Category Archives: FAQ

FAQ, Healthcare

Cirrhosis: Risk of Liver Damage

Liver is one of the very important organs of body that participates in carrying out many important functions to sustain life of an individual. It can be affected with any disease or disorder and one of the commonest one includes cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis is a type of chronic liver disease where the liver tissue is being replaced by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules that result in loss of proper functioning of this vital organ.

Alcoholism, fatty liver, hepatitis B and C are the major factors that are responsible for this chronic liver disease but other factors may also play minor role for example, viral infection, accumulation of toxic metals like iron and copper due to genetic disease and autoimmune disease.

Some idiopathic factors also contribute to liver cirrhosis.

Poor quality of life with increased risk of infection is basically responsible for the appearance of one of the most common complication of this disease identified as ascites. Hepatic encephalopathy and esophageal varices are other complications associated with cirrhosis. This chronic condition is generally irreversible and in advanced cases liver transplant is the only solution.

The term cirrhosis actually originated from a Greek word meaning diseased liver. René Laennec gave the term cirrhosis in 1819 while carrying out his work.

 

Liver is a very essential organ of human body as it carries out many critical functions out of which two are very important for example, it participates in the clotting of proteins in order to stop bleeding and it also aids in the removal of toxic materials like drugs that may be harmful for the human body.

It also partakes in regulating the regular supply of body fuels namely glucose and lipids. In order to perform these essential functions the liver cells must work properly and must be able establish a close connection with blood so that substances can be easily transported as well as removed from blood via liver. The relationship of liver with blood is a unique one. Arteries supply a very small amount of blood to the liver.

Major blood supply of liver actually comes from the intestinal veins as the blood returns to heart. The main vein that returns to heart from intestine is the portal vein. As this portal vein passes through liver it breaks up into smaller and smaller veins. The smallest veins are in close intimacy with the liver cells. This close relationship between the liver cells and the veins helps in addition as well as removal of materials from blood.

The liver cells also line up along the whole length of the sinusoids and when the blood passes through these sinusoids blood is collected in larger veins that collectively combine and form a larger single vain known as the hepatic vein that in turn finally returns to the heart.

 

In liver cirrhosis this intimate relationship between liver cells and blood is destroyed. The liver cells that survive or are newly formed may be able to add or remove substances to blood but their normal functioning is hampered so they no longer are able to maintain the close relationship with blood.

Formation of scars also hampers the regular blood flow from liver to the liver cells as result the pressure in the portal vein increases and the condition is known as portal hypertension. The second major problem caused by cirrhosis is disturbance in the relationship between the liver cells and the channels through which the bile flows. Bile is a fluid that is produced by the liver cells and it has two important functions for example, it helps in digestion as well as removal and elimination of toxic substances.

The bile produced by the liver cells is secreted into very tiny channels that run between the liver cells and also line the sinusoids known as canaliculi. These canaliculi empty into smaller ducts that open into larger ducts. Finally all these ducts open into a single duct that opens in the intestine. So in this way the bile entering the intestine aids in digestion.

At the same time the toxic substances present in the bile also enter intestine and are eliminated out from the body through feces. In cirrhosis, the canaliculi become abnormal and the relationship between the liver cells and these canaliculi is destroyed so the liver cells are not able to eliminate the toxic substance out from the body and they keep on accumulating inside the body. Digestion of food in the intestine is affected but on minor scale.

 

The symptoms of cirrhosis either develop due to the chronic liver disease or are the result of complications of cirrhosis. Many symptoms crop up which have no relation with cirrhosis. The chief symptoms include spider angiomata where vascular lesions develop that can be identified by a central arteriole surrounding many smaller vessels. This condition crops up because of higher secretion of estradiol.

Palmer erythrema is another symptom where altered sex hormone metabolism results in speckled mottling of palm. Changes in the nail structure also appear for example, Muehrcke’s lines identified by paired horizontal lines that are separated by normal color and this condition crops up due to hypoalbuminemia. Apart from this symptom the proximal two-thirds of the nail plates become white with one third portion red in color and this is also due to hypoalbuminemia.

This condition is known as Terry’s nails. Clubbing nails may also result where the angle between the nail plate and the proximal nail fold is greater than 180. Chronic proliferative periostitis of the long bones result in severe pain and the clinical condition is given the term hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Dupuytren’s contracture can be characterized by thickening and shortening of the palmar facia resulting in the deformities of fingers.

This symptom is very common in 33% patients of liver cirrhosis. Benign proliferation of the tissue male of male breasts can also occur due to excessive secretion of estradiol known as gynecomastia and is common in 66% cases.

Hypogonadism characterized by impotence, infertility, loss of sexual drive and testicular atrophy may also occur due to suppression of the pituitary function. Liver may be enlarged, normal or shrunken.

