Dr. Steve Chaney, Author at Health Tips From The Professor

Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

August 16, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Part 2

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

This month we will discuss treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. However, let’s recap a little.

In last month’s article “What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” – Part 1 I shared how carpal tunnel syndrome almost destroyed my career as a massage therapist. I also shared that I rejected surgery and drew on all of my knowledge to devise a self-treatment program that cured my carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.

Last month, I discussed the muscles and nerves in your neck, chest, and upper arm, and how they impinge on the median nerve and refer burning and tingling into your wrist and hand. This month the muscles we are discussing not only will cause burning and tingling, but will also cause pain in your wrist and hand. Plus, these muscles will put a strain on your carpal tunnel and will impinge on the nerve as it travels through your carpal tunnel. Fortunately, a simple treatment will release the tight muscles and take the pressure off the nerve.

I found the solution to my problem, and I’ve been bringing it to people worldwide ever since.

Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Forearm and Hand

The muscles on the top of your arm (B) are called the Extensors.

Your extensors originate at your elbow and insert into the carpal bones (back of your hand) and into your fingertips.

Your Flexor muscles (A) are on the underside of your forearm.

The flexors also originate at your elbow, they come down your forearm and merge into the tendon at your wrist. The tendons then go through your carpal tunnel and then insert into your hand and fingers.

When your hand is flat on a table and your extensors start to contract, you lift up your hand (B). But you can see that the flexors (A) on the underside of your forearm will need to lengthen to allow this movement.

When your flexors are tight (commonly from repetitive movements), they won’t lengthen to allow your extensors to pick up your hand, and the taut flexor tendons may trap your median nerve in your carpal tunnel. This is a major cause of carpal tunnel syndrome because the nerve is being trapped right in the carpal tunnel. It was one of the primary keys to my symptoms, and an important part of the treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Why Muscle Tendons Cause Numbness In Your Fingers

As you look at this graphic you’ll see the flexor tendons surrounding the median nerve as they all pass through the carpal tunnel. Also, notice the carpal bones, which are where the extensor muscles attach. Finally, look at the thumb muscle called Opponens Pollicis . This muscle originates on the bridge to the carpal tunnel (called the Flexor Retinaculum), and when the muscle contracts you bring your thumb into the center of your palm.

The flexor retinaculum is the ligament that is severed during carpal tunnel release surgery. As you look at how close the median nerve is to the flexor retinaculum, you can see where a potential surgical mistake could sever the nerve. This accident disables the hand and isn’t reversible. Also, severing the flexor retinaculum means your thumb loses its base, and you lose strength.

This is the reason I refused surgery and sought a different carpal tunnel treatment.

As I studied each muscle and saw how they each impacted the median nerve, I realized that if I released the spasms in each muscle that it would take the pressure off the nerve. And, sure enough, that’s exactly what happened!

It took me about 90 minutes to figure this out (it will only take you 15 minutes to do all of the treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome to yourself), but in just that short amount of time I released ALL of the pain and numbness in my hand and wrist. I was beyond being thrilled — I saved my career!

Eventually I figured out how to put this entire process into my Basic Self-Treatment System DVD program to teach people all over the world how to eliminate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. I even developed a specialized tool to help people get the correct pressure and focus for each spasm.

A Simple Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome For Your Thumb

(Pictures and description are excerpts from The Julstro System for Hand/Wrist Pain and Numbness in my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Book)

To release the spasms in your thumb muscle, place your opposite elbow into the thick portion of your thumb as shown in the picture to the left.

Step 2:

Use your fingertips to guide your elbow along the muscle. Move your elbow in a line from the center of your wrist to the base of your thumb.

Use sufficient pressure to really feel the muscle and the tender points which are spasms in the muscle fibers.

When you find a spasm, hold the pressure for 30 seconds and then deeply move back and forth a little bit.

If you are experiencing hand/wrist pain or numbness, before you make the decision to go for surgery it is worthwhile to read everything you can about muscles, numb fingers, and carpal tunnel pain relief in my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome book. You can’t undo surgery! So, try the treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome demonstrated here.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and

sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Skin Damage From Sun

August 9, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Skin damage from sun is a real danger. The dog days of summer are here. For some of us that means staying inside as much as possible. Others want to enjoy the fleeting days of summer as much as possible before summer turns to fall, and fall turns to winter. That means lots of outdoor activities in the sun – such as outdoor sports, working in the yard, and vacations in fun locations with lots of sun. So it’s time to ask the perennial question “How much sun exposure should I be getting?”

Some people like to aim for as much sun exposure as possible. When I was a teenager everybody was searching for “the perfect tan”. Back then it was popular to slather your skin with tanning oils that allowed you to just baste yourself in the sun without your skin drying up. (Did I just date myself again?)

Other people like to follow their dermatologist’s advice and use SPF maximum (the sun shall never touch my skin) sunscreens. And, just to be on the safe side they also follow their dermatologist’s advice to limit sun exposure between 10 AM and 4 PM and wear a hat, sunglasses, and protective clothing whenever possible. I can see the hat and sunglasses, but the protective clothing isn’t particularly compatible with the summer heat in my native North Carolina. Believe me, you want to wear as little as possible here in the summer.

Skin Damage From Sun

Now that we’ve explored the extremes, let’s return to the central theme of this health tip which is “How much sun exposure should I really be getting?” Let’s start by focusing on the vanity factor – skin aging. Let’s face it. Excessive sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer. However, skin aging is the consequence most people really care about. This is the concern that has most people reaching for the sunscreen before they head out the door.

A recent clinical study clearly showed that sunscreen usage helps prevent skin aging (Hughes et al, Annals of Internal Medicine, 158: 781-790, 2013). Now you might be saying to yourself “This is nothing new. I’ve heard that for years.” Yes, that advice has been around for a long time. But the problem is that the old advice was never based on actual clinical studies, only studies done on hairless mice. So first, let me analyze this clinical study for you and then put the findings into perspective.

The good news is that this was a very well done clinical study. The authors enrolled 903 adults under the age of 55 from sunny Australia into the study for a 4.5-year period from 1992 to 1996. The study was restricted to adults younger than 55 years because, in that age range, skin aging is primarily caused by sun exposure rather than the normal aging process. The study also excluded people who were already using sunscreen on a daily basis. Variables such as skin color, skin reaction to sun exposure, amount of time spent outdoors, sunburn history, and smoking status were determined at baseline and used to normalize the results.

Half of the participants were given a sunscreen with an SPF 15 factor and were instructed to use this sunscreen on a daily basis. The other half were given nothing and were just instructed to keep doing what they had been doing (It was deemed unethical to give them a placebo sunscreen as it could cause skin damage from sun). Compliance was assessed by measuring the weight of the returned sunscreen bottles every three months and by using a biennial application frequency questionnaire. Compliance wasn’t perfect, but of those enrolled in the sunscreen portion of the study 77% used sunscreen 3 to 4 times per week, compared to 33% of the control group.

Skin damage from sun was assessed by taking an impression of the back of the left-hand and analyzing it for the number and depth of lines and the flattening of the skin. And the results were fairly clear-cut. Those study participants who used sunscreen on a daily basis had 24% less sun damage over the 4.5-year period than the control group. I am not an expert, but dermatologists who have evaluated this study say that a 24% decrease in sun damage is visibly significant.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

It turns out that the old advice that too much sun exposure can cause significant skin damage as we get older is actually true. Who would have guessed? If the threat of skin cancer isn’t enough to dissuade you from pursuing the perfect tan, perhaps the thought of ugly, wrinkled skin as you get older will do it.

On the flip side, however, we need to remember that sun exposure is also required for vitamin D formation. And recent studies show that up to 80% of Americans have low levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, the biologically relevant form of vitamin D, in their blood – perhaps because many of us actually follow our dermatologist’s advice and never go out of the house without sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, and protective clothing to help prevent skin damage from sun.

