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New research shows that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking account for the vast majority of all deaths caused by cardiovascular disease.

THE FOUR CRITICAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISKS THAT YOU CAN CHANGE

As I mention in my recent bestselling book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, many of the very same lifestyle and dietary habits that increase our risk of developing cancer also increase our risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, heart attacks (myocardial infarction), peripheral vascular disease, and stroke.  Likewise, adopting an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle can not only cut your cancer risk in half, but can also significantly reduce your risk of developing life-threatening cardiovascular disease as well.

A newly published research study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, provides, for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of the lifetime risks of developing cardiovascular disease based upon the following four health-related factors: blood pressure, cholesterol (lipid) levels in the blood, smoking status, and diabetes status.  Importantly, this huge meta-analysis study, which appears in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, comprehensively analyzes the data from 18 different prior clinical research studies, which included 257,384 adult black and white men and women.  These research volunteers were assessed for these four critical cardiovascular risk factors every 10 years, beginning at age 45 and ending at age 75.  This enormous group of research volunteers was then closely followed, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death rates due to cardiovascular disease were then carefully evaluated and analyzed.

When looking at cardiovascular risks factors at age 55 as predictors of future cardiovascular disease risk, and the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, the findings of this extremely large clinical study were striking.  In this study, a low-risk profile for cardiovascular disease was defined as total blood cholesterol less than 180 milligrams per deciliter (4.7 mmol per liter), average blood pressure less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), nonsmoker status, and nondiabetic status.

Among the 55 year-old men and women who met all of the criteria for a low-risk profile for cardiovascular disease, their lifetime incidence of cardiovascular disease, through age 80, was remarkably lower than for the 55 year-olds who failed to meet two or more of the four low-risk criteria.  In fact, the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, through age 80, was only 5 percent among the men who met all four low-risk criteria at age 55, while the men who met only two or fewer low-risk criteria faced a dramatic six-fold increase in the risk (30 percent) of dying of cardiovascular disease by age 80.  Among the women volunteers, only 6 percent of the women who met all four low-risk criteria went on to die of cardiovascular disease by age 80, while 21 percent of the women who failed to meet two or more of the four low-risk criteria died of cardiovascular disease between age 55 and age 80 (for a nearly four-fold increase in the risk of death).

Fatal and nonfatal coronary artery disease occurred in only 4 percent of the men who met all four low-risk criteria, but occurred in nearly 10 times as many of the men (38 percent) who failed to meet two or more of these four criteria.  The women who met all four low-risk criteria faced a less than 1 percent risk of fatal and nonfatal coronary artery disease, while the women who met two or fewer low-risk criteria experienced an 18 percent incidence of fatal and nonfatal coronary artery disease (for a more than 18-fold increase in risk).

The risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke was also significantly lower among men and women who met all four low-risk criteria for cardiovascular disease.  Among the men who met all four low-risk criteria, the incidence of stroke through age 80 was only about 2 percent, but quadrupled, to more than 8 percent, among the men who failed to meet two or more of the four low-risk criteria.  Among the women who met all four low-risk criteria, the incidence of stroke was about 5 percent, but more than doubled, to nearly 11 percent, among the women who failed to meet at least two of the low-risk criteria.

The findings of this very large study cannot be overstated in terms of its public health importance, as this is the only study that has prospectively assessed very large numbers of men and women, including both black and white adults, over long periods of time, and that has analyzed the long-term impact of the four most common risk factors for cardiovascular disease on incidence and death rates associated with cardiovascular disease.  As with the studies that I discuss in A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, the impact of lifestyle, diet, and other modifiable health-related factors on both cardiovascular disease risk and cancer risk is enormous, particularly when measured over the lifespan of the average adult.

