More cancer, fewer deaths?

Study: more cancer, fewer deaths

Australians are now developing cancer at slightly higher rates but dying of the disease less often, according to University of Sydney research published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA).

Professor Bruce Armstrong wrote the most notable trends in the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) statistics were annual five to six percent rises in the incidence of hepatic and prostatic cancers and four to five percent falls in mortality from Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical and testicular cancers.

While the research shows we're doing well at preventing cancer deaths, we need to do more to prevent the disease in the first place.

Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock

"These examples reflect the annual trends in the rates of all cancers: increasing incidence of 0.7 percent and falling mortality of 1.4 percent," Professor Armstrong wrote.

Three factors drive trends in cancer incidence and mortality, he wrote.

"Changes in population exposure to cancer risk factors can increase or decrease cancer incidence and, after a delay, produce a parallel change in mortality. Liver cancer, which has shown an increasing annual incidence of 4.8 percent and increasing mortality of 3.0 percent, was an example of this."

Population screening that detects precancerous lesions can cause drops in both incidence and mortality.

"Cervical cancer shows this pattern, however, population screening that detects invasive cancer tends to increase incidence and decrease mortality," he said.

"The national prostate cancer screening program with PSA was an example of this pattern.

"Finally, in the absence of both incidence downtrend and any material effort at early diagnosis, treatment advances were the most likely contributor to mortality downtrend."

Professor Armstrong wrote that while Australia had done very well in preventing cancer deaths, the story was not so good in terms of primary prevention.

"Given that the data show 19 favourable and two adverse mortality trends, six favourable and 17 adverse incidence trends, this was an inescapable conclusion," Professor Armstrong wrote.

"This should come as no surprise: the AIHW estimated that in the 2004-05 financial year, Australia spent $3.19 billion on medical and hospital care and pharmaceuticals for cancer and $0.22 billion on community and public health programs — mostly for screening programs, not primary prevention. The imbalance is unlikely to be less now."

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

Read full here... http://mail.sciencealert.com.au/news/20131011-24998.html

Autistic children

Do autistic children have 'starving brains?'

(NaturalNews) McCandless' position in her book, "Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder," is that ASD is a complex syndrome based on physiological and biochemical disorders that have as a common end-point the cognitive and emotional impairment that we generally associate with autism. In other words, aside from rare genetic cases such as an autism derived from Fragile X syndrome, it has become evident that these are physically ill children who can be greatly helped medically, behaviorally, and cognitively by proper diagnosis and treatment of their underlying medical conditions. This is a vital breakthrough in understanding and one that many practitioners have had a hard time grasping. In the past, autism and other conditions in the autism spectrum were considered "psychiatric" or behavior disorders, with only psychiatric or behavioral approaches considered as appropriate treatments. Consequently, since they are physically ill, affected children require an all-encompassing, natural intervention to maximize their healing potential.

Studies have shown that ASD children, compared to controls with neurotypical children, report higher occurrences of the following nutrient levels:

• Increased serum copper
• Magnesium deficiency
• Increased copper/zinc ratios
• Iron deficiency
• Increased glutamate
• Zinc deficiency
• Decreased vitamin B6
• B12 deficiency
• Decreased plasma sulphate
• Calcium deficiency
• Decreased methionine
• Fatty acid deficiencies
• Decreased glutamine
• Inadequate vitamins A, D, and E
• Decreased amino acids tyrosine, carnosine, lysine, hydroxylysine

Many experts have further noted that several common factors are seen in most ASD patients; namely, impaired immunity, GI inflammation, higher infection rate and subsequent increased use of antibiotics, impaired nutritional status, maldigestion/malabsorption, and decreased ability to metabolize toxins like heavy metals and pathogens. The crux of the all-encompassing, natural intervention model; therefore, is to restore proper brain function by balancing the nutrients above. This can be done in a variety of ways; namely nutrition, supplements, chiropractic, acupuncture, etc. This approach, though, has been criticized by the medical model because it apparently takes longer than other modalities and may not be as complete with older children since biochemical abnormalities and toxic conditions have already become a part of their cellular functioning and are therefore harder to change. The "golden window" of opportunity, they contend, has been suggested to be between 18 months and five years of age, though it is never too late to initiate care. Many older children and adults have experienced dramatic results as well.

This criticism from the medical community is false. Research is full of evidence-based, "natural" interventions that have dramatic, rapid results. If you suspect your child has autism, contact your natural health care provider as soon as possible.

