Body & Mind Woman’s Body Cut in Half to Treat Aggressive Cancer

Photo by: Phil Hossack/The Winnipeg Free Press

A Canadian woman is the first patient to undergo an operation in which doctors cut her body in half to remove a tumor—and survive.

Janis Ollson, 31, was pregnant with her second child and doctors assumed her intense back pain was just a typical symptom of pregnancy. But it wasn’t long until she was diagnosed with bone cancer that was untreatable by chemotherapy or radiation, The Winnipeg Free Press reported.

The Manitoba mother was told by experts in Toronto they would have to cut her body in half by removing her leg, lower spine and half of her pelvis—a surgery that had only been performed on cadavers, which meant successfully putting her back together again was a huge risk.

Doctors compared the tumor to the size of a calzone, and said it was the biggest they had ever seen.

"The plan was to remove the tumor, splitting my pelvis in half and removing the left half and left leg and lower spine," Ollson told the newspaper.

With help from the Mayo Clinic, Ollson became the first person to ever receive a “pogo stick” rebuild. She has one leg fused to her body and one prosthetic leg, along with a prosthetic pelvis.
Ollson is determined to live a normal life after her groundbreaking operation, and is now cancer-free. She uses a wheelchair, a walker or crutches, but is not afraid to move around, however she can.

"I have no problem getting around. If I need to, I'll crawl (up stairs) or scooch like a kid," she said. "I don't want people to think 'we can't invite the Ollsons because they can't get in here with a wheelchair.' I want to live life to its fullest," she said.

Click here to read more from The Winnipeg Free Press.

The electric potato: How zapping a spud 'could make it a healthy food'

Scientists have found a way of making potatoes healthier - zapping them with electricity.

Giving the vegetable an electric shock makes it more nutritious, they found.

The electricity tricked potatoes into producing a rush of antioxidants credited with keeping the body and brain healthy, a conference heard last night.

Scaled up to an industrial level, the apparently inexpensive process could give potatoes a whole new image. Other tests in the same study found that using ultrasound on potatoes had a similarly beneficial effect.

Spud shock: Scientists zap a potato with ultrasound

Researcher Kazunori Hironaka said: 'Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables are considered to be of nutritional importance in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease-various cancers, diabetes and neurological diseases.'

Inspired by the observation that drought, bruising and other natural challenges, or stresses, led to vegetables making more ant ioxidants, Dr Hi ronaka decided to investigate man-made means.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1305323/The-electric-potato-How-zapping-spud-make-healthy-food.html#ixzz107RFCZhc

Grapefruit’s sour taste holds a sweet promise for diabetics

New joint research by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Harvard University’s Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has demonstrated the mechanism by which a single compound in grapefruit controls fat and glucose metabolism, replacing multiple drugs. Naringenin, an antioxidant derived from the sour flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing sensitivity to insulin – a process that naturally occurs during long periods of fasting.

The US-Israeli team reports that naringenin activates a family of small proteins called nuclear receptors, causing the liver to break down fatty acids. In fact, the compound seems to mimic the actions of other drugs, such as the lipid-lowering fenofibrate and the anti-diabetic rosiglitazone, offering the advantages of both. If the results of this study extend to human patients, this dietary supplement could become a staple in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, type-2 diabetes and perhaps metabolic syndrome, the precursor of diabetes. The report appeared two weeks ago in the online journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) One.

“It’s a fascinating find,” says senior author Dr. Yaakov Nahmias of HU. “We show the mechanism by which naringenin increases two important pharmaceutical targets, PPAR alpha and PPAy, while blocking a third, LXR alpha. The results are similar to those induced by long periods of fasting.” The liver is the main organ responsible for the regulation of carbohydrate and lipid levels. Following a meal, the blood is flushed with sugars, which activate LXR alpha, causing the liver to create fatty acids for long-term storage. During fasting, the process is reversed; fatty acids are released by fat cells, activate PPAR alpha in the liver, and are broken down to ketones. A similar process, involving PPARy, increases sensitivity to insulin.

“It is a process which is similar to the Atkins diet, without many of the side effects,” says Dr. Martin Yarmush, director of the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine and one of the paper’s authors.
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Daily vitamin pill could reduce dementia's effects by up to 50 per cent

Scientists unveiled the latest weapon in the battle against Alzheimer's disease yesterday – a humble vitamin.

Researchers from the University of Oxford have found that taking tablets of three B vitamins every day slows the brain shrinkage that happens with age, causing early signs of dementia such as memory loss.

