Gloria was in her 70s when she noticed some dark vaginal post-menopausal spotting the color of old blood. She kept an eye on it and noticed that the amount of her discharge changed. Within two weeks, it had lessened. But it was still present. She mentioned this to her doctor, who sent her to a gynecologist for a pelvic exam and pap smear. Both were normal, and she had no other symptoms like pain or bloating.

The discharge continued, but its color changed from dark red to yellowish brown and the amount was less and less. It turned out that her discharge wasn’t blood at all. Gloria’s doctor explained that a small amount of a vaginal discharge was not unusual after menopause. When she mentioned this discharge to a few friends, Gloria was relieved to hear that a number of them had experienced a similar condition. In every case, it was nothing serious. It was either caused by a mild infection or vaginal atrophy.

But Gloria wanted to know what was going on. She wasn’t convinced that this discharge was necessarily normal or safe. Neither was her doctor, who sent her back to a gynecologist. This time her gynecologist ordered a pelvic ultrasound. She wanted to measure the thickness of Gloria’s uterine lining.

If her endometrial lining was no more than 5 mm thick, there was nothing to worry about. If it was thicker, it could be an indication of estrogenic activity and malignancy. Sure enough, her uterine lining was a safe 5 mm. Gloria breathed a sigh of relief. Then she and her gynecologist looked at possible reasons for her discharge.

Possible explanations

There were a number of other possible reasons for Gloria’s spotting. The first one they considered was that her endometrial lining could have become too thick from too much estrogen. This was possible, but unlikely, her gynecologist explained, since Gloria was in her 70s and was most likely low in estrogen. She had stopped menstruating 25 years ago and wasn’t taking any hormone replacement therapy. Not even bioidentical hormones.

Perhaps the opposite was true. The lining of her uterus may have become too thin due to lower estrogen levels. This may have caused break-through bleeding.
If anything, Gloria was likely to be low in estrogen.

There were other reasons that could explain this sudden spotting, like polyps or uterine fibroids. Perhaps a benign growth had formed in her uterus, on her cervix, or inside her cervical canal and broke, causing a discharge.

Then again, Gloria might have endometrial hyperplasia, a condition where the lining of the uterus becomes thick and bleeding may occur. If this was the case, Gloria might have abnormal cells, which, if left untreated, could lead to endometrial cancer. While this cancer is easy to treat with a partial or total hysterectomy, if cancer cells are ignored and they spread to other parts of the body, it also can be dangerous.

An infection in her uterus or cervix could also explain Gloria’s symptoms. Taking blood thinning medications or supplements could explain it as well. But she wasn’t taking any blood thinners.

Gloria’s gynecologist was both thorough and methodical. She began at the beginning with a second pelvic exam and ultrasound, even though Gloria’s first ultrasound had been performed just two months prior.

The results of this second ultrasound shocked them both. Gloria’s endometrial lining, which had been 5 mm thick just two months ago, was now 21 mm! Something had triggered a strong estrogenic response. This was no time to speculate why. It was time to take immediate action. Gloria’s primary doctor took charge and quickly found a surgeon who was able to schedule her for surgery without delay.

One week later, Gloria had a total hysterectomy. The surgeon found an encapsulated malignant tumor with no involved lymph nodes. It had been discovered at the earliest possible stage and had not spread. In fact, Gloria would need no radiation or chemotherapy. She didn’t even need a follow-up scan. Her cancer, and the tissues on which it had grown, had been removed. After her surgery, her doctors pronounced her “cured.”

An eerie coincident

One week after her doctor diagnosed Gloria’s condition, I received the following email from a woman in Ireland. “I did a two month detox and it was so gentle I didn’t see much in the way of results until after I had finished it. It seemed to me that I started a mild bowel cleanse, but then I started spotting dark brown blood (?) in my urine, which thinned out and stopped after a couple of weeks and then started up again and now there is about a teaspoon daily of thin, but light red blood.... My question is ... am I detoxing as I have no other symptoms like pain or burning or frequent need to urinate that might suggest cystitis?”

I was flabbergasted.

I hadn’t heard of a case like Gloria’s in the 30-plus years I had practiced nutrition. Now I suddenly heard of two, which were almost identical.
I told this woman, Jessica, about Gloria and urged her to get a thorough examination and tests immediately. Her discharge might be nothing serious or it could be cancer. I strongly suggest you do the same thing if you have any postmenopausal bleeding or discharge. Check it out until you discover its cause. Don’t assume anything.

