Less Of A Decline

While smoking declined steadily for years, it seems to have leveled off at about 20 percent of the American population. According to the compiled statistics at smoking-facts.net:

• Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity and premature death in the United States and the world.
• Smoking-related diseases cause an estimated 440,000 American deaths each year. Smoking costs the United States more than $150 billion annually in healthcare costs.
• A 2004 Study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion found that cigarette smoke contains more than 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.
• Women account for 39 percent of all smoking deaths.

Facing Reality

Millions of people every year face these realities and quit smoking or attempt to quit smoking. Many methods have been developed over the years to help smokers kick their habit, including quitting cold turkey, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, detox programs and non-cigarette nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, such as chewing gum, nasal sprays and transdermal patches. NRT products are considered the go-to products these days, with more people trying to get off the so-called cancer-sticks by replacing the cigarette nicotine fix with an alternative nicotine source and steadily winding down the daily dose over time.

I’d like to share some interesting – and perhaps surprising — information with you from two recent studies on nicotine therapy.

You Must Remember This

Since the 1980s, scientists and doctors have known there is a link between memory and nicotine: Nicotine stimulates the receptors responsible for thinking and memory. It’s no wonder smoking has a long tradition among writers and artists, who need creative stimulation and thinking power. However, recent research published in the journal, Neurology, shows that small amounts of nicotine may limit memory loss and Alzheimer’s in an aging population. The study involved 74 non-smokers with a mean age of 76 years. The group was divided in two groups. One group received transdermal nicotine patches and the other half got transdermal patches with no nicotine (placebos).

After a six-month period, the nicotine group “regained 46 percent of normal performance for age on long-term memory, whereas the placebo group worsened by 26 percent over the same time period.”

It is interesting that in this study of using nicotine for non-smoking related health issues, the placebo group did not fare well. However, where nicotine therapy is used specifically for smoking cessation (its intended medical use) another study shows it is not effective. The positive outcomes of gum, spray and patch application, in this case, are the result of placebo.

Quitting Effectiveness

According to a recent study by Harvard University School of Public Health, nicotine products such as gum, sprays and patches are no more effective than quitting on your own. Harvard research scientist and study lead Hillel Alpert says: “The study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long term than trying to quit on one’s own.”

This study was conducted among 787 participants who had recently quit smoking, following them over three different time periods between 2001 and 2006. During that time, about 30 percent of participants who used NRT relapsed, which is the same average for those who try to quit without their use. This is interesting because there have been numerous studies to the contrary, showing that nicotine replacement therapies are effective. However, the Harvard scientists stand by their finding and assert that “although previous randomized studies have shown NRT to be effective in helping smokers quit, the latest research shows the weakness of those trials among the general population in a real-life setting.”

Use It And Lose It

Just to be clear, the latest research does not say that NRT is useless in helping smokers quit — only that it is no more effective at keeping them off cigarettes over the long run than quitting without spending money and time on their use. However, many tobacco addicts find it difficult to gather the emotional strength to even attempt quitting on their own, so NRT offers a crutch or an emotional support for them, based on the belief that by using them the process of quitting will be successful. In addition to the chemical addiction there is a behavioral component to smoking cessation that also needs to be addressed. I recommend a combination of detox, energy balance and behavior change tools to support long-term success.

Nicotine is a toxin that affects blood, tissue, lungs, heart, liver and other parts of the body. The main organs used for cleansing the body and its fluids are the skin, liver and kidneys. However, cigarette smoke contains large amounts of nicotine and other dangerous chemicals that prevent true self-detoxification.

A good way to begin a smoking cessation program would be to detox for a few days (longer if possible) with the “Master Cleanse” otherwise known as the “Lemonade Cleanse.” This is a popular and widely used detox method wherein you only consume water fortified with fresh lemon, organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper for a period of time. (The details of the Master Cleanse can be found here.)

Detoxing

While you are detoxing, it is a good time to examine your personal belief systems in relation to why you smoke, how you feel about it, why you want to quit and how successful you think you can be. There are many good programs available that offer behavior modification methods for habits like smoking. I like using techniques from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and The Sedona Method. Have fun doing some searches and looking for various programs. It’s all part of the process of taking responsibility for the process of quitting and sticking to it. You need to have clear reasons why you are quitting, a clear plan to follow and a strong belief that you will succeed.

It is also a good idea to enlist a method to help support your quitting efforts. This can take the form of NRT products or hypnosis.

