Michael Douglas and conflicting messages

The other night I was watching David Letterman interview Michael Douglas about his diagnosis for throat cancer. During the interview, Michael Douglas admitted he was a drinker and that his cancer was a type caused by alcohol. There is no question that alcohol does increase the risk of various cancers, including throat and esophageal cancers: There are certainly enough reports in the medical and scientific literature saying so. However, whether anyone can categorically state that Michael Douglas’s cancer was due to alcohol alone is doubtful because cancer is a complex disease with many contributing factors. For example, Michael Douglas is also a smoker. Smoking itself is a cancer risk factor and the combination of smoking and alcohol increases the risk even further. What was particularly interesting was when the reporter commented on the level of alcohol consumption required to cause cancer. By the end of the interview the audience may well have thought even moderate drinking would increase their risk of cancer. And it didn’t matter what form the alcohol was in either: Beer, wine, whisky or whatever else. As long as it had alcohol in it, it was a risk. The final part of the story was devoted to speculation on how alcohol may increase the risk of cancer. The chemical acetaldehyde was suggested as the likely culprit. Acetaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is formed from alcohol in the body.

Now if Michael Douglas’s cancer was caused by moderate amounts of alcohol, then the people who watched the interview or who read the news items may well be thinking:

“Wait a minute.”

“I’ve been told for years that a glass or two of red wine was good for my heart.”

“And now you tell me if I drink my risk of cancer goes up!”

“What do I do?”

“Am I better off having the occasional red wine with dinner to reduce my risk of heart disease but increase my risk of cancer?”

“Or am I better off not drinking at all to reduce my risk of cancer and possibly getting a heart attack?”

We are not surprised people are confused by the conflicting messages! Conflicting messages relating to diet, health and lifestyle are very common and it is easy to see why. The beneficial effects on the heart of drinking red wine have been enthusiastically endorsed by the wine industry. Hardly surprising: It’s both human nature and is good for business. But the beneficial effects of red wine aren’t just marketing spin. Hints that red wine had beneficial effects came from studies on the “French paradox”. The French have a diet high in saturated fats from butter and cream and yet, paradoxically, have a relatively low incidence of heart disease. As the French are great wine consumers and start at an early age, it was speculated components in the wine they were drinking may be protecting their hearts. Scientists later confirmed there was something in red wine, a substance called resveratrol that may be the active component protecting the heart. These initial reports led to many studies from a variety of reputable and not-so-reputable sources claiming resveratrol was a magic bullet and assigning it almost mythical properties. Whether these claims turn out to be true or not will have to wait for further research.

It is not surprising we are bombarded with conflicting messages. On the one hand, business is keen to use any piece of scientific information to validate or endorse their product. On the other, scientists are increasingly looking at business to provide them with funds to carry out their research.  This sort of relationship can be problematic as commercial and financial interests and pressures are potentially tied to the research, even if unwittingly. It creates a potential conflict of interest for everyone involved. So next time you hear someone make a claim for a product or treatment, look closely at who is making that claim and whether there may have a conflict of interest. It is worth noting that some of the major scientific and medical journals have recognized the potential dangers of conflicts of interest and have introduced measures to control it. One of these measures is the requirement to disclose the sources of any funding a scientist may have received for their research.

Progress relies on quality science and quality science relies on research data that is free of any commercial or financial pressures, particularly as it relates to drug development. In a word increasing driven by economics, it is becoming a difficult line to walk.

Until next time, stay happy and healthy.

Hello and Welcome: Part 2

In our first post we talked about why we started Promoting Good Health, what we wanted the website to stand for and what we wanted it to do for you. We also introduced you to one of the principles of Promoting Good Health: Professor Alf Poulos. In this post, we introduce you to the other: Dr. Stephen Hardy.

A personal message from Stephen:

I went to university because I wanted to cure cancer. I started my career looking at what caused potentially cancerous cells to switch on and grow. While I learnt much, I couldn’t find a way of making my research practical for those with cancer. The problem was the timing. A cancer has typically been growing for between 2 and 9 years before symptoms appear and the Doctors become aware of it. By then, the rules have changed. The only way my research was going to be useful for people with cancer was if I could come up with a drug that went backwards in time, to stop the cancer from developing in the first place. It was the biological equivalent of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted. By the time people had cancer it was too late for a clinical treatment based on stopping the cancer from getting started. So I went from wanting to cure cancer to learning everything I could about how to prevent potentially cancerous cells from getting out of control in the first place, as that was the only way to tackle cancer that made any sense to me. I wasn’t alone. About that time (the early 1980’s), other researchers were proposing that around 80 % of cancers were preventable, with 35 % being related to diet and the rest being due to attitude and lifestyle factors. I’ve seen nothing since to suggest these estimates need changing.