Recent clinical studies have linked low levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D with a number of health concerns. That has led one prominent dermatologist who studies vitamin D, Dr. Michael Holick, to recommend that we should be getting 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure during midday – a recommendation that many of his colleagues consider to be heretical.

How Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?

So what is a person to do? How can we reconcile the need to improve our vitamin D status with our desire to have a healthy, good looking skin well into our golden years? The simple answer is to make sure that we are getting plenty of vitamin D in our diet. The most recent RDAs are 600 IU per day of vitamin D in children and adults up to the age of 70 and 800 IU per day for adults over 70.

Many experts are even recommending that we get 1000 to 2000 IU of vitamin D per day. The Institute of Medicine (the group that actually sets the RDAs) considers that to be in the safe range for vitamin D intake. If you are thinking of exceeding that dosage, my advice would be to first get your 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels determined (20-50 ng/ml or 50-125 nmol/L is considered optimal) and then consult with your doctor as to what the best dosage of vitamin D is for you.

And, if you are relying on supplements for your vitamin D intake, you should be sure to choose a company that manufactures their supplements according to pharmaceutical standards. A recent study(E. S. LeBlanc et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, 173:585-586, 2013) analyzed commercially available vitamin D supplements and found some brands in which the potency from bottle to bottle ranged from 9% to 140% of what was on the label. That is unacceptable.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has confirmed what we have been told for years, namely that regular use of an SPF 15 sunscreen reduces skin aging. Specifically, the study showed that regular sunscreen use reduced skin aging by 24% over a 4.5-year period in people 55 years old or younger.

On the other hand, sun exposure is required for our bodies to synthesize the active form of vitamin D. Vitamin D experts like Dr. Michael Holick recommend that we get at least 10-15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure a day during the summer months to assure that our bodies make the vitamin D we need for optimal health.

If you want both young looking skin and optimal vitamin D status, you will probably want to consider a vitamin D supplement. Recommendations for how much and what kind of vitamin D supplement are found in the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

DHA Supplements During Pregnancy

August 2, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

A recent study has estimated that taking DHA supplements during pregnancy, specifically in the last two trimesters, could save the US healthcare system close to $6 billion/year (Shireman et al, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 111: 8-10, 2016) .

Another study has come to similar conclusion in Australia (Ahmed et al, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 102-103: 5-11, 2015) .

When you have two well done studies by different investigators in different countries that come to the same conclusion, it is time to take the studies seriously and start to ask some important questions. For example:

Are these studies true?

Should we change our public health recommendations during pregnancy?

Is this just a public health issue, or does it affect you personally?

The Value of DHA Supplements During Pregnancy

The US study was called “Kansas University DHA Outcomes Study” (KUDOS). It studied health outcomes for 197 pregnant moms who gave birth to a single baby at the Kansas University Hospital between 2006 and 2010. The moms came from the Kansas City metropolitan area and consisted of 42% moms who self-identified as Black and 58% as other races.

The women were randomly assigned to consume 3 capsules per day containing either 600 mg DHA or a placebo containing corn and soybean oil during their second and third trimesters (starting around 14.5 weeks after gestation). Multiple pregnancy outcomes were assessed, but the main focus was on early preterm birth (infants born before 34 week’s gestation). That’s because a recent meta-analysis has reported that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy reduces early preterm births by 58% (Kar et al, European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 198: 40-46, 2016) .

The results of the KUDOS study were:

Taking DHA supplements during pregnancy, specifically in the last two trimesters, reduced early preterm birth from 4.8% to 0.6%.

DHA supplementation reduced average hospital costs per infant born in the Kansas Medical Center by $1678. This was primarily because of a significant reduction in the average length of time spent in the neonatal intensive care unit because of the reduction in early preterm births.

When the cost of supplementation was taken into account, there was a 10-fold return in hospital cost savings for every dollar spent on supplementation.

When the authors extrapolated this analysis to the 4 million live births in the US each year, they estimated a potential savings of $6.6 billion.

This corresponds to a net savings of $5.94 billion to the US health care system if you take into account the cost of providing all pregnant women in the US with 600 mg of DHA/day during the last two trimesters of pregnancy.

The authors of the KUDOS study concluded “…a public health policy to increase DHA intake during pregnancy could result in significant cost savings to the health care system in our country”.

Are These Studies True?

Truth in science is always elusive. It requires many years of research and multiple clinical studies. However, two well done studies in two different countries have concluded that taking DHA supplements during pregnancy significantly reduces health care costs. In addition, a recent meta-analysis of 6 published clinical studies (Kar et al, European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 198: 40-46, 2016) has concluded that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy reduces early preterm births by 58%.

These are all small studies, but their results are remarkably consistent. If you were to generalize the conclusions of all these studies into a statement saying “Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy significantly reduces health care costs”, there is a good probability that statement would be true. However:

The exact cost savings is uncertain.

The source of omega-3s (DHA, EPA, or a mixture of the two) is uncertain.

The amount of omega-3 fatty acids needed to reduce early preterm births is uncertain.

Let’s look at each of these in turn:

Cost Savings of Using DHA Supplements During Pregnancy

On the minus side, 42% of the women in the KUDOS study were Black, while the national average is 16%. That is significant because the rate of early preterm births is twice as high for black women as it is for White and Asian women. If the results of the KUDOD study were extrapolated to the percentage of Black women in the US population, the cost savings to the US health care system would only be around $4 billion – still a pretty substantial number!

On the plus side, the initial hospital costs associated with early preterm birth are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also considerable long-term expenses for special education services associated with disabling conditions common with premature infants. A recent study (Mangham et al, Pediatrics 123: e312-e327, 2009) calculated the costs of preterm birth in the UK from birth to 18 years of age and came up with an estimate of $4.567 billion in US dollars. If we assume that omega-3 supplementation results in a 58% decrease in early preterm birth (Kar et al, European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 198: 40-46, 2016) and extrapolate that cost savings to the US population, the total cost savings would be $13.2 billion. Now we’re talking real money!

Source of Omega-3s:

DHA has been the focus of the two most recent studies on cost savings because of the role of DHA in nerve, brain and visual development, but EPA is also likely to be important in neonatal development. In addition, the efficiency of conversion of EPA to DHA is very high.

In fact, when we look at the individual studies included in the meta-analysis described above (Kar et al, European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 198: 40-46, 2016), DHA, EPA, and EPA+DHA supplementation all gave comparable reductions in early preterm births.

Amount of Omega-3s:

While the 600 mg/day used in the KUDOS study is probably a good starting point, the individual studies in the meta-analysis used a wide range of dose. All of them seemed to have at least some efficacy in reducing early preterm births. Obviously, more studies are needed to determine the optimal dose.

What Does This Mean For You?

All this talk about reducing health care costs may seem esoteric. You may be wondering “What does this have to do with me?”

Don’t be lulled to complacency by the estimated cost savings of $1678/birth mentioned above. That is the average costs of all births. Early preterm births represent only 4.78% of all the births in the study. If you give birth to a baby earlier than 34 weeks of gestation, there is a high probability your infant will end up in the neonatal intensive care unit and your health care costs will be orders of magnitude more than $1678. How that affects your wallet will depend on your insurance plan.

Early preterm birth is associated with increased risk of global and selective cognitive defects. These can range from relatively mild impairment of IQ, memory, executive function, non-verbal skills, and motor skills to much more serious conditions like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and disorders of psychological development. The possibility of avoiding those kinds of defects in your child is priceless.

The Bottom Line

Recent studies in the US and Australia have shown that taking 600 mg of DHA supplements during pregnancy during the last two trimesters significantly reduces early preterm births (infants born before 34 weeks gestation) resulting in an estimated savings to the US health care system of around $6 billion/year.

