Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby's Total Health Newsletter #19. Week ending Sep 27th, 2009
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1. Always Ahead Of The Curve!
2. Home Test For Omega-3 Status?
3. Stayin' Alive (CPR after a heart attack)
4. A Case Of Possession Or Strange Epilepsy?
5. Less TV Brings More Parent-Child Interaction
6. Watching Blue Whales
7. What's In A Word?
8. This Week's Quote

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1. Always Ahead Of The Curve!

Advanced Gum Disease May Raise Cancer Risk.

If you’ve read my book “Virtual Medicine” (you certainly should have!), you’ll know that I gave some space to the dangers of periodontal disease. Today it’s probably the #1 marker for heart disease.

But do you remember, I also talked on pages 62- 63 about dental dangers, with particular reference to the work of Dr. Patrick Stortebecker, of the Karolinska Institute, in  Stockholm, Sweden. Stortebecker, a brilliant researcher, was convinced that gum and dental disease can also form the focus for a cancer of the jaw or mouth. I accept this. In the 80s- and 90s I saw dental foci over and over again as the deadly energetic signal on a body with cancer of the mouth region.

Always happy to be 20 years ahead of the curve—Hey, it’s where I live!

Now a new study backs up everything I wrote over those years. Chronic periodontitis may significantly raise the risk of head and neck cancer. Periodontitis is advanced gum disease that leads to progressive loss of bone and soft tissue that surround the teeth.

In fact, each millimeter of bone loss due to chronic periodontitis was associated with a more than four times higher risk of head and neck cancer, after taking into account other known risk factors such as smoking, which is remarkable.

This may help explain why head and neck cancer rates continue to climb although smoking rates have been declining for the last 40 years.

The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, also adds to a growing body of research that shows chronic inflammation can affect the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.

Advice?

Use your toothbrush often, get dental check ups and teeth cleaning, take CoenzymeQ10, a powerful cure for periodontal disease and follow everything I said in my book “Diet Wise”, to keep your inflammation levels very low.

See also last week's article on teeth and rheumatoid arthritis

2. Home Test For Omega-3 Status?

Forget about cholesterol; we NEED cholesterol. Forget about saturated fats; we NEED saturated fats.

What is vital for health is to have enough GOOD fats. None are better than omega-3s, the brain and heart preservers. Omega-3s block inflammation of all kinds and so are vital for protecting aging joints, skin and connective tissue. Where there is redness and pain, omega-3s work like soothing salve!

Now you can get your omega-3s lab tested with a simple take-home kit that allows consumers to measure their own omega-3 levels.

The ‘finger prick’ device allows consumers to get a reading of the omega-3 fatty acid profile in their blood for $149. Omega-6s and other fatty acids are also measured and ratios provided.

The test is based on the research of William S. Harris PhD, a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Basic Biomedical Sciences at the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota and co-author of the American Heart Association's Scientific Advisory on Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Dr Harris has published more than 80 scientific articles on omega-3s, including a 2004 study published in Preventive Medicine (Vol. 39, 2004) that first proposed an omega-3 index as a cardiovascular risk factor.

Other research conducted by Dr Harris and published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, indicates the ratio between omega-3s and omega-6s may be responsible for an increase in body inflammation and associated conditions such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, allergies, diabetes and arthritis.

Dr Harris's proprietary Omega-3 Index methodology recommends an EPA/DHA ratio of about 8 – 10%. At this level the risk of sudden cardiac death could be reduced by up to 90%. Levels of 4- 6% mean you should act swiftly, to correct the deficiency.

The test, called the Omega-3 Index, is available through Gene Smart.

In addition to predicting future heart events the test could act as an accurate means for those taking omega-3 supplements and foods to determine how much EPA and DHA was finding its way from the food to their blood stream – and by association – how much of the nutrients were in products in the first place.

It seems a good product and good delivery to me. But till the population wakes up to the fact that EFAs, like the EPA/DHA ratio, are far more important predictors of heart health than cholesterol and other blood fats, I don’t see it taking off.

By the way, if you go to the Gene Smart website, ignore Floyd Chiltern’s book. It’s muddle headed. Diet Wise is what you want to control inflammation plus getting your EFAs right!

3. Stayin’ Alive (CPR After A Heart Attack)

Here it is again – don’t waste time on mouth-to-mouth. Beat the chest, fast and hard!
You may remember a few weeks ago I wrote about the new emphasis of CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), which is to forget about the famous mouth-to-mouth part and concentrate of chest compressions.

This might seem a little counter-intuitive but, since the chest compressions also squeeze the lungs, you’ll understand that—when you let go—the spongy lungs spring back and suck in air. Sufficient air to oxygenate somebody.

Now a new study has reinforced the point that it’s compressions per minute that helps save lives.
Typically, an ardent first-aider who doesn’t know what I am telling you here will spend less than 50% of resuscitation time on the compressions and far too much time trying to “breathe” for the victim.

The new study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed data from several emergency medical services agencies to measure the relationship between chest compression rates and patient survival.

The technical term for what they looked at is something called the "chest compression fraction" (CCF), which refers to the percentage of time spent performing chest compressions relative to the entire time that CPR is performed.