The quest to discover how to prevent cancer took me in surprising directions. I went to university because I wanted to defeat a rogue cell called cancer. But despite all my research I was left with more questions than answers. What made the cell go rogue? Where did the signal to go rogue come from? Did the signal come from the cell itself or from outside? Why did the surrounding cells allow it to go rogue? Does the environment trigger or encourage the cell to go rogue? How does the body spot rogue cells and what does it do about them?

So how do I distil my 30 years of scientific study and questioning into a principle you can use? Well here it is:

Health is a function of your attitude and your surroundings.

To explain what this means we need a bit of background and a slight diversion:

Healthy cells make healthy tissues. Healthy tissues make healthy organs and healthy organs make for a healthy you. Cells are a lot like children. If you want your children to grow up big and strong, to play nicely with others and have a happy, healthy and fulfilling life, what do you need to do? Anyone who is a parent can answer this one. You need to give them good food; you need to make sure they get plenty of rest; you need to talk to them and listen to what they tell you; you need them to listen to others; you need to give them the best education you can; you need to create a happy, healthy and supportive home for them to live in and you need to make sure their surroundings and environment are safe.

Cells aren’t any different. Feed them right, teach them right, listen to what they have to say and give them a safe and supportive home to live in and most of the job’s done! But as with anything, the Devil is in the detail. So let’s take this a little further.

Some have suggested that all diseases are caused by one of two things:

1. Deficiency
2. Toxicity

If you don’t give your cells all the food, nutrition or resources they need, or the food you give them is of poor quality, they can’t do their job properly. If your cells aren’t talking to one another enough or being honest when they do talk, they can’t do their job properly. If your cells are being exposed to poisons in the environment or have to live in toxic surroundings, they can’t do their job properly. If the cell’s waste products aren’t being removed or being removed quickly enough, they can’t do their job properly. And if they can’t do their job properly, they may get sick; they may break down; they may miss something they shouldn’t or they may become so selfish they break the rules and go out and get what they want without any thought for anyone else, just like a cancer does…

Earlier we said: Healthy cells make healthy tissues. Healthy tissues make healthy organs and healthy organs make for a healthy you. Let’s turn this around:

A healthy you needs healthy organs. Healthy organs need healthy tissues and healthy tissues need healthy cells. You are made up of trillions of cells that all have to be fed and kept safe if they are to do their jobs properly and get along with one another. So what is good for your cells is good for you. Look after your cells and they will look after you. You need to be a responsible parent to your cells.

So eat right, look after yourself, exercise, don’t put toxic substances, chemicals or drugs into your system and drink plenty of water. But that’s not enough. Your cells, tissues and organs can’t be healthy if they are living in a toxic environment. So we can’t talk about keeping you healthy without also talking about keeping the environment healthy because that’s our home. It’s where we live. Eating the best food and living in a pristine environment still isn’t enough however. You also need the right attitude. A bad attitude is tied to bad health. Negative thoughts attract negative people, expectations and experiences. If you surround yourself with negative people, then you will pick up negative thoughts and ideas. If you have a negative attitude you focus on what can’t be done rather on what can be done, you focus on what you don’t have rather than giving thanks for what you do. Your thoughts do indeed shape your world.

Hopefully you can now see why focusing only on the rogue cells or on the cancer is missing the point and why, ultimately, you will be a reflection of your attitude and your surroundings.

Through Promoting Good Health we want to help you not only stay healthy but realize your full potential. We want to give you information you can use to make the most of life. To do that we need to range widely in the topics we discuss. Sometimes the topics may be specific: “How do I keep my immune system strong and healthy?” “What is Cancer and how do I avoid it?” “What are the potential health risks caused by toxic chemicals in the food chain or the environment?” Other times the topics may be broad or philosophical: “How can we look after the environment?” “How do we maintain biodiversity?” “How do I spot negative thoughts and self-destructive behavior patterns?” While we will range widely, they will always be a common theme and thread: Healthy cells, healthy body, healthy mind, healthy lifestyle, healthy attitude and a healthy environment. All are essential and interconnected.

We also want to be provocative. We want to get you thinking. We want you to get involved. So through the site we may ask questions, pose a challenge or start a debate. We want you to get involved because life isn’t a spectator sport. We want you to get involved because the more you participate, the more you understand. We want you to get involved because that’s how you will become happier and healthier, which is why we set up Promoting Good Health in the first place! Many centuries ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) said “You are what you repeatedly do”. It’s still good advice.

Until next time, stay happy and healthy.

Hello and Welcome: Part 1

Welcome to the first post on the Promoting Good Health website. The site is so new the paint’s still wet.

