Day: 05/13/2012

The lemon detox diet – a recipe that really works .

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Ever since Beyonce Knowles was associated with the Lemon Detox diet, there has been a surge of interest in this particular program. Also known as the Master Cleanse, this detox diet has been around for almost 50 years and has seen variations on its recipe and program. It’s effectivity in breaking down built up toxins in the body while contributing to short term weight loss has made it a popular option for a spring detox.

Reviewing the Master Cleanse

The Lemonade Detox diet first became effective, strangely, when its creator, Stanley Burroughs, recommended it for the healing of stomach ulcers. In his book “The Master Cleanser”, he goes on to share how he first came to test the Master Cleanse diet on a patient who was suffering from ulcer for three years. Left with no other recourse, the patient approached Stanley who recommended that he undertake the cleanse. After eleven days, the patient was totally healed to the amazement of the doctors. Many other cases followed with same consistent and astounding results corrected within ten days. Of particular note also was that those undergoing the Master Cleanse also experienced a reduction in weight.

If there have been doubts as to the veracity of Stanley Burrough’s claim of the Lemon Detox diet’s effectivity, there have been testimonies over the years of its efficacy. Of recent vintage is Tom Woloshyn’s work, “The Master Cleanse Experience”, published by Ulysses Press in 2009. This book briefly mentions Woloshyn’s experience in advising clients who has undergone the Master Cleanse program and provides among other insights health benefits which include better sleep, positive outlook, clarity of mind and freedom from addictions. He, thus, advocates keeping a journal to monitor developments as well as a reference for future use when undergoing the program for the second or many more times over.

The Master Cleanse operates on the principle that, for disease to be addressed, cleansing must be undertaken. Simplifying and correcting disorders through this process is actually a way of correcting every disease. Developments in nutrition and science have clearly identified improper diet, negative mental attitudes and inadequate exercise as the factors that create the conditions to produce toxin build up over time. That is why the Master Cleanse is not an end to itself. It is actually just the tip of a long chain of healthy decisions of those who wish to undertake it. Observing a healthy diet, regular exercise as well as stress reduction is essential in maintaining the gains that the Master Cleanse Detox diet can offer.

Surrendering to the process

Undergoing a detox diet is just like preparing for a marathon. It is necessary to keep sight of your goals or you stand to be cast in the wayside, a victim of your doubts. Tom Woloshyn offers this delightful insight when encouraging first timers who wish to undertake the Master Cleanse, fully knowing its side effects firsthand. Defining the outcome after having identified where you are, and what you want to achieve is the next step to achieving the goal you have set for yourself.

According to Woloshyn, some people prepare themselves before undergoing the detox by going on a vegetarian diet. It’s less stressful on the body and makes the transition to the Master Cleanse easier. For those who regularly take coffee or soda drinks, a gradual reduction in intake are recommended as well as taking pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5) to help prevent the onset of headaches brought about by caffeine withdrawal.

People who have undergone organ transplants as well as those on immune suppressant drugs cannot take the fast. Woloshyn warns that the cleanse stimulates the immune system while effectively inhibiting the results of the drugs, this combination will most likely lead to the organ transplant being rejected by the body.

How to do the Master Cleanse

The Lemon Detox diet is a cleansing program and encourages only the intake of lemonade made from the following ingredients: lemons, pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water for a minimum of ten days only.

To create the mixture, mix the ingredients in the amount instructed by Burroughs and drink a minimum of at least six to twelve glasses of the concoction daily through out the day. Drink the lemonade whenever hunger pangs strike.

A laxative must be taken in the morning and then in the evening. Using a salt water flush instead of a morning laxative can also be availed of instead. However, be sure to observe at least three bowel movements in a day. This will ensure that the waste accumulated in the intestinal walls is totally removed.

Always enjoy the Master Cleanse lemonade drink fresh and do not subject it to microwave as doing so will minimize its effectiveness. For each successful day, the psychological need to eat is slowly overcome full, providing confidence and a sense of control that motivates the person undergoing the diet.