Sources for this article include:

McCandless, J. Children with starving brains: a medical treatment guide for autism spectrum disorder 2nd ed. Bramble Books, Putney. 2003.

Guliani K, Rubin D. Improvements in developmental delay, colic, and GERD in a Child Undergoing Chiropractic Care: A Case Report and Review of Literature. J Pediatr Matern & Fam Health Chiropr 2012; 1:online access only (4 pages).

Benach JL, Li E, McGovern MM. A microbial association with autism. MBio. 2012;3(1).
Jyonouchi H, Geng L, Ruby A, Reddy C, Zimmerman-Bier B. Evaluation of an association between gastrointestinal symptoms and cytokine production against common dietary proteins in children with autism spectrum disorders. J Pediatr. 2005;146(5):605-10.

Ibrahim SH, Voigt RG, Katusic SK, Weaver AL, Barbaresi WJ. Incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism: a population-based study. Pediatrics. 2009;124(2):680-6.

Scelfo TA, Chelenyak PL. Resolution of autistic symptoms in a child undergoing chiropractic care to correct vertebral subluxations: A case study: case report. J Pediatr Matern & Fam Health Chiropr 2011; 4:106-110.

About the author:
Eric is a peer-reviewed, published researcher. His work on heart disease and autism has been accepted internationally at various scientific conferences through organizations like the American Public Health Association and Australian-based Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. The mission he shares with his wife, Sabrina, is to help people achieve their God-given potential in what they have coined The 7 Key Areas to Abundant Living: Both Eric and his wife are Life Coaches specializing in helping people overcome cognitive disorders like ADD/ADHD naturally. Visit his blog. Track his work on facebook. Read Eric's other naturalnews.com articles.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037046_autistic_children_starving_brains_medical_treatment.html#ixzz25QQEIPnJ

Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure – Common Questions & Answers

• Q: What Is High Blood Pressure?
  Ans: Blood pressure rises and falls during the day. When blood pressure stays elevated over time, it is called high blood pressure or hypertension. Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers – the systolic pressure (as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats). A consistent blood pressure reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher is considered high blood pressure, another term for hypertension.
• Q: What is systolic blood pressure?
  Ans: Systolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart beats. It is shown as the top number in a blood pressure reading. High blood pressure is 140 and higher for systolic pressure. Diastolic pressure does not need to be high for you to have high blood pressure. When that happens, the condition is called “isolated systolic hypertension,” or ISH.
• Q: What is diastolic blood pressure?
  Ans: Diastolic pressure is the force of blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. It’s shown as the bottom number in a blood pressure reading. The diastolic blood pressure has been and remains, especially for younger people, an important hypertension number. The higher the diastolic blood pressure the greater the risk for heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. As people become older, the diastolic pressure will begin to decrease and the systolic blood pressure begins to rise and becomes more important. A rise in systolic blood pressure will also increase the chance for heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure. Your physician will use both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure to determine your blood pressure category and appropriate prevention and treatment activities. 
• 
  
• Q: Why Is High Blood Pressure Important?
  Ans: High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard. It also makes the walls of the arteries hard. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, the first- and third-leading causes of death for Americans. High blood pressure can also cause other problems, such as heart failure, kidney disease, and blindness.
• Q: What Causes High Blood Pressure?
  Ans: The causes of high blood pressure vary. Causes may include narrowing of the arteries, a greater than normal volume of blood, or the heart beating faster or more forcefully than it should. Any of these conditions will cause increased pressure against the artery walls. High blood pressure might also be caused by another medical problem. Most of the time, the cause is not known. Although high blood pressure usually cannot be cured, in most cases it can be prevented and controlled.
• Q: How do I know if I have high blood pressure?
  Ans: High blood pressure often has no signs or symptoms. The only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to be tested for it. Using the familiar blood pressure cuff, your doctor or nurse can easily tell if your blood pressure is high.

• Q: How Is Blood Pressure Tested?
  Ans: Having your blood pressure tested is quick and easy. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and recorded as two numbers systolic pressure “over” diastolic pressure. For example, the doctor or nurse might say “130 over 80″ as a blood pressure reading. Both numbers in a blood pressure reading are important. As we grow older, systolic blood pressure is especially important. To test your blood pressure, your doctor will use a familiar device with a long name. It is called a sphygmomanometer (pronounced sfig’-mo-ma-nom-e-ter), and may look something like this.
  