The findings of this epic public health research study also add further weight to my strong belief, based upon my review of thousands of research studies, that we, as individuals, hold the key to improving our health, and to significantly reducing our risk of serious illness and premature death, by living evidence-based healthy lifestyles.  If your blood pressure is high, change your diet and increase your level of exercise, with the support of your doctor.  If diet and physical activity interventions alone do not correct your hypertension, then ask your doctor about medications for high blood pressure.  If you have diabetes, you also need to change your diet, increase your levels of physical activity, and safely lose any excess weight.  If these lifestyle changes do not completely resolve your high blood sugars, then you may also need to ask your doctor about medications for diabetes.  If you smoke, or use smokeless tobacco, stop immediately.  Finally, if your LDL and total cholesterol levels are high, then, once again, you need to be more careful about what you eat.  (The cancer-preventing foods and diets that I discuss in my book have also been linked to lower levels of blood cholesterol, as well as a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease.)  You may also need to increase your physical activity levels, and get your weight down to a healthy level, to improve your LDL and total cholesterol levels.  Once again, if these prudent lifestyle measures are not enough, by themselves, to bring your cholesterol levels down into the normal range, then your doctor may need to add a cholesterol-lowering medication as well.

The striking results of this important cardiovascular disease prevention study provide all of us with the key to maximally reducing our risk of developing—and dying from—largely preventable cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke.  Better long-term health (and a longer and more vigorous life) is within your grasp, and this study, in addition to my book, can show you the way forward.

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

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New research shows that behavioral therapy combined with an exercise program may be the most effective treatment for chronic pain.

EFFECTIVE NEW TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PAIN

According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, chronic pain afflicts nearly 1 out of every 3 American men, women and children, and is associated with an estimated cost to society of $560 to $635 billion per year.  While there are many causes of chronic pain, they all share a common trait in that almost all types of chronic pain are associated with significant physical and psychological disability in afflicted patients.

Unlike acute pain (like the pain that follows a fresh cut on your hand, or spraining your ankle, for example), which subsides very quickly, chronic pain usually does not improve on its own.  Moreover, while you may hop around and shout out a few choice words after smashing your thumb with a hammer, the acute pain caused by a poorly aimed hammer usually does not leave a person feeling depressed or completely disabled like chronic pain so often does.  Over time, as chronic pain persists, the area in the brain (the limbic system) that attaches emotional content or value to our experiences and sensations becomes increasingly involved with interpreting the chronic barrage of pain sensations from damaged nerves or chronic inflammation, which leaves many chronic pain sufferers debilitated, and often depressed.  Because of the biological complexity of chronic pain, when compared to acute pain, it can be very difficult to effectively treat this lingering form of pain.  Patients suffering with chronic pain frequently find their symptoms both physically and emotionally disabling, and medications commonly used to treat acute pain are often ineffective in managing chronic pain.  As I have noted, depression is a common feature of chronic pain, and often requires treatment with antidepressant medications and behavioral therapy in addition to treating the original cause (or causes) of a patient’s pain.

Now, a newly published prospective randomized clinical research study offers new hope for the estimated 116 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain.  This study, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, randomized 442 patients with chronic pain to receive one of the following interventions for a period of 6 months:  (1) telephone-based behavioral therapy, (2) a graded, step-wise exercise program, (3) a combination of both telephone-based therapy and a graded exercise program, or (4) standard treatment for chronic pain.  All of the study volunteers were assessed at the time that they entered into the study, 6 months later, and again at 9 months.

The results of this innovative study were quite interesting.  Following 6 months of standard chronic pain management, only 8 percent of the study volunteers randomized to this intervention group noticed any significant improvement in their symptoms, and this result was unchanged 9 months after the start of this clinical study.  Among the patients who underwent 6 months of telephone-based behavior therapy, 33 percent felt that their chronic pain was improved at 9 months.  After 6 months of treatment, 35 percent of the patients who participated in a graduated exercise program felt improved, although this effect decreased over time, with 24 percent of this group of patients reporting improvement in their chronic pain symptoms at 9 months.  Finally, the combined therapy group (behavioral therapy and exercise) experienced the greatest improvement in their symptoms, compared to the other treatment groups, with 37 percent of patients in this group reporting significant improvement at both 6 months and 9 months.