Breaking the Master Cleanse is just as critical as starting it. On day one coming off the fast, immediately after the end of the master cleanse, slowly introduce orange juice into the diet. Day two will see the introduction of vegetable soups and broths. Day three observe a diet of fruits and vegetables. Be careful not to overeat or eat too soon and drink plenty of water. Slowly ease your self to a normal diet and avoid meat, fish, milk and eggs.

After undergoing the Master Cleanse, it is advisable to eat wisely. The gains derived from the Master Cleanse diet will surely be a powerful foundation to change old habits and start a life free from disease.

The lemonade recipe

The original recipe by Stanley Burroughs produced fantastic results for almost 50 years. However, some have been promoting alterations of the original recipe. The problem with this arrangement is that they are done without understanding why the original ingredients work. Since the Master Cleanse is essentially a juice fast, adding shakes, cayenne pepper capsules or protein powder in an attempt to improve its efficacy is self defeating because it reduces the efficacy of the diet.

The purpose of the program is to give the digestive tract a ten day vacation, so adding things to be digested does not contribute to the objective of the diet. Stanley Burroughs in fact discourages the intake of supplements and vitamins during the program because it interferes with the body’s elimination system. Furthermore, the natural sources of vitamins and minerals already found in lemon and the maple syrup already provide for the body’s needs during the detox program.

Other alterations include mistakes in the ratio of water through modification of the original recipe and dilution. This modification defeats the purpose of the minimum 6 drinks a day because it is more than the amount of water required. It is best to remember that variations on the process and especially in the recipe will not produce the results that originally worked for the many that faithfully followed the original Master Cleanse program and lemonade recipe.

This is the classic single serve recipe provided in Stanley Burrough’s book:

2 (tbs). of lemon or lime

2 (tbs). of genuine maple syrup

1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

10 oz. water (hot or cold as preferred)

For those who cannot enjoy their lemonade, Tom offers this alternative:

1. Mix equal parts of lemon juice and maple syrup as a concentrate in a dark container. Keep this mixture cool.

2. Make enough concentrate for as long as you are incapable of making the fresh lemonade juice.

3. Every time you want a glass of lemonade, measure 4 tbs. of this mixture in a glass.

4. Add water and cayenne pepper, stir and drink. The maple syrup preserves the lemon juice and prevents oxidation of the vitamin C and enzymes.

Tom Woloshyn fondly recalled Stanley Burrough’s remarks. He was said to have repeated many times over a phrase most technical people use when instructing frustrated customers, “When all else fails, follow the instructions.” In order to ensure success and experience the benefits of the Master Cleanse Detox diet, it is essential to understand how to do the program properly. Faithfully following what has been prescribed is the first step in this direction.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035854_lemons_detox_recipe.html#ixzz1umdpBgJi

Virus ‘barcodes’ offer rapid detection of mutated strains.

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Researchers at the University of Leeds are developing a way to ‘barcode’ viral diseases to rapidly test new outbreaks for potentially lethal mutations.

Dr Julian Hiscox and Dr John Barr of the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells. Currently the team is barcoding different strains of influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) – a virus associated with the onset of asthma in young children.

“Diseases such as flu infect and hijack our cells, turning them into virus producing factories,” says Dr Hiscox. “The infection causes the balance of proteins in a cell to change – some proteins are overproduced and others suppressed. Which proteins are affected and by how much varies depending on the type of virus, allowing us to identify a unique barcode of disease for each.”

The research, published today in Proteomics, investigates changes in lung cells infected with swine flu from the 2009 outbreak compared with seasonal flu. The team used a labelling technique called SILAC to measure and compare thousands of different proteins in a sample.

This technique was used alongside mass spectrometry to identify the proteins most affected by viral infection and used these as molecular signatures to provide the ‘barcode’ of disease. The paper reports how several processes in the cell were affected by the virus, with most changes seen in proteins involved in cell replication.