Other studies suggest that supplementation with EPA and EPA+DHA mixtures give similar results.

Discussions of cost savings to the US healthcare system sound somewhat esoteric. However, if you are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant, there are real benefits to you associated with reducing the risk of early preterm birth. That is because:

The costs associated with early preterm births are substantial. How much they affect your wallet will depend on your health insurance policy.

Early preterm births are associated with a variety of global and selective cognitive defects (for details, read the article above). The possibility of avoiding those kinds of defects in your child is priceless.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Does The FODMAP Diet Reduce Gas and Bloating

July 26, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Can the FODMAP diet help reduce gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation? Everyone suffers from one or more of these symptoms, but nobody talks about them. For some they represent an annoyance. For others they can be incapacitating.

When the symptoms become frequent and start to affect quality of life, the medical community starts to give them names. When the symptoms occur at least 3 days/month for at least 3 months and there are no known diseases causing the symptoms, it is called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If the symptoms are also associated with inflammation, it is called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The principle forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

A Primer On IBS And IBD

IBS is fairly common. Between 10-15% of the US population has been diagnosed with IBS, but experts estimate that as much as 25% of the population experiences symptoms consistent with IBS.

It is also important to understand that IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a disease. The only difference between IBS and the gas, bloating, and diarrhea (or constipation) that many people experience on a fairly regular basis is the frequency and severity of symptoms – and that is an arbitrary distinction. Someone experiencing those symptoms an average of 2 days/month is not significantly different than someone experiencing those symptoms 3 times/month.

While severe IBS can be incapacitating, it does not appear to cause lasting damage to the intestine or predispose to other diseases. Finally, the causes of IBS are largely unknown. Stress, obesity, and food sensitivities may all play a role.

IBD is much less common (0.4% of the US population), but much more severe. It can cause permanent damage to the intestine and can predispose to several diseases, including cancer. For that reason, you should always consult with your physician if you have severe, chronic gastrointestinal issues.

Standard treatment of IBS and IBD has traditionally consisted of recommendations to:

Reduce weight if overweight
Increase exercise
Reduce stress
Limit caffeine and alcohol
Limit fatty foods
If diarrhea is the primary symptom, limit dairy products, fruits, and sweeteners such as sorbitol and xylitol.
If constipation is the primary symptom, increase dietary fiber

These interventions generally provide only partial relief of the symptoms, so medications are frequently prescribed to control the symptoms. Unfortunately, many of those medications have significant side effects.

Fortunately, research over the past decade suggests that there is a natural, holistic approach that can significantly reduce the symptoms associated with IBS and IBD, thus decreasing the reliance on medications to treat those diseases. It is something called the FODMAP diet. The FODMAP diet is rapidly becoming the standard of care for IBS and IBD, and the same diet also appears to significantly improve symptoms in people who merely experience gas, bloating, and diarrhea more frequently than they would like. More importantly, the principles behind the FODMAP diet can help almost everyone who experiences occasional gas, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation.

What Is The FODMAP Diet?

The FODMAP diet was devised over a decade ago by a group of scientists in Australia. Basically, they identified all of the kinds of foods that were known to cause gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation in susceptible people and put together a diet that was low in all of them.

FODMAP is an acronym that stands for:

F – fermentable carbohydrates
O – oligo-saccharides
D – di-saccharides
M – mono-saccharides
P – polyols

Of course, that statement comes under the “Aren’t you glad you asked?” category. It is meaningless to most people. A better way to understand this is to look at foods in the FODMAP category. They include:

Lactose, found in milk and milk products (especially for people who lack the enzyme lactase)
Fructose in high concentrations, found in foods like apples, pears, honey and agave syrup. (30-40% of individuals have problems absorbing fructose).

Fructans, found in foods like wheat, onions and garlic.

Galacto-oligosaccharides, found in foods like beans, lentils, and soybeans.

Polyols such as sorbitol and mannitol, found in fruits such as cherries, apricots, and apples, and as sweeteners added to many “sugar-free” foods.

These are all foods that are poorly digested or poorly absorbed, so they are fermented by intestinal bacteria. It is the fermentation of these foods by intestinal bacteria that causes the gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

Does The FODMAP Diet Work?

The evidence that the FODMAP diet is effective is pretty impressive. For example:

One study (Gearry et al, Journal of Crohn’s And Colitis, 3: 8-14, 2009) reported that 50% of patients with IBD showed significant improvement in overall abdominal symptoms, abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea.
Another study (Ong et al, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 25: 1366-1373, 2010) reported that the FODMAP diet reduced gas production by 75% in both healthy volunteers and in patients with IBS.
Another study (Studacher et al, Journal of Human Nutrition And Dietetics, 24: 487-495, 2011) compared the results for patients with IBD who received standard dietary advice versus patients who were put on the FODMAPs diet. (Note: The standard dietary advice at the time was discussed earlier. It avoided some, but not all FODMAPs, so you would expect it to give partial relief).
- 86% of patients in the low FODMAPs group reported better overall symptom response compared to 49% in the standard diet group.
- 82% of patients in the low FODMAPs group reported an improvement in bloating compared to 49% in the standard diet group.
- 85% of patients in the low FODMAPs group reported an improvement in abdominal pain compared to 61% in the standard diet group.
- 87% of patients in the low FODMAPs group reported an improvement in flatulence compared to 50% in the standard diet group.
A follow-up study (Maagaard et al, World Journal of Gastroenterology, 22: 4009-4019, 2016) of IBS and IBD patients who had been on the FODMAP diet for an average of 16 months found:
- 86% of the patients who stuck with the diet reported either a full (54%) or partial (32%) improvement of symptoms.
- The greatest improvements were in bloating (82%) and abdominal pain (71%).
Finally, a meta-analysis (Marsh et al, European Journal of Nutrition, 55: 897-906, 2016) of 6 placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials of patients with IBS reported that the FODMAP diet:
- Decreased abdominal pain by 81%
- Decreased bloating by 75%
- Reduced overall symptoms by 81%
- Improved quality of life by 84%

What Does This Mean For You?

On the surface, this seems to be a good news, bad news story.

The good news is that the FODMAP diet is incredibly effective at decreasing frequent gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea and constipation – and it really doesn’t matter whether you have been diagnosed with IBS or IBD, or you are just someone who suffers from those symptoms more frequently than you would like.

The bad news is that the FODMAP diet is very restrictive. You can appreciate that when you look at the list of high FODMAPs foods you need to avoid. That means:

The diet is very difficult to stick to long term. In the follow up study described above only 30% of the participants were able to stick with the diet for the full 16 months.

The diet restricts so many foods that you would really need the guidance of a registered dietitian to design a nutritionally adequate diet plan.

The reality, however,is that very few people actually need to restrict all the high FODMAP foods to enjoy significant relief from their symptoms. Clinically, most physicians test various FODMAPs in their IBS and IBD patients and only restrict the ones that cause symptoms. You can do exactly the same thing yourself. Start by reducing groups of high FODMAP foods on the list. Once you have identified which food groups cause your symptoms, you can test foods within that group one by one.

The most important news is that the FODMAP diet concept may help many people who struggle with occasional gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Let me give you one example:

Let’s suppose you have discovered that foods made from wheat flour cause you g.i. problems. You have concluded that you are gluten intolerant and carefully avoid foods containing gluten, but you still have occasional gas, bloating and diarrhea. You might be sensitive to the fructans in wheat, not the gluten. If so, a quick glance at the FODMAPs list suggests a number of fructan-containing foods you may be sensitive to that you would never have expected if you just focused on avoiding gluten. For example:

Vegetables: garlic, onions, asparagus, artichokes and snow peas might be causing you trouble.

