Wow! It took them long enough, but the American Medical Association has finally, with great fanfare, declared in a policy statement, that obesity is a disease.

What took them so long?  Other organizations including Medicare have tacitly accepted obesity as a disease, for some years. Even the Internal Revenue service has stated that obesity treatments can qualify for tax deductions.

This new AMA declaration is a good thing because so many other diseases including heart disease, congestive heart, Diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), some cancers, depression and even erectile dysfunction are related to obesity.

There are both benefits and liabilities to this new announcement however. The benefits are that insurance companies will pay more attention to the problem. In addition drug companies and surgery companies will pay more attention to this diagnosis. I am hopeful that integrative medicine clinics will be reimbursed for the diet and lifestyle changes that they help bring about that also reduces obesity.

However the “medicalizing” of obesity which affects one third of the American public, could also lead to greater medical costs. If Medicare starts covering treatments for obesity, what will that do to the national bill for bariatric surgeries which cost up to $40,000? People will demand the surgery as it will be covered by their insurance.

What effect would it have on the government “allowing” junk food for obese people?

All these and many many more questions are brought up by this new annoucement . Only time will bring us the answers.

However as all my patients and readers know my integrative medicine colleagues and I feel that diet and lifestyle changes, are the only real way to manage this epidemic.

What are your thoughts! Let me know by email or in person.

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Thousands of different types of bacteria exist naturally in our environment. Some are necessary and quite healthy, like probiotics that support digestive health. Others, however, like the ones you’ll read about below, can cause serious disease.

The number of bacteria that can cause illness in humans is only a small fraction of those that exist. So while it’s not necessary, or even possible, to avoid all bacteria, you should be aware of these toxic varieties, and how to keep yourself and your family safe.

1. Staphylococcus Aureus

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are present in the nasal passages, throats, hair and skin of 50 percent of healthy people, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If concentrated in large quantities in foods, however, it can cause food poisoning that results in nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramping.

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When the thermometer climbs over 80 degrees F, you can easily become fatigued just from being outside in the heat. Once the temperature rises above 90 degrees — a common occurrence during the dog days of summer in the United States — you’re at a very real risk for sunstroke, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

In terms of its potential to harm you, only the cold of winter poses a greater threat than the summer heat, according to the National Weather Service, so knowing how to keep cool is essential to your, and your family’s safety.

This summer, here are the top things that you should AVOID doing to beat the summer heat.

Click here to find out the 12 things to avoid.

Grapes have been a part of human civilization since ancient times. They’re mentioned in biblical stories as “the fruit of the vine,” are featured in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and were treasured for winemaking in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.

Today, grapes are the sixth most popular fruit in the United States (after bananas, apples, watermelon, oranges and cantaloupe). Though there are thousands of different grape varieties, about 20 of them represent the majority of table grapes consumed.

Table Grapes Vs. Wine Grapes

Table grapes refer to those that are traditionally eaten as is, as a snack, in salads or entrees. Wine grapes are the varieties used to make wine, and there are also raisin grapes, which are primarily used to make the dried fruit.

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New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that people with cheerful temperaments are significantly less likely to suffer heart attacks or similar coronary events.

Earlier research has shown that depressed and anxious people are more likely to have heart attacks and to die from them compared to those whose dispositions are brighter. This new research shows that a general sense of well-being – feeling cheerful, relax, energetic and satisfied with life – actually reduces the chances of a heart attack.

The lead author Lisa Yanek M.P.H. Is quoted as saying “If you are by nature a cheerful person and look on the bright side of things, you’re more likely to be protected from cardiac events.” She went on to say “A happier temperament has an actual effect on disease and you may be healthier as a result.”

The author emphasized that the mechanisms behind the protective effect of positive well-being remained unclear. I think most Integrative Doctors would agree with me that a positive attitude helps keep our neuro – immune system in a state of lower inflammation with a more healthy level of neurochemicals.

Further findings of the study were that patients with a positive well-being had a one third reduction in coronary events. And among those who were at a higher risk for a coronary event, but who kept a positive frame of mind, there was nearly a 50% reduction. These findings took into account other variables that were controlled for.

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I am delighted my writers have written about Belly Fat in their first article this week, because it fits in with the newest findings about the problems with belly fat that I review here.

Yet another study, this time more sophisticated, has proven that individuals with excessive abdominal fat have a greater risk of heart disease and cancer than other people who carry their fat in other areas of the body, even though they have the same body mass Index. The hips and thighs are a less risky place to carry body fat.

This study was the first to use CT scans to specifically document and locate fat deposits in the body.

Abdominal fat typically indicates that there is fat around internal organs which was consistantly associated with heart disease and cancer in the study after adjusting for other risk factors.

Carolyn Fox M.D. senior author on the study is quoted as saying “Contrary to previously published studies comparing BMI and waist circumference, the presence of abdominal fat improved the ability to predict for cardiovascular disease, supporting the hypothesis that abdominal fat may partially underlie the association of body fat in heart disease and cancer.”

Maureen Talbot, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Part Foundation said “We already know that excess stomach fat increases your risk of developing heart disease but this research confirms there’s a greater risk even if you have a normal BMI.

This is just another motivator for all of us to keep our belly fat to a minimum.

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The father no longer gets a free pass on fertility either!

It is obvious that exposures of the mother affect the fetus directly because the fetus lives in the mother for nine months. In addition we know the toxic metals, solvents, and pesticides are roused from their storage in the fat and given directly to the fetus during pregnancy.

I’ve been asked by my patients, appropriately so, if the father has any role in contributing toxins through his sperm to his fetus. I’ve mentioned to my patients that evidence is starting to gather that toxic exposure in the father affects the fetus.

Now in a new article published recently, it has been learned that gene mutations that are caused by the father’s lifestyle can be inherited by his children, even if those mutations occurred long before conception.

Furthermore this study showed that the mutations in the germ line (sperm) are present in all cells of the children including that child’s own germ cells (egg or sperm)!

This means that the father’s lifestyle has the potential to affect the DNA of multiple generations and not just his immediate offspring.

In particular, in this study, one of the main variables was whether the father smoked or not. The Editor in Chief of the FASEB Journal, where this article was published is quoted as saying “We’ve known for a very long time the preventive care among expectant mothers is critical to the health and well-being of their children. Now, we’re learning that fathers don’t get a free pass. How they take care of themselves – even before conception – affects the genetic makeup of their children for better or worse.”

This is the first study to be able to show that this germ line damage that occurs to a fathers DNA carries through into an unlimited number of generations.

These types of studies have been done already in mice with exposures to pesticides. They’ve shown the damage to the father’s sperm caused by pesticides persists through the germ line of at least five generations.

To me, this is most disturbing news, because it will affect the generations ahead. I would guess that these germ – line damages may be contributing to the epidemics of diabetes, asthma and perhaps even autism that we are seeing in our young generation.

Fathers! Take care of yourself and take care of your exposures before you have children!

(For my patients and readers who are familiar with the miasm theory in homeopathy, this article is starting to show the science behind miasms.)

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Counterfeit drugs, which may contain no active ingredient, a wrong active ingredient or be contaminated, are a growing health threat in the United States and worldwide, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Up to 10 percent of drugs worldwide are thought to be counterfeit, according to the FDA, while in some developing countries counterfeits may make up over 50 percent of the drug supply.

Increasingly, counterfeit drugs are being sold online, and the FDA recently issued a warning to consumers about 24 related Web sites that are reportedly selling counterfeit drugs. However, the Internet is not the only method used to sell counterfeits; fake drugs have also been obtained from reputable U.S. pharmacies.

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In last week’s issue of this newsletter, I discussed the increasing link between the environment and Autism. I promised you more this week. In this issue I want to talk about pregnancy and how our toxic environment can affect it. In this case, it is in regards to infertility

Infertility is on the rise. It is estimated that as many as one in six couples seeking to have a child still have trouble after one year of trying.

People think this trend is attributable to just later marriage and deferred childbearing. However for a long time I’ve been talking to my young patients about how environmental toxins including phyto-estrogens, drug residues, pesticides and other bioactive compounds in personal care products are interfering with fertility.

I’m delighted to learn that a new book has been written that addresses this very subject. The title of the book is Be Fruitful: The Essential Guide to Maximizing Fertility and Giving Birth to a Healthy Child by Victoria Maizes M.D. who is the executive director of the University of Arizona Center for integrative medicine.

You can get her book here

and on Kindle here

A direct quote from the author sounds like just what I say to my patients. She said “Avoiding fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with toxic pesticides, foods grown with GMO’s, and packaged foods containing ingredients that originate from GMO’s, and processed foods should be at the top of the list to do when trying to conceive.”

We know for example that organophosphates which are the type of pesticides used by the food industry on fruits and vegetables, are endocrine disruptors. One study has found the main compound of Roundup herbicide, glyphosate, is not only interfering with human reproductive function but also increasing the number of birth defects in vertebrates, contributing to stillbirths and miscarriages.

The author notes that “The direct effect of glyphosate on early mechanisms of morphogenesis in vertebrate embryos opens concerns about the clinical findings from human offspring in populations exposed to glyphosate-based herbicides in agricultural fields.”

In addition, over a decade ago, Canadian researchers published a study showing that exposure to this toxic herbicide increased the risk of spontaneous abortion among female agricultural workers who are exposed to glyphosate.

And yet glyphosate is just one of the 84,000 known toxins in our environment. Only a few thousand have been studied in regards to their effect on human biology.

Dr. Maizes agrees with my advice to my young patients who are wanting to have children “An organic diet is the best way to increase your ability to conceive. Eating organic grains, fruits, and vegetables, washing them with filtered water, and avoiding GMOs are very important factors in a person’s fertility.”

Dr. Maizes also advises that patients avoid low-fat foods because they are usually heavily processed and no longer “whole” foods.

In addition Dr. Amos Grunebaum, a gynecologist with over 30 years experience with high – risk pregnancies, had the following to say about environmental toxins: “There is now scientific evidence that environmental toxins such as pesticides and exogenous hormones are potentially interfering with fertility in the United States. Research shows that male and female reproductive health is especially susceptible to the impact of these chemicals.”

Dr. Grunebaum also recommends avoiding canned foods unless the can has a BPA – free liner. Phthalates and personal care products and BPA are significant endocrine disruptors.

You can find a guide to canned products rated for likelihood of containing BPA at this website.

You can also get your personal care products evaluated at the Environmental Working Groups Skin Deep Cosmetics Database at this site.

I want all my patients and readers to know that we now have the technology to measure the amount of pesticides, BPA, and heavy metals, and phthalates, in your body before you try to conceive.

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