“Swine flu affects the lungs in a similar way to seasonal flu and this was reflected in the barcodes we found for each,” explains Dr Barr. “Using this test might have been a way to identify how lethal the 2009 swine flu pandemic was going to be, lessening worldwide panic.

“Our next step is to test more lethal strains of flu, such as bird flu, to see how the barcodes differ. Flu virus frequently mutates, resulting in new strains which may be life-threatening and become pandemic. If we can test new strains using our method, we can determine their potential impact on health by comparing their barcode of disease to those of viruses already studied.”

The group from Leeds has already barcoded two types of HRSV which can cause severe respiratory disease in young children. Co-author Professor Miles Carroll of HPA Porton says: “We have focused our work on common respiratory viruses, such as flu and HRSV, but this method could be applied to a wide variety of viruses, including tropical diseases that are prone to sudden outbreaks and can be lethal.”

Source: University of Leeds.

 

Sony patent seeks to correct autostereoscopic blur.

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Sony has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a glasses-free 3-D display that will adjust the picture so that the user gets an optimal view no matter how far or close to the screen. In its application, “Stereoscopic Image Processing Method and Apparatus,” Sony defined its patent intent: “A stereoscopic image processing method for a stereoscopic image pair forming a 3-D image comprises the steps of evaluating whether the distance of a user is closer or further than a preferred distance from a 3-D image display upon which the stereoscopic image pair is to be displayed, and if the evaluation indicates that the user is further than the preferred distance from the 3-D image display, adjusting the respective displacements between corresponding image elements in the stereoscopic image pair, thereby changing the stereoscopic parallax in the 3-D image.”

What this means is that Sony is planning to resolve the disadvantages of no-glasses 3-D viewing in the home. Critics have often noted blurring and other compromised effects that make the 3-D viewing experience less than desired just because the viewer is not in the best position. The success of autostereoscopic (glasses-free) 3-D has depended highly on the viewer’s angle and distance from the screen. With Sony’s 3-D viewing concept, the application would be able to detect a user’s distance from the screen and adjust the separation of images accordingly.

Sony points out past technology limitations of 3-D viewing with no glasses in its patent: “3-D content is recorded using a stereoscopic camera having a fixed arrangement of lenses that presuppose a corresponding fixed viewing position.” The problem, says Sony, is that the effect of being in the wrong place for viewing is discouraging. According to the patent, “the reproduced image can feel unnatural and in extreme cases may lead to headaches or nausea.” Sony says one particular weakness is under- or over-exaggeration of depth, depending on how near or far the user is from the screen.

The patent is for both an image-processing method and an entertainment system for the image display. The patent says that Sony’s technology involves shifting image elements in at least one of the left-eye and right-eye images to change the size of displacements, as a function of existing displacements, and the point of intersection of lines of sight between the corresponding image elements and the viewer. The separation in depth between different image elements is substantially the same as it would have been if the user had been viewing the video at the ideal distance.

Sony’s patent does not represent the first attempt of a company seeking to evolve non-glasses 3-D viewing. Cebit in 2010 in Hanover, Germany, is a case in point. Technology companies at Cebit created a stir showing efforts toward a new breed of displays. Sunny Ocean Studios had a panel fitted to a standard display, sending out a stereoscopic image to 64 positions around the screen. That meant you would be able to “run around” and see a nice 3D display, said Armin Grasnick of Sunny Ocean, at the time. Another company, SeeFront, showed a display moving with the viewer’s eyes, with the viewer always seeing the 3-D image. Eye-tracking has been an essential component of its glasses-free 3-D display technology, according to SeeFront.

Source: Phys.Org

Acupuncture Reduces Hypertension – New Research.

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Research conducted at the University of California Los Angels and UC Irvine has uncovered a mechanism by which acupuncture lowers blood pressure for hypertension patients. High blood pressure (hypertension) affects approximately 1 billion people. The researchers note, “two major contributors to systemic hypertension are the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system.” RAS is a hormone system that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance within the human body. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is a part of the autonomic nervous system. It controls internal organs, engages the body’s fight-or-flight responses, widens bronchial passages, constricts blood vessels, causes sweating and raises blood pressure. Over-activation of the SNS from stress and other factors contributes to hypertension.

