Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

When it comes to diet and health, one of my favorite books is “Life Without Bread.” If the title sounds too forbidding, you can relax (at least a bit); based on content, the book should really be named “Life With a Little Bread.”

I like this book because the authors call it as they see it, with no concern for marketing gimmicks or the politically correct. One of the two authors, Austrian physician Wolfgang Lutz, wrote this book after retiring from 40 years in practice. By contrast, many diet and health books today are nothing but self-promotional tools written by individuals with little actual experience to back them up.

Throughout his years in practice, Dr. Lutz meticulously charted the benefits of his carbohydrate-restricted diet on conditions ranging from hormone imbalances in women to digestive disorders and even cardiovascular disease. I am not saying that this diet is a cure-all, but I do think that Dr. Lutz and his co-author Dr. Allan know what theyíre talking about.
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Tags: Cholesterol, Diet
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Some of the most health-conscious people I know elect to have full body scans as an early detection method for possible cancer and heart disease. But is it really a good idea? It now appears that these scans expose people to significant amounts of radiation, itself a cause of cancer.

According to a recent study published in the journal Radiology (Radiology, 2004; 232: 735-38),
a single full body scan is enough to increase a person’s lifetime risk of cancer slightly. When scans are repeated on an annual basis the risk increase becomes substantial.

David Brenner, Ph.D., lead author of the study, says “our research provides definitive evidence that radiation risk is associated with full-body CT scans” and “the radiation dose from a full-body CT scan is comparable to the doses received by some of the atomic-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

Tags: Cancer
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Although summer is just over, if you read newspapers or have children you’re probably all too aware of the upcoming flu season and the need to once again make a decision about the flu shot.

During the summer, while many of us were thinking about vacation or trips to the beach, the staffs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and pharmaceutical companies were hard at work planning for a successful “immunization season.”

According to a recent article by Dr. Sherri Tenpenni, published on the online weekly magazine Red Flags (www.redflagsweekly.com), the CDC spent the last few months hatching a seven-step plan to insure high vaccination rates.

The plan includes disseminating posters, fliers and other documents, stressing the potential dangers ñ including death ñ of the flu, and releasing reports through the media “helping to foster the perception that many people are susceptible to a bad case of influenza.”

Personally, I have never had a flu shot; I take vitamin C. I used to think that vitamin C made me completely immune to the flu, but in a few instances I realized this wasn’t always true. I still think that vitamin C helps me resist the flu most of the time, even though I am exposed to it frequently because of my work. When I do catch it, it seems to be mild or at least short-lived.

Getting immunized for the flu is a decision we all need to make for ourselves, but in making this decision we may consider a few facts. If there is a risk of death from the flu, is it any greater than the risk of, say, being struck by lightening? And we need to also take into account what’s in the shot, aside from the active vaccine. Last year’s vaccine contained such additives as mercury, aluminum, antifreeze and a host of other chemicals that are toxic to the brain, immune system, and possibly other systems of the body as well.

The final question: does the vaccine even work? In case you’ve forgotten, last year’s vaccine was developed for the wrong strain of the virus and it turned out to be basically ineffective. On the other hand, natural products, including vitamin C, anti-viral herbs and immune-boosting supplements can help prevent the flu at least most of the time and have side benefits, rather than side effects.

To read the entire article about the CDC and its vaccination strategy go to http://www.redflagsweekly.com/conferences/vaccines/2004_aug30.html

Tags: Vaccines, Viruses
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Many people have asked me why I rarely recommend flax oil. Although I consider freshly ground flaxseeds to be a highly nutritious superfood with significant immune-enhancing properties, flax oil presents problems. It is highly vulnerable to rancidity – even if refrigerated – and it is not immediately usable in the body because it depends on an enzymatic conversion that does not always take place.

An interesting new study (Am J Clin Nutr 2004 Jul; 80 (1): 204-16) focused on intakes of different fatty acids in roughly 48,000 men over 14 years in relation to the occurrence of prostate cancer. It found that higher consumption of fats found in meat or butter had no effect on the rate of prostate cancer, while fish oil was protective and those who consumed more of it enjoyed a lower rate of prostate cancer. Intake of ALA (alpha linolenic acid), the primary fat in flaxseed oil, was neutral in terms of overall cancer rates, but those who consumed more of this oil had a higher occurrence of advanced prostate cancer.

Although more research might be needed to confirm this finding it is hard to think it was coincidental, given the large size of the study. It would therefore seem that while ALA does not cause prostate cancer it promotes its growth.

We don’t know exactly what causes prostate cancer, and probably multiple factors are at work, but highly unsaturated oils with a strong tendency to become rancid ‘such as flaxseed oil’ might provide a perfect medium to help this cancer grow.

Tags: Cancer
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Dr. Ben Feingold, a pediatric allergist, said it as early as 1973: additives in foods cause hyperactivity in sensitive children. What followed was a succession of biased industry-sponsored studies aimed at discrediting Dr. Feingold’s findings. Then the food industry continued along its merry way of creating ever more additive-laden foods and marketing them to children.

For many of us natural practitioners, and for parents who are not so quick to medicate their children and instead observe their behaviors carefully, Dr. Feingold was never wrong. Now a large double-blind placebo-controlled British study is providing further confirmation for this.

The study (Arch Dis Child 2004; 89: 506-11. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.031435) can be found online at www.archdischild.com. It looked at nearly two thousand three-year-old children, separating them into different groups based on prior hyperactive behavior and the presence of allergies. In each group, children were either given a diet free of dyes and sodium benzoate (a preservative commonly found in soft drinks), or a diet containing these additives.

Researchers concluded that “the effect of food additives and colorings on hyperactivity is substantial” and in fact comparable to that seen in some medication studies. They further stated “the potential long-term public health benefit is indicated by studies which have shown that the young hyperactive child is at risk of continuing behavioral difficulties, including the transition to conduct disorder and educational difficulties.” In other words, just covering up a problem without addressing its root causes is likely to lead to continuing and escalating trouble as children grow into adulthood.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that the negative effects of these additives were independent of prior hyperactive behavior or allergies. What this means is that these chemicals are simply bad, with no redeeming qualities. I’m all for a free country but someone out there should be watching out for the health of our children and removing these dangerous chemicals from our food supply!

Tags: ADD/ADHD
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