That’s just what I told a friend of mine who is a cancer survivor and suddenly had a vaginal discharge that sounded a lot like Gloria’s. Although she was frightened at the possibility that her cancer had returned, she made an appointment with her doctor immediately. It turned out that her discharge was caused by a benign uterine fibroid tumor that was quickly and easily removed.

What caused Gloria’s cancer?

Something triggered an estrogenic response in Gloria, but what could it be? After close examination of all of her supplements, her surgeon and her oncologist both agreed that while it was impossible to know for certain, the culprit may very well have been an unusual supplement made from sheep placenta that Gloria had been taking for several years. All of her doctors believed that taking this nutrient over a period of several years could cause a mild estrogenic response and explain her condition.

Gloria had taken this supplement for increased energy, young looking skin, and a youthful appearance, and it appeared to work. Friends, acquaintances, and even one of the tellers in her local bank commented on how young and rested she looked. She felt more energetic as well.

Gloria had succeeded in turning back the aging clock, but she may have been unknowingly risking her health. Did this supplement cause her problem? Was her result worth the consequences? And what would have happened if she had not pursued an answer to her discharge? Or if her doctor had not insisted on re-testing her?

I am particularly interested in hearing from you if you have had a similar experience. I sincerely hope that Gloria’s story will inspire you to follow through with your doctors and insist that they keep searching until they find an explanation for any unusual symptom. Don’t assume you’re all right because you want to be.

What about Jessica, the woman who wrote me from Ireland? She followed through with more tests. Her doctor told her that she had a 4 cm cervical cancer. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is where the two cases differ. Jessica had planned to go to a huge international family reunion in Spain, and none of her doctors told her she needed immediate surgery. She also prefers taking a natural approach rather than having a hysterectomy. So did Gloria, but most of all Gloria wanted to live.

Don’t get me wrong. Jessica wants to live, also. But her doctors did not have the same urgency as Gloria’s doctors. Once Jessica knew she had cancer, there was no reason to get more tests. In my opinion, the clock had run down on her options. I’ll keep in touch with her and hope that she decides to have surgery and that her cancer hasn’t and doesn’t spread. And I’ll keep you posted.

Drinking a Lot of Milk Won’t Help Your Bones and It Could Shorten Your Life

If you’re drinking lots of milk and think it’s protecting you from osteoporosis, think again. Some forms of dietary calcium in other quantities might be protective, but not milk. At least, not if you drink it in large amounts.

Until recently, the dairy industry has promoted a diet high in dairy to reduce a woman’s risk of fractures. Unfortunately, we’re now finding that the reverse is true. Rather than protecting them, milk may be having the opposite effect. It could be causing bones to break.

The key to protecting yourself from osteoporotic fractures is “balance.” You don’t ever want to take too much of anything. Not even a good thing. This includes dairy. And a recent large observational study out of Sweden found that drinking three or more glasses of milk a day didn’t reduce a woman’s risk for fractures. Not only that, it was associated with a higher rate of death.

This study only shows an association between milk and mortality. It is not definitive. But it was a large and long study, following more than 61,000 women for over 20 years. The results were important enough for it to be published in The British Medical Journal. So this study should get your attention and careful consideration.

Not all dairy products have the same effect on osteoporosis. This study did
not include fermented foods (yoghurt and kefir), which have been found to be protective against fractures.

Fragile bones break more easily

Other studies have found that a high-calcium diet can cause fragile bones. Your bones could be dense, but still break easily. This can be due to a magnesium deficiency – an all too common condition. Magnesium is a mineral that makes bones more flexible, while calcium makes them more fragile and prone to break. More women need to boost their magnesium level – not their calcium. It’s becoming clearer that high quantities of dairy products do not necessarily lower your risk from broken bones as they’ve told us.

The role of oxidative stress

In December, I talked about the role that oxidative stress caused by heavy metal toxicity plays in predicting hip fractures. And I explained how substances in your blood called fluorescent oxidation products (FLOP) can predict your risk for future hip fractures. I also explained about the need to remove heavy metals as an effective way of reducing oxidative stress and lowering your risk for breaking bones.

But there’s more to the subject of oxidative stress. Today, I want to increase your understanding of the connection between milk intake and both oxidative stress and inflammation.

The culprits that may be responsible for contributing to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are two sugars found in milk, but not in other dairy products. They are lactose and galactose. Although this association has not yet been proven in large human studies, it has been seen in a number of animal studies.

Fortunately, it’s simple enough to lower your milk intake to the amount that has been seen to lower a woman’s risk of mortality and fracture.