I have found auricular (ear) acupuncture to be very effective in helping people stop smoking. An acupuncturist inserts tiny needles into your ear and hooks up a “stim” device to activate your energy more quickly. Although it originated in China, the practice and development of auricular acupuncture was really advanced most effectively by French physicians. Many acupuncturists who perform auricular-stim acupuncture for smoking cessation also recommend you drink West Lake Tea. This earthy-tasting tea helps clear the toxic nicotine and other chemicals from your system. If you do not wish to fast on the Master Cleanse, then drinking this tea helps the detox process. Without detoxing, there remains a chemical addiction in your body that makes quitting smoking more difficult to do in the long run.

Best Interests

In the end, quitting smoking is in the best interest of everyone: you, your family, those who inhale your toxic secondhand smoke and the planet. Smoking is one of the preventable causes of disease whose eradication rests squarely on every individual who smokes. And while nicotine replacement therapy may be no more effective than not using it to quit smoking, small amounts of nicotine in the elderly population does help memory and cognitive functions — just so long as they don’t get their nicotine from cigarettes.

Scientists believe the only reason cigarette smoking isn’t more dangerous is the fact that the lungs protect themselves with the antioxidant glutathione that’s in fluid bathing the airways. The antioxidant reacts with the reactive species in tobacco smoke, thus preventing damaging reactions with lung tissue.

“This natural protective response actually allows people to smoke,” said Brian Day, a professor of medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver and a researcher who has investigated the effects of tobacco smoke. “Without it, all smokers would suffer significantly more lung damage.”

Day’s studies indicate that the smokers who succumb to lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are probably made more vulnerable to these problems because of infections that compromise the lung’s immune defenses.

Many of the airborne substances that result are of unknown toxicity, but researchers suspect they may cause significant problems. Some resemble diacetyl, a chemical that has caused lung damage in factory workers. Plus, in large concentrations these chemicals can irritate your skin. Some experts now believe buildings in urban areas should have air filters designed to keep ozone out.

In this study, published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the scientists also show that peptic ulcers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, lung and stomach cancer were linked to air pollution from automobiles.

"A lot of nutrition research in the past has been done by studying one nutrient or another in isolation, sometimes with conflicting results," said Maret Traber, a professor of nutrition at Oregon State University. "What this and other studies like it are showing is that the protection we get from proper diet or supplements often comes from combinations of nutrients working together. This has implications not only for smokers but also for many other people."

When you take vitamin E, you should take natural vitamin E which is more readily used by the body than the synthesized version.

"What (our research) clearly shows is that to perform their vital roles, vitamins C and E work together," Traber says. "They have a synergistic effect that will not be gained just by intake of one or the other, and adequate levels of these nutrients is especially important for people who smoke."

Stress Kills

Stress does more than make you feel worn out. It can kill. When researchers at Oregon State University measured the stress levels of about 1,000 men for 18 years, they found that the ones who experienced persistently moderate or high levels of stressful life events suffered a 50 percent higher mortality rate.

According to this study, the men who lived longer in the face of stress were in good health, married, didn’t smoke and drank moderate amounts of alcohol.

"Being a teetotaler and a smoker were risk factors for mortality," says Carolyn Aldwin, lead author of the study and a professor of human development and family sciences at Oregon State. "So perhaps trying to keep your major stress events to a minimum, being married and having a glass of wine every night is the secret to a long life."

This study found that stress that was ongoing and prolonged for a continual period of time was the most destructive. "People are hardy, and they can deal with a few major stress events each year," Aldwin notes. "But our research suggests that long-term, even moderate stress can have lethal effects."

Stressed Out Cells

Within the body, stress can cause damage by altering the behavior of immune cells. When Canadian researchers examined immune cells called monocytes in people who were under the stress of caring for a relative with cancer they found that these white blood cells created more inflammation than they would under normal circumstances. That type of excess inflammation may be linked to a greater risk of chronic diseases like arthritis, depression, cancer or heart disease.

According to researcher Gregory Miller, Ph.D., “…something goes awry in (these) white blood cells so they are not able to ‘receive’ the signal from cortisol (a circulating hormone) that tells them to shut down inflammation." Cortisol is a hormone that normally regulates inflammation, increasing or decreasing its occurrence. But in these stressful situations, even though the hormone is telling the monocytes to calm down, the monocytes don’t get the message.

Miller notes that “… people have traditionally thought that higher cortisol is the reason that stress contributes to disease, but this work shows that, at least in (these cases), it’s actually the opposite — there’s too little cortisol signal being heard by the cells, rather than too much."

