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June 7, 2011  In This Issue... - The Deadly Secrets of Statin Drugs
- Can Insomnia Really Be Good for You?
- Shocking #2 Cause of Cancer
- A New Way of Testing for Colon Cancer
- Making Special Occasions More Special
The Deadly Secrets of Statin Drugs If you knew something had the high probability of injuring or killing you, would you take it? Well if you take a statin, then you could be causing serious harm to your body. As USA Today reported, "Statins have killed and injured more people than the government has acknowledged." The fact is, there are safer and just as effective alternatives to statin drugs... so how come doctors aren’t recommending them to their patients? Keep Reading...
Can Insomnia Really Be Good for You? Sleep difficulties are huge here in America. Consider this -- from 2004 to 2008, prescriptions for sleeping pills shot up by 54%! While the inability to sleep -- insomnia -- takes many forms, one of the types most frequently complained about is waking in the night. Many people report waking up predictably about three or four hours after falling asleep. Sometimes they fall back to sleep after a few minutes, but often they lie there... and lie there... and lie there, awake and frustrated for hours. The next day, they end up sleepy... grouchy... and dreading a repeat as night approaches. But I have some surprising information to share with you about this particular sleep "problem" -- it is actually quite normal and even can be good for you in ways that I think you will find fairly astonishing. In fact, having two separate segments of sleep in the same night is not only quite common -- it’s normal for some. Nothing to Do But Sleep? Historian Roger Ekirch, PhD, professor of history at Virginia Tech University, whose research on the history of sleep has been cited in such publications as Psychiatric Times, Smithsonian Magazine and Applied Neurology, discovered while investigating pre-industrial living and sleeping habits that sleeping in two phases was the dominant pattern for centuries -- and, in fact, it still predominates in some underdeveloped countries. In the days before lightbulbs, people had little to do after dark, so they usually went to bed. The typical pattern was to snooze for four hours or so, after which people would wake, ruminate in bed, chat or have sex, perhaps get up and move around a bit and then, eventually, fall back asleep. And they did so without thinking that anything was awry. In fact, I have learned from Walter A. Brown, MD, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Tufts University School of Medicine, human adults aren’t hardwired to stay asleep for lengthy periods of time. Are You "Bi"? Dr. Brown explained that sleep researchers refer to the two segments of sleep as "first sleep" and "second sleep." A sleep study done by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the 1990s examined a group of volunteers who agreed to be confined to dark rooms for 14 hours a night, matching the light/dark schedule of winter. Left to their own devices (their instructions were simply to get into bed in a dark room), they all naturally drifted into a schedule of sleeping for four hours, waking for one to three hours and then falling back to sleep for three or four more hours. In fact, this finding has led some sleep researchers to speculate that being able to sleep for an unbroken seven or eight hours might actually be evidence that our fast-paced, well-lit world has left the majority of us in a state of chronic sleep deprivation -- otherwise, we would awaken in the middle of the night, too! The NIMH researchers concluded that many people are biphasic sleepers and -- though people tend to complain about this sleep pattern -- it can actually be quite beneficial to your health and well-being. Here are some of the reasons why that’s so... - Researchers found that subjects generally woke from first sleep directly after the REM stage, a deep sleep in which dreams occur. Being awake in the quiet of the night without anything they need to do or any distractions leaves people aware of, and able to think about, their dreams and thus able to contemplate what "messages" those dreams might contain -- something that many psychologists believe to be very helpful for self-awareness and mental health.
- Dreaming or not, the peaceful midnight hours can provide valuable time for quiet contemplation, meditation or reflection.
- If you live with a partner, the "awake" time can provide a reliable interlude for intimacy, both conversational and sexual.
- Some enjoy the gift of extra time. For instance, I once saw a woman interviewed who has a successful legal career and is also a best-selling novelist. Asked how she finds the time for two careers, she explained that she wakes in the night, so she gets out of bed to write her detective stories for a few hours and then goes back to bed.
Make the Most of It I’m a biphasic sleeper myself -- I do some of my best thinking when I lie awake in the wee hours -- and I find that after I’ve fallen asleep again and wake up the next morning, I’m not only refreshed but also have great clarity about how to move forward in the day and in my life. Dr. Brown wasn’t surprised to hear this -- he said that he often counsels patients that the best way to handle the sleep pattern is to accept it as normal without becoming anxious or upset. That, after all, will only make you more wakeful and uneasy. Note: For this same reason, Dr. Brown also advises not working on something that is excessively stimulating in the middle of the night, though as noted above, it’s often a very fruitful period for some people. While the traditional advice is to get out of bed if you can’t fall asleep, many people prefer to stay snuggled under the covers -- either way is fine, Dr. Brown said. Part of accepting a biphasic sleep pattern -- and getting enough rest to function well in the day -- is having an earlier bedtime that will accommodate the hours of being awake. In other words, you purposely shift some of your awake time from the day to the night. You still get all the sleep you need -- but without struggle and without anxiety. If you are still determined to get unbroken sleep, which is obviously our culture’s norm, Dr. Brown says it is probably better to go to sleep on the late side so that you fall into bed really tired. He also has good advice for better sleep in general, biphasic or otherwise... Don’t drink alcohol for at least several hours before bedtime because it can interfere with sleep. Don’t exercise after 6 pm. Sleep in a very dark room to alert your body clock that it is night. Most of all though, if your body insists on waking you again in the night and you are otherwise functioning well, accept the inevitable. As Dr. Brown observes, "From a physiological point of view, in some ways we are still in the Stone Age -- and two phases of sleep is just one of those ways." Source(s):
Walter A. Brown, MD, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston.
