Archive for February, 2010

Want to Lose Weight? Another Reason to “Yoga”

February 21st, 2010

In my last blog entry I discussed the benefits that yoga can have on inflammatory diseases, but was curious to see if there had been research documenting yoga’s effect on weight-loss.

There has. Perhaps the most sited study was lead by Dr. Alan Kristal, DPH, MPH at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The 2005 study, which included 15,500 people age 45-55, reported that yoga can help prevent weight gain.

But exactly how is still somewhat of a mystery. One theory suggests that the strong mind-body connection yoga develops, helps you become aware of what it feels like to be full — and therefore when to stop eating. Dr. Kristal’s slightly different opinion suggests that “regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating…which helps change the relationship of mind to body, and eventually to food and eating.”

I find the most interesting and scientifically viable explanation that of Rebecca Brenner. She holds a Ph.D. in nutrition and is the owner of Park City Holistic Health in Utah. In a recent article published in Yoga Journal, which also cites Dr. Kristal’s study, Rebecca explains that yoga strengthens the digestive system — in addition to the muscles we typically think of when we hear the word strength.  “Digestive health is essential to all health,” states Rebecca. “It will affect the way you break down and assimilate food, vitamins and minerals. If you are not digesting properly, your body will trick you into cravings that can affect your weight loss.”

I also find it extremely interesting that when I was searching for research regarding the weight-loss benefits of yoga, I found an article quoting my cousin, Rebecca Brenner!

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Exciting New Study at Ohio State University: Yoga Fights Inflammatory Diseases

February 20th, 2010

When you think of activities that are “good for you,” yoga is usually at the top of the list. I never stopped to wonder if this was true because I have heard it so many times and honestly it just seems to make sense. It seems natural that yoga is healthy for your body because we know that exercise which increases your heart rate is “good.” We also know that stretching your muscles is “good.” Yoga combines both of these, while adding the extra benefit of deep breathing.

In my yoga class last Saturday lead by Nanci Conniff (who teaches yoga to students and sports teams at Stanford), she mentioned a recent study at Ohio State University which proves the positive effects yoga has on inflammatory conditions. Nanci spends her career teaching Stanford athletes how to incorporate yoga into their training regimens — for both physical and mental benefits. I often laugh picturing 300lb football players doing the cat pose.

I’m always on the lookout for cutting-edge research which will help us lead healthier lives, so I looked up the study and want to spread the news. If we ever doubted yoga’s health benefits and used it as an excuse not to partake in the activity, we can’t run any longer!

Last month, Dr. Janice Kiecott-Glaser and her team at Ohio State University published a study which showed that regular yoga practice strongly reduces the amount of Interleukin-6 in our bodies (by 41% in their particular study). Cytokine Interleukin-6 plays a large role in our bodies inflammatory system. Too much, though, can lead to diseases such as stroke, type-2 diabetes, autoimmune conditions, and heart disease – to name a few.  This study proves that yoga allows us to regulate and reduce the production of Interleukin-6 in our bodies, thereby reducing chronic inflammation — and improving the quality of our lives! View the study published on PubMed.

The Mayo Clinic website published an article shortly after entitled: Yoga, Tap Into the Many Health Benefits

According to the article, yoga has the ability to reduce stress and increase fitness (not very surprising). Managment of chronic health conditions is also mentioned, perhaps as a result of the Ohio State study. I was surprised to read, though, that yoga can contribute to weight loss. It does not say how, exactly, just that “If you’re overweight or have binge-eating disorder, yoga may help you make the healthy lifestyle changes necessary to gain control of your eating and drop those extra pound.” Maybe this should be the next study…

Okay, no excuses for me this morning, I have twenty minutes to get to Yoga!

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Final Thoughts About the Hygiene Hypothesis…and the Horrifying Treatment

February 16th, 2010

“Wash your hands before you eat.”

Sound familiar?

Perhaps washing our hands all of the time may not be such a great idea, if there is any truth to the hygiene hypothesis.

Like most people in the U.S., and other developed countries, I’ve been taught that germs are bad. I even read a book to my niece recently called, Germs Make Me Sick! (I’m not kidding, you can find it on Amazon for $5.99).

Since I was old enough to clean (which was pretty young in my family), we spent weekends waging war on germs in our own little microcosm of the world (our house). I learned how to spray and scrub the bathroom with all sorts of disinfectants, washed my clothes with extra-strength detergent, and scrubbed every little bit of food particle off of my dishes with antibacterial dishwashing soap.

Then, after all of that cleaning, I had to clean myself. I always spent an extra long time in the shower after a hard day of cleaning, just to make sure that I killed any of the bad germs that might have leapt onto me from my sponges or mops.

If you grew up in the U.S., you can probably relate to this.

Little has changed, actually. My shower is still my safe haven against germs (once it’s been scrubbed with Comet, of course). Like the products that reside under the kitchen and bathroom sinks, I have an equally vast pharmacy of cleansing products in my shower for myself: different kinds of cleansers for my face, hair, and body. And often numerous types for each part of my body — most accumulated out of boredom, really, while waiting 30-minutes at Walgreens for a prescription.

So, the idea that being too clean can make you sick is fascinating – and scary.

It’s extremely ironic to think that simply growing up in a developing country – with the “highest” medical care, and cleanliness, — can actually cause us to be grow up to be very sick. This radical idea the hygiene hypothesis proposes suggests that our habits of cleanliness, sterilization, vaccination and antibiotics may cure us from the common cold but can leave us fighting severe allergies or a devastating disease for the rest of our life.

Perhaps just as disturbing as the idea that we are getting sick from our efforts to avoid illness, is the treatment. In order to cure our lack of exposure to parasites and other infectious agents, hygiene theorists are testing cures by purposefully injecting people with the larvae of a parasitic worm (or helminth). This treatment, referred to as Helminthic therapy,has proved promising in research studies, the risks of severe side effects in some cases are too to become commonplace just yet.