Fruits: grapefruit, nectarines, plums and watermelon could be causing you problems.

Processed foods: Inulin, a naturally occurring fiber, found in Jerusalem artichokes, is primarily a fructan. Inulin and several other naturally occurring fructans are added to many processed foods to increase their fiber content. These foods might also be causing you trouble.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of us have probably identified one or two problem foods that we know give us gas. By using the FODMAPs list we may be able to identify other foods we should avoid.

The Bottom Line

By restricting all foods known to cause gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation in susceptible individuals, scientists and clinicians have created something called the FODMAP diet.

The FODMAP diet has proven to be very effective at reducing those symptoms in people with IBS or IBD, but it is also equally effective at eliminating symptoms in individuals who simply suffer from gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation more frequently than they would like.

The low FODMAP diet is also very restrictive, but the good news is that most people don’t need to eliminate all of the foods in the diet. You can systematically test and eliminate the individual foods that cause your symptoms.

Most importantly, the FODMAP concept can help us identify problem foods that we might have otherwise never suspected of giving us gas. You will find an example of how this concept works in the article above.

Gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation can also be caused by a number of serious diseases. For that reason, you should always consult with your physician if you have severe and chronic gastrointestinal issues.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

July 19, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

The Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Are Caused By Tight Muscles

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

What causes carpal tunnel?

In 1997 I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome: wrist pain, tingling and numb fingers. The pain and burning was horrible, it prevented me from even picking up a pencil or holding a glass. As a massage therapist it was devastating, my hands are my livelihood! I tried everything and finally had to close down my therapy practice because the pain was so severe. I knew I wasn’t going to go for surgery, but carpal tunnel syndrome was a hurdle that was pushing me out of work and I didn’t know where to turn.

Finally, I started to think of the logic of the body. While everyone was looking at my wrist and forearm, the median nerve that causes the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome doesn’t start in my arm, but where does it start? Research showed that the nerve actually starts in your NECK! Who would have thought this would be what causes carpal tunnel!

I found the solution to my problem, and I’ve been bringing it to people worldwide ever since.

How Muscles in Your Neck Can Be What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms

A bundle of nerves called the Brachial Plexus (see three lines in neck of drawing) comes out of your cervical vertebrae and at the top of your shoulder the fibers divide into three nerves:

The Median Nerve – which goes to your thumb and first two fingers
The Ulnar Nerve – which goes to your ring and pinky fingers
The Radial Nerve – which goes to your wrist

Your Scalenes muscle is in front of, and in back of the brachial plexus.

When the scalenes are in spasm, they put pressure on the bundle of nerves and it can cause tingling and numbness to be felt all the way to your fingers. The purple shading shows the referred pain pattern for the scalenes spasms. This can be what causes carpal tunnel and in my case this was the primary cause of the carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms I had in my thumb and first two fingers.

By the way, your scalenes also cause that burning feeling you get between your shoulder blades. You are rubbing your back, but the cause of the pain is actually in your neck!

How Muscles in Your Chest and Upper Arm Can Cause the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The bundle of nerves goes along the front of your body and at the top of your shoulder it breaks into the three nerves (listed above) and they go under a bone called the coracoid process (a part of your scapula/shoulder blade).

There are three muscles that attach to your coracoid process, (the biceps , pectoralis minor , and the coracobrachialis ). When any of them are in spasm, they will pull the bone down onto the three nerves causing tingling and numbness to radiate down your arm and into your wrist &/or hand. This is one of the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, yet most medical practitioners don’t consider these muscles when searching for the cause of numbness in your fingers.

Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A Julstro Self-Treatment That Releases Tension in Your Shoulder and Off the Nerves to Your Hand

You can self-treat your upper arm muscles that are putting pressure on the coracoid AND also on your shoulder joint.

Simply make a fist and press into your biceps, using your opposite hand to help push your elbow so you can go deeper into your biceps.

Hold the pressure for 15-30 seconds and then continue the pressure while you S-L-O-W-L-Y open your arm. Release the pressure, bend your arm, and repeat 2-3 times

End of Part 1 –

Next month I will show the muscles of your lower arm and hand and why they can be what causes carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Plus, you’ll get a self-treatment that is great for taking the pressure off your carpal tunnel.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

American Omega-3 Deficiency

July 12, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Is There an American Omega-3 Deficiency?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Omega-3s have been controversial in recent years. However, virtually everyone agrees that omega-3 intake in North American is low. But, would you believe that the United States and Canada are dead last with respect to omega-3 status – that we are among the countries with the lowest omega-3 status in the world? Is there an American omega-3 deficiency? That is what a recent study suggests!

Omega-3 Deficiency in Americans

Previous studies have suggested that the American and Canadian diets were deficient in long chain omega-3s like EPA and DHA, but those studies were based on 24-hour diet recalls or food frequency surveys which might underrepresent the true amount of omega-3s in the diet. Therefore, a group of investigators from the United States and Canada decided to look at blood levels of EPA and DHA.

This study (Stark et al, Progress In Lipid Research, 63: 132-152, 2016) was a meta-analysis of 298 studies that recorded blood levels of EPA and DHA. These studies were from 36 counties and distinct regions around the world. They converted all of the measurements to a common unit expressed as percent by weight of EPA + DHA relative to the total weight of fatty acids in the blood.

They combined all studies from a given country or region to give an average value of percent EPA + DHA and then divided the countries and regions into four groupings based on the average weight percentage of EPA + DHA in the blood. If all that seems confusing, the figure on the right (taken from Stark et al, Progress In Lipid Research, 63: 132-152, 2016) should clear things up.

Red = very low (< 4%) EPA + DHA levels
Orange = low (4-6%) EPA + DHA levels
Yellow = moderate (6-8%) EPA + DHA levels
Green = adequate (>8%) EPA + DHA levels
Grey = no valid measurements in those countries

It is clear from this study that most Americans and most Canadians don’t do a very good job of incorporating omega-3 fatty acids into their diet, as several previous dietary surveys have suggested. This could contribute to omega-3 deficiency.

Is The United States Dead Last In Omega-3 Status?

The global map of EPA + DHA blood levels certainly suggests that the United States is among a handful of countries with the very lowest omega-3 status. There are a few caveats, however.

As the large areas of grey indicate, there are a number of countries with no valid omega-3 blood measurements. The United States might have lots of company in the very low omega-3 status category.

There are some very large countries like Russia which have relatively few omega-3 blood measurements, and those measurements are only from a few regions of the country. The average omega-3 status for the entire country might be lower than indicated in this map.

On the other hand, there are lots of omega-3 blood measurements from countries like Japan, so it is clear that there are countries with much better omega-3 status than the United States.

What Does This Study Mean To You?

The important questions are, of course:Does it matter? What do these blood levels of EPA + DHA actually mean? Is < 4% EPA + DHA low enough to matter? What are the health consequences of low omega-3 status? If you have an omega-3 deficiency, what are the risks?

Let’s start with the first question: How do we translate a blood level of EPA + DHA into how much we should be getting in our diet? While there is no established Dietary Reference Intake for EPA + DHA, several expert panels and international organizations have made recommendations for EPA + DHA intake. Those recommendations generally range from 250 mg/day to 500 mg/day for general health and 500 mg/day to 1,000 mg/day for heart health. Unfortunately, most people in the United States and Canada consume less than 200 mg/day of omega-3 fatty acids, and most of those are short chain omega-3s that are inefficiently converted to the long chain EPA and DHA.

More importantly, a recent study (Patterson et al, Nutrition Research, 35: 1040-1051, 2015) has examined how much additional EPA + DHA must be consumed by someone eating a typical North American diet to significantly improve their omega-3 status. It showed that:

200 mg/day of EPA + DHA is required to improve omega-3 status from very low to low.
500 mg/day of EPA + DHA is required to improve omega-3 status from very low to moderate.
1250 mg/day of EPA + DHA is required to improve omega-3 status from very low to adequate.

