Inflammation, and the use of antioxidants to put out inflammatory fires, is a hot topic these days. What do we mean by inflammation?

Inflammation is a natural and necessary response in the body whenever we are accosted by harmful germs or when we injure ourselves. When this occurs, our immune system steps in to fight foreign invaders and to bring our body back into balance so that we can heal.

Inflammatory chemicals are produced during this process, which can be harmful to our tissues, but antioxidants in our foods, such as vitamins C and E, help to quell this response and restore order to our tissues.

Inflammation can run amok, however, and cause persistent damage to healthy tissue, especially if we smoke or if we are overweight or obese. Chemo- therapy drugs that are used to treat cancer also produce severe inflammation in the body, and this particular inflammatory response helps to kill off cancer cells. But it also harms healthy tissue in the process.

Many oncologists have been fearful of having their patients take any antioxidants during chemotherapy for fear that antioxidants might reduce the effectiveness of the chemo.

In a recent article in the journal Alternative and Complementary Therapies, Dr. Keith Block, a renowned integrative cancer specialist affiliated with the University of Illinois, discussed his review of more than 2,300 studies on the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy, and his report is very reassuring.

In summary, antioxidants often help to reduce side effects from chemotherapy, and this may allow patients to complete their full course of medication without interruption, which itself leads to better outcomes. Certain antioxidants also enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy, reduce long-term toxicity and improve survival.

Not a single study reviewed by Block showed any evidence of antioxidants interfering with the effectiveness of chemotherapy. In fact, a recent article looking at the impact of antioxidants in Chinese women undergoing treatment for invasive breast cancer found that use of antioxidant vitamin supplements in the first six months after diagnosis resulted in a reduced risk of both mortality and cancer recurrence.

Other studies have suggested survival benefit in certain cancers when patients take melatonin, as well as reduced toxicity from chemo with the use of glutathione and coenzyme Q10 among others.

So if you are affected by cancer, what should you be thinking about to protect yourself during and after chemotherapy? First and foremost, begin by eating a super-healthful, plant-based diet that is loaded with dark-colored fruits and veggies so that you maximize your intake of antioxidants from your food, which is the most powerful way to get them.

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Integrative Medicine: Antioxidants and chemotherapy

Does old age necessarily mean declining health and cognition or can one age gracefully with a high quality of life?

This was another topic discussed at the recent Health and Wellness conference organized by the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine. Steven Gambert, MD, Professor of Medicine and Surgery and Director of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center described preventive aging. Here are my notes from his talk with some personal observations added in.

America has a rapidly aging population. In 1900 only 4% were over age 65 and 1% over 75 years. By 1950, it was 8% and 2.6% respectively and by 2000 it was 13% and 5% with these expected to grow to 21% and 8% by 2030. In absolute numbers, there are now about 12 million over the age of 80; a doubling since 1957. Older people run the full gamut from the very healthy, to those with a few health issues, to those with multiple problems to the very frail. Frail individuals (see my earlier post of frailty) have a high risk for poor outcomes of any illness, slower recovery and heightened mortality. So the agenda, of course, is to stay as healthy as possible throughout your later years. Can you do anything to prevent illness? Can you embark on a preventive aging program? The answer is definitively yes and it is never too late to get started. But just like saving up for retirement, its best to begin at an early age so that the value can compound through the years.

The first major element of the preventive aging program is to prevent an acceleration of the normal aging process. Most physiologic functions begin a slow but steady decline beginning at about age 30 to 35. This includes our bone density, kidney and lung function and cognitive skills. Some decline is inevitable but the process can be slowed. There are four basic steps.

In no particular order the first step is to avoid environmental risk. It is never too late to stop smoking and so reduce the risk of lung cancer and other cancers but also to slow the decline of general lung function. Noise is an environmental hazard. Hearing declines with age and noise rapidly accelerates that decline. Loud music and loud restaurants are best avoided despite our current cultural attractions to both.

The second step is proper nutrition. Eating foods with a wide mix of vitamins and minerals, high quality protein in sufficient quantity, good oils and fats and lots of fiber is of critical importance. Vitamin and mineral supplements are still valuable but they should be just that supplements not the prime source.

The third step is exercise. Our muscles were meant to be used and we need to do just that. A regular regimen of moderate aerobic exercise such as walking for 30 minutes each day cant be beat. Add to that some weight bearing exercise (probably at a gym or similar facility) three times each week to maintain and build strength. And remember to do both range of motion such as simple stretching or adding in yoga and balance exercises regularly.

The fourth and very critical step to prevent acceleration of normal aging is to exercise your brain. Do some activities that challenge your mind Sudoku or chess does that; watching TV definitely does not!

