In This Issue:
Dear Readers,
We hope you find the True North Tune-Up useful. The studies are from primary sources, peer-reviewed scientific journals with rare exceptions. This month we link to e-medicine and Bandolier, high quality secondary sources.
To your health,
B. Joseph Semmes, MD
Director of Research, True North
Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine
bjsemmes@truenorthhealthcenter.org.
Cocoa- consuming elderly men lower their risk of dying of heart disease by 50%.
In this Dutch study of 470 men over age 65, those who were in the highest 1/3rd of cocoa intake (averaging 4.2 grams per day over 15 years - read labels but about 1/3rd a chocolate bar) lowered their risk of dying from heart disease by 50% when compared to those who did not drink or eat cocoa.
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Organic diets lower children’s exposure to organophosphate pesticides.
An organic diet profoundly reduces children’s exposure to organophosphate pesticides as shown in this 15 day study of 23 school age children.
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Organophosphates are ubiquitous in the environment, common in the diet of children, ranked as Class 1 toxins by the World Health Organization, and are known to cause neurological effect in animals and humans. The true nature of the risk of chronic low-level toxicity from these pesticides is not known.
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A reminder from last month’s Tune Up- a free wallet size guide to the fruits and vegetables with highest and lowest pesticide residues is downloadable from: http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php
Ejaculation delay. What’s normal?
Some evidence-based medicine types went to a lot of trouble obtaining this graphically-displayed data (see figure 1).
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Heavy alcohol drinkers reduced intake by half after taking an online survey.
One need not be a falling down alcoholic to be at risk for health and social problems from alcohol. This encouraging study of 61 heavy drinkers and wait-list controls found that after taking a motivational survey at Drinker’s Check Up (the second link) the quantity and frequency of drinking was cut in half over a 12 month period.
Click here for more information
http://www.drinkerscheckup.com/index.htm
Exercise training benefits older adults more than younger ones!
Older men and women are less efficient users of oxygen, and also have a reduced ability to distribute oxygen to their tissues, leading to increased work during exercise. This recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that people in their 60s and 70s are much more capable of improving their exercise tolerance and efficiency.
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No financial conflicts of interest to declare. -JS
STAY “TUNED”!
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Disclaimer:
Information provided in the True North Tune-Up is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The information and links in this e-publication are intended to provide general education on the topics listed, but you should not use the information or links to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare practitioner. True North advises you to always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health practitioner prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