Portal hypertension results in splenomegaly where the size of spleen is becomes very large than the normal. Accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity results in the formation of ascites. In the portal hypertension the umbilical vein may be open and abnormality may result in a condition known as caput medusa.

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FAQ, Healthcare

Kidney Failure – How to Prevent Kidney Failure

For those who suffer kidney disease, you will know how critical it is to prevent kidney failure. Kidney disease can be both temporary and permanent. This can be known as acute kidney failure/acute renal failure or chronic kidney failure.

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FAQ, Healthcare

Ayurveda and Ayurvedic Treatment

Ayurveda is a very ancient science that comes to us from the Southern Part of India. This Vedic civilization which easily dates back four thousand years has drawn much interest recently as we are trying to find solutions to our health problems.

Ayurveda truly looks to the essence of the individual and heals all aspects of the human being: mind, body and spirit.

This science achieves that by first looking to the individual who is evaluated with many different tools including but not limited to body constitution analysis (what elements are present in the individual), tongue diagnosis, eye diagnosis, pulse diagnosis, lifestyle diagnosis to only name a few methods of assessment of the patient.

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FAQ, Healthcare

Preventing Renal Kidney Problems When You Have Diabetes

One can get more information on renal kidney problems with the help of the content described below. The kidneys are a very important organ of the human body which is so essential that if they stop working, you will die.

As one of the most vital organs, you must take care of it. The kidneys can be infected by diseases if you don’t take the proper precautions. But what if you don’t know about the types and reasons of certain, specific diseases?

If you have diabetes, understand that diabetes can and will eventually cause renal kidney problems, and affects your kidney functions in a very big way.

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FAQ, Healthcare

Four Costly Mistakes Many Cancer Patients Make – Part 1

 

Overview

In my work with cancer patients, I’m privy to the common mistakes made by many patients which routinely harm their health and may cost them their lives. I write this article in the hope these mistakes can be avoided. This article is derived from observations made in a sample group comprising 16,000 patients over a period of 40 years.

Lest the article appear too negative it is worth mentioning that cancer patients in 2016 are living longer and there are many wonderful advances in cancer medicine. In fact patients will do better when forewarned of these common mistakes and at our institute we consider it a part of ‘preventative medicine’ to do so. Please pass this article around to anyone with cancer.

 

1. The most fundamental mistake is a failure to understand the nature of cancer

Sadly, perhaps due to fear of the topic, this is widespread, not only among the cancer patients we assist but among some naturopaths we encounter. Failing to understand the nature of cancer will influence all your treatment choices. The following is a brief outline.

At the time of diagnosis, cells will have been detaching themselves from the primary tumour, entering the blood supply and seeking to establish a ‘new’ colony. This process may have been going on for years before the first tumour is evident. These ‘seed cells’ called circulating tumour cells (CTCs), may lay dormant for years or activate and settle down at a site of least resistance and grow into a tumour. CTCs begin circulating when the original tumour increases in size from 1.5 – 2mm, about the size of a grain of rice.

It is worth remembering that cancer is a systemic disease from the onset and the tumour its late stage symptom. Cancer cells can only thrive in a specific environment such as impaired mechanisms of regulation and repair. Cancer can enlist and the body’s bio-chemistry such that the body thinks it is part of itself and thus the immune system will not attack it.

 

With a better understanding of cancer, patients will realise they must act quickly and activate a sensible treatment plan. This sense of urgency and fear of conventional cancer medicine may cause patients to seek alternative therapies; as an alternative to conventional treatments (allopathic) and we do not recommend that path. We do however, support proven complementary therapies done with knowledge of the allopathic doctor and/or oncologist.

Communication and transparency between our institute, the patients and the doctors and oncologists is crucial because there are many times when even accepted complementary supplements can clash with cancer medicines. (See 4.)

The good news is that in 2016 the new breed of ‘targeted therapies’ used by oncologists are getting excellent results with lower side effects and people are living longer-up to 95 % of certain breast and testicular cancer patients will be alive after 5 years.

When integrative medicine is added to the scientific advances it combines the discipline of modern science with the wisdom of ancient healing. It can transform the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the lives of people living with chronic or life-threatening illness.

Proven complementary therapies such as touch therapies, mind-body therapies, acupuncture, sound nutrition, physical activity and fitness, and dietary supplements are worthy additions provided they are not substitutes for mainstream medical care.

When used in concert with medical treatment they can help alleviate stress, reduce pain and anxiety, manage physical and emotional symptoms, and enhance quality of life for cancer patients. Some touch therapies can help the patient ‘feel human’ again while undergoing hard treatments.