Following these four steps can dramatically slow the aging process but you next need to prevent age prevalent diseases. Here again the best time to do this begins when you are young. The leading causes of death in the elderly are heart disease, cancer and stroke no surprise here. Each of these are largely but not entirely preventable by attending to our lifestyles. Unfortunately most Americans eat a non-nutritious diet and too much of it, dont get enough exercise, are chronically stressed and 20% smoke. The result is a population which is obese, with high blood pressure, an actual developing epidemic of diabetes and over time a high incidence of heart disease, cancer and stroke. So it behooves us to address our lifestyles beginning at whatever age we may be today and following though over the years.

In addition older people should be sure that their immunizations are up-to-date such as annual influenza in addition to the pneumonia vaccine and shingles vaccine but also the less commonly paid attention ones such as tetanus and diphtheria. And as already suggested, avoid high noise environments, eat a good diet, get regular exercise and use your brain regularly.

Originally posted here:
Integrative Medicine Part IV – Preventive Aging

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PANAMA CITY--(Marketwire -05/23/12)- The Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine ("ACIM") is pleased to announce the appointment of Shui-Yin Lo, PhD, and Chairman of the Board for Double Helix Water, to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lo joins a number of internationally acclaimed scientists and medical doctors on the Scientific Advisory Board.

"We are pleased that such an outstanding member of the scientific community has agreed to join us. One of Dr. Lo's first projects is the formation of the School of Quantum Medicine for the Academy. He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and dedication to the Academy. Until the addition of Dr. Lo, the Academy has been comprised solely of The School of Integrative Medicine," said Dr. Lee Cowden, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.

"This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of creating a number of additional schools under the umbrella of the Academy. We hope to add a School of Integrative Nursing and a School of Biological Dentistry in the near future," said Mr. Bill Gonseaux, the CEO of the Academy.

Dr. Lo serves as a Professor of Physics and a Professor of Research in Chinese Medicine at the American University of Complementary Medicine. He is also a Director at the Quantum Health Research Center, Pasadena, CA. He is a former visiting faculty member in the Department of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and has had visiting faculty appointments with more than ten international centers of excellence, such as Oxford University, Free Berlin University, Stanford, McGill University, Academia Sinica of Beijing, and others. A Ph.D. graduate of the University of Chicago, Dr. Lo holds more than thirty patents and is a prolific writer, having authored four books and more than one hundred peer reviewed professional articles.

ACIM

Headquartered in the Republic of Panama, the Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine ("ACIM") is an internet-based learning community dedicated to providing the best in integrative medicine education while supplying its members with unique opportunities in research and think tanks. ACIM believes that a few standing together, with hope and determination, seeking the truth above all else, can change the dynamic of how health and wellness is defined. In this definition is embodied the right of each person to determine their own course of health and wellness. For more information about ACIM please contact Lisa Wade in the USA (972.410.8120 or lisa@acimconnect.com) and/or visit http://www.acimconnect.com.

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Dr. Shui-Yin Lo Accepts Appointment to the Scientist Advisory Board of the Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine

Have you ever thought that the doctor wasnt listening to you? Didnt seem to understand what was important to you? Was talking in medical speak but not in a language you could understand? That he or she gave bad news to you and left you hanging as to what to do next? Unfortunately, these are all too common.

Medical advances such as new drugs, imaging devices, operating room technology and others are coming rapidly and greatly expanding what can be done for patients. But concurrently it also seems to many that medicine is so technologically focused that the age old art of humanism has become a legend. What the doctor needs to remember is that you are a human with the needs of a human; the doctor needs humanism.

The University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine hosted a Health and Wellness Conference recently to celebrate the Centers 20th anniversary. One plenary session was given by Thomas Scalea, MD, professor and director of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The Shock Trauma Center is arguably the best trauma center in the country if not the world. It admits only those 3-5% of trauma patients with the most extensive injury yet survival consistently exceeds 95-97%. Credit this to the States emergency transportation system and the Shock Trauma Centers exquisite teamwork, the well trained staff and the best of technology. As Dr. Scalea noted, the Shock Trauma Center is perhaps the zenith of technologic prowess.

But, he reminded the audience that the patient also needs the provider to be humanistic. He gave some examples. Here are some that I remember from his talk, sprinkled occasionally with my own thoughts.

When you enter the room, sit down and talk with your patient. Be at their eye level, not an imposing figure hovering over the bed.

Speak to the patient in clear English; not in medical speak. Medical speak is for your convenience and is a way of obfuscating but not communicating.