In the 506 cases studied, a "return to spontaneous circulation" was a good outcome (heart rate re-established itself). This was achieved 58% of the time when the CCF was 0% - 20%, but rose to 79% success when CCF was 81% - 100%.

But what about the ultimate outcome: the patient lives to go home? Good question.
Survival to hospital discharge occurred in 12% of patients with a CCF between 0 and 20.   Survival more than doubled to 29% when CCF increased to 61 - 81, the researchers say.  Over 81% CCF, ultimate survival fell off a little, dropping to 25%.

I think it’s clear and simple: time spent compressing the chest is time well spent. Don’t get distracted with mouth-to-mouth breathing. If someone else is present, let them do it.

Remember the tune “Stayin’ alive” by the Bee Gees? That’s the rhythm to use.

"The chest compressions you do on a loved one are one of the most important things that can be done," the researchers say. "If you feel rusty or are not confident giving mouth-to-mouth ventilation along with chest compressions, then just do chest compressions. Even by themselves, chest compressions can make a difference."

Don't lose a loved one unnecessarily; learn CPR!

4. A Case Of Possession Or Strange Epilepsy?

Here is a recent news story that stimulated my rebellious “otherwise” brain cells.

A 37-year old woman in Germany has strange epileptic seizures: she feels she has turned into a man. This is accompanied by a deeper and more masculine voice and even her arms have grown hairier over time.

MRI scans revealed damage to the woman's right amygdala, a tiny little almond-shaped group of nerve cells at the base of the brain, known to be associated with mood and emotions (amydala is Greek for the almond).

There’s more: EEG electrodes recorded abnormal activity in the surrounding right temporal lobe, suggesting that this region is the source of her seizures. What are called “temporal lobe seizures” are notorious for causing strange disorientation, sensations of déjà vu or jamais vu (unfamiliarity in everyday surroundings) and even past life recall. The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote of feeling the presence of God in the moments preceding such a seizure.

But this gender transformation, though entirely consistent with weird temporal lobe perceptions, is actually quite unusual. That’s surprising.

Now, here’s where I come in with my renegade view of things. I like to ask questions; real questions, like: could this be a case of possession? I mean real possession, a real spirit, entering at the time of the seizure?

Doctors would never ask themselves this question. To them the idea would be ridiculous.

But why not?

I’ve dealt with countless lives and events centered around spirit entities coming and going, personality changes, past lives and identity switches. It’s actually much more common than people might suspect. But the victim usually dismisses it as illusory; they and the doctors will record the events in terms like “seems as if…” there was a take-over. But what if it is real?

I have known cases of total personality change after an operation—put down to anesthetic damage—but in which that’s hard to justify clinically. Yet the patient woke up with entirely new characteristics. Not brain damaged; one was fiendishly clever and turned into an international crook and possibly a murderer (never been proved).

I'm convinced it was a case of a permanent take-over. He ended up in jail and nobody yet knows the final outcome. He threatened his son’s life, from within jail. Yet this man started out as an amiable professor, not a gangster.

Shades of “The Exorcist”!

5. Less TV Brings More Parent-Child Interaction

New Brilliant Scientific Breakthrough!

I mean, how amazing are these science boffins? They have been able to PROVE that if you turn off the TV, parents and kids spend more time together! Fancy making such a breakthrough discovery.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when this headline I’ve used came through my inbox from MedicineNet.com! What a ridiculous waste of manpower and money!

Maybe we need scientists to “prove” that if you smile, people like you more; or that it’s easier to remember facts if you write them down?

In this particular study, researchers measured verbal interaction between parents and children and found that, while the TV was on, parents spent about 20% less time talking to their children. Yes? So… Uuum?

SOURCE: Society for Research in Child Development, news release, Sept. 15, 2009

6. Watching Blue Whales

One of the beauties of living on or near the California coast is we have a large population of blue whales right here in our waters.

For the second time in a row, Vivien and I have driven to Point Vicente at the extreme south-west of LA county and been gifted with the magic of seeing these magnificent animals surface and blow just offshore, within easy range of binoculars and telescope.

They act tamely and lucky yachtsmen and women can sail to within yards of them. We feel very envious watching from the shore. I need a boat!

The blue is one of God's greatest gifts to our Earth-- well, THE greatest gift! A large adult weighs in at over 200 tons. That's equivalent to about 80 New York taxis. Definitely more than the biggest ever dinosaur: the Argentinasaurus (about 90- 100 tons). A child could stand upright in the aorta of a blue whale.

The most moving fact? That this wondrous animal, the largest to ever live on our planet, is here right now-- not in some long forgotten Jurassic age!

Grab some magic here on video (60 seconds, awesome!):

What's In A Word?

Salubrious means healthful or wholesome. Good word for us!

It comes from the Latin salubris, with a root salus, health. From there we get salutary, meaning healthful and wholesome, as well as promoting good; correcting; or beneficial.

The same root comes in salutation: greeting, meaning "good health to you".

Insalubrious is a little used word but means the opposite (also spelled p-h-a-r-m-a!)

This Week's Quote:

The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wildness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands.

Terry Tempest Williams, from Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert

So, that's all for this week!

Be well; find the sacred in all you do, otherwise don't do it!

Prof.

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