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ORLISTAT (ALLI or XENICAL) SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES OBESITY

Approximately two-thirds of the population in the United States is overweight, while at least a third of all people are obese.  Excess weight has clearly been linked to serious illnesses, including high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, liver disease, gallstones, and arthritis, among other potentially life-threatening ailments.  As I note in my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, the extremely high concentration of fat and calories in modern processed foods, when combined with the sedentary lifestyles that most of us lead, almost guarantees a high level of obesity in our population.

Orlistat, which is available in both prescription and non-prescription forms, blocks the activity of lipase, an enzyme within the GI tract that breaks down dietary fats so that they can be absorbed.  Previous clinical research studies have shown that the addition of orlistat to a low-fat diet can significantly reduce body fat, and, in turn, can reduce the risk of illnesses that are associated with obesity.  Now that orlistat is available without a prescription, there have been concerns that this medication may be less effective, as it can now be purchased and taken without first having to enroll in a structured weight loss program.

A newly published study, which appears in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that non-prescription doses of orlistat (trade names Alli and Xenical) may still be an effective addition to the standard weight loss strategies of a healthy low-fat diet and exercise.  In this study, 27 obese research volunteers took over-the-counter orlistat (60 milligrams three times a day, with meals) for three months.  At the beginning and end of this study, the 27 volunteers were subjected to specialized imaging tests, including MRI scans, to measure the amount of fat in their bodies.  Blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol levels were also assessed.

In this clinical study, the use of over-the-counter orlistat, in combination with a reduced calorie, low-fat diet, was associated with a significant 11 percent reduction in body fat after 3 months.  Moreover, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate all decreased, as well, following three months of orlistat combined with a prudent diet.

The findings of this study suggest that even over-the-counter orlistat, in conjunction with healthy eating habits, can significantly reduce both body fat and at least some of the adverse health effects associated with obesity.

Now for the bad news… orlistat works by blocking the absorption of fat from the GI tract, which means that 25 to 30 percent of the fat consumed while taking orlistat will remain within the GI tract until it is eliminated in the feces.  Unfortunately, high levels of undigested fat in the stool can lead to some rather unsettling symptoms, including flatulence, greasy/oily stools, bloating, and in some patients, an urgent desire to have a bowel movement.  On the other hand, while these symptoms are very common during the first few months of orlistat use, they appear to improve over time, such that only about one-third of patients taking orlistat will still have these symptoms four years after starting the drug.  Moreover, in patients who conscientiously maintain a low-fat diet while taking orlistat, the incidence and severity of these GI tract side effects are even lower.  (Another potential complication of orlistat is the reduced absorption of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, although vitamin supplements will prevent significant deficiencies of these vitamins.)

While orlistat is associated with significant potential side effects, and thus should not be taken by everyone, the results of this small study do strongly suggest that orlistat is an effective option for obese patients who are able to both tolerate the drug’s side effects and remain compliant with a low-fat diet.  As always, however, I strongly recommend that you check with your primary physician prior to starting any new diet or medication, including orlistat.

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

DIETARY FIBER AND COLON AND RECTAL CANCER PREVENTION

For many years, it was widely believed that a diet rich in fiber, and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables in particular, significantly reduced the risk of developing colorectal cancer.  However, more recent public health studies have called this assumption into question.  As I extensively discuss in my bestselling book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there is ample clinical evidence that a so-called Mediterranean diet, which does include large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables (as well as foods rich in unprocessed whole grains), dramatically reduces the risk of colorectal cancer and other GI tract cancers.  Now, a landmark new meta-analysis research study provides important new evidence that certain high-fiber foods may, indeed, be associated with a significantly reduced risk of colorectal cancer.  This comprehensive research study appears in the current issue of the British Medical Journal.

In this huge meta-analysis, 25 prospectively conducted public health studies, including 14,500 study volunteers, were analyzed; and the findings of this large clinical study may explain why recent large public health studies have not been able to confirm that a diet rich in all types of fiber can reduce colorectal cancer risk.  In this meta-analysis study, dietary fiber from fruit and vegetable intake did not appear to significantly reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer.  However, whole grain foods, including cereals rich in whole grains, did appear to significantly reduce colorectal cancer risk.  In fact, for each 10 grams of whole grain fiber consumed per day, colorectal cancer risk was reduced by a very significant 10 percent.  Among research volunteers who consumed at least three servings of whole grains each day, the risk of developing colorectal cancer was reduced by 17 percent.

The health implications of this meta-analysis study are highly significant.  First of all, the authors of this study included only prospectively conducted public health studies in their analysis, thus eliminating some of the major limitations associated with the more common retrospective “case control” studies that make up the majority of public health studies on diet and disease prevention.  (As I have often mentioned, retrospective case control and case series studies are very often flawed by “recall bias,” wherein the data that is collected is based purely upon the recollections of volunteers recruited into such studies.)  Secondly, the findings of this meta-analysis are supported by higher level research studies that have found that highly refined grains and cereals are stripped of important cancer-preventing nutrients and bulk fiber during processing.

While fresh fruits and vegetables (and brightly colored and dark green leafy vegetables in particular) have been shown by other studies to reduce overall cancer risk, this landmark meta-analysis study appears to reconcile the contradictory findings of previous cancer prevention studies regarding the impact of dietary fiber intake on, specifically, colorectal cancer risk.  Based upon the findings of this very important study, a diet rich in unprocessed, or minimally, processed, whole grain foods appears to significantly protect against colorectal cancer.  (For a much broader and deeper review of evidence-based approaches to cancer prevention, see my book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.)

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 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