  
  

Effect of High blood Pressure on Your Body

Brain: High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke. Very high pressure can cause a break in a weakened blood vessel, which then bleeds in the brain. This can cause a stroke. If a blood clot blocks one of the narrowed arteries, it can also cause a stroke.

Eyes: High blood pressure can eventually cause blood vessels in the eye to burst or bleed. Vision may become blurred or otherwise impaired and can result in blindness.

Arteries: As people get older, arteries throughout the body “harden,” especially those in the heart, brain, and kidneys. High blood pressure is associated with these “stiffer” arteries. This, in turn, causes the heart and kidneys to work harder.

Kidneys: The kidneys act as filters to rid the body of wastes. Over time, high blood pressure can narrow and thicken the blood vessels of the kidneys. The kidneys filter less fluid, and waste builds up in the blood. The kidneys may fail altogether. When this happens, medical treatment (dialysis) or a kidney transplant may be needed.

Heart Attack: High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack. The arteries bring oxygen-carrying blood to the heart muscle. If the heart cannot get enough oxygen, chest pain, also known as “angina,” can occur. If the flow of blood is blocked, a heart attack results.

Congestive Heart Failure: High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for congestive heart failure (CHF). CHF is a serious condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to supply the body’s needs.

Tips for having your Blood Pressure Taken

 Don’t drink coffee or smoke cigarettes 30 minutes before having your blood pressure measured.

 Before the test, sit for five minutes with your back supported and your feet flat on the ground. Rest your arm on a table at the level of your heart.

 Wear short sleeves so your arm is exposed.

 Go to the bathroom prior to the reading. A full bladder can change your blood pressure reading.

 Get two readings, taken at least two minutes apart, and average the results.

 Ask the doctor or nurse to tell you the blood pressure reading in numbers.

link: http://mafiastuff.com/blood-pressure-common-questions-answers/

HPV vaccination

Medical journal openly questions science, ethics of HPV vaccinations

(NaturalNews) On January 12, 2011 the Annals of Medicine published a ground-breaking peer-reviewed paper titled, Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine policy and evidence-based medicine: Are they at odds?, ¹written by renowned researchers Lucija Tomljenovic, Ph.D., and Christopher Shaw, Ph.D., with the Neural Dynamics research Group, University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. ^2.

The article points out to the medical community what most consumers now know about the fraudulent global health agency policies in combination with the pharmaceutical companies lack of science based evidence demonstrating the safety and efficacy of Gardasil and Cervarix before they were unleashed on unsuspecting parents of adolescents.

Clinical Trials on Healthy People vs. Mass Vaccination Campaigns

Tomljenovic and Shaw clearly state the obvious in their abstract by stating that vaccines represent 'a special category of drugs generally given to healthy individuals and therefore a small level of risk for adverse reactions is acceptable.'

Merck's clinical trials were flawed because they used an aluminum adjuvant as a 'placebo' and only used saline as a comparative for minor, non-serious adverse reactions. With serious adverse reactions, they pooled the results from the saline group and the aluminum 'placebo' group. By doing this, they concealed the true rate of serious reactions.

If FDA approved drugs and vaccines were as safe and effective as Pharma would like consumers to believe the risk level should be negligible to none. The FDA removal of drugs after they have been on the market and damaged desperate people looking for cures who then have to file lawsuits to recover damages is simply unacceptable.



Medical Ethics Questioned

The authors also point out the myth of informed consent - basically a waiver signed by medical consumers that they have been 'educated' about the risk vs. benefit ratio of the drug about to be administered. Tomljenovic and Shaw open their paper citing that 'medical ethics demand that vaccination be carried out with the participant's full and informed consent' and not just the handing out of the HPV vaccine Patient Product Insert - prepared by none other than the vaccine's manufacturer.

What the authors do not cover in this paper is what happens to informed consent when governments grant children the right to consent to medical procedures, such as California's recent passage of AB 499 - basically granting parental rights of children ages 12 and older to the state for the treatment of STD's. Is it really because the 'state' knows better - or is it because legislatures have been paid off by the pharmaceutical companies?

The authors go on to state:

"What is more disconcerting than the aggressive marketing strategies employed by the vaccine manufacturers is the practice by which the medical profession has presented partial information to the public, namely, in a way that generates fear, thus promoting vaccine uptake.........It thus appears that to this date, medical and regulatory entities worldwide continue to provide inaccurate information regarding cervical cancer risk and the usefulness of HPV vaccines, thereby making informed consent regarding vaccination impossible to achieve."