Allergic To Stress

If you suffer from allergies, the effect of stress on the immune system can make allergic reactions worse. When scientists at Ohio State University put people in stressful situations, they found that their allergic sensitivity increased by an average of 75 percent. In addition, their allergic reactions were still worsened a day later.

"The results of this study should alert practitioners and patients alike to the adverse effects of stress on allergic reactions in the nose, chest, skin and other organs that may seemingly resolve within a few minutes to hours after starting, but may reappear the next day when least expected," observes Gailen Marshall, a co-investigator on the project and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Mississippi.

The researchers also noted that if you suffer allergies that are linked to asthma, stress not only makes your allergies stronger and longer-lasting, they may endanger your chances of a deadly asthma attack.

Stress Relief

If you’re feeling stressed out, you don’t have to give in to anxiety; you can fight back.

Meditation represents one of the most well-known methods of stress relief. Meditation can consist of simply sitting in a peaceful place and calming your thoughts, focusing on controlling your breathing or mentally repeating a word to yourself over and over again. Research shows that these techniques produce physiological changes that can offset the harm caused by stress.

In a study of college students at American University who spent 10 weeks practicing Transcendental Meditation™, researchers found that the youngsters habituated more quickly to stressful stimuli and reported less sleepiness.

Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that looked at “mindfulness meditation” found that this technique improved people’s immune responses. In addition, the mindfulness technique, which entails focusing your attention “on the moment” for a period of up to one hour a day, also increased electrical activity in a part of the brain associated with lower anxiety and more positive emotions.

Exercise Exorcises Stress

Exercise has long been touted a stress-relief mechanism, and research confirms this benefit. A study at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that exercising regularly in moderation can help guard against the negative effects of stress on immunity. In a laboratory study, researchers found that an aerobic exercise like running kept the immune system functioning at full capacity.

"This suggests that what we need to do is keep our exercise programs going and keep moderate, regular and voluntary exercise going," says Monika Fleshner, the researcher who led the study. "Then when we are hit with our deadlines or stress at work, marital stress or loss of a loved one, we may be able to better buffer those negative effects of stress on the immune system."

Other research shows that an exercise like yoga can also offset the harmful results of stress. A study at Ohio State found that 20 minutes a day of yoga combined with mindful meditation reduced people’s perceived stress by more than 10 percent. The folks who did the yoga and meditation also reported that they fell asleep more easily and experienced less anxiety.

As much of this research shows, stress isn’t all in your head; it infiltrates your body, disturbing your physiology in unhealthy ways. But get it under control, filtering out its harmful effects with physical activity and meditation, and you can stride forward to a less strident, healthier future.

They Don’t Ask, They Can’t Tell

Very few general medical practitioners ever ask about the health of their patients’ teeth. Hardly any oncologists ask whether their cancer patients have root canals or mercury amalgam fillings. As a result, most medical doctors steer clear of making recommendations about dental health. When you visit the doctor and are asked to stick out your tongue for a health exam, it is only to look at your throat.

In Western medicine, we have severed the perception of connections between dental health and overall physical well-being. As a result, we have lost a critical vantage point for evaluating the potential root causes of many life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, immune disorders and more. The good news is this lifesaving integrative perspective is proving its value through the cutting edge field of holistic, or biological, dentistry.

Regular Dentistry vs. Holistic (Biological) Dentistry

Most conventional dentists are only dimly aware of connections between gum disease, chronic dental infection and overall health. Dentists rarely refer you back to your doctor for further testing or give more than the fairly superficial, though important, advice about brushing, flossing and diet. On the other hand, holistic dentistry takes an in-depth look at dental and overall health, guided by leading research in the field. In particular, holistic dentistry looks hard at the relationship between conventional root canals, periodontal disease, mercury amalgam fillings and other all-too-common dental issues and the progression of any number of chronic diseases throughout the body.

In traditional medical systems, such as Chinese and Tibetan medicine, the examination of the mouth and tongue represents a primary diagnostic tool for gathering information about imbalances in the rest of the body. Today, more and more skilled holistic practitioners and dentists are working together within the field of integrative medicine to collaborate on optimal treatment programs for patients. The holistic dentistry movement is gaining a widening appreciation of the holistic perspectives implicit in traditional healing systems and is being driven by the growing body of published research linking dental health issues and chronic illness. Repeatedly, patients with serious, life-threatening illnesses have experienced dramatic health improvements after skilled holistic dentists have coordinated their evaluations and treatments with integrative health practitioners.