Expect to repeat what you say tomorrow and again the next day again; your patient needs to hear it repeatedly. Dont be annoyed they forgot it all by tomorrow morning.

If you have bad news to deliver hold the patients hand. Touch has a lot of power. I would add here, when you must give bad news, be clear. The patient has already guessed his situation so dont try to avoid the truth and be sure to then immediately explain what you propose as next steps. As a medical oncologist, I learned that this was absolutely essential. Dont let this part wait for another day. Your patient needs to hear it right now so they can begin to focus not just on the bad news but on the hope of a new treatment or whatever plans you propose for the future, even if that means hospice.

When you visit your patient dont just talk, listen. Listen hard and long. Dr. Scalea described a trainee getting behind him and looking across his shoulder at the patient. When Dr. Scalea asked why he took that position, the resident responded that he wanted to see what Dr. Scalea saw. Im not looking, Im listening was the answer. Of course, listening also includes observing the patients body language including facial movements.

Be sure what you tell the patient or family is clear. It needs to be in direct every day speech. He told of going to tell a mother that her son had died. The resident who had been working with him asked if he could be the one to deliver the bad news. Sure, Ill just sit to the side. The resident used a lot of words about how injured her son had been, how they had tried to save him in the operating room, etc. and then stood up to leave. Wait, said Dr. Scalea. He went over, sat down, and holding her two hands said, Do you realize that your son has died? She had not. It is critical to be clear.

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Integrative Medicine Part III – Humanism In Medical Care

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BADEN-BADEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The European Society for Integrative Medicine (ESIM), with support from Heel, announces a new international research prize in integrative medicine: the Excellence in Integrative Medicine Research Award. Applicants are asked to submit papers by May 30, 2012.

This international research prize recognizes innovative and outstanding scientific papers in the field of integrative medicine, thus fostering collaboration between conventional and complementary medicine, emphasizes Dr. Ghassan Andraos, Head of Global Medicine at Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH.

The ESIM research prize is awarded in two categories: one for clinical investigations, the other for basic research. Each of the two winners will be awarded the sum of 10, 000 euros. Submissions must be based on a scientific manuscript that has either already been published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2011 or 2012 or has been accepted for publication. The jury, which is made up of a selection of international experts in integrative medicine, will rate the papers according to three criteria: innovation, level of relevance and scientific excellence.

The winners of the Excellence in Integrative Medicine Research Awards will be announced at the 5th annual European Conference on Integrative Medicine (ECIM) to be held in Florence, Italy from September 21 to 22. For more information, visit: http://www.ecim-congress.org.

The mission of the European Society for Integrative Medicine is to promote science, research, education and further training, support for medical care and providing advice on policy in the realm of integrative medicine. For these purposes, the Society organizes scientific events and encourages dialog with health-care authorities and institutions.

Heel is a pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and distributes medicines based on natural substances. As the global leader in homeopathic combination preparations, the company is also a pioneer in the field of scientific research in natural healthcare. In cooperation with academic institutions, Heel actively fosters the concept of integrative medicine and is building the bridge between homeopathy and conventional medicine to improve patient care and health.

Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH, with corporate headquarters located in Baden-Baden/Germany and a staff of 1,300, achieved an annual turnover of 196 million euros in 2011 70 percent of it outside of Germany. Heel medicinesare available through subsidiaries and distribution partners in over 50 countries around the world. http://www.heel.com

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Heel Supports New International Research Prize in Integrative Medicine

Can integrative medicine add value to standard western practices? Some would say absolutely not; others point to new scientific evidence that demonstrates the value of specific modalities in specific situations.

Health care is complex, expensive and often depersonalizing. It shouldnt be. At the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine, the staff focuses on evaluating and involving complementary medicine into traditional western or scientific medicine. Founded in 1991 by Brian Berman, M.D., a family medicine trained physician, he had learned the certain alternative approaches could complement the usual diagnostic and therapeutic methods that he had been taught in his medical school education and training. He found that his patients experiences were enriched by treating the whole person rather than depending on a technology-focused practice. A grateful and forward looking patient offered him a grant to begin the Center with the proviso that it embrace and study evidence-based science along with education and collaborative patient care to create a comprehensive humanistic approach to patient care.

Since its founding 20 years ago the Center has been awarded over $30 million in NIH grants and has been named as a center of excellence for research. From this work have come over 340 high quality peer-reviewed scientific articles published in the best medical journals. These have been in areas such as acupuncture, herbal remedies and mind-body therapies focusing on arthritis, pain depression, cancer, trauma and inflammation. The center employs a staff for clinical care that includes family medicine and other physician specialists along with licensed acupuncturists, massage therapists, nutritionists and many other disciplines.

