Pets and cancer

Bone cancer is quite common in some dogs and often quite tragic. Some researchers are enrolling dogs in cancer drug trials prior to human studies. Dogs apparently tolerate chemo much better than humans, so many of the unpleasant side effects do not occur or are minimal. This might be an option some should consider.

The health effects of marijuana

There is a wide range of seemingly contradictory research on marijuana coming out in recent years. Some says it hurts memory; others say it prevents Alzheimer's. Some suggests it treats depression; others that it precipitates psychosis. Depending on your source, you may be getting quite biased information. Medical marijuana advocates no doubt leaving out the bad and drug warriors leaving out the good. However, when data is mixed, one must necessarily err on the side of caution. For everything, marijuana is supposedly good for, there are other substances equally as good with none of the downside that comes with habitual use. As a result, any rational person would only indulge occasionally if at all.

Genes decide if coffee hurts or helps your heart

Moderation in all things still seems sound advice.

Marijuana may cause pregnancies to fail

Something to be aware of. It seems only to refer to the period around conception.

Pilot Study Successful In Taming Allergic Reactions To Food

This is an important study as eggs are a highly nutritious food. Vegetarians have no other decent source of protein available to them. They are also high in fat soluble vitamins not available in large amounts in other vegetarian foods as well. Finally, modern chicken feeding alternatives have resulted in eggs with a very favorable fat profile. They are much cheaper than fish and have no issues related to heavy metal toxicity

"Brilliant Minds" Forecast the Next 50 Years

I thought this made for interesting reading. Much of it is health-related. I pay most attention to those with most established mainstream credentials, but even those considered more on the fringes (like Ray Kurzweil) are still pretty accomplished scientists.

Panax ginseng--a non-organ-specific cancer preventive?

There appears to be good evidence that ginseng can prevent cancer. Please note that there is no solid evidence that ginseng can treat cancer that already exists. I pulled this abstract from Lancet Oncol, a respected journal. A google scholar search of "ginseng cancer" (with no quotes) yields quite a few hits on the topic and the conclusions seem to be widely accepted in the scientific community. See also and this, too.

Lancet Oncol. 2001 Jan;2(1):49-55.

Panax ginseng--a non-organ-specific cancer preventive?

Yun TK.

Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul. tkyun@nuri.net

For the past 50 years, the main weapons in the war against cancer have been early detection and surgical removal, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and attempts to develop gene therapy. However, the results so far are less than ideal. One strategy now is to switch from therapeutic approaches to prevention of cancer by improving lifestyle and by identifying effective natural products as chemopreventive agents. One promising candidate with cancer-preventive effects that are not specific to any organ is Panax ginseng C A Meyer, a herb with a long medicinal history. Its protective influence against cancer has been shown by extensive preclinical and epidemiological studies, but these effects need to be carefully investigated by scientific clinical trials focusing on the major cancer killers stomach, lung, liver, and colorectal cancer.

Red Wine Ingredient Increases Endurance

More good news about resveratrol.

We heard recently it lengthens life even in obese mice. Now it makes a sedentary animal perform with the endurance of a trained athlete.

Note that one of the sources of commercial resveratrol is hu zhang, a Chinese herb that is traditionally described to "moves blood" and "clear damp-heat", lending further laboratory support to the idea that addressing these factors is the key to longevity. These factors appear to be associated with circulatory disorders, infection, and inflammation from a modern physiological perspective. While certain so-called tonic herbs and their key components, such as astragalus and ginseng, have been shown to affect factors like short term immunity and endurance, no tonic herb has ever been shown to increase lifespan in a lab animal.

A most interesting quote from this article:

"The science of the field is still in flux, as many central details are unclear. The main theory developed by Dr. Guarente and others is that sirtuins sense the level of energy expenditure in living cells and switch the body’s resources from reproduction to tissue maintenance when food is low.

This is an ancient strategy, Dr. Guarente believes, intended to let an organism live through famines and postpone breeding until good times return. The switch to tissue maintenance involves specific action that would stave off the major degenerative diseases of aging like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and degeneration of brain cells."

Note that what is being talked about here is reproduction not sexual
activity. I suspect the major impact historically would have been on
women in this case. Most evidence I have seen on male sexual activity
suggests that in the absence of STDs, the effect on health of regular
sex is wholly beneficial. In addition, just because conception might
have been inhibited by high levels of sirtuins does not mean people
weren't having sex, it just means they were experiencing the most
taxing effect thereof, which is the bearing and raising of offspring,
particularly the need to share scarce food resources in times of famine.

Red meat link to breast cancers

This has been suspected for some time. Note it involves excessive consumption and heavily composed of hi-fat and processed meats. It says nothing about grass-fed beef.

Curry spice 'help for arthritis'

No surprise. This supports previous research from Asia.

Further Evidence That Moderate Drinking Reduces Men's Heart Attack Risk

Expected

Marijuana may slow memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients

Unexpected