Money Talks - Nobody Walks - but the Vaccine Injured

According to Maplight California - a web site that reveals money's influence on politics, contributions from interest groups to CA legislators who supported the bill were $2,174,648 - more than 28 times the $76,404 given to interest groups who opposed the bill.It is also interesting to note that republican based groups and pro-life groups were on the dissenting side vs. the overwhelming number of liberal and democratic groups supporting the bill.

Similar bills are now in front of South Carolina and Florida legislatures. We are now personal witnesses to the erosion of medical ethics encouraged by politicians abundantly rewarded with special interest contributions.

Tomljenovic and Shaw continue their message by reminding medical professionals that 'contrary to claims that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, existing data show that this only applies to developing countries. In the Western world cervical cancer is a rare disease with mortality rates that are several times lower than the rate of reported serious adverse reactions (including deaths) from HPV vaccination.'

The author's state - what should become the mantra of all medical practitioners and consumers concerned about vaccine safety and efficacy:

Future vaccination policies should adhere more rigorously to evidence-based medicine and ethical guidelines for informed consent.

Tomljenovic and Shaw cite these key messages:

- To date, the efficacy of HPV vaccines in preventing cervical cancer has not been demonstrated, while vaccine risks remain to be fully evaluated.

- Current worldwide HPV immunization practices with either of the two HPV vaccines appear to be neither justified by long-term health benefits nor economically viable, nor is there any evidence that HPV vaccination (even if proven effective against cervical cancer) would reduce the rate of cervical cancer beyond what Pap screening has already achieved.

- Cumulatively, the list of serious adverse reactions related to HPV vaccination worldwide includes deaths, convulsions, paraesthesia, paralysis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), transverse myelitis, facial palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, anaphylaxis, autoimmune disorders, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms, and cervical cancers.

- Because the HPV vaccination programme has global coverage, the long-term health of many women may be at risk against still unknown vaccine benefits.

- Physicians should adopt a more rigorous evidence-based medicine approach, in order to provide a balanced and objective evaluation of vaccine risks and benefits to their patients.

- The almost exclusive reliance on manufacturers' sponsored studies, often of questionable quality, as a basis for vaccine policy-making should be discontinued.

- Greater efforts should be made to minimize the undue commercial influences on academic institutions and medical research, as this influence may impede unbiased scientific inquiry into important questions about vaccine science and policies.

- Passive adverse event surveillance should be replaced by active surveillance to better understand the true risks associated with vaccines, particularly new vaccines.

The abstract of Tomljenovic and Shaw's paper, Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine policy and evidence-based medicine: Are they at odds? is posted on the SANE Vax Inc. web site. The entire paper can be accessed via this link on or after January 12. Share the 12-page paper with your medical practitioner, school nurses, and boards of education considering enforcing state legislation, and parents or guardians considering HPV vaccination for their child. Should you have difficulty accessing the entire paper you may contact the corresponding author via email at lucijat77@gmail.com.

The entire paper can be accessed via this link on or after January 12. Share the 12-page paper with your medical practitioner, school nurses, and boards of education considering enforcing state legislation, and parents or guardians considering HPV vaccination for their child.

Medical consumers need to demand the healthcare industry stop focusing on 'drug policies' and direct efforts toward uncovering science-based evidence to identify those actually at risk for the disease. As Tomljenovic and Shaw readily point in their dissertation on the HPV vaccine, the risk of cervical cancer is relatively small to justify a mandatory mass vaccination program with vaccines of questionable safety.

SaneVax Inc. views the presentation of partial and/or non-factual information regarding cervical cancer risks and the usefulness of HPV vaccines, as cited above, to be neither scientific nor ethical. These practices do not serve public health interests, nor are they likely to reduce the levels of cervical cancer. Independent evaluation of HPV vaccine safety is urgently needed and should be a priority for government-sponsored research programs.

Sources:

1.Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine policy and evidence-based medicine: Are they at odds?Annals of Medicine, 

http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/record/22188159/full_citation/Human_papillomavirus__HPV__vaccine_policy_and_evidence_based_medicine:_Are_they_at_odds

2. Maplight California -AB 499 - An Act to Amend Section 6926 of the Family Code, Relating to Minors

http://maplight.org/california/bill/2011-ab-499/1007609/total-contributions

Story by Norma Erickson and Leslie Carol Botha of SANEVAX, INC. 

Please visit our site at http://sanevax.org/

About the author:
THE SANE VAX MISSION is to promote Safe, Affordable, Necessary & Effective vaccines and vaccination practices through education and information. We believe in science-based medicine. Our primary goal is to provide the information necessary for you to make informed decisions regarding your health and well-being. We also provide referrals to helpful resources for those unfortunate enough to have experienced vaccine-related injuries.