The research notes that acupuncture reduces hypertension by stimulating brain neurons, electrically excitable cells that transmit information. A decrease in the neural activity of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM) decreases SNS activity and reduces blood pressure. The researchers “have shown that electroacupuncture stimulation activates neurons in the arcuate nucleus, ventrolateral gray, and nucleus raphe to inhibit the neural activity in the rVLM in a model of visceral reflex stimulation-induced hypertension.” In this way, acupuncture treatment reduces high blood pressure through downregulation of excess sympathetic nerve activity.

The researchers measured the effects of electroacupuncture on cats with reflex-induced hypertension. Acupuncture selections P-5 to P-6 and LI-10 to LI-11 with an electroacupuncture current of 2mA at 2 Hz for 30 minutes effectively lowered blood pressure. The same electroacupuncture techniques from LI-4 to Lu-7 and from St-36 to St-37 reduced hypertension but to a lesser degree. Electroacupuncture at LI-6 to LI-7 and K-1 to UB-67 did not reduce hypertension. The researchers note that electroacupuncture effectively reduces hypertension and the effects are point specific.

Source: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

 

 

 

Plant enzyme’s origins traced to non-enzyme ancestors.

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 As plants began to transition from aquatic habitats to dry land some 500 million years ago, their needs changed. Those primitive ancestors of modern plants were ill-equipped to survive in a dry, sunlight-blasted world. But gradually, they evolved enzymes that let them synthesize new kinds of chemicals to protect them from the threats of their new world, such as the damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun.

A new study from Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Joseph P. Noel and his colleagues focuses on one of those metabolic enzymes, which today is so efficient at doing its job it is considered by biochemists to be catalytically “perfect.” In a paper published online May 13, 2012, in the journal Nature, the researchers lay out evidence for how that enzyme evolved from its non-catalytic ancestor proteins.

Noel, who is at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, is interested in understanding how today’s plants acquired the ability to produce a diverse chemical arsenal – hundreds of thousands of specialized molecules that let plants flourish in varied and sometimes hostile environments around the world. Many of those chemicals are also useful to humans – as drugs, nutrients for disease prevention, flavors, dyes, and pesticides. The enzymatic tools deployed by modern plants must have evolved from protein molecules that ancient plants used to survive in a very different world, Noel explains.

For the current study, Noel and his colleagues at the Salk Institute, together with collaborators at Iowa State University, focused on an enzyme called chalcone isomerase (CHI), which is critical to the production of the specialized metabolites known as flavonoids. Flavonoids, which come in thousands of forms, provide plants with color to attract pollinators, noxious scents to repel herbivores, odd tastes to discourage fungi colonization, and protectants against the bleaching effects of the sun’s UV light.

Biochemists have long described CHI as a “perfect” enzyme because its atomic structure is so finely tuned for catalyzing reactions with extreme speed. “As fast as chemicals bump into it in solution or in the cytoplasm of plant cells, CHI makes a flavonoid product,” Noel explains. “In an evolutionary sense, it’s reached its limit. It’s going as fast as it can.”

In 2000, Noel’s team was the first to resolve the atomic structure of CHI, revealing through x-ray crystallography the precise three-dimensional arrangement of atoms that made it the Ferrari of plant enzymes. Indeed, their structural and biochemical analyses indicated that the enzyme appeared to have reached its “evolutionary limit,” Noel says. But in biology, everything comes from something older and probably different.

From where did such a catalytic speedster as CHI arise during the evolution of plants? Back in 2000, Noel could find no obvious precursors in the well studied plant Arabidopsis thaliana. And while CHI itself is central to flavonoid production in most of the more recently evolved green plants, it didn’t seem to exist outside the plant kingdom.

In the years since Noel’s team revealed the structure of CHI, modern plant science acquired new molecular and genetic techniques. Those advances equipped Noel and his colleagues to search the genome sequences of simpler (more ancient) organisms for signs of a protein related to CHI. They found partial sequences related to the enzyme in bacteria and yeast, suggesting to Noel that CHI had a molecular ancestor in the deep past, before green plants made their way onto dry land.