In a two-year trial, the vitamin supplement delayed the rate of brain atrophy by up to half in a group of elderly people, with a more than 30 per cent reduction overall. Cognitive tests show those with the least shrinkage perform best.

A vitamin pill that curbed the mental decline associated with ageing would have colossal implications. About 1.5 million people in the UK, 14 million in Europe and five million in the US have problems with memory, language or other mental functions known as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), half of whom go on to develop Alzheimer's or another form of dementia within five years. Even a slight slowing of this process would have immense human and economic benefits. However, the researchers said it was too soon to recommend elderly people suffering memory lapses should take B vitamin supplements, until further studies had confirmed the benefits and risks. MORE

Ancient DNA reveals ingredients of Roman medicine

Ancient Roman pharmacies must have looked a lot like vegetable gardens. DNA analysis of 2000-year-old medicinal tablets suggests the pills included onions, carrots and other garden vegetables.

Medical texts written by Pliny the elder and others detail herbal remedies the Romans and Greeks used, but not a lot is known about the contents of individual tablets, says Robert Fleischer, a geneticist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. He presented early results from the analysis at the International Symposium of Biomolecular Archaeology in Copenhagen, Denmark yesterday.

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51 Fantastic Uses for Baking Soda

Baking soda, aka sodium bicarbonate, helps regulate pH—keeping a substance neither too acidic nor too alkaline. When baking soda comes in contact with either an acidic or an alkaline substance, it’s natural effect is to neutralize that pH. Beyond that, baking soda has the ability to retard further changes in the pH balance, known as buffering. This dual capability of neutralizing and buffering allows baking soda to do things such as neutralize acidic odors (like in the refrigerator) as well as maintain neutral pH (like in your laundry water, which helps boost your detergent’s power). It’s a simple reaction, but one that has far-reaching effects for a number of cleaning and deodorizing tasks.

Personal Care

1. Make Toothpaste
A paste made from baking soda and a 3 percent hydrogen peroxide solution can be used as an alternative to commercial non-fluoride toothpastes

You can also just dip your toothbrush with toothpaste into baking soda for an extra boost.

2. Freshen Your Mouth
Put one teaspoon in half a glass of water, swish, spit and rinse. Odors are neutralized, not just covered up.

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9 Easy Ways to Save Your Heart

9 Easy Ways to Save Your Heart

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 8:08 AM

By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

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Cardiovascular disease has been the No. 1 killer of Americans for more than a century, but you don't have to become the latest statistic. Simple strategies that take little time or effort can lower your risk of heart disease. Follow these easy tips and tricks all backed by research to keep your ticker ticking for many years to come.

1. Drink pomegranate juice

Learn to love pomegranate juice. According to the National Academy of Sciences, heart cells treated with it produced 50 percent more nitric oxide, a substance that fights plaque and staves off hardening of the arteries, and may even reverse it.

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Next: Get Enough Dairy

Cockroaches: The Antibiotics of the Future?

Cockroaches, the creepy critters reviled for invading kitchens the country over, might be modern medicine's best option for fending off dangerous, drug-resistant bacterial infections.

British researchers at the University of Nottingham's School of Veterinary Medicine and Science are behind the discovery, which entails harnessing molecules from the tissues of cockroaches and locusts to combat bacteria like E. coli and MRSA (drug-resistant staph infections).

Sakchai Lalit, AP

Chemicals found in the brain and central nervous tissues of cockroaches are able to kill 90 percent of dangerous bacteria in lab-based tests.

The potent chemicals, found in the brain and central nervous tissues of the critters, are able to kill 90 percent of E. coli and MRSA in lab-based tests.

"Superbugs ... have shown the ability to cause untreatable infections and have become a major threat in our fight against bacterial diseases," Dr. Naveed Khan, who supervised the work of lead researcher Simon Lee, said in a press release. "Thus, there is a continuous need to find additional sources of novel anti-microbials to confront this menace."

In a twist that's an ironic upside to our own revulsion for roaches, it's their "unsanitary and unhygienic environments," Lee speculated, that spurred the critters to develop toxins against the bacteria.
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Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers, Study Finds

One of the most contentious issues in the vast literature about alcohol consumption has been the consistent finding that those who don't drink actually tend to die sooner than those who do. The standard Alcoholics Anonymous explanation for this finding is that many of those who show up as abstainers in such research are actually former hard-core drunks who had already incurred health problems associated with drinking.

