I will be gone from today until Friday at the Irish Wolfhound Nationals in St. Louis.  What a treat!  Hundreds and hundreds of the most stately and beautiful dogs in the world, to include my two boys! Let's hope the weather stays good for us.

I will answer all messages on my return - sorry for any inconvenience.

The Mediterranean diet scores again.  It has been shown to be protective in heart health, cancer and diabetes.  Now studies suggest it may prevent Alzheimer's disease.

"What exactly is the Mediterranean diet? It's a diet high in:

• Fruits including apples, oranges, orange or grapefruit juice, peaches, apricots, plums, and bananas;
• Vegetables including tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, corn, yams, spinach, and yellow squash;
• Legumes including peas, lima beans, lentils, and beans;
• Cereals including cold breakfast cereals, white or dark bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes (baked, grilled, or mashed);
• Monounsaturated fatty acids, such as those found in olive oil;
• Moderate amounts of fish of all types;
• A moderate amount of alcohol e.g wine with meals;
• Low amounts of meat, poultry and dairy products."

Read the entire article here.

Read my article about a Healthy Diet here.

Mr. Barnum had it about right - you CAN fool some of the people all of the time, and it can be tragic.

I own 2 beautiful Irish Wolfhounds, and could not believe it when the yahoo group list I belong to began discussing the prices unscrupulous breeders are charging for the strangest mixes - the kind of mix you can pick up for minimal charges AND save the life of at your local Pound.

Anywhere from $1600 to $3000 people are paying for what they are assured are Breeder's registered puppies - registered where?  Sometimes, only at places that track lost dogs. A Pomchi?  A Labradoodle? A Basschund?  I have one of the latter, a charmer from the Pound at the total investment price of $75.00.  You can see her picture in the Photo album - so I'm dog crazy!

Don't believe me?  Take the test here:

The Designer Breed Test

The Mayo clinic has discovered that having your ovaries surgically removed can lead to eventual cognitive decline.  The earlier they are removed, the greater the risk. 

These days, some women who feel they are at high risk for ovarian cancer are having their ovaries pre-emptively removed:  this study may change their minds (while they still have them!).

Full story here. 

The two types of liver cancer  - primary, where cancer actually starts in the liver, and secondary, where cancer starts elsewhere and spreads to the liver - together represent one of the most common malignancies in the world.  It is difficult to treat, and cures are rare.

It is therefore exceptionally good news that a link has been found between Omega 3 fatty acids, and not only prevention and growth of liver cancer, but treatment of this scourge.

Read the report here. 

By the bye - the word "scales" in the title was a word play on fish;  but scale-watching is also appropriate:  obesity brings an increased risk of liver cancer

This information hasn't yet received the same exposure as the Vioxx heart failure scandal, but more men should know about it before deciding to use the drug, which is an alpha blocker!

"This current study gives a probable mechanism for heart failure in those patients, and shows that alpha blockers could potentially be a direct cause," concludes Simpson, who is also a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Read the study here.

Read my article about Prostate Problems here

Read a report on the connection between Bisphenol A in Plastics and Prostate Cancer here.

Visit a selection of helpful supplements here

I was away when the Wall Street Journal  article came out, or I would have posted my comments earlier. As it is, at this late stage I don't think I can do better than to share with you Dr. Laibow's analysis.

Do pay particular attention to the  demolishing of the "Vitamin A causes hip fractures" theory put forward by the article;  incredibly, it was based on simply ASKING women what they ate, and then ESTIMATING their Vitamin A intake.  Contrast that with studies measuring the blood levels of Vitamin A, which found a protective effect against osteoporosis.

This is the kind of smear campaign that doesn't even deserve to be called "Science".

Get the carefully researched rebuttal HERE .

"THE figures are mind-boggling. Nearly 4 million Americans, most of them children and young adults, are being prescribed amphetamine-like stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Up to a million more may be taking the drugs illegally."

That is the first paragraph of this analysis of the over-use of drugs in our children.  Funnily enough, when they mention "Alternatives", they are not talking about nutrients. Even so, it is worth reading just to see the scope of the problem and get a taste of the power of the pharmaceutical industry.

The full article is here.

For genuine alternatives, read my article on natural solutions.