As just one research example, acupuncture was studied in a double blind fashion to determine if the addition of acupuncture to best standard treatment improved the lot of those with knee osteoarthritis. Those who got acupuncture, when compared to those that got sham acupuncture, has less pain, used fewer pain medications and had greater range of motion.

At the Health and Wellness Conference a few weeks ago to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Center, Delia Chiaramonte, MD described what an integrative approach to a medical dilemma might look like. She described a medical student who had suffered from severe headaches for many years that were limiting his quality of life and his effectiveness as a student. His physician had identified them as cluster headaches and had tried various standard medications without success. A frustrating situation.

He was then evaluated differently using an integrative approach. It involved a lot of probing about his headaches, his lifestyle including diet and activity, his stresses and his school work. Like almost all medical students, he studied hard. He said he stayed up until about 3:00am, but in part this was because he couldnt fall asleep any earlier. His diet included a lot of doughnuts and a lot of other high carbohydrate items plus about 12 cups of caffeinated coffee each day. He had no time for exercise. He sat hunched over in front of his computer for many hours each day, and his posture showed it.

His headaches fit the description of cluster headaches, often with a sense of an ice pick sticking into his right eye near unbearable pain. The standard medical texts suggest use of ergotamine tartrate for cluster headaches and also note its potential side effects. There is no mention of other modalities or adjustments to lifestyle issues. But cluster headaches can be amplified by stress, worsened by sleep deprivation and the stabbing could well have been posture related.

So instead of recommending medications, his integrative medicine prescription included the following: he was to see a nutritionist to devise a more healthy diet. He was to work with a personal trainer to establish an exercise program one that could be done anywhere without impacting on his studies. He was to visit a chiropractor to release his sternocleidomastoid muscles and other neck muscles back to their normal length. In addition he was to have no caffeine after noon and he was to get to bed by 11:00pm each night.

Given the pain and debility of his headaches, he was more than willing to give this prescription a try. It worked. The headaches disappeared, he felt generally better, he was no longer drowsy in class and he began to truly enjoy medical school. And he was off all medications.

This is the power of integrative medicine. It used a holistic approach and brought to bear many different disciplines including nutritional medicine, exercise physiology, stress management, chiropractic and family medicine. I wrote about this extensively in The Future of Medicine Megatrends in Healthcare .

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Integrative Medicine – Part I

08-05-2012 07:49 India's vast religious, ethnic, urban/rural, socioeconomic, and political landscapes set a fascinating and deeply entangled context for different schools of medical practice and different ways of being. How does one seek internal and external harmony in this massive democratic state? What (or who) determines the standards for health and disease? How does this change the ways in which Indians experience their own bodies? This film introduces medical care in northwest India through the perspective of three doctors working to integrate ayurvedic medicine with biomedicine. While navigating among different theoretical mappings of the body, the doctors also confront sociopolitical challenges that prevent communication among existing medical systems in India. Produced in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Traditional Medicine (IASTAM) Featuring Dr. Narendra Bhatt Dr. RB Gogate Dr. Swati Mohite Filmed and Edited by Lan Angela Li, MIT

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The Vital Other: Integrative Medicine and India (2012) - Video

ASHEVILLE Two doctors have opened a family practice distinctive for its holistic treatment of patients and its innovative approach to their wallets: They dont accept health insurance.

Brian Lewis and Chad Krisel opened their practice, Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville, a few weeks ago in the River Arts District, an area along the French Broad River known for artists innovation and creativity.

Theyre getting started as Americans deal with the ever-increasing costs of health insurance and as the U.S. Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of President Barack Obamas health care reform law. Despite the uncertain landscape, the two said theyre setting out to create a new model for health care that will produce healthy patients at affordable prices.

When Brian and I were in residency together, we both had a passion to bring primary care to people that didnt necessarily fit with the status quo, Krisel said.

We wanted to spend more time with patients, and we wanted to make it less expensive,Krisel said. We did some research, talked to some experts and ended up with a hybrid approach thats both affordable, allows for more time with patients and is integrative.

Lewis and Krisel said they both support the idea that patients have some sort of insurance that will cover catastrophic health conditions. But they see themselves filling in the gaps beyond that.

To side-step what they see as the dysfunction of the health care system the shifting of costs to pay for the uninsured the two decided not to accept insurance and the paperwork and staff required to process it. Eliminating that cost allows them to charge $50 for an average visit. The cost is less if a patient commits to a year of treatment. For $40 a month, a patient will receive an annual physical, a nutrition consult, unlimited regular visits for $20, all basic labs and free access to educational classes offered at the practice.