2. Second deadly mistake – a failure to understand the nature of ‘Dr Internet

This mistake can powerfully influence patient treatment decisions. There is a huge cost in believing ‘that which is repeated often enough must be true.’ The internet is dominated by stories of unproven alternative cancer cures.

However the unsuspecting patient they may be inclined to believe the websites which are increasingly sophisticated and emotionally convincing websites. The following Google searches were conducted on Firefox and illustrate how difficult it is to find balanced scientific papers on alt/med products or therapies. The following searches (on Firefox in early June) yielded these ‘results’…

 

· Google search for ‘black salve’ – last week May 2011 = 8.5 mil results – this week June 4th = 9.2 mil results – June 8th = 9.34 mil results – June 14 = 10.5 mil (Up 2 million results in just over two weeks – what will it be next week?)

· Google search – ‘apricot cures cancer’ = 5 mil results

· Google search – ‘Gerson Diet cures cancer’ 1.8 mil results

· Google search – ‘nature cures cancer’ 320 mil results

· Google search – ‘alternative cures cancer’ = 6.5 mil results

· Google search – ‘wake up cure cancer now’ = 2.5 mil results

· Google search ‘science cures cancer’ = 6.25 mil results. In this case I was looking for scientific papers but the results ‘flipped’ to ‘cannabis cancer cures’ (it took over the search). This did not happen in quite the same way for Internet Explorer

· Google search – meditation cures cancer = 3.9 mil results

· Google search – cancer cleanses = 11.4 mil results (June 14 = 12.7 mil (up by 1.3 mil results in over 2 weeks)

As you can see, ‘Dr Internet’ is often biased regarding alt/med. Most of the Google results are from sites with commercial interests or those promoting an ideology such as ‘raw foodism.’ Good medical science results from respected bodies like the National Cancer Institute of America or Memorial Sloan Kettering of NY are not so easy to locate. Both have excellent research papers on complementary and alt/med products and therapies.

 

3. Third deadly mistake – Buying into the prevalent conspiracy paradigm that ‘Big Pharma’ is greedy and evil-

that it’s a tool of the wealthy who want to keep ordinary people sick so they can make more money. Whilst the medical system and industry is not perfect, it is at least regulated and under scientific scrutiny and rigor.

Such theories create unhelpful extreme polarisation and are an attempt to invalidate advances in cancer science, medicine and pharmaceutical commerce while emotively promoting alt/med or a nature ideology. These beliefs can border on fundamentalism. The victims, as always, are the unsuspecting cancer patients.

The theory is also very imbalanced-nobody is mentioning the greed or dishonesty of alt/med practitioners or supplement sellers. Some of our patients have spent up to 1.2 million AUD on unproven or even disproven alt/med therapies and regimens. Many of these treatments are kept secret. Patients at a ‘cancer cure expert,’ a naturopath, were told not to tell anybody of the ‘secret’ treatments (costing $1100 a week) because the evil AMA or Big Pharma wants to stop them ‘curing’ cancer patients so they can continue to ‘slash, burn and poison.’ A recent patient in Queensland spent over $20,000 with a local ‘inegrative doctor’ on treatments we have never seen reduce or slow the progress of cancer.

 

4. Fourth deadly mistake – A poor understanding of nutrition and basic biology

 

A belief that ‘more is better’ can be dangerous for cancer patients. The mistaken belief prevails that if certain foods or supplements can boost your immune system, enabling your body to fight off the cancer, then large doses will be more effective. Patients fail to consider that supplements are very concentrated and quite unnatural as the following study shows.

A study from the US National Cancer Institute in 1994 published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the effects of beta carotene, a well-known anti-oxidant with cancer-fighting properties, on the incidence of lung cancer in men. One group of men were (sic) put on a balanced diet high in fruit and vegetables high in beta- carotene or pro-vitamin A, found in orange foods such as carrot and sweet potato.

The next group was given beta-carotene supplements and the final group was given a placebo. Not only did the group with the fruit and vegetable intake get a lower incidence of cancer, but the group taking the supplements had a higher incidence of cancer than the placebo group and the trial had to be terminated.

In our sample group we have commonly found patients imbibing toxic levels of some elements (selenium, copper, oestrogen), trace elements, minerals and fat soluble vitamins. Some supplements commonly taken can impede or undo the allopathic cancer medicine prescribed, hormone blockers such as Tamoxifen or Arimidex and some chemotherapies, for example.

ALSO – The ‘chemical cocktail effect’ is an unknown. It refers to the unpredictable effect of concentrates in supplements, herbal medicines mixing with concentrates in other supplements, potentially creating metabolic mayhem. A result we observe in the blood diagnostics in many of our patients.

The remaining 3 common mistakes made by cancer patients will feature in part 2 of this series.

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