (a form of mindfulness meditation) experienced significant pain relief — a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness.26
Chiropractic
Many studies have confirmed that chiropractic management is much safer and less expensive than allopathic medical treatments, especially when used for pain such as low back pain.
Qualified chiropractic, osteopathic and naturopathic physicians are reliable, as they have received extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate health care training, which lasts between four to six years. These health experts have comprehensive training in musculoskeletal management.
Acupuncture
Research has discovered a “clear and robust” effect of acupuncture in the treatment of back, neck and shoulder pain, and osteoarthritis and headaches.
Physical therapy
Physical therapyhas been shown to be as good as surgery for painful conditions such as torn cartilage and arthritis.
Foundation Training
Foundation training is an innovative method developed by Dr. Eric Goodman to treat his own chronic low back pain. It’s an excellent alternative to painkillers and surgery, as it actually addresses the cause of the problem.
Massage
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Pain Medicine included 60 high-quality and seven low-quality studies that looked into the use of massage for various types of pain, including muscle and bone pain, headaches, deep internal pain, fibromyalgia pain and spinal cord pain.27
The review revealed massage therapy relieves pain better than getting no treatment at all. When compared to other pain treatments like acupuncture and physical therapy, massage therapy still proved beneficial and had few side effects. In addition to relieving pain, massage therapy also improved anxiety and health-related quality of life.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthinis one of the most effective fat-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs. Higher doses are typically required and you may need 8 milligrams (mg) or more per day to achieve this benefit.
Ginger
This herb has potent anti-inflammatory activity and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.
Curcumin
In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility. A past study also found that a turmeric extract composed of curcuminoids blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the overproduction of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.28
Boswellia
Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients.
Bromelain
This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form but eating fresh pineapple, including some of the bromelain-rich stem, may also be helpful.
Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO)
This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a joint lubricant and anti-inflammatory. I have used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and carpal tunnel syndrome. I used a topical preparation for this.
Evening Primrose, Black Currant and Borage Oils
These contain the essential fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is particularly useful for treating arthritic pain.
Cayenne Cream
Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.
Methods such as hot and cold packs, aquatic therapy, yoga, various mind-body techniques and cognitive behavioral therapy29 can also result in astonishing pain relief without drugs.
Grounding
Walking barefoot on the earth may also provide a certain measure of pain relief by combating inflammation.
Inscription sugar made into pile of white granulated sugar
Sugar is likely one of the most dangerous products you can ingest and may trigger an addiction that is difficult to break. What is so terrifying is that you can find it in almost every processed food you purchase. It hides under a number of different names and affects your body in ways that scientists are continuing to discover. While the media and medical associations have warned about overeating fat and salt, there has been relatively little said about the overabundance of sugar in the American diet.
The sad truth is there are copious numbers of studies spanning decades that demonstrate the damage sugar does to your health, but the industry has managed to bury the evidence, and claim sugar has little to no effect on your health or your weight.
According to one recent study, consumption of sugar is responsible for as much as 40 percent of health care dollars spent each year.1In the U.S. more than $1 trillion is spent fighting obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. All of these diseases are related to the excessive consumption of sugar.
The foods you eat have an immense impact on your brain, gut health and cellular metabolism, all which impact your health and daily ability to be productive at home and work. Historically, sugar was a treat enjoyed only on special occasions. Today, it’s found in almost everything you eat, short of whole foods. It’s in processed foods of all kinds, snacks, drinks, sauces, breads, condiments and deli meats. Even infant formula and baby food is loaded with sugar, which triggers the brain’s reward center, increasing desire for more.
Research quite clearly shows that refined sugar in excessive amounts promotes mitochondrial dysfunction. These little powerhouses provide the energy for your cells, so when they cease to function normally, any number of functions throughout your body may be disrupted. Now, researchers have confirmed that sugar damages cellular function no matter how healthy you were before you began eating poorly.