This study represents an extremely important advance in the management of chronic pain, a condition that is highly resistant to most conventional therapies and medications.  As a cancer physician who regularly treats cancer patients with chronic pain, I am not surprised by the extremely poor response of patients to conventional chronic pain management approaches in this study.  While the 37 percent positive response rate noted in this study to combination therapy may seem like a rather poor result, chronic pain syndromes are so difficult to effectively treat that this study’s 37 percent response rate is actually extremely impressive.  Based upon the results of this important study, behavioral therapy combined with exercise therapy appears to be the most effective and long-lasting treatment approach for patients with chronic pain.  At the same time, the dismal response rate associated with standard chronic pain management approaches, as noted in this study, should cause pain management specialists to seriously reevaluate current methods of treating patients with chronic pain.

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

New research suggests that the same lifestyle and diet choices that reduce cardiovascular disease risk also reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, and improve male sexual function.

LIFESTYLE AND DIET MODIFICATIONS REDUCE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED)

As I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, evidence-based lifestyle and diet modifications can dramatically reduce your lifetime risk of developing cancer, including some of the most deadly forms of this disease.  As an “added benefit,” many of the same lifestyle and diet modifications that I discuss in my book have also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as well.  Moreover, previous research studies have suggested that the risk of male sexual dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction (ED) in particular, might also be reduced by living a heart-healthy lifestyle.

The most important risk factors for sexual dysfunction in men, and ED in particular, include heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, elevated blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and sedentary behavior. Since the risk of these serious health problems can all be significantly reduced through lifestyle and diet modification, it is worth asking whether or not evidence-based lifestyle modifications associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes can also significantly reduce the risk of ED. A newly published research study, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, provides important new insights into this serious men’s health issue.

In a meta-analysis of 6 previously published prospective randomized clinical research studies, 740 adult male research study volunteers were evaluated. In this group of men, heart-healthy changes in diet, physical activity, and other modifiable lifestyle factors were associated with a highly significant improvement in sexual function when compared to similar-aged men who did not modify their lifestyle and diet. (Moreover, the addition of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in men with elevated blood cholesterol levels improved sexual function even further than lifestyle and diet modifications, alone.)

Too many men continue to refuse to change their unhealthy lifestyles and dietary habits, and so they face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other largely preventable diseases.  However, sexual function is such a very important quality-of-life factor for most men that it is my hope that studies such as this one will get the attention of men who are still living unhealthy lifestyles that increase their risk of ED and other preventable serious illnesses.  Also, as ED is now known to be an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other preventable lifestyle-associated diseases in men, modifying your lifestyle and diet to reduce your risk of ED will also significantly reduce your risk of these other life-threatening diseases at the same time (and cancer, as well)!

For a comprehensive guide to living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle, order your copy of my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.  For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, in both paperback and e-book formats, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today!

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million,Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

New research suggests that ginger root extract may have potent activity against prostate cancer and other types of cancer.

GINGER MAY PREVENT PROSTATE CANCER

As I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there is a growing body of research evidence demonstrating potent cancer properties associated with certain foods and nutrients. While much of the available research in support of specific dietary and other lifestyle-related approaches to cancer prevention is of low scientific quality, more recent cancer prevention research studies have provided higher levels of scientific and clinical evidence in support of an evidence-based approach to a cancer prevention lifestyle.

A newly published research study, which appears in the current issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, suggests that ginger root may possess clinically important cancer prevention activity. (Previous research studies have also shown that ginger extracts are capable of reducing cancer cell growth in laboratory settings, and are associated with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well.)

In this particular research study, human prostate cancer cells were transplanted into laboratory mice. In the group of mice that received daily ginger extract dietary supplements (100 milligrams of ginger extract per kilogram of body weight), the growth of these transplanted prostate cancer tumors was reduced by a rather impressive 56 percent when compared to the mice that did not receive ginger extract. When the transplanted prostate cancer tumors were removed from the mice and further studied, the researchers found that the tumors in the mice that had received ginger extract displayed extensive cancer cell death (as compared to the tumors taken from the mice that did not receive ginger extract). Importantly, there was no evidence of side effects noted among the mice that received the ginger extract supplements in this study.