Other dairy products

The Swedish study found another connection between eating a lot of fermented milk products like yoghurt and kefir. They contain low levels of lactose, and were associated with a lower rate of both mortality and fractures. This suggests that if you simply must drink glass after glass of milk, which would still upset your calcium/magnesium balance, you can drink lactose-free milk.

This Bean Doesn’t Contain Gluten, But You May Not Want To Eat It Anyway

Gluten-free foods have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Some of them are for good reason. A growing number of people are finding that they feel better when they limit gluten in their diets. Some notice remarkable improvements when they avoid all foods that contain even a smidgen of gluten – like soy sauce and some salad dressings. Others believe that a diet without gluten is healthiest.

Food producers are looking for new ingredients they can use in their foods to tempt the palates of people on a wheat-less diet who suddenly find they have fewer food choices. And food manufacturers are constantly looking for new ingredients to accommodate them.

The latest ingredient to hit the gluten-free market is a yellow bean called lupin. It’s low in fat and high in protein and fiber, which may sound like an ideal addition to a gluten-free diet. It’s already being sold as a gluten-free bean throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, Australia, and New Zealand. And I expect we’ll be hearing about it here shortly. However, just because it’s free from gluten doesn’t mean that you should assume that this bean is good for you. It’s not.

Not all beans are safe for everyone to eat. Take peanuts, for example. They need to be avoided by anyone with a peanut allergy. Even tiny amounts of peanuts can cause a severe allergic reaction, such as anaphylactic shock, in anyone with a peanut allergy.

Lupin happens to belong to the same plant family as peanuts. In fact, it contains the same protein that causes allergic reactions in both peanuts and soybeans. These include hives, swollen lips, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. If you need to avoid either soybeans or peanuts, you probably need to avoid lupin as well.

If you don’t have a legume allergy, you may still want or need to avoid lupin. You can become allergic to any food at any time, especially if you have poor digestion or a compromised immune system.

And as gluten-free diets become more popular, this legume is likely to be marketed as a replacement for wheat. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware that lupin is likely to become a popular ingredient in gluten-free foods due to its health qualities. They’re concerned that people who need to avoid wheat will not make the connection that it’s the allergen in lupin’s protein that can be the problem. Not gluten. That’s why they’re issuing an alert, suggesting that anyone with an allergy to peanuts or soybeans read the labels of all prepared foods before buying them.

Kansas State University. “New gluten-free ingredient may cause allergic reaction, expert warns.” ScienceDaily, 25 August 2014.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140825123526.htm>.

What Are the Best Exercises to Do for Your Health?

We all agree that we should be exercising regularly, but we don’t necessarily agree with the type or length of exercise we should be doing. The most widely held response is that aerobic exercise is best. But that’s not what some of the most current research is saying.

What it comes down to is that your exercise should depend on your goals. Do you want exercise to help control your blood sugar? Improve your cognition and protect you from Alzheimer’s disease? Help maintain your muscles? Different exercises offer different benefits, and some are specific to seniors.

Regulating blood sugar

For example, I recently told you about a study published in Diabetes Care. This study compared the effectiveness of walking for 15 minutes after each meal with walking once a day for 45 minutes. The study participants were all relatively healthy non-smokers around the age of 60 who had mildly elevated blood sugar levels (between 105 and 125 mg dL-1). All of them began by walking on a treadmill after breakfast or lunch for either 15 or 45 minutes. Those who exercised for 15 minutes after each meal had a significant improvement in their blood sugar over the participants who exercised once a day.

Comparing exercises

Then there was a Canadian study published in the journal AGE, which compared different kinds of exercises in a group of healthy seniors. They exercised three times a week for two months. Each group focused on different exercises: aerobics, strength training, and cognitive performance (balance, coordination, and flexibility).

Their physical fitness improved only in the aerobics and strength training groups, but all three groups had improved cognitive performance. If you’re looking to prevent or reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of dementia, get in the habit of exercising. Even walking will help.

My personal preference is to exercise in one-hour sessions for three days a week. I’ve tried various other combinations, but this one works best for me. I begin with 20 minutes on an exercise bike (cardio) to loosen up and increase deep breathing. Then I spend 20 minutes on various machines to strengthen my upper body. Finally, I end with 20 minutes on the Pilates reformer to increase my balance and flexibility.

At times, I get bored with any routine. That’s when I substitute it for a brisk walk or an hour stretch class. But whatever I do is designed to benefit my brain. And you should know that I started a regular exercise program when I was 70. Prior to that time I was a couch potato.

Dr. Nicolas Berryman, lead author of the Canadian study, said, “I would like seniors to remember that they have the power to improve their physical and cognitive health at any age and that they have many avenues to reach this goal.” Your body was designed to move. The worst thing you can do is to not exercise.