The scientists next scoured the Arabidopsis genome for sequences that resembled those in CHI, which led them to three members of a family of proteins called FAPs. The FAPs were similar enough in genetic sequence and molecular backbone structure to show their common roots with CHI, Noel reports.

To learn more, the researchers produced proteins from the FAP genes. “During the process, we were taking each [FAP] gene from the plant and inserting it into E. coli and letting the bacteria turn it into a protein that we could work on,” Noel remembers. “But unexpectedly these three ancient proteins grabbed a fatty-acid molecule from the E. coli host and they held onto it so tightly that we were able to see this additional molecule in its clutch.”

Indeed, when they examined the FAP proteins’ molecular structures using x-ray crystallography, they found pockets shaped to clasp tightly to a fatty acid. CHI, in contrast, contains a pocket specifically shaped to grab chalcone and chemically turn it into a plant flavonoid.

Noel’s team traced the three FAPs to the plant’s chloroplasts, where the process of photosynthesis occurs. Chloroplasts are also the site where fatty acids are synthesized from scratch. Fatty acids produced in the chloroplast are later utilized in the vital accumulation of energy stores in seeds and embryos. Because they are essential to survival, the FAPs are considered part of the plant’s primary metabolic repertoire. Flavonoid synthesis, in contrast, is considered specialized metabolism: flavonoids contribute to a plant’s long-term ability to pass on its genes under specific conditions in the wild, but are not immediately critical for survival when plants are kept in precisely controlled laboratory conditions.

Although FAPs and CHI play very distinct roles in modern plants, their genetic and structural similarities indicate a clear evolutionary relationship, Noel says. Which is the ancestor of the other? Noel favors the FAPs as the senior party.

Since FAPs contribute to primary metabolism even in algae, the modern day examples of early plant ancestors, they are more likely than CHI to have been conserved by natural selection over more than 500 million years. The fast-moving enzymes that drive flavonoid output likely developed in the more “recent” past, a mere 500 million years ago or so, as plants began their move to a desiccated, UV-bright landscape.

The discovery of a link between two separate players of biosynthesis in plants could have major implications for agriculture, biofuels, and nutrition, says Noel, but it’s the evolutionary reunion of these distant biochemical relatives that has him so excited. It’s also a nice exclamation point on a decade’s worth of work, as Noel’s group has doggedly pursued the origins of this key enzyme in the flavonoid pathway. “This is really cool because it’s one of the best cases for something that was not an enzyme evolving into an extremely efficient enzyme. We can learn from that 500 million-year-old experiment that nature, not us, has carried out!”

Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Cancer Risk Increased in Relatives of Patients with Serrated Polyposis.

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Findings support evidence for an inherited component to the disease.

According to the World Health Organization, criteria for the diagnosis of serrated polyposis (formerly called hyperplastic polyposis syndrome) include the presence of >20 serrated polyps (either sessile serrated polyps or hyperplastic polyps) throughout the colon; 5 serrated polyps proximal to the sigmoid (of which 2 are >10 mm in size); or any serrated polyp proximal to the sigmoid in a first-degree relative of a patient with serrated polyposis.

To estimate the risk for colorectal and other cancers in relatives of patients with serrated polyposis, investigators evaluated a cohort of 1639 first- and second-degree relatives of 100 index patients with serrated polyposis. Fifty-four colorectal cancers were observed in first-degree relatives (standardized incidence ratio, 5.16; P<0.001) and 48 in second-degree relatives (SIR, 1.38; P=0.04). First-degree relatives had a higher risk for pancreatic cancer (SIR, 3.64; P=0.003) but not for cancers of the stomach, brain, breast, or prostate. The cumulative risk for colorectal cancer at age 70 in first-degree relatives was 15% in men and 12% in women. If the index case was diagnosed at <50 years, the cumulative risk increased to 24% in men and 19% in women.