The findings of this laboratory research study, when combined with the findings of previous research studies, suggest that ginger may have significant anti-cancer properties. These high-quality laboratory studies have identified multiple biochemical mechanisms whereby ginger appears to significantly impair cancer cell growth and reproduction, and increase cancer cell death through a biological process known as apoptosis.

While the findings of this laboratory research study are highly intriguing, I must caution readers that what works in laboratory mice with a genetically engineered faulty immune system does not always turn out to work in humans. Therefore, a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical research trial will be necessary to determine whether or not ginger supplements can actually reduce prostate cancer risk (and the risk of other cancers) in humans, or slow down the progression of cancer in patients who have already been diagnosed with prostate cancer or other cancers. At the same time, ginger has been used for thousands of years, and most research studies indicate no apparent toxicity in humans after consuming doses of ginger far greater than the dose that was utilized in this particular laboratory study. (As always, however, I strongly recommend that readers first check with their personal physician before adding any new supplements to their diet.)

For a comprehensive guide to living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle, order your copy of my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.  For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, in both paperback and e-book formats, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today!

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million,Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

New research reveals the profound impact of diet, obesity, and lifestyle factors on diabetes risk.

LIFESTYLE, DIET AND DIABETES RISK

Along with the incidence of obesity, the incidence of diabetes has recently skyrocketed in the United States and around the world.  The list of health complications associated with diabetes is frightening, and includes heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, progressive blindness, and as I discuss in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, an increased risk of cancer.

Now, a newly published clinical research study, which included more than 200,000 adult volunteers, sheds important light on the major lifestyle-associated risk factors for this life-threatening disease.  Nearly 2 million adults will be newly diagnosed with diabetes this year in the United States, and nearly 80 million Americans are currently living with diabetes at this time. In fact, diabetes has become such a serious public health problem that it is now considered the seventh leading cause of death in the United States!

This newly published prospective public health study appears in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, and was sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute, as part of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.

A total of 114, 996 men and 92,483 women, aged 50 to 71 years, participated in this public health study; and this huge group of research volunteers was closely followed for an average of 10 years. Importantly, none of these research volunteers had diabetes, heart disease, or cancer at the time they initially joined this research study.

After evaluating diet, level of physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol intake, this enormous group of research volunteers was assessed for the risk of onset of diabetes according to these lifestyle factors. Altogether, about 10 percent of the men and 8 percent of the women went on to develop diabetes during the 10-year course of this public health study. When compared to men who ate poorly and did not exercise, and who also smoked and regularly consumed alcohol, the men who had very healthy behaviors in these same areas had a 39 percent lower risk of developing diabetes, while the women with healthy lifestyle behaviors experienced a 57 percent lower risk of diabetes when compared to the women with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Even more impressive was the additive role of obesity on diabetes risk. When all of the previously mentioned healthy lifestyle behaviors were combined with the absence of being overweight or obese, men experienced a whopping 72 percent decrease in the risk of diabetes, while women experienced an extraordinary 84 percent reduction in the risk of developing diabetes. Importantly, these dramatic reductions in the risk of diabetes were maintained even among the men and women who had a family history of diabetes or obesity.

This huge prospective public health study adds important and helpful information to our understanding regarding the most important risk factors for diabetes, and reveals just how important eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting regular exercise, abstaining from tobacco use, and minimizing alcohol intake are to the prevention of diabetes.  Other large public health studies have also conclusively linked these healthy lifestyle-associated behaviors with a significant reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease (including heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke) and cancer, as well!

For a comprehensive guide to living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle, order your copy of my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.  For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, in both paperback and e-book formats, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today!

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million,Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer:  As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam