ADHD DRUGS AND HALLUCINATIONS: A new study released by the journal Pediatrics showed that children who are taking drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta and others may experience hallucinations. The side effects of these drugs included hallucinations of worms or snakes crawling on the children and also included other side effects such as psychosis and mania.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: The rate of these side-effects were fairly low (around 2 percent), but represent yet another serious complication of these medications. Why we turn to drug therapy to help these children is beyond my understanding, when diet and nutritional therapy can do so much to change the thought patterns and actions of our children.

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MERCURY IN HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: Mercury was found in almost one-half of all samples of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) tested in two recent studies. The mercury in the high fructose corn syrups appears to be a product of the manufacturing of the sweetener and not because of some other contamination. Caustic soda, used in the processing of the HFCS seems to be the source of the mercury.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Did you really need another reason to stay away from HFCS? Eating high amounts of HFCS is associated with weight gain and insulin insensitivity and diabetes. Mercury in any amount in our diets, and especially in the diets of our children is very dangerous.

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STROKE HIGH IN PEOPLE WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME: Metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides has been associated with an increased risk of stroke.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: While it has long been known that people with diabetes have a greater risk for cardiovascular diseases (including stroke), there has been a question about people who are not yet diabetic, but have impaired blood sugar control. This study, along with others, shows that being pre-diabetic carries many of the same risk that being diabetic does. Eating foods that are low and below the glycemic index is the only way to control your blood sugar and stave off these devastating diseases.

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WINTER WEATHER WORKOUTS: The American Cancer Society has posted winter weather workouts:

It’s easier to exercise regularly during the winter months than you realize – you just need to think creatively.

If it’s not too cold:

• Take the dog for a walk.
• Try a winter sport, like skiing, snow-shoeing, or ice-skating.
• Shovel snow. (Shoveling snow can be really strenuous. If it’s been a while since you’ve exercised regularly, discuss your plan and your health with your doctor.)

If it’s unbearably cold outside, try these indoor activities to get your heart pumping:

• Meet a friend at the mall and walk some laps.
• Do leg lifts or sit ups while you watch your favorite TV show.
• Put on your favorite music and dance.
• Clean your house. Scrubbing, mopping, and vacuuming all burn calories.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Great recommendations! My favorite suggestion for exercising during winter months is to “pay” for the television you watch. Put a stationary bike or other exercise equipment in front of the TV and ride it for a half-hour or hour of the shows you watch.

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SODA TAX: New York Governor David Paterson is suggesting a 15 percent tax on soft drinks. This so-called “obesity tax”, will only be on soda that contains sugar and not on the diet versions of soda. Governor Paterson suggested that this might generate more than $400 million dollars in tax revenue and might lead to healthier choices for the people of New York.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Taxes actually are a very effective way to curb consumption. Studies on cigarette consumption and taxes show that increasing the price of cigarettes is more effective at reducing smoking than any other campaign (including scare tactics). My thought would be: why stop at soda? If sugar is much more of a health burden than cigarettes (see my book Sugarettes), then its consumption should be curtailed by any means necessary.

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KEEP ACTIVE: Low-cost physical activity programs, such as those offered by senior centers and recreation centers was show to dramatically reduce disabilities in the elderly. 554 elderly persons who were not physically active were randomly selected to be in the exercise group or non-exercise group. The group that exercised has a much lower incidence of disability and had a larger amount of muscle mass than the non-exercisers.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: The importance of continuing an exercise program throughout your life cannot be overstated. The amount of lean body mass (muscle) you have is closely related to how long you are going to live. In fact, lean body mass is the best predictor for longevity we have. If you are not already exercising, get up from the computer right now and go do something!

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SLEEP AND EXERCISE KILL CANCER: A new study by the National Cancer Institute showed the women who exercised has a 25 percent reduction in the amount of cancer than non exercisers. But, the women who slept less than 7 hours every night (even if they were exercising) had twice the risk of women who slept more than 7 hours.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Exercise is important, but so is sleep. A 25 percent reduction in cancer risk is HUGE and one of the best reasons to get off your butt and get some exercise. The benefits of exercise were cut short by not getting enough sleep. What I think this research shows is that there are many women out there who are excelling in their business lives, but who are not taking care of themselves. Sleep is where out bodies rebuild and repair and skimping on sleep can have dramatic results.

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BLOOD SUGAR SPIKES DESTROY MEMORY: The hippocampus, the area of the brain partly responsible for creating new memories has been shown to be especially sensitive to spikes in blood sugar.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Many people know of the “brain fog” that occurs with eating too much sugar, and now science is beginning to back up this notion. The interesting thing about this study is that the problems with memory begin with only moderate rise in blood sugar and the scientists suggest that sugar may be the reason behind why so many older adults have problems with memory: because it is common for us to lose blood sugar control as we age. Could sugar be the “smoking gun” in dementia? Don’t wait to find out, get sugar out of your life today!

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Health News:

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT): HRT and the risks of breast cancer were reviewed in a recent symposium. It appears that even using HRT for a short time increased the risk of breast cancer. Which begs the question: why use HRT? The risks are not a small increase, but for some women constitute a doubling of their risk for breast cancer.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: Hormones are powerful and can create huge problems in our bodies. Estrogen, in particular, is a problem for women because of the risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Part of the problem lies in the fact that most HRT are synthetic hormones that are not natural to humans. Other problems have to do with the fact that many chemicals in our environment act like estrogens (including plastics, pesticides, and a host of other chemicals). The final question has to be should we be putting hormones in an aging person at all?

HRT is a travesty because there are many natural substitutes that work just as well, without the side effects.

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CANCER MUCH WORSE FOR DIABETICS: Cancer is currently the number two killer worldwide and is rapidly approaching number one. People with diabetes are more than 40 percent likely to die in the years right after a cancer diagnosis than people who are not diabetic.

Dr Scott’s Comments: There are no well-established links between sugar consumption and cancer — at least not yet. This new study sheds light on another horrible aspect of diabetes: it makes surviving a cancer diagnosis harder. For me, this adds to the destruction wrought by sugar. Not only is sugar toxic to our blood vessels (witness the kidney, eye and heart damage in diabetics), but it also leads to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Clearly we have to start avoiding the sugar and foods that act like sugar in our diets.

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LOW GLYCEMIC DIET FOR DIABETICS: The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association has published an article showing that diabetics eating foods that are low on the glycemic index had better sugar control than those that didn’t.

Dr Scott’s Comments: I’m going to borrow a word from my 10 year-old-daughter to describe the finding of this study: DUH! Medical science has come a long way, but they have yet to make any connection between what we eat and the diseases that we get. Maybe this study will change their minds. Yes, diabetes has something to do with the sugar and foods that act like sugar that we eat every day. I think that people eating Eating Below the Glycemic Index would fare even better… maybe even reverse their diabetes.

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STRESS INCREASES HEART DAMAGE: People who reported a high amount of stress in their lives increased the risk of a cardiovascular event by as much as 50 percent when compared to people who have a low amount of stress. The increase in disease was evident by the number of heart attacks, bypass surgeries, and strokes that high-stress people suffered from.

Dr. Scott’s Comments: This study shows the strong connection between our minds and our bodies. Stress is a big killer, but is often hard to define or understand. I personally feel the best treatment for stress is exercise. Whenever the world starts weighing too much on my shoulders, I know I have to get out for a run, or hop on my bike, or even just take a walk outside. It also helps to listen to other people’s worries: When you hear someone describe what they are worried about, you realize that many of their fears are ungrounded, maybe yours are too?

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