It’s no secret that America is renowned for being the pill-popping “Prozac Nation” trying to medicate its problems with a host of ‘miracle drugs’ that constitute a billion-dollar industry.

But you may be surprised to learn mood disorders — in addition to a host of other disorders, like anxiety disorders, behavioral disorders, ADHD and more — are not always caused by the common environmental or mental issues that doctors so commonly associate them with. In fact, new reports find that many of these emotional or behavioral problems are largely due to varying imbalances in our bodies.
You might be familiar with a large collection of daily ‘essential nutrients’ that are listed on your everyday food labels. Among the common nutrients are elements like calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc and iron. What you may not know, however, is that there is another essential mineral your body needs, and you almost never see it listed along with those other nutrients.

That mineral is copper.

Copper plays an integral role in ensuring the mental, physical and chemical wellbeing of your body and, along with all the other essential minerals and nutrients, is vital for survival. In addition to helping you live a healthy life, new studies have found it also plays an integral role in balancing your mood levels, in addition to being a huge factor in affecting learning disorders (specifically ADHD) and more.

To truly understand the essential role of this metal and its effects on your body, it is important to delve into its biological roles.

Click here to find out more.

Every five minutes, someone in the United States is killed by an accident, according to new research from The National Safety Council (NSC). Overall, accidents are the fifth leading cause of death, behind only heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
Yet, for people between the ages of 1 and 41, accidental deaths are the leading cause of death in the nation, and they’re increasing at a greater rate than any of the other top causes of death.

In just one 10-year period, accidental deaths increased over 20 percent, to more than 113,000 deaths, NSC found. At this rate, the all-time record for accidental deaths, set in 1969 with 116,385, will be surpassed within a few years.

“Accidental death in America is a silent epidemic. With one person dying from an accident every five minutes, unintentional injury is one of the most serious public health issues facing the country,” said NSC President and CEO Alan McMillan.

Click here to read more.

About 10 million people in the United States suffer from fibromyalgia, a syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain, sleep disturbances, fatigue and, often, psychological distress as a result. Of them, about 75-90 percent are women, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA).
Because people with fibromyalgia often “test” healthy according to typical medical diagnostic procedures, it takes an average of five years for a person to be correctly diagnosed. There are currently no laboratory tests that can detect it, so doctors rely on patient symptoms, medical histories and a “manual tender point” examination.

If a person experiences widespread pain in the body’s four quadrants for three months or more, along with tenderness or pain in 11 of 18 specific “tender” points upon pressure, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia is typically given. There is also a new set of criteria — a “widespread pain index” that also measures symptom severity — that the American College of Rheumatology recently approved as an effective new diagnostic tool.

For many years, people were told by their doctors that fibromyalgia was all in their heads, but with recent advances the medical community is beginning to accept the syndrome as a real medical condition … one that demands safe and effective treatment.

 Click here to read more.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness.

I am personally saddened to see so many women getting this disease. In my own practice, I see younger and younger women with breast cancer coming for immune support while they bravely undergo chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.

I honor these women’s courage.

In this post and next week’s post, I’m going to discuss topics relevant to breast cancer.

Does Soy cause breast cancer or make it worse?

For years my patients have been worried that eating soy might contribute to breast cancer, or in women who have had breast cancer might stimulate a recurrence. More and more evidence is coming out now to the exact contrary. In fact it appears that soy reduces the incidence of breast cancer or its recurrence.

Let me review some of the latest findings.

Most of the health concerns about Soy come from its concentration of phytoestrogens which are group of natural compounds that resemble estrogen chemically.

It is important to know that phytoestrogens only very weakly mimic estrogen. Most large studies of soy intake have not found that soy causes any harm. This is according to Dr. Anna H. Wu of the University of Southern California School of Medicine. You can see her work here.

In fact, Dr. Wu has found that women who consume an equivalent of about one or two servings of soy daily have a lower risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer or having a recurrence.

Dr.Bette Caan from Kaiser Permanente in California also does research on soy and breast cancer, She is quoted as saying “If people enjoy soy as a regular part of their diet, there’s no reason to stop”. You can read her study here.

Finally the American Cancer Society noted in its recent nutrition guidelines for cancer survivors, that eating traditional soy foods – such as tofu, miso, tempeh, and soy milk – may help LOWER the risk of breast, prostate and other cancers. However they do not recommend soy supplements because they are usually highly processed.

My Colleague Michael Gregor, M.D. reviews all of this information from the medical journal articles in short videos on his Web site. He has given me permission to use his videos from his site on my site for my patients’ and readers’ benefit. I urge you to subscribe to his daily newsletter.

Here is his first video on Soy and Breast Cancer:

His second video below answers the question “Well how much soy is safe then?” Dr. Gregor explains in his video that 3 to 5 servings a day is safe.

Just last week, The New York Times weighed in on the soy issue with the same conclusions.

A year ago the New York Times also had an article giving similar recommendations.

Let me know what you think?

Next week, I will take a look at a big risk factor for breast cancer,that is easy to remove.