It is no surprise that these numbers correlate so well. My recommendation would be to consume at least 500 mg/day of EPA + DHA for general health and at least 1,000 mg/day for heart health.

Now let’s look at the last question: What are the health consequences of low omega-3 status? There are multiple health benefits associated with optimal omega-3 status, but the best evidence is for the beneficial effects of omega-3s on fetal and infant neurodevelopment and heart health. For example:

A recent meta-analysis conducted by scientists at Tufts and Harvard (Shulkin et al, The FASEB Journal, 30: supplement 295-6, 2016) concluded that DHA + EPA supplementation during pregnancy and infancy improved motor skills. Other studies have suggested that DHA + EPA supplementation in infancy and childhood improves reading skills and reduces ADHD symptoms in children with low omega-3 status.

Several major clinical studies have shown that oily fish and fish oil supplements improve heart health and reduce the risk of heart attacks in at-risk individuals (Investigators of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial, Lancet, 354: 447-455, 1999 (http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(99)07072-5.pdf); Lamaitre et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77: 319-325, 2003 (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/77/2/319); Gammelmark et al, British Journal of Nutrition, 116: 167-177, 2016 (http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10341239&fileId=S000711451600180X).

In case you have been confused by recent studies suggesting that omega-3s have no effect on heart health you should know that most of those studies were looking at the effect of EPA + DHA in patients who were already taking 3 or 4 heart medications. The studies actually concluded omega-3s provided no additional benefits in people already taking multiple heart medications. That is a totally different question.

Where Should You Get Your Omega-3s?

Now that you know how important the long chain omega-3s, EPA and DHA, are for your health, and you know that most of us have a very poor omega-3 status and therefore have an omega-3 deficiency , your next questions are likely to be: “What’s the best way to improve my omega-3 status?” and “Where can I find EPA and DHA in my diet?” The answer is complicated.

Cold water, oily fish like salmon are a great source of EPA and DHA. Unfortunately, our oceans are increasingly polluted and some of those pollutants are concentrated even more in farm raised fish. A few years ago a group of experts published a report in which they analyzed PCB levels in both wild caught and farm-raised fish from locations all around the world (Hites et al, Science 303: 226-229, 2004) . Based on PCB levels alone they recommended that some wild caught salmon be consumed no more than once a month and some farm raised salmon be consumed no more than once every other month!

Unfortunately, when you buy salmon in the grocery store or your favorite restaurant, you can ask whether the salmon is wild or farm-raised, but you have no idea where the salmon came from. You have no idea how safe it is to eat. I love salmon and still eat it on occasion, but not nearly as frequently as I used to.

As an aside, the buzzword nowadays is sustainability. I support sustainability. However, the easiest way to assure that fish are sustainable is to raise them in fish farms. When a waiter tells me how sustainable the “catch of the day” is, I ask them how polluted it is. If they can’t answer, I don’t buy it. My health is more important to me than sustainability.

Nuts, seeds, and canola oil are good sources of ALA, a short chain omega-3 fatty acid. These food sources are less likely to be contaminated, but the efficiency of conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is only around 5-10%. In other words, you need to eat a lot of ALA-rich foods to enjoy the health benefits associated with EPA and DHA.

That leaves fish oil supplements, but you need to remember that the EPA + DHA supplements you purchase in the health food store come from polluted fish. Unfortunately, many manufacturers have inadequate purification and quality control standards. In other words, neither you nor they know whether their omega-3 products are pure. You need to make sure that the omega-3 supplement you purchase is made by a manufacturer with stringent quality control standards.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown that most Americans are deficient in long chain omega-3s like EPA and DHA. In fact, the mainland United States and Canada were tied with half a dozen other countries for the lowest omega-3 status in the world. Omega-3 deficiency in Americans seems to be the worst.

That is unfortunate because recent studies have shown that optimal blood levels of EPA and DHA are associated with a number of health benefits, especially fetal and infant neurodevelopment and heart health.

Other studies suggest that most Americans should consume an extra 500 mg/day of EPA + DHA for general health and at least 1,000 mg/day for heart health.

Unfortunately, it is not easy get those levels of EPA and DHA from our diet:

Oily, cold water fish are a great source of EPA and DHA, but our oceans are increasingly polluted and experts recommend that some fish that are the best sources of EPA and DHA be consumed no more than once a month. The situation is even worse for farm-raised fish.

Of course, nowadays the buzzword for fish is sustainability, but sustainability does not guarantee purity. Sustainable fish can be just as polluted as the worst of the farm raised fish.

seeds and canola oil are great sources for ALA, a short chain omega-3 fatty acid. This source of omega-3s is less likely to be contaminated, but the efficiency of conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA in our bodies is only around 5-10%.

Fish oil supplements can be a convenient source of the EPA and DHA you need, but the fish oil often comes from polluted fish and many manufacturers have inadequate purification methods and quality control standards. If you choose fish oil supplements as your source of omega-3s, be sure to choose a manufacturer with stringent quality control standards. Otherwise, neither you nor the manufacturer will know whether their omega-3 supplement is pure.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Calcium and Breast Cancer Prevention

July 5, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Is there a connection between calcium and breast cancer prevention? There has been lots of confusion about calcium supplements lately. Just a few years ago most health professionals were recommending calcium supplementation for women to prevent osteoporosis. Now that recommendation has become controversial. That’s because some studies have suggested that increasing calcium intake doesn’t actually prevent osteoporosis. Other studies have suggested that calcium supplementation may actually cause heart disease.

As if all this wasn’t confusing enough, the latest headlines are claiming that increased calcium intake will reduce breast cancer risk. What are we to believe about the value of calcium for our health? Should we take that calcium supplement we threw away out of the trash can and start using it again?

I have previously evaluated the studies behind the previous headlines and debunked the headlines. For example, I reported that previous studies suggesting that calcium supplementation might increase heart attack risk were followed by a much larger, better designed study showing that, if anything, calcium supplementation actually decreases heart attack risk in Do Calcium Supplements Increase Heart Attack Risk?. I also reported that the study claiming calcium supplements did not prevent osteoporosis was fatally flawed in Do Calcium Supplements Prevent Bone Fractures?.

Now it is time to evaluate the study behind the latest calcium headline. Is this headline myth or is it true? What is the connection between calcium and breast cancer.

Calcium and Breast Cancer Risk Reduction

This study (Hidayat et al, British Journal of Nutrition, 116: 158-166, 2016) was a meta-analysis of 11 previous clinical studies published between 2002 and 2013 with a total of 872,895 women subjects which measured calcium intake and breast cancer. Follow up ranged from 7 to 25 years in these studies, during which time 26,606 of the women developed breast cancer.

Dietary plus supplemental calcium intake was determined at the beginning of each study using either a 24-hour diet recall or a food frequency questionnaire. Calcium intakes ranged from 203 mg/day to 1,750 mg/day.

In short this was a very large and well done study. Because of the large number of subjects and the large number of cancer cases, this study had the sensitivity to detect even small effects of calcium on breast cancer risk – something that was not possible in previous studies. In addition, the investigators were able to conduct a dose-response evaluation of the effect of calcium and breast cancer risk reduction. This was also had not been possible in previous studies.

When the women with the highest calcium intakes were compared to the women with the lowest calcium intakes:

Calcium reduced breast cancer risk by 8%.

The effect was much larger for premenopausal women than postmenopausal women:

Calcium reduced breast cancer risk by 25% in premenopausal women.

Calcium reduced breast cancer risk by 6% in postmenopausal women.

The dose response effect was fairly linear over the entire dose range with a 2% decreased risk of breast cancer for every 300 mg/day increase in calcium intake.