Promoting Good Health has been set up by Professor Alf Poulos and Dr. Stephen Hardy. Two bio-medical research scientists with a long history and a shared vision and conscience.

The more research we did, the more we realized that the battle for health lies not in finding cures but in preventing diseases from happening in the first place. This website is to help you do that by sharing what we know about staying healthy and avoiding disease. And if you have a disease and want to get healthy, you’re in the right place too.

It’s also about sorting fact from fiction. We live in the information age but quantity doesn’t equal quality. On the Internet, everyone’s an expert. But are they really? So while a vast amount of information may be available at the click of a button, how do you know if that information is any good? How do you know if it can be trusted? And if you are using that information to make decisions about your health or the health of your loved ones, you are potentially playing a dangerous game with very high stakes! You deserve better. And we intend to give it to you.

It may help you understand why we created this website by understanding us a little better…

A personal message from Alf:

Over the last century the average human lifespan in the USA has gone from less than 50 in 1900 to nearly 80 in 2000. This dramatic rise has been put down to improved living conditions, purification of drinking water, improved access to health care and better diet and nutrition.

I remember quite clearly during a meditation workshop having a mental picture of my grandmother, aged around 90 when I last saw her, living on the remote island of Kastellorizo (Megisti) in the Aegean Sea. During my meditation I remember thinking , “How could she have survived all of those years in excellent health without help from the technology of the 20 th Century?” Her vision was good, she sat on her haunches and embroidered, and climbed up the hill to Profitis Ilias, the little church she looked after. Kastellorizo is still a staggering beautiful place with a pristine environment and essentially no pollution – there are not even any motor vehicles on the island, with clean air and surrounded by a crystal clear sea.

Shortly afterwards I was marveling at the selection of foods in the supermarket and was tempted to buy one of the many frozen pies on offer. That was until I looked at the list of ingredients on the back of the packet. Many of the ingredients – fruit, flour, eggs, butter etc were expected but there were other ingredients on the list that I did not recognize, because they were identified as numbers. These numbered ingredients were food additives, preservatives, emulsifying agents, colors, flavor enhancers and so on. I’ve been an enthusiastic amateur cook for many years and made lots of pies and pastries but have never added any of the additives that were in the frozen pies I was thinking of buying. This made me wonder: Why do the food manufacturers add all these extra things to a pie, things you don’t add when you make one yourself? Scientists are intensely curious creatures and I just couldn’t get this question out of my mind. I started looking into the area of food additives to find the answers. What I found both shocked and surprised me.

It soon became very clear that the frozen pie was the tip of an iceberg. Almost everything we buy has something foreign or artificial in it, some of it deliberately added, some of it generated during processing, some of it leaching from the packaging into the food, and some contaminants, like pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables. These additives and contaminants were not just confined to our food but were also present in our drinking water. What worried me most was that they were everywhere; so much so that there was no way you could possibly avoid them. The obvious next question was: Are these contaminants harmful? Could they, in some way, increase our risk of developing a degenerative disease like cancer?

These investigations led me publish the first edition of my book “The Silent Threat” in 2005, about the potential dangers of artificial chemicals in the food chain. I discovered that the things that were helping us live longer may be making us sick. But more on that later.

My research was enlightening – to say the least. I am a Professor specializing in biochemistry and genetics and have spent my career doing scientific research in different parts of the world. To be a successful scientist, your career depends on the quality of your research. You quickly learn the difference between good science and poor science. Poor science helps no one. It leads to bad decision-making and can be downright misleading or even dangerous.

Before you can publish your research results in a medical or scientific journal, other scientists working in the same area independently examine your findings. This is to see if there are any potential mistakes or shortcomings with your research or your results. It’s called “peer-review”. If your experimental methods or the evidence for your conclusions aren’t good enough, they won’t make it through the peer-review process and will not be accepted for publication by the medical or scientific journal. If you cannot publish your research, you do not get funding. And no funding means no research and no job!

While I was researching “The Silent Threat”, I was alarmed at how much poor-quality or misleading information was available and/or thrust onto consumers, information that was not supported by solid research or independently checked by other scientists. I also learnt that a lot of the information available to consumers and claiming to be “scientific” in books, on the Internet and in the media, was not scientific at all but just hearsay or the opinion of someone with little or limited scientific training, or with a vested interest in selling a particular product or service. There is no “peer-review” process for the Internet.

The first edition of “The Silent Threat” was very well received. I realized that people were desperate for reliable and credible information about the potential health risks of chemicals in their food. They are still interested, which is why we are working on a completely revised and updated edition of “The Silent Threat”.

When I hear a claim that something is harmful or can cure everything from Asthma to Yellow Fever, I want to know if it’s true and if