This newsletter is heavily nutrition oriented. As we all eat frequently, it seems health effects of that activity deserve considerable attention. I will also give you advance warning of a coming workshop (first weekend in April) for teenaged girls which I think will be fantastic. More on that later.

The building in which my office is located has been for sale for some time. It now appears that it is sold and I have to move by May 1. As suitable space is always difficult to find, this will be a challenge. If you see anything that looks good, please give the office a call!

Best, Michael Carlston, M.D.
www.carlstonmd.com 
707-545-1554

This first item is not strictly dietary but certainly a nutraceutical matter. Mushrooms are definitely moving to the top of the medical attention to food pyramid. For many years open research trials (i.e. not controlled by placebo) have been showing very positive effects of mushroom extracts on stomach cancer. In Japan where these trials were conducted, placebo trials are generally considered unethical. In the West, we tend to ignore most nonplacebo controlled trials because they often lead to false conclusions.

Recently many more trials have been published, including a number with placebo controls. It is becoming clear that mushroom extracts appear to have significant potential as adjunctive treatment for some cancers - most notably stomach and prostate. Also, some mushroom extracts appear to stimulate immune response to infectious diseases.

Some of the very best and most reliable research is conducted over long time spans. Some data were recently published from one of the longest observational trials. This study began in 1947 when 11 year olds were tested for their mental abilities in 1947. In 2000 - 2001 their cognitive abilities were retested along with analysis of their diet and food supplement use. Investigators adjusted the data for childhood IQ. First they learned that those who started out smarter by IQ measurement, were not any more likely to take supplements as 64 year olds. Next they learned that mental speed was higher in those 64 yo who used supplements. Finally, they learned that the 64 year olds with the highest blood levels of omega-3 oils had the highest levels of mental functioning.

It is indisputable and intuitively obvious that nutrients have an impact on our ability to function optimally in every way. This is another interesting study confirming that intuition and common sense are often brilliant.

Of course you all know that tanning is bad. It destroys your skin and causes skin cancer. Well, it also is the source of life on our planet. Your skin turns sunshine into vitamin D which builds thicker bones and prevents some kinds of cancer. A recent study of tanning bed users concluded that these subjects had significantly higher blood levels of vitamin D and bone density

A study of 42,000 male health professionals followed over a 14 year period, found a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease associated with the amount of wheat bran they consumed. The bran was primarily in the form of whole grains but some used bran as a supplement. Wheat germ consumption did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ovarian cancer is a common, difficult to diagnose early and often deadly disease. Swedish researchers made an interesting link between milk consumption and the risk of one form of ovarian cancer. Women consuming 4 cps or more of milk had a risk of serous ovarian cancer twice that of women consuming 2 cups or less day. (This is not a typo. Serous ovarian cancer is a specific cellular form of ovarian cancer). Women who never or “seldom” consumed milk had a risk 1⁄2 of that of women drinking 2 cups a day. There was a correlation between the amount of lactose consumed and this form of ovarian cancer,

This association was not present for other forms of ovarian cancer. Also, other forms of dairy products containing less lactose where much less associated with this form of ovarian cancer. Is this a function of hormones in the milk, an ill-effect of lactose or some other factor?