What Does This Study Mean For You?

As I said in the beginning, when you read the headlines proclaiming that increasing your calcium intake could decrease your breast cancer risk, you probably had two questions:

Is it true? The answer appears to be yes. This was a very large, very well done study and it showed there is a connection between calcium and breast cancer risk reduction. It was capable of detecting even small effects of calcium on breast cancer risk – something that previous studies simply could not do.

Does it matter? Here the answer is more complicated. If you’re a postmenopausal woman, increased calcium intake only decreases your risk of breast cancer by 6%. If you are a premenopausal woman, increased calcium intake decreases your risk of breast cancer by a more robust 25%. However, in both cases you should think of calcium as only one component of a holistic approach to reducing breast cancer risk – something I’ll discuss in more detail below.

Now that you know the answer to those two questions you probably have a third question:

How much calcium do I need? That’s pretty simple. The calcium DV for adults is 1,000 mg/day, increasing to 1,200 mg/day for women over 50.

How Can You Reduce Breast Cancer Risk?

In a previous article Preventing Osteoporosis, I reported that while calcium supplementation alone had only a very modest effect on reducing osteoporosis risk, it played an important role as part of a holistic bone-healthy lifestyle. The role of calcium in reducing breast cancer risk is no different.

Most experts estimate that between 30 and 60% of breast cancer cases could be prevented by diet and lifestyle changes. In addition to calcium, both the Mayo Clinic and the American Cancer Society make the following recommendations for reducing breast cancer risk:

Limit or avoid hormone therapy. This is the single most important step you can take to reduce breast cancer risk.

Eat a plant-based diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Use fats in moderation and choose healthy fats such as olive oil and omega-3 fats. Limit the amounts of red meat and processed meats.

Control your weight.

Be physically active.

Don’t smoke

Limit alcohol intake.

Avoid exposure to radiation and environmental pollution.

Breast feed.

Where Should You Get Your Calcium?

Many experts recommend that you get your calcium only from food. Is that the best advice? I always like to start with food as the source of essential nutrients, but in the case of calcium that usually isn’t sufficient. Here are some facts to ponder:

Plain, nonfat yoghurt is the calcium champion, with an 8 ounce serving supplying 42% of the DV (the calcium DV = 1,000 mg/day). However, most yoghurt cups in the market these days are 4 ounces or less.

Milk and a few cheeses supply around 30% of the DV. However, many people can’t or don’t consume the 3 or more servings needed to reach the DV.

Green leafy vegetables are often mentioned as another good food source. However, a serving of them only provides around 10% of the DV, and many leafy greens contain oxalates which decrease calcium absorption.

Beyond that, most food sources of calcium supply only 1-8% of the DV for calcium. If you don’t drink lots of milk, you need to be a dietitian with an advanced degree to figure out how to get enough calcium from foods alone.

If that isn’t bad enough, many foods contain substances that interfere with calcium absorption. In addition to the oxalates in leafy greens, these substances include phytates from whole grains, phosphate from sodas, and saturated fat from red meats.

Experts often also recommend getting calcium from calcium fortified foods such as calcium fortified orange juice. That can help you reach the recommended calcium intake, but in my opinion calcium-fortified foods are likely to be more expensive and no better than regular foods plus a calcium supplement.

I recommend getting as much calcium as possible from food and adding a calcium supplement for the rest. Here are my tips on calcium supplementation:

If you do use a calcium supplement, make sure it is complete. Don’t just settle for calcium and vitamin D. At the very least you will want your supplement to contain magnesium and vitamin K. I personally recommend that it also contain zinc, copper, and manganese as well.

Your calcium supplement will be best utilized if taken between meals.

Your calcium supplement will be best utilized if you don’t take more than 500 mg at a time.

In most cases there is no need for more than the DV of calcium.

Let’s review the connection between calcium and breast cancer risk reduction.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown that increasing calcium intake reduces the risk of breast cancer. The effect of calcium intake on breast cancer risk was much greater for premenopausal women (25% risk reduction) than it was for postmenopausal women (6% risk reduction).

While the effect of calcium alone on breast cancer risk was relatively modest, it is likely to be an important component of a holistic approach for reducing breast cancer risk. Additional recommendations of the Mayo Clinic and American Cancer Society for reducing breast cancer risk are contained in the article above.

While many experts recommend getting your calcium from food alone, a careful analysis of food sources of calcium clearly shows how difficult that is for most people.

Calcium supplements are a safe and effective way to make sure you are getting the calcium you need. In the article above, I describe the optimal design of a calcium supplement and how to take a calcium supplement for optimal utilization.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

3 Weight Loss Scams To Avoid

June 28, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Weight Loss, Wealth Loss, Or Health Loss?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

P.T. Barnum once said “There’s a sucker born every minute”. Those words were never truer than in the weight loss industry and weight loss scams.

You’ve seen the ads: “Lose 4 pounds/week of belly fat”; “Lose 40 pounds in two weeks”; “burns off fat effortlessly”; “The pounds just melt away”. It’s hard to believe that people actually fall for those ads. Yet they do.

The problem is that weight loss is hard. You have to change your lifestyle – eat healthier, exercise more, give up some of your favorite foods. Even worse you can’t just make those changes for a few weeks or a few months. Those lifestyle changes need to be permanent if you wish to achieve lasting weight loss.

That just doesn’t fit with the American psyche. After all, our doctors and the TV ads promise us a “pill for every ill”. If you think that way, it is only logical that there should be a pill for weight loss.

Unfortunately, the unscrupulous supplement manufacturers are only too happy to fill that expectation. They don’t care whether their products actually work or whether they may actually kill you. They just want to make a quick buck.

Here are the 3 weight loss scams making headlines today.

3 Weight Loss Scams to Avoid

Fake Weight Loss Marketing Schemes

The first 2 weight loss scams fall into the category of ones that lighten your wallet. In a recent press release the FTC recently charged two Florida-based supplement manufacturers of concocting elaborate, but completely fraudulent, marketing schemes to sell their weight loss products– one containing forskolin and another containing white kidney bean extract.

The schemes started with the marketers hacking people’s email accounts and sending messages touting the fake products to all of their contacts. The messages were worded in such a way that the email appeared to be a recommendation of the product coming from a trusted friend or family member.

The emails were linked to fake “news websites” that were designed to look like they were put up by an independent consumer reporter who had reviewed and endorsed the product rather than by the product manufacturers. These web sites featured glowing testimonials from consumers who had supposedly lost significant weight using those products. Of course, the fake “news websites” contained links that took consumers to websites where they could purchase the products.

In the complaint they filed in court, the FTC said “these weight loss claims are false and lack scientific support”. In plain English, the FTC was saying that the testimonials were made up and there was no scientific evidence that the products actually worked. The fake “news websites” also said that the products were endorsed by Oprah and a television show called “The Doctors.” The FTC said that both of those claims were also false.

And, if all of this weren’t enough, the defendants in these two cases then approached people who had legitimate health and weight loss blogs with large followings and offered them affiliate status if they would feature links to the fake “news websites” the defendants had constructed. In plain English, affiliate status means that the owners of the blogs receive a commission whenever someone started from their blog and clicked all the way through to one of the defendant’s sites and bought a product*.

The FTC is seeking an immediate injunction that would shut down these fraudulent marketing schemes and prevent the companies from selling fake products that don’t work. I hope the FTC is successful at obtaining the injunction against both companies, and I hope it happens quickly. Unscrupulous manufacturers like this need to be put out of business. Please, be careful to avoid these kind of weight loss scams.

*Just so you know, I have also been approached by companies offering “Health Tips From the Professor” affiliate status for marketing their products. I have chosen not to do that. I don’t want to become like so many other popular health blogs that seem to be more about marketing than about health. I will not feature any product I don’t believe in on my site. Integrity is more important than money.

Weight Loss Products That Might Actually Kill You

The third of the weight loss scams is of the more dangerous kind – one that might even kill you.

The FDA recently sent a warning letter to a marketing company called The Ultimate Weight Loss Company claiming that 3 of their weight loss products that were labeled as containing bee pollen actually contained two undeclared drugs that the FDA has banned for consumer use.

The first undeclared drug in their products is a compound called phenolphthalein, which was widely used in laxative drugs. It was also widely used in weight loss products because its laxative effect also causes water loss from the body – giving the appearance of rapid weight loss. However, research in the 90s suggested that it also increased the risk of several cancers. Laxative and weight loss drugs containing phenolphthalein were subsequently withdrawn from the market and the FDA currently classifies phenolphthalein as an unapproved drug.

The second undeclared drug in their products is a compound called sibutramine. Sibutramine suppresses appetite and increases metabolic rate. It was the active ingredient in a weight loss drug called Meridia, which was initially approved by the FDA in 1997.

The problem is that, like many drugs that increase metabolic rate, sibutramine also increases heart rate. While that is relatively benign for some people, it can cause arrhythmia, heart attack and stroke in anyone with a weakened cardiovascular system.

A large clinical study published in 2010 (James et al, New England Journal of Medicine, 363: 905-917, 2010) showed that Meridia significantly increased the risk of heart attack and stroke in subjects with preexisting heart disease. Shortly after that the FDA declared that it caused an unacceptably high risk of heart attack and stroke, and it was withdrawn from the market. The FDA currently classifies subutramine as an unapproved drug as well.

Of course, some of you are probably saying to yourself: “My heart is fine. If this drug suppresses my appetite and revs up my metabolism, where can I get it?” My response is: “Not so fast. Here are a few statistics you should know”:

47% of Americans are at risk for heart disease, and many don’t know that they have a problem until they drop dead from their first heart attack.

If you are overweight your probability of having heart disease increases by 50% if you are a middle-aged woman and by a whopping 72% if you are a middle aged man (Eckel, Circulation, 96: 3248-3250, 1997).

According to the NIH if you have diabetes, you are 2-4 times more likely to have heart disease. 65% of people with diabetes will die from a heart attack or stroke.

Unfortunately, the combination of phenophthalein and sibutramine are still used in fraudulent weight loss products because they work. These two drugs together might actually give you 10 pounds or more of weight loss in the first couple of weeks. They might also kill you. They are certainly weight loss scams to avoid.

In their warning letter to The Ultimate Weight Loss Company the FDA said that their products pose “a threat to consumers because sibutramine is known to substantially increase blood pressure and/or pulse rate in some patients and may present a significant risk for patients with coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. This product may also interact, in life-threatening ways, with other medications a consumer may be taking”

The problem is not just that the weight loss products manufactured by this company contained unapproved drugs that are dangerous. The problem is that those compounds weren’t on the label. The label claimed the products contained bee pollen. The consumer had no way of knowing that the products might be dangerous.

Even worse, as soon as the FDA shuts down this company, another one will pop up somewhere else. The combination of phenolphthalein and sibutramine is one of the weight loss scams that turn up time after time.

How Can You Protect Yourself From Weight Loss Scams?

It is definitely “buyer beware” in the weight loss industry. Unscrupulous manufacturers and weight loss scams abound. You have learned from this article that:

You can’t trust testimonials. They are often fabricated.
You can’t trust before and after pictures. They can be photoshopped and purchased over the internet.
You can’t trust endorsements by celebrities or doctors. Endorsements can be bought and sold, and sometimes they are just fabricated.
You can’t trust claims about “proven results.” They often aren’t backed by real science.
You can’t even trust product labels. Some products contain dangerous ingredients that aren’t even on the label.
You can’t even trust the FDA and FTC to protect you. They are doing their best, but two new scams pop up for every one they shut down.

So what can you do to keep from being ripped off or endangering your health? Here are my top 4 recommendations for avoiding weight loss scams.

Don’t be taken in by claims of rapid weight loss, effortless weight loss, or “magic” ingredients. The experts tell us weight loss should not exceed one or two pounds per week and should include lifelong lifestyle change. If the ads claim anything else, run in the other direction.

There are no “magic” foods or “magic” combinations of protein, fat and carbohydrate. It also doesn’t matter whether the diet is Paleolithic age or space age. Weight loss simply requires calories in to be less than calories out.

Look for clinical studies published in peer reviewed scientific journals showing that the weight loss program actually works.

Choose companies that have established a reputation for quality and integrity over a period of decades, not just a few months or a year or two. Weight loss scams come and go. Good reputations take a long time to develop.

The Bottom Line

Weight loss scams have been in the headlines recently.

The FTC recently announced legal action two companies selling weight loss products containing forskolin or white kidney bean extract. According to the FTC the companies were using a “fraudulent marketing scheme” and the weight loss claims for their products were “false and lacked scientific support”.

The FDA recently announced legal action against a company selling three weight loss products which they claimed contained bee pollen, but which actually contained two unapproved and dangerous drugs that can cause heart attack and stroke in susceptible people.

In both cases the products seemed legitimate. They seemed safe. When you read the details of the FTC and FDA cases it becomes apparent that:

You can’t trust testimonials. They are often fabricated.
You can’t trust before and after pictures. They can be photoshopped and purchased over the internet.
You can’t trust endorsements by celebrities or doctors. Endorsements can be bought and sold, and sometimes they are just fabricated.
You can’t trust claims about “proven results”. They often aren’t backed by real science.
You can’t even trust product labels. Some products contain dangerous ingredients that aren’t even on the label.
You can’t even trust the FDA and FTC to protect you. They are doing their best, but two new scams pop up for every one they shut down.

In the article above you will find my top 4 recommendations for avoiding weight loss scams.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Stretching Exercises For Flexibility And Pain Relief

June 21, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

The Pluses And Minuses Of Stretching

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

When using stretching exercises for flexibility and pain relief, you should be careful to release the knots first.

Minuses! Are there any minuses to stretching? Yes, there are…let me explain.

All muscles originate on one bone, we’ll call the bone that is at the beginning of the muscle the “stationary bone,” then the muscle tendons cross over a joint and insert into another bone we’ll call the “moveable bone.”

When the muscle contracts (shortens) it pulls on the tendons, and they pull on the moveable bone where they are inserting. This is how all joints move.

Let me demonstrate with the biceps muscle in your upper arm. Your biceps originate in two different places:

The “long head” is deep inside your shoulder joint, and the “short head” is on a bone at the top of your shoulder called the coracoid process of your shoulder blade.

Your biceps tendon crosses over the inside of your elbow joint and inserts into the bone in your forearm.

When your biceps contract, you bend your elbow so you can touch your shoulder.

Notice that your triceps, on the back of your arm, are having to totally stretch to allow this movement.

Imagine what will happen if your triceps won’t stretch.

You won’t be able to bend your arm and your elbow will hurt. You may decide that you need to stretch your triceps – but this is where the “minus” comes in!

The “Minus” of Stretching Exercises for Flexibility When Your Muscle is Tight

When you repetitively use a muscle, in this case the triceps, the muscle fibers spasm and become painful, tying them into knots that are shortening the muscle fibers. The fibers are now short, but they are still originating and inserting in the same place. This causes a strain on the bone, usually at the insertion point.

If you had a 12″ length of rope and tied enough knots in it to make it 11″ and then consider what would happen to the rope if you tried to stretch it back to 12″ without first untying the knots. The knots would get tighter and the fibers outside of the knots would be overstretched. This is what happens to your muscles when you stretch without first releasing the spasms. It is the main reason you may feel worse after stretching than you did before you stretched.

Also, since the fibers are now short, they can’t lengthen enough to allow the joint to bend. In this example, the triceps have shortened which prevents them from lengthening. You either think you need to strengthen your biceps, or you think you need to stretch your triceps.

Rarely does anyone think about first releasing the spasms, and then stretching the muscle fibers. Yet, this is exactly what needs to be done if you plan on using stretching exercises for flexibility and pain relief.

Release the Spasms Preventing You From Using Stretching Exercises Safely.

As I mentioned, when you try to stretch you are now causing the knots in the muscles to become more complicated, and you are overstretching the fibers on either side of the knot.

However, if you release the spasm by putting direct pressure on it, you will feel a burning sensation, but as you press and release, the burn will lessen until it totally disappears. Now you can safely stretch for flexibility without injuring any of the muscle fibers.

The Perfect Stretching For Flexibility Packages:

Two products that will demonstrate how you can safely release the spasms and then start stretching for flexibility

The 15 Minute Back Pain Solution

Specifically written to focus on each muscle that causes back pain. THE 15 MINUTE BACK PAIN SOLUTION explains in detail why the muscles from the middle of your back to your knees will cause low back and hip pain, including sciatica and what to do to relieve the pain. An easy-to-read eBook that has a step-by-step program you can do in 7 Days.

This is the perfect way to prepare your muscles so you can use stretching exercises for flexibility!

And

Focused Flexibility Training

The comprehensive stretching program covers all aspects of releasing the spasms that have shortened the muscle fibers, and then guides you through a safe stretching routine using proven yoga-style postures.

Focused Flexibility Training has three DVDs that:

Demonstrates how to do every Julstro self-applied treatment taught in Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living.
Two 30-minute yoga-style stretching programs for the upper body
Two 30-minute yoga-style stretching programs for the lower body.

Both stretching programs featured in the DVDs start with a 15-minute routine of Julstro self-applied treatments to release spasms in the muscles being stretched and then continue on to the 30-minute guided stretching programs.

Focused Flexibility Training also comes with a Julstro Perfect Ball and a Bamboo Stick Massager to provide all the tools you’ll need to be safely stretching for flexibility.

With just a bit of time and focused attention on safely stretching, you will be able to get back to living your life without joint pain and with more flexibility than ever before – it’s easy and it feels great!

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Does Obesity Cause Cancer?

June 14, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Is The Obesity Epidemic Killing Us?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Does obesity cause cancer?

You probably already know that we are in the midst of a world-wide obesity epidemic. If not, here are some of the alarming statistics that characterize that epidemic:

The global prevalence of obesity has increased by 27.5% between 1980 and 2013.

35% of the adult population worldwide is now overweight (BMI ≥ 25), including 12% who are classified as obese (BMI ≥30).

According to the NIH the situation is even worse in developed countries like the US where 75.1% of adults are now overweight, including 35.7% who are obese, and 6.3% who are very obese (BMI ≥40).

Unfortunately, overweight and obesity are not benign. You probably already knew that those excess pounds increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure and much more. You probably also knew that those excess pounds increase your risks of certain types of cancer such as colon, rectal, kidney, pancreatic, postmenopausal breast, ovarian and uterine cancer.

It’s been a little more difficult to determine just how much obesity increases cancer risk. However, a recent study suggests that the increased risk could be quite significant. In fact, if this study is correct, obesity may only be second to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer. The truth might just scare you skinny!

Does Obesity Cause Cancer?

The International Agency For Research On Cancer did a worldwide study, (Arnold et al, The Lancet Oncology 16: 36-45, 2015), in which they looked at the effect of BMI on cancer incidence in adults aged 20 years or older. The BMI data was collected in 2002 and was segregated by sex and age groups. Recognizing that cancer takes decades to develop, they then collected data on newly diagnosed cancers in adults 30 and older in the same countries in 2012. They were determined to get closer to answering the question, does obesity cause cancer?

By comparing BMIs in 2002 with the incidence of newly diagnosed cancers 10 years later they were able to calculate the effect of excess body weight (BMI ≥25) on cancer incidence. The results were startling:

They estimated that 481,000 new cases of cancer in 2012 in adults over 30 were attributable to excess weight.

That represents 3.6% of all new cancer cases, which makes overweight second only to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer.

Uterine cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, and colon cancer accounted for 63.6% of all cancers caused by overweight. Other cancers affected by excess weight were rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, gallbladder cancer, and ovarian cancer.

The effect of excess weight on cancer risk was almost 3-fold greater for women (5.4% of new cancer cases) than for men (1.9% of new cancer cases).

In North America 111,000 new cases of cancer in 2012 for adults over 30 were attributable to excess weight. That represents 3.5% of all new cancers in men and 9.4% of all new cancers in women.

A quarter (about 118,000) of the worldwide cancer cases related to high BMI in 2012 could be attributed to the increase in BMI that has occurred since 1982.

The authors concluded “These findings emphasize the need for a global effort to abate the increasing numbers of people with high BMI. Assuming that the association between the high BMI and cancer is causal, the continuation of current patterns of population weight gain will lead to continuing increases in the future burden of cancer.”

What Does This Study Mean For You?

We have to stop kidding ourselves. That excess flab isn’t harmless. It is killing us, and cancer is a particularly gruesome way to go. It’s time to get serious about weight loss. Here are my top 5 tips for lasting weight loss.

Eat healthy low calorie meals and snacks with plenty of protein so that you maintain muscle mass while you are losing fat.
Avoid the fad diets. You don’t need to restrict carbohydrates or fats. You just need to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and modest amounts of healthy fats and healthy carbohydrates.
Find an exercise program you like and stick with it every day.
Focus on true lifestyle change rather than short term diets. A good strategy is to make one healthy change at a time rather than trying to do everything at once.
Change how you think about food, think about exercise, and think about your ability to make the kinds of changes that will lead to permanent weight loss. Don’t think of yourself as a fat person who is trying to lose weight. Think of yourself as a skinny person who happens to have a few extra pounds that are on their way out.

Of course, getting to a healthier weight isn’t the only change you want to make if you are trying to reduce your risk of cancer. Here are my top 7 lifestyle change suggestions (besides weight loss) for reducing cancer risk.

If you smoke, stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. Smoking is still the #1 cause of cancer.
Eat a healthy diet (including supplements to fill the gaps).
Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those that are good sources of cancer-fighting antioxidants, carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols.
Eat fish and fish oil supplements to make sure that you get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids.
Minimize saturated fats and avoid trans fats. Substitute olive oil for vegetable oils whenever possible.
If you drink alcohol, drink it in moderation.
Avoid sun exposure as much as possible, and use sunscreen when outdoors.
Eat healthy proteins.
Minimize consumption of red meats and processed meats.
Use chicken, fish and vegetable proteins whenever possible.
Soy protein is particularly helpful for reducing the risk of breast cancer. (Yes, those scary blogs about soy and breast cancer are wrong. For accurate information, just go to https://www.chaneyhealth.com/healthtips and type soy in the search box).
Get plenty of exercise.
Get regular check-ups.

So, does obesity cause cancer? I think you now know the answer.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown:

481,000 new cases of cancer worldwide each year are attributable to excess weight.

That represents 3.6% of all new cancer cases, which makes overweight second only to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer.

Uterine cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, and colon cancer accounted for 63.6% of all cancers caused by overweight.

The effect of excess weight on cancer risk was almost 3-fold greater for women (5.4% of new cancer cases) than for men (1.9% of new cancer cases).

In North America 111,000 new cases of cancer for adults over 30 are attributable to excess weight. That represents 3.5% of all new cancers in men and 9.4% of all new cancers in women.

That excess flab isn’t harmless. It is killing us, and cancer is a particularly gruesome way to go. For my top 5 tips for lasting weight loss and my top 7 tips for reducing your risk of cancer, read the article above.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.