Dental Health Linked To Cancer

Of special importance is the link between cancer and dental health. This is an area on the cutting edge of cancer investigation, and scientists have not yet agreed whether there is a direct cause. From a clinical standpoint, however, I, along with many of my colleagues, have seen time and again that there is a strong correlation between chronic infection associated with root canals and the presence of cancer.

Even more interesting, from an integrative medical perspective, each tooth has associated acu-meridian tooth-organ relationships. (In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body is home to lines of force — acu-meridians also known as acupuncture meridians — that connect various organs.) Different acupuncture meridians run through the teeth, and specific organs and tissues are associated with each tooth. A chart developed by Dr. Ralph Wilson which you can see here outlines the relationship between each tooth and its associated organs, glands and body areas.

Infected Root Canals Often Don’t Show Symptoms

The most concerning finding in holistic dentistry is that extensive infection can be present in a root canal as well as the bone of the jaw which holds the tooth, in the absence of any direct symptoms. All too often, we rely on our subjective experience of symptoms (like pain) to warn us of problems. In this case, these warnings come usually after significant damage is done, so it is crucial to get proper dental evaluation and testing with regard to root canals and periodontal disease.

At Amitabha Medical Clinic, we refer our patients with root canals for what is called a cone beam scan, which is essentially a CT (or computed tomography) scan of the mouth. A cone beam scan produces 3D digitalized imagery on the computer screen, revealing details which a classic full mouth X-ray does not detect. These scans can tell practitioners whether there is chronic infection in the root of a tooth which needs to be addressed using careful and thorough methods. I encourage my cancer patients to limit the number of CT scans they have because of issues with cumulative radiation; but if you have root canals, the cone beam scan may be the only way to evaluate them. I think it’s worth doing, and the radiation exposure is much lower than a traditional CT. The truth is, the dental profession is largely ignoring the long-term effects of the root canal procedure. For this reason, I encourage you to seek out holistic dentists who have the knowledge and the tools to help you deal with root canals and other common dental issues in a careful and competent way.

Patient Stories

The importance of addressing these types of health issues with an integrative approach are evident in these examples:

• A patient with Stage III colon cancer was found to have infection (with no symptoms) in the root canal associated with the colon. Upon further examination of old dental X-rays, it was found that the tooth had been cracked for many years prior to the root canal. Therefore, it most likely had been chronically infected for a long time prior to the root canal placement and before the colon cancer diagnosis.
• A patient with metastatic breast cancer (with no symptoms) and with several old root canals who was not responding well to her chemotherapy treatments was found to have occult infection in the tooth associated with the breast on the same side as the cancer. The bone above the tooth was almost completely destroyed; the tooth was barely connected. The infected teeth were removed and the area was sterilized with ozone, a specialized form of oxygen therapy. After clearing up the infection, the patient had a better response to the same chemotherapy regimen.
• A patient with endometrial (uterine) cancer who was not responding to treatment and whose surgical scar would not heal because of infection was found to have an extensive infection in the tooth associated with the uterus. She had no oral symptoms. When the tooth was removed, her surgical wound healed quickly, and she began to have a positive response to her chemotherapy regimen.

The Future of Integrative Cancer Therapy

As a health practitioner who specializes in integrative cancer care, I can cite numerous similar clinical examples highlighting the correlations I have seen between dental health and cancer, and the positive effects of clearing up chronic infections in the mouth. Even though we don’t yet understand all of the underlying mechanisms, we have enough evidence to recognize the seriousness and the importance of attention to this area of health. As more and more published research points to the connections between root canals, mercury amalgams, periodontal disease and chronic illnesses, I encourage all of my readers and patients to become familiar with this important area of integrative health. Stay tuned.

A study of 400 children performed at the University of Copenhagen found that youngsters with a greater variety of bacteria in their digestive tract were less susceptible to allergies later in life.

Authors of the study said their findings may indicate that antibiotic use in pregnant women should be limited, since microflora in babies can be affected by drugs and artificial substances ingested by the mother.

Moreover, the team said that there may also be an association between intestinal bacteria and chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes.

"I think that a mechanism that affects the immune system will affect more than just allergies. It would surprise me if diseases such as obesity and diabetes are not also laid down very early in life and depend on how our immune defenses are primed by encountering the bacterial cultures surrounding us," said Hans Bisgaard, one of the researchers.