I could probably get used to the idea of not showering or cleaning as much (okay, I could definitely get used to not cleaning), but I’m not sure I would be able to knowingly ingest parasites, like hookworms, into my body.

But…ironically, if this hypothesis holds true, what many of us in the industrialized world have been taught to fear, would be our cure.

So maybe the next time you ride the subway touch all of the poles. Then go home and take out the trash, making sure to adequately touch the lid of the trashcan. Next, scrub your toilet with the kitchen sponge. Then pick up some food you find on the floor (check under the oven or the refrigerator) and eat it. At no point should you wash your hands.

If someone looks at you in disgust, say, “Hey, I’m just trying not to get sick.”

What do you do now in order to prevent yourself from getting sick?

Would you change some habits if we found out that the hygiene hypothesis was true?

What would be the hardest “cleanliness” habit to break?

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The Hygiene Hypothesis Continued: What Could this Mean?

February 13th, 2010

Considering humans lived with millions of  “germs” for hundreds of thousands of years, and it was not until the last few hundred that we decided to limit our exposure, it seems logical that we would see some physiological effects or changes from our new habits.  While researchers have agreed upon the idea that immunological diseases are much more prevalent in industrialized countries, they have not agreed upon the cause. The hygiene hypothesis, however, has not been close to the top of the list of plausible explanations.

For instance, it is more common to hear the theory that individuals are at a higher risk for developing an autoimmune disease in developing countries because of our northern latitude. Without as much sun at these latitudes, individuals are at risk for vitamin D deficiency, which has been linked to regulation of the immune system.

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After six years at a medical research organization devoted to developing a treatment for an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), I thought I have heard every possible cause of such a disease. I have answered hundreds of “What causes MS?” questions with the same answer, “We don’t know what causes any autoimmune disease, but there is often a genetic predisposition and the actual disease (or diseases as some might argue) could be triggered by a virus, environmental factor, or both.”

I have also heard many anecdotal stories of how to cure the mysterious diseases from those outside the research community, like:

“My sister had rheumatoid arthritis and took Omega-3 oil and is completely fine now.”

Or, “My friend had MS and he knows that it was caused by heavy metal toxicity so he started taking silver is back to normal.”

Sometimes, people admitted that it wasn’t actually that simple to cure these complex diseases. It took their “friends” two things, like acupuncture and a gluten-free diet. Or moving to India and meditating everyday.

Okay, so maybe I’m being a little cynical, but I just find it hard to believe that these things could work for one person, but not for the millions of other people in the world suffering from the same disease. And trust me, if you have an autoimmune disease, you’ve probably tried every traditional and not-so-traditional way to “cure yourself” — from acupuncture to infusions of corticosteroids at your local E.R.

But even if someone is lucky enough to find a way to cure themselves, I am more interested in  prevention. Let’s stop the diseases before they start – so we don’t have to drink silver or move to India.

The hygiene hypothesis is radical, but if there is any truth to it, the implications of addressing this problem are enormous; we would be able to prevent chronic illness in hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. alone.

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I’m pleased to see this hypothesis growing in interest and credibility among the scientific community of immunologists, rheumatologists, and others in similar fields of researcher. Regardless of whether the hygiene hypothesis turns out to be the cause of autoimmune and allergic diseases, I think it is important to consider the affect of meddling with our body’s immune system.

Subscribing to the idea that over-cleansing, and under-burdening ourselves with germs, as the cause of our relatively high incidence of allergic and autoimmune diseases would have incredible implications.

It would mean that instead of popping a daily vitamin D pill, we would have to re-consider the way our society runs, from vaccinating children to using anti-bacterial cleansers.

It is a well-known concept that much of life operates on the idea of give and take. Trade-offs. Like drinking water in portable sized plastic bottles might be extremely convenient and hydrate our bodies in the short term, it might not be so great for the environment in the long term.

So, while the positive ramifications of our recent medical developments are noticeable and commendable — like the ability to end polio or typhoid fever — might there be a trade-off here too? Are we trading a cold for a chronic illness?

Do you believe the hypothesis might hold some truth? What could this mean for our future?

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The Dirt on Cleanliness: Could Curing Bronchitis Cause Chronic Illness?

February 4th, 2010

House is one of my favorite T.V. shows. I don’t like mysteries typically, but it captivates me because it’s like a modern day fairy tale for adults.

Many of us have experienced a physical illness where we dream of a doctor (or an entire team of brilliant doctors, like on House) who would diagnose and fix us in an hour. Actually, minus commercials, about 30-40 minutes.

In the real world, though, if you have a strange set of symptoms it is unlikely that even one brilliant doctor, let alone six, will be willing and able to persevere until she finds the the root of they problem, and the possible treatment or cure. It could take 30-minute appointment after another for years – sometimes never getting any closer to discovering what the cause of your bizarre symptoms.

The juxtaposition to how things actually happen in the medical world is why I like watching House. The T.V. show brings satisfaction frequently dreampt of, but rarely experienced.

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The other night I was watching an episode where the “doctors” suspected the cause of a man’s symptoms was an autoimmune disease. Such a suspicion is common on House because most of the patients’ cases tend to be complicated, mysterious, and difficult to diagnose – like autoimmune diseases.

This episode really intrigued me because this was the first time I heard about the “hygiene hypothesis.” Dr. House suggested that this theory, which proposes that the lack of childhood exposure to germs is responsible for the high incidence of autoimmune diseases seen in adults, was the reason for the patient’s symptoms. House went on say that the hygiene hypothesis explains why autoimmune diseases are more prevalent in developed countries – because of our advanced medical capabilities.

Too advanced, perhaps…

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