We are demanding the HPV vaccines be taken off the market until an independent study on their safety and efficacy has been conducted. Until then, we are committing our efforts to an educational media campaign to alert the public about the dangers of the HPV vaccines.

SANE Vax, Inc. is involved in the ground-breaking production of the One More Girl Documentary which will premier in 2012. Please join our cause by contributing to this project by contacting Ryan Richardson, Producer at ryan@onemoregirlfilm.com.

For more information, please visit our site at http://sanevax.org/.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034636_vaccinations_quack_science_medical_journals.html#ixzz1z6piLGjp

Homeopathy works !

Scientific proof that Homeopathy works

(NaturalNews) Most scientists would state categorically that homeopathy is a scientific impossibility. Who would disagree, as the explanation that is currently provided to support homeopathy makes very little sense. How is it possible that a solution that contains no chemical atoms causes a biological reaction? All of our basic understanding of science screams out that this is patently impossible.



But what if all that we have been taught at school, at university and at work is in fact only part of the truth. What if there was a missing part of our education that provides the missing link that makes subjects such as homeopathy scientifically obvious. What if there is much more to our body than simply chemicals.

It took me two years of research to uncover this hidden area of science. Once I did, the scientific explanation for many controversial areas of science, including homeopathy, became uncontroversial. What I am about to teach you about homeopathy is just one of the many areas of science that have been hidden from us which are finally exposed in my book, Blinded by Sciencewww.blindedbyscience.co.uk

If we look at homeopathy from a completely different area of science other than chemistry then we can begin to understand how homeopathy really works. It is just like one of those intellectual games that people play, where the answer is so obvious once you know it, but impossible if you don't

Take the following puzzle:

You are in front of three light switches only one of which turns on a light in the adjacent room. You only have two attempts to find out which of the three switches work. Without being able to see the effect of the switches it is impossible to know which of them work, it is a mathematical impossibility. However, by using a different area of science, the solution is incredibly simple. The answer lies with the heat generated from the light and not the light itself. If you turn on a switch and then turn it off again and go and feel if the light is hotter then in two attempts you will know exactly which of the light switches turns on the light.

Now if we turn back to homeopathy, we have to look at it from the same idea and say that the idea that chemicals are the issue is irrelevant to solving the problem.

It is not the chemicals in the solution that cause a biological change but the vibrations that emanated from the chemicals, which have an affect. The massive missing part of our education is simply the concept of "vibrations" and everything that they affect. In the puzzle above, the light caused the bulb to heat up through vibrations and so two ideas were working at the same time, light and heat. The same is true with every aspect of our body, it works on two levels, a chemical one and a vibrational one, they go hand in hand, one does not work without the other.

As every electron vibrates uniquely and everything is made up of electrons then it is incontrovertible to state that everything vibrates, absolutely everything. So if everything vibrates, it would seem fairly logical that one vibration must affect another. Just take sound as an example, a choir all singing together sounds very different from a school playground.

The same thing happens in our body, you get choirs in parts of our body where it is healthy vibrationally and noisy playgrounds where our body's organs are malfunctioning causing vibrational disharmony and sickness.

This idea is hugely controversial as it contradicts everything that we have been taught. The tragedy however, is that science has proven it to be true in thousands of different studies, but has not promoted is as it implies that pharmaceutical drugs are not the only cure in town.

So if vibrations are the answer what about the big idea that is put forward by homeopaths that is it also to do with the concept that water has some sort of a memory to provide evidence that homeopathy works scientifically.

This is total nonsense and provides yet more ammunition to everyone who wants to dismiss a perfectly sensible area of science as pseudo-science. WATER DOES NOT HAVE A MEMORY. Of course it doesn't. Water has amazing functions but memory is not one of them.

Water has the amazing property that enables it to change its vibrational pattern to the chemical or environment in which it is in. This is an incredibly important point and one that needs to be remembered, water is a chameleon, adapting itself to its environment vibrationally.

As an example, in one experiment, if you treated a cup of water with a specific vibrational frequency the water would change itself to that specific vibration and it would stay like that forever. It would only change if it came across a different vibration.

This vibrated water if ingested directly and instantly affects our body's biological functions. Depending on the vibrational frequency of the water, different illnesses can be treated.