Sugar Triggers Metabolic Changes That Damage Your Health
In a study from the University of Surrey, researchers asked two groups of men to change their eating habits for three months.2 In the beginning, one group had evidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); the other group did not. Each man went through a 12-week period when he ate 650 calories from sugar each day or no more than 140 calories from sugar each day. The researchers measured levels of fat in the participant’s blood and liver.3
What they discovered was not surprising. Those who ate 650 calories of sugar per day for 12 weeks had much higher levels of fat in their blood and liver. The research was designed as a randomized-crossover study, meaning each participant followed both diets and the order they followed the diet was randomly assigned. Lead researcher Bruce Griffin, Ph.D., professor of nutritional metabolism at the University of Surrey, commented on the results, saying:
“Our findings provide new evidence that consuming high amounts of sugar can alter your fat metabolism in ways that could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.”
Fat metabolism is the process fats undergo to be broken down and transported in the blood to cells around your body. The results also showed that when men who began the study with low levels of liver fat ate a diet high in sugar, their blood and liver measurements and fat metabolism became similar to that of men suffering from NAFLD.4 This condition is tied to obesity and affects up to 25 percent of Americans.5
The researchers’ goal was to determine the role sugar has on the metabolism of the liver and how it influences cardiovascular health. What they found was that both groups of men, those with and without NAFLD, showed changes in fat metabolism linked to cardiovascular disease.6
In the past, NAFLD occurred almost exclusively in adults. However, there is evidence to suggest it now occurs in up to 10 percent of children7 ages 2 to 19, and the reason for this is a high-sugar diet, starting in infancy. Sadly, these children are at a significantly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease unless their diet is changed.
Sugar — A Driving Force Behind the Leading Causes of Death
In the video above, investigative journalist and author, Gary Taubes, discusses how the sugar industry has manipulated information and perpetrated a fraud on the public across the world. At the start of his book, “The Case Against Sugar,” he makes the comparison between the sparse number of individuals who were diagnosed with diabetes in the late 1800s when sugar was not a staple in the diet, and the rate of 1 in 3 individuals who suffer from diabetes and prediabetes today.
The sugar added to one 6-ounce soda is enough to increase your risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease if you drink it every day.8 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates the average American gets 16 percent of their daily calories from sugar,9 or as much as 30 teaspoons a day, which is three times the recommended amount.10 This is equal to eating 35 5-pound bags of sugar every year.
Manufacturers have used the addictive property of sugar to drive sales of their products, and the use of high fructose corn syrup to get more bang for their buck. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is not only cheaper for manufacturers to use, it also gives your body a bigger sugar jolt. Dr. Yulia Johnson, family medicine physician with the Iowa Clinic, comments on the use of HFCS:11
“Your body processes high fructose corn syrup differently than it does ordinary sugar. The burden falls on your liver, which is not capable of keeping up with how quickly corn syrup breaks down. As a result, blood sugar spikes quicker. It’s stored as fat, so you can become obese and develop other health problems, such as diabetes, much faster.”
The danger to growing children is even greater as their bodies cannot handle the amount of sugar they get from candy, processed foods and sugary drinks, and they have many more years of sugar consumption during which they damage their mitochondria and cellular metabolism — damage that has been linked to many of the leading causes of death, including:12
Sugar Associated With an Increased Risk of Depression
Sugar is also associated with an increased risk of depression. It stands to reason that as sugar adversely affects your brain, it may trigger damage that affects your mood and behavior. Several studies have found an association between rising sugar intake and an increase in depression rates.14,15,16
There are several ways sugar contributes to mood changes. For starters, sugar increases insulin resistance, which plays a significant role in your mental health. Over the long term, this creates a chronic inflammatory response in your body. In one cross-cultural analysis,17 the researchers concluded the dietary predictors of outcome for depression and schizophrenia are very similar to those that predict diabetes and heart disease. They all involve a chronic inflammatory response, of which sugar is a primary driver.
Researchers have also found a significant association between addiction and mood disorders, including depression. In a study18 that tracked the dietary habits and medical conditions of 8,000 people over 22 years, researchers found that men who consumed 67 grams or more of sugar per day were 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression in five years than those consuming 40 grams or less.19 None of the participants had been treated for mental illness at the start of the study.
The effect of sugar on mental health appeared to be independent of socioeconomic status, physical activity, drinking, smoking or other eating habits. The findings from this study are noteworthy. Although the methodology didn’t allow researchers to find cause and effect, the results line up well with previous studies that suggest over-consumption of sugar may trigger an imbalance in neurological chemicals that affect your mood, raising your risk for depression and anxiety.