But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that - for reasons that aren't entirely clear - abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers. (See pictures of booze under a microscope.)

Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation and sociability, which can be important because people who are isolated don't have as many family members and friends who can notice and help treat health problems. MORE

10 Memory-Saving Tricks to Start Now

Memory alters as we age, and we can all probably expect a few annoying slips like misplacing the car keys. Most of us, however, can maintain and even improve our memories by simple lifestyle changes. The following 10 tips will help keep your memory in tiptop shape.

1. Exercise your brain

An active brain continues to produce new connections between nerve cells. Play Scrabble, learn a foreign language, do crossword puzzles, read, or learn a new hobby � all will stretch your brain power. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 10 sessions of mental workouts in middle-aged and elderly people kept mental decline at bay by strengthening the brain in the same way that physical exercise strengthens and tones the body.

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Next: Get Enough Sleep

Nutrients That Lower Blood Sugar

Diabetes and its complications are the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, yet a report issued by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists found that two out of three diabetics weren't in control of their blood sugar levels. People who don't control their blood sugar are at much higher risk of complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and amputations.

"Diabetics are two to four times more likely to either die of a heart attack or experience a stroke, and cardiovascular disease is the cause of death in 80 percent of diabetics who die prematurely," said Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of The Blaylock Wellness Report.

Experts say the following six nutritional supplements (and the foods they are found in) can help you lower your blood sugar levels naturally and safely, and may reduce your risk of developing diabetes in the first place.

1. Selenium

French researchers found that high levels of selenium, an antioxidant present in nuts and liver, may protect men from developing diabetes.

The study, published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, discovered that men who had high levels of selenium in their bloodstream were half as likely to develop dysglycemia as men with low levels. Dysglycemia is a condition of abnormal glucose levels in which the body fights to normalize blood sugar, and can lead to diabetes. The RDA for selenium is 55 mcg daily for adults.

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Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study

PARIS (AFP) – Ordinary calcium supplements taken by the elderly to strengthen bones may boost the risk of heart attacks, according to a study released Friday.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest that the role of calcium in the treatment of osteoporosis should be reconsidered, the researchers said.

Calcium tablets are commonly prescribed to boost skeletal health, but a recent clinical trial suggested they might increase the number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in healthy olderwomen MORE

Genetically engineered salmon under FDA consideration

Reporting from Washington —

With a global population pressing against food supplies and vast areas of the ocean swept clean of fish, tiny AquaBounty Technologies Inc. of Waltham, Mass., says it can help feed the world.

The firm has developed genetically engineered salmon that reach market weight in half the usual time. What's more, it hopes to avoid the pollution, disease and other problems associated with saltwater fish farms by having its salmon raised in inland facilities.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve what would be the nation's first commercial genetically modified food animal. MORE

Are your vitamins actually killing you?

It's less than a century since scientists first identified the different vitamins and discovered their effects. In a short space of time, we've learnt how important vitamins are to our health and this has led to vitamin supplements becoming a multi-billion euro business worldwide.

But questions have been raised as to whether vitamin supplements deliver all the benefits they claim to have. And most recently, a warning signal was sounded about the effect of taking high doses of vitamins -- that they could pose a threat to our health.

Dr Steve Kerrigan, Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, says there is still a lot more to be learnt about vitamins.

Read more: http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/health-fitness/are-your-vitamins-actually-killing-you-2301092.html#ixzz0x6BpPFfW

Poultry No. 1 Food Poisoning Culprit

Cooking chicken on the grill this summer? Be careful. Poultry is still the leading culprit in food poisoning outbreaks, health officials said Thursday.

Chicken, turkey, and other poultry accounted for 17 percent of the food-borne illness outbreaks reported to the government. Beef and leafy vegetables were close behind, at 16 percent and 14 percent. MORE

9 Great Heart Habits to Start Today

By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

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Heart disease is the leading health problem in America with one in four adults suffering from some form of cardiovascular disorder. Since 1900, heart disease has been the No. 1 killer of Americans every year, except 1918, when the influenza pandemic hit. But the good news is that you can take simple steps � often as easy as adding a single food to your diet � to lower your risk. Add any of these nine scientifically proven habits to start boosting your heart health today.

1. Eat more blueberries

These little berries contain high levels of natural antioxidants called anthocyanins. An animal study at the University of Michigan found that diets high in anthocyanins greatly reduced the risk of heart disease. The Women's Health Study also found that women whose diets were high in the nutrient significantly lowered their chance of developing heart disease.

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