If you sit and read a lot or spend hours on your computer, keep a glass of water nearby. Remind yourself to drink it throughout the day, and do some light exercises whenever you take a bathroom break. You don’t have to join a gym – although you may find it works well for you to do so. You just need to move.

Diabetes Care, June 20, 2013.

Nutrition Detective

Will This Drug Help You Live Longer?

There’s a new study out that’s getting a lot of attention. It claims that regularly taking ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), can extend our lives by about 12 years. Actually, this study says that ibuprofen extends the life of baker’s yeast, worms, and flies. No one really knows what effect it might have on our longevity.

One problem with this study is that we already have information that over time, ibuprofen causes liver toxicity and serious side effects ... in humans. Still, the researchers of this recent study consider ibuprofen to be “a relatively safe drug.”
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) says that people who take NSAIDs for a long time are at greater risk for having a heart attack or stroke than those who don’t. And they say loudly and clearly on their website that “these events may happen without warning and may cause death.” This doesn’t say “relatively safe” to me!

Other side effects, which also can occur suddenly without warning, include bleeding, ulcers, constipation or diarrhea, dizziness, and holes in the stomach or intestines. The list goes on. A panel of experts at the American Geriatrics Society has said that seniors age 75 and older who have chronic pain should take opiates instead of ibuprofen. They found that codeine and even morphine are safer if they need to take painkillers over a long period of time.

Advil, Midol, and Motrin are just a few popular brands of ibuprofen. Take them occasionally if you must. Or try an anti-inflammatory formula that’s both safe and effective like Reduloxin (800-791-3395). It contains turmeric, rosemary, holy basil, and other plant products proven to be effective against pain. There’s no guarantee that it will extend your life, but at least it won’t harm you.

LETTERS

Q: I’ve had kidney stones in the past, and I don’t want to experience that much pain ever again. I understand that there are foods I need to avoid or limit to reduce my risk. What are the most important ones? — B.E., Brooklyn, NY

A: Kidney stones occur when tiny crystals in the urine made of mineral and acid salts stick together to form stones. When they are tiny, like a grain of sand, they can be eliminated in your urine. You wouldn’t even know they exist. But when they get bigger, they can get trapped in your urethra – the tube that carries urine from your kidneys to your bladder.

If you’ve had kidney stones in the past, you’re 50% more likely to have a recurrence within five years unless you make some dietary changes. Your kidney stones may be made from phosphoric acid, an ingredient found in colas. If you have been drinking colas, stop them immediately. Instead, drink plenty of water or lemon water. How much water should you drink? The American College of Physicians suggests you drink four glasses a day to dilute your urine.

Foods that increase oxalate in the urine, such as beets, spinach, strawberries, nuts, chocolate, and black tea, also can cause kidney stones. And vitamin C can increase the amount of oxalate in your urine, which can increase your risk of kidney stones. So limit the amount of supplemental vitamin C to 500 mg per day.

Qaseem, A., P. Dallas, M.A. Forciea, M. Starkey, and T. Denberg. “Dietary and Pharmacologic Management to Prevent Recurrent Nephrolithiasis in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians,” Annals of Internal Medicine, published 3 November 2014.

Q: I eat bread and potatoes every day. It seems like no matter how much starchy foods I eat, it’s never enough. I begin by eating a small quantity of these or other starchy foods and then all of my willpower vanishes. So I reach for another starch, even if I’m not hungry. It’s almost as if I was addicted to certain foods. Do you have any ideas of how I can break this cycle? — D.L., e-mail

A: You hit the nail on the head. What you’re describing is an addiction to high glycemic foods. These are foods that turn into sugar fast. When you eat these foods, it triggers the same mechanism in the brain that some people experience when they take drugs. This can trigger overwhelming hunger and stimulate areas in the brain associated with reward and cravings. In other words, you can’t help getting these reactions as long as you give in to your cravings.

You can break this cycle of craving by eating more foods that turn into sugar slowly like garbanzo beans, hummus, lentils, and berries. At the same time, reduce the foods that turn into sugar quickly (white rice, corn flakes, and potatoes).

In a recent study, the first of its kind, researchers gave a dozen overweight people two milkshakes. Each had the same calories, taste, and sweetness. One milkshake contained high-glycemic carbs and the other one had low-glycemic carbs. After drinking the high-glycemic milkshake, the participants had an initial sugar rush. This was followed by an energy crash four hours later.

But that’s not all. Along with the crash came an overwhelming hunger, and increased activity in the part of the brain involved in addictive behaviors.