I have not included the specific scientific experiments here that prove all of the ideas I have outlined, but you can look them up for free on my website at www.blindedbyscience.co.uk in the bibliography section on the website.

The conclusion from my research is that if you add a chemical into a solution and then remove all traces of that chemical from the solution, the specific chemical vibrational remains which has the same biological affect as if the chemical were still in the water. The body recognises the new vibration and reacts accordingly.

This idea has radical implications for our health as it means that not only do we have to question the water that we drink but also our environment in which we live which is saturated with man made vibrations from all of the electronic machinery that we use in our every day lives. What damage are they in fact doing to our health?

So hopefully, in these few paragraphs I have shown that it is scientifically logical for homeopathic treatments to work, through the properties of vibrations. The problem that I have, however, is this: how do homeopathic treatments work when they are in solid pill form. For this I do not have the answers. I can only confirm that homeopathy is a very simple science in principle when it is in a solution and should be embraced by the scientific community.


About the author:
Matthew Silverstone is the author of Blinded by science, www.blindedbyscience.co.uk a book that will completely change your attitude to your health.

Blinded by Science offers a theory which when applied to factors like water, plants, the Sun and the Moon all seems to make perfect sense. As simple as it sounds, it is the theory that everything vibrates. The book explains that everything vibrates from the nucleus of an atom to the molecules of our blood, our brain, sound, plants, animals, all the way into outer space. Once this basic principle is understood, everything suddenly becomes clear. Once you apply this theory to the world around you, you will be astounded by what you learn. Find out more at www.blindedbyscience.co.uk

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033558_homeopathy_science.html#ixzz1ypPrNNV0

Tai Chi

Tai Chi improves a variety of medical conditions

(NaturalNews) We see them in parks slowly and softly moving their limbs in seemingly random ways. We may pass them without thought, but do these Tai Chi practitioners have anything to teach us? As it turns out, Tai Chi is an extremely beneficial practice that grants all kinds of health benefits. The slow flowing moments actually constitute a deceptively complex exercise with amazing health effects. This is due to the fact that one of the main goals in Tai Chi is to integrate the mind and body into a single practice.



Practitioners of the traditional art sing its praises, but what does contemporary science have to say about it? Presented below are the summaries of three studies conducted by prestigious institutions and completed in the first half of 2011.

In May, scientists at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have published a double-blind study on the effects of practicing Tai Chi and drinking green tea. The results, collected from 171 women, demonstrated that practicing Tai Chi enhanced markers of bone health and muscle strength. "Participants taking tai chi classes also reported significant beneficial effects in quality of life in terms of improving their emotional and mental health." The study also found that practicing Tai Chi and drinking green tea both had a substantial effect on decreasing oxidative stress." Since oxidative stress is a main precursor to inflammation, "this finding suggests that green tea and tai chi may help reduce the underlying etiology of not only osteoporosis, but inflammatory diseases as well."

The April 25th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine published a Tai Chi study that was jointly conducted by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston. One hundred patients with systolic heart failure were randomized and placed either in a 12 week Tai Chi group or in a time-matched education group. The researchers concluded that Tai Chi "may provide value in improving daily exercise, quality of life, self-efficacy and mood in frail, deconditioned patients with systolic heart failure." In other words, practicing Tai Chi helped people with heart failure become happier and more independent.

Finally, researchers at UCLA published a study in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry in March concerning the effect of Tai Chi practice on depression in the elderly. The study tested 112 adults aged over 60 with major depression and randomized them into either a two-hour per week Tai Chi group or an education group. After 10 weeks, the researchers found that not only had the Tai Chi group fared significantly better at reducing depression than the education group, but they had also significantly improved physical functioning, cognitive functioning and a decline in C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation.

SOURCES
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/221901.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110410130827.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110425173838.htm
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/8/750
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110316131122.htm
http://journals.lww.com/ajgponline/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=9000...

ADDITIONAL STUDIES
http://www.naturalnews.com/025781_benefits_Chi_science.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101107202140.htm
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/pain/articles/2010/...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110606152208.htm
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388111000259

About the author

Dave Gabriele, D.Ac, BA, is a registered acupuncturist, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and a health researcher helping people in and around the Greater Toronto Area. He is the founder of Life Balance Family Health Care (www.balanceyourlife.ca), an organization committed to providing people with the information and guidance they need to make positive lifestyle changes. Dave has been a teacher of Chinese martial arts since 1997, including the arts of Taiji and Qigong.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032935_Tai_Chi_medical_conditions.html#ixzz1ypOiPEBD