The cash-only model (the practice does accept checks and credit cards) also allows the practice to pay up front for other services, such as lab tests, which allowed them to negotiate a lower price for that service.

(Page 2 of 3)

Their prices are clearly displayed in the waiting room at Integrative Family Health. And patients are sent home with forms and codes that enable them to file their own forms with health insurance agencies.

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Doctors take new approach to family practice in the River Arts District

30-04-2012 22:21 Visit: Support this Youtube channel and Create and Publish a t-shirt using the link above. This channel is brought to you by MeTee T-Shirts: The place for On-Demand t-shirts. - Signup for the Daily News Email Subscription: - Like/Dislike, Comment, Favorite and share on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ to get the word out on this video. Tuesday May 1 2012 5:21 am If you are interested in becoming a channel sponsor for $1/day for 30 days send a youtube message letting me know.

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Two Sides of Integrative Medicine [2-29-2012] - Video

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ATLANTA, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia would like to invite you to attend their Prostate Cancer Symposium, Women's Education Cancer Series and/or Integrative Oncology (Wellness) Presentation on Saturday, May 5, 2012. These events will be held at the Marriott Evergreen Conference Resort Center located at 4021 Lakeview Drive in Stone Mountain, Ga. Continental breakfast and light lunch will be provided.

Details include:

These educational offerings are free and open to public. To register, visit http://www.rcog.com/Reunion. For more information or questions, please call Toni Karasik at 770-682-2099 ext. 168.

About Radiotherapy Clinics of GeorgiaAn affiliate of Vantage Oncology, Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia was founded in 1984 and has earned a reputation for being one of the country's top cancer treatment and research facilities because of its commitment to quality, use of the latest radiation technology and focus on research that enables it to treat men and women with different types of cancer, including breast, prostate, lung, colon, lymphatic and others. Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia has treated more than 14,000 men for prostate cancer and has compiled its observations of these men, both before and after treatment, into one of the largest computerized databases on prostate cancer in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.RCOG.com.

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Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia Offers Educational Symposiums to the Public

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Posted April 30, 2012

Brian Berman

Brian Berman, M.D., founder and director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine, received the Sir Alister McIntyre Distinguished Lecture Award from the University of the West Indies and University of Technology, Jamaica. The annual award is given to a distinguished physician and researcher. Dr. Berman received the award at the 18th Annual International Diabetes Conference. At the conference, he presented the Sir Alister McIntyre Distinguished Lecture, "Integrative Practices for Diabetes Management."

Founded in 1991, the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine was the first program within a U.S. academic medical center to investigate complementary and alternative medicine through research, patient care and education. It has been a National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence for Research of Complementary Medicine for the past 15 years.

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Dr. Brian Berman Receives Sir. Alister McIntyre Award

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10:19 a.m. EDT, April 25, 2012

Dr. James Roach will give a free public presentation on the importance of intergrative medicine for optimal outcomes in mind, body and spirit at the Wilmore Senior Community Center at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 2.

Founder and president of the Midway Foundation for Integrative Medicine, Roach has dedicated his life to promoting the many benefits of integrative medicine through public education and direct clinical care. The approach strives to achieve optimal health through understanding the vital roles played by nutritional, lifestyle, physical activity and spiritual support. He is committed to integrative medicine becoming the primary health care model of the future.

Roach is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine with a bachelor-of-arts degree from Duke University. He completed a family practice residency at the Memorial Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Fla., and continues with board certification in both family medicine and integrative holistic medicine in his Midway practice. Roach works with the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center studying nutritional impact on cancer and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Maderi Foundation.

For more information on Roachs presentation at the Wilmore Community Center, call Wesley Village at 859-858-3865 ext. 238.

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Roach coming to Wilmore Senior Community Center

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(HealthDay News) -- Obesity surgery-related complications in the United States declined 21 percent between 2001 and 2006, and payments to hospitals for obesity surgery decreased by as much as 13 percent, partly because there were fewer patient readmissions due to complications, a new study reports.

The findings from a study by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are based on an analysis of more than 9,500 patients under age 65 who had obesity surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, at 652 hospitals between 2001 and 2002 and between 2005 and 2006.

The researchers found that the complication rate among obesity surgery patients dropped from 24 percent to about 15 percent. Contributing to that decrease were declines in post-surgical infection rates (58 percent lower), abdominal hernias, staple leakage, respiratory failure and pneumonia (29 percent to 50 percent lower).

There was little change in rates of other complications such as ulcers, dumping (involuntary vomiting or defecation), hemorrhage, wound re-opening, deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke, the researchers noted. Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

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