Sugar impacts the function of dopamine in your brain, the neurotransmitter that triggers your reward system, in the same way narcotics affect your brain, and may trigger a strong addictive response. Since addiction and mood disorders have been linked, and sugar fuels powerful mood changes associated with addiction, researchers who have analyzed the biochemical and neurological effects of sugar concluded it may be as addictive as cocaine for some people.20
Excessive Sugar Is Toxic
In the video above, Dr. Robert Lustig, professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California in San Francisco (USCF), discusses the role of sugar in society’s diet over past decades and how it can poison your body. Sugar stimulates the release of dopamine,21 a neurotransmitter that plays a role in many important pathways, most notably the mesolimbic pathway.
The way dopamine affects your brain in this area changes with addiction and spikes your perception of motivation or pleasure.22 These chemicals are what makes sugar feel so good to you, and why manufacturers use it to drive your behavior. But, just like other addictive drugs, sugar is not healthy for you. Lacking any nutritional value, added sugar is one of the most toxic ingredients in a Western diet.
Processed fructose such as HFCS is another form of added sugar in processed foods that has demonstrated greater damage than simple glucose or table sugar, which is a mixture of glucose and fructose. A study led by Kimber Stanhope, Ph.D., research nutritional biologist from the University of California Davis, demonstrated that fructose does not act like glucose in your body.23
Individuals were randomized to consume drinks sweetened with glucose or fructose over a 10-week period. Even though the drinks contained the same number of calories, the fructose group experienced an increase in lipids associated with cardiovascular disease, increased resistance to insulin and greater visceral fat associated with metabolic disease.
The glucose group did not experience these adverse changes. According to the authors, “These data suggest that dietary fructose specifically increases DNL [hepatic de novo lipogenesis], promotes dyslipidemia, decreases insulin sensitivity, and increases visceral adiposity in overweight/obese adults.”
Sugar Addiction Has Been Manipulated by the Industry
There are a significant number of studies detailing the damage sugar causes your body that spans many decades. The cost of consumption drives up insurance rates and number of hospitalizations, and is linked to eight of the leading causes of death. However, unlike tobacco products that are sold with severe cancer and respiratory warnings, the sugar industry and processed food manufacturers are free to use sugar to feed the consumer’s addiction without any warning whatsoever.
Long before a conflict of interest statement was required on research studies, the sugar industry sponsored research that promoted dietary fat as the culprit behind cardiovascular disease and weight gain.24 However, there was evidence that sugar was linked to heart disease in studies dating to the 1950s. Following the deaths of organic chemist Roger Adams, University of Illinois, and nutritionist David Mark Hegsted, Harvard University, their personal correspondence and materials were gifted to their respective universities.
It was in this correspondence that Cristin Kearns, postdoctoral researcher at USCF, discovered references to research conclusions that were influenced by the sugar industry in an effort to hide the damaging effects sugar has on health.25 Historical analysis has provided proof the sugar industry has guided nutritional research, impacting public policy and shifting the blame for chronic disease to saturated fat.
Recent reports show the food industry is still influencing nutritional science.26 In the end, the combination of flawed science, poor governmental oversight, and the natural effects sugar has on your brain has led many into an addictive relationship with a substance that is fueling heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
As Health Insurance Rates Rise, Your Best Insurance May Be to Avoid Sugar
Research from many of the most respected institutions around the world confirms sugar is a primary factor driving the development of chronic diseases and contributes to the leading causes of death,27 including cancer and heart disease. It stands to reason, if you want to reduce your health care costs, it is best to avoid sugar as much as possible, if not eliminate it from your diet completely.
While eating whole, organic foods is the best thing you can do for your health, when you do pick up packaged foods, read the labels carefully so you can make an informed decision about the amount of sugar you are adding to your diet. Keep in mind there are many different types of sugars that may go unnoticed on labels. Below is a list of some of the more common sugars, but there are more names for sugar than are listed here.
Also, remember food labels list ingredients in order of the amount in the product. In other words, there is more of the first ingredient in the product than the second, and so forth. When looking at the amount of sugar in the product you’re considering, remember if sugar is in the fourth, sixth, ninth and 11th positions, the combined total may well put it in the first or second position. You’ll notice that some of these names end with “syrup” or “ose,” which identifies them as sugars.28