Comment: In my experience, serrated polyposis is the most common polyp syndrome in clinical practice and is often unrecognized during colonoscopy. Many patients with serrated polyposis do not have a family history of colorectal cancer, and we have not yet discovered any genes responsible for the condition. Nevertheless, results such as these suggest that serrated polyposis has an inherited basis at least in some kindreds. A common recommendation is to begin surveillance colonoscopy in first-degree relatives of patients with serrated polyposis at age 40, or at 10 years below the age at which any colorectal cancer diagnosis occurred in the family, and to perform colonoscopy every 5 years — or more often if indicated by polyp findings.

Source:Journal Watch Gastroenterology

Normal White Blood Cell Count Does Not Rule Out Bacteremia.

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Of 289 patients with bacteremia, 52% had normal WBC count and 17% had neither WBC elevation nor fever.

Despite multiple studies showing that a normal white blood cell (WBC) count does not exclude serious disease, physicians in all specialties continue to behave as if it did. To assess whether a normal WBC count or absence of fever reliably excludes bacteremia in patients with suspected infection, investigators conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective study of 3563 adults who had blood cultures at a single emergency department.

Among 289 patients (8%) with positive blood cultures, 77% had fever and 48% had elevated WBC count on initial measurement. Neither fever nor an elevated WBC count was noted in 17% of bacteremic patients.

Comment: The fact that leukocytosis is associated with infection does not mean that the white blood cell count is a good test for infection, because many patients with infection have no leukocytosis, and many patients with leukocytosis have no infection. Temperature is also not foolproof, but this investigation was limited by its reliance on initial temperature only, and some patients may have been found to be febrile later in the visit. The WBC count is the right test for neutropenia and malignancies of the white blood cell, but it is not a discriminatory test for infection. When evaluating a patient for possible infection, WBC counts should be used only as part of validated multivariable decision rules that have adequate predictive value for medical decision making, such as the Bacterial Meningitis Score (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Jan 31 2007).

Source: Journal Watch Emergency Medicine

Making the Case for Shots: ‘The Clinician’s Guide to the Anti-Vaccinationists’ Galaxy’ .

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The journal Human Immunology offers a brief review of the anti-vaccine movement and common misconceptions about vaccination.

Among the most common misperceptions:

  • Antigenic overload. Anti-vaccinationists warn of cytokine storms and immune cascades, but there is no evidence to support the fear.
  • Autoimmunity complications. The idea that diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome can result from vaccination is not supported by published evidence.
  • Infection induces better immunity than vaccination. Measles kills in 1 case out of 3000; the vaccine for the disease has never killed anyone.

The authors say they hope that “clinicians can play a part in influencing health care practitioners, political leaders, the media, the public, and ultimately patients and parents, to consider the scientific method and peer-reviewed literature.” They point out that “the available scientific data richly support the immunological value of vaccines in substantially decreasing morbidity and mortality owing to infectious diseases, and in improving the health of both individuals and populations.”

Source: Human Immunology

 

 

 

Meta-Analysis: Subclinical Hyperthyroidism Raises Total Mortality, CHD Risks

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Subclinical hyperthyroidism carries higher overall mortality and cardiovascular risks, a meta-analysis using patient-level data shows.

The study, published by the Archives of Internal Medicine, was designed to resolve conflicting results from earlier meta-analyses, which didn’t use patient-level data. This analysis encompassed 10 prospective cohorts with data on over 50,000 people. Compared with euthyroid subjects, those with subclinical hyperthyroidism (defined as thyrotropin levels under 0.45 mIU/L with normal free thyroxine levels) showed higher hazard ratios for total mortality, coronary heart disease mortality, and incident atrial fibrillation. Risks for CHD mortality and atrial fibrillation were even higher at thyrotropin levels below 0.10.

The authors say their results support the advice of recent guidelines to treat subclinical hyperthyroidism. An editorialist recommends considering treatment “especially in elderly patients with cardiac risks, hyperthyroid symptoms, or osteoporosis.”

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine