Check-Cap Colon Cancer Imaging Capsule

GE is investing in the Check-Cap imaging capsule that can help detect colorectal cancer as it travels through the intestines.

Colon cancer is the Western world's second largest cancer killer, despite being 90% curable with early detection, the disease claims more victims than breast cancer and AIDS combined.

The Check-Cap is a tiny X-ray radar device that creates 3-D images of the colon's internal surface.  Scanning a full 360 degree radius, the Check-Cap is expected also to detect polyps behind colon folds.

Data obtained within the colon is then transmitted to a external recorder worn on the wrist or belt.  When the test is completed, the patient simply returns the data receiver by overnight mail to a trained GI physician who will be able to analyze the data within 7-10 minutes.

The Check-Cap capsule, approx. 30 mm in length and 11 mm in diameter, will be easy to swallow and while the capsule travels painlessly through the colon, patients may continue their daily routines.  Within 24-48 hours this disposable capsule will be excreted naturally.

According to Oscar Lebwohl, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, "Check-Cap's prep-free, non invasive technology meets the real need for colon cancer screening that's easy for patients.  Patients are often hesitant to undergo colonoscopy due to the prepartion, sedation, general discomfort and potential risks.  If further studies demonstrate that Check-Cap is an accurate screening modality for colon cancer and polyps, then the Check-Cap system will be a viable testing alternative, allowing the screening of patients in greater numbers and the use of fewer resources compared with CTC and Colonoscopy."

Shared with:  the healthy home economist

60 Minutes Special - Is Sugar Toxic?

Sugar, is it really toxic?  Tonight, 60 minutes with correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates new evidence concerning sugar.

Dr. Robert Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, has begun an Anti-Sugar Campaign, motivated by his own patients.  He claims there are just too many children who suffer from obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

He said that you need to be careful when purchasing at the store, sugar is hidden in bread, yogurts, sauces, peanut butter and also to remember, High Fructose Corn Syrup, it's equally toxic.

Dr. Lustig has co-authored an American Heart Association report that recommends men should consume no more than 150 calories of added sugar a day and women, just 100 calories.  The average person now consumes 130 pounds of sugar per year, that's 1/3 pound every day.

Kimber Stanhope, a nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis, is in the midst of a 5 year study that links excess high fructose corn syrup consumption to an increase in risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

During the first few days of the study, the subjects eat a diet low in added sugars.  Then 25% of their calories are replaced with sweetened drinks, blood is drawn throughout the study.  The results, within 2 weeks, LDL cholesterol levels have increased and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease are noted.

Lewis Cantley, a Harvard Professor and the head of the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center claims that when we eat or drink sugar it causes a sudden spike in the hormone insulin, which can serve as a catalyst to fuel certain types of cancers.  Nearly a third of some common cancers, such as breast and colon cancers have something called insulin receptors on their surface.  Insulin binds to these receptors and signals the tumor to start consuming glucose.

Cantley went on to say, "Every cell in our body needs glucose to survive.  But the trouble is, these cancer cells also use it to survive."

Lewis Cantley's research team is working on developing drugs that will cut off the glucose supply to cancer cells, but in the meantime, the advice is to stop consuming sugar and sugar products.

Eric Stice, a neuroscientist at the Oregon Research Institute, is using MRI scanners to learn how sugar activates our brain.  According to the research, it turns out that Dopamine, a chemical that controls the brain's pleasure center, is being released, just as it would in response to drugs or alcohol.

Source: CBS News

Shared with: the healthy home economist

The Incredible Blueberry

Blueberries are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and are a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.

According to the ND Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Blueberries, 1 Cup of raw Blueberries contains:

• 84 calories
• 4 grams of fiber or 14 %DV
• 24%DV of Vitamin C
• 36%DV of Vitamin K
• 25%DV of Manganese

Percent Daily Values (%DV) are for adults or children aged 4 or older, and are based on a 2,000 calorie reference diet.  Your daily values my be higher or lower based on your individual needs.

Did you know that:

• Blueberries are loaded with carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin, and flavonoids like rutin, resveratrol and quercitin (all excellent for the eyes and eye health).
• The pigments that give blueberries their color improve the structure of veins and the vascular system.
• Blueberries are high in the soluble fiber pectin, which has been shown to lower cholesterol.
• A study reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that blueberries inhibit colon cancer proliferation and induce programmed cell death.
• Just recently, Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope, Duarte, CA researchers found that feeding blueberry powder to mice significantly reduced the growth and spread of triple negative breast cancer cells (TNBC), a very aggressive form of cancer - PubMed
• Blueberries are excellent for the relief of diarrhea and constipation.
• Blueberries also help reduce inflammation in the digestive and urinary tracts.
• A study in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine suggests that the best way to gain maximum benefits from blueberries and other fruits is to consume them either one hour before protein (milk, etc.) is consumed, or two hours after. - Milk destroys antioxidant benefits in blueberries

More Incredible Info on Blueberries:

• Polyphenols in blueberries inhibit the formation of fat cells - NaturalNews
• Study: Prevent high blood pressure by eating blueberries - NaturalNews
• Blueberries halt hardening of the arteries - NaturalNews
• Find Cancer Prevention with the Power of Blueberries - NaturalNews

Post shared at:  Monday Mania