Shocking #2 Cause of Cancer An official at the American Cancer Society said that it's easy to avoid half of all cancers. However, an adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research was even more optimistic when he said that nine out of 10 cancers are related to factors we control. Of course, their #1 piece of advice is "stop smoking." We all know that. But I bet you don't know the #2 cause of cancer. It's something totally under your control -- it's much easier than quitting cigarettes -- and it's the last thing you'd ever expect. I'll tell you about it in a moment. Keep reading...
A New Way of Testing for Colon Cancer Colonoscopy has been the gold standard in colorectal cancer detection and prevention for a very long time -- but it’s by no means perfect, and some people will do just about anything to avoid keeping that appointment. Now along comes a new, noninvasive way to screen for colon cancer -- stool DNA testing -- a procedure that remarkably enough promises accurate detection without the discomfort. The question that naturally follows, and the one I’m asking myself right now: Is it really effective? More Accurate Detection I talked with David A. Ahlquist, MD, at the Mayo Clinic to get a better sense of what the new test offers. He first took me through a little background. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, and colonoscopy -- the examination of your colon through insertion of a long, flexible tube -- so far represents our best weapon to catch and treat it early. But, he explained, colonoscopy may miss some cancers and precancerous lesions, particularly those on the right side of the colon, which has more nooks and crannies, making the search for polyps a challenge. The right side also has a greater likelihood of hard-to-detect flat polyps. (See Daily Health News, September 7, 2010, for more information.) In addition, colonoscopy is expensive. And, like any invasive procedure, it is associated with a risk for complications -- bleeding, perforation or sedation-related heart problems occur in a small percentage of patients. Dr. Ahlquist and his research team found that this new stool DNA test identifies cells that are continuously shed from the surface of growths. It detects target lesions -- precancers and cancers, no matter if they are on the left or right side of the colon and no matter what stage, which has been a problem for colonoscopy. Because stool DNA testing effectively detects precancerous polyps, this test has the potential to prevent cancer, much like Pap smears have done for cervical cancer. Add to that the fact that it can be done at home and mailed in for analysis... and it requires no medication or diet restrictions. Dr. Ahlquist presented these results at a May 2011 meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association. He and his collaborators at Exact Sciences, the company that developed the test, are about to embark on an FDA validation study across more than 30 medical centers throughout the US. Is DNA Stool Testing Right for You? Dr. Ahlquist anticipates that the FDA validation study will be completed in 2012 and that the test could become available nationwide soon after. The Mayo Clinic has collaborated with Exact Sciences to develop the test, and that firm is already meeting with Medicare and major third-party payers to pave the way for coverage. Current guidelines call for colorectal cancer screening if you are 50 or older -- earlier if you are at high risk. For example, if you have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), you face a greater risk for colorectal cancer, and Mayo researchers have confirmed that stool DNA testing can detect cancer and precancer in people with IBD. I asked Dr. Ahlquist if he thought stool DNA testing could ever come to replace rather than complement colonoscopy. He believes the procedure must always be linked to colonoscopy, because those with positive test results will need to undergo colonoscopies both to locate the cancer or polyps that are present, and to remove them as well. But for initial screening, if it works as advertised, the stool test may well become the preferred choice for patients. Source(s):
David A. Ahlquist, MD, gastroenterologist and professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic Medical School, Rochester, Minnesota. Editor’s note: Mayo Clinic and Dr. Ahlquist have a financial interest in the technology referenced in this article. In compliance with the Bayh-Dole Act, this technology has been licensed to Exact Sciences, and both Mayo Clinic and Dr. Ahlquist have received royalties. Mayo Clinic holds an equity position in Exact Sciences.
Making Special Occasions More Special I developed an interesting habit years ago, at the first wedding I attended for one of my friends, and have practiced ever since. At weddings, when the bride finally enters and everyone's eyes are on her, I watch the groom as the bride walks down the aisle. Of course I glance at the bride (I certainly want to see the dress and how beautiful she looks in it). No one finds a bride as beautiful as her groom -- so to me, watching the groom gives me a deeper enjoyment of the moment, because I am doing so through the experience of the person for whom it is most meaningful. Click here to read more...
Be well, 
Carole Jackson
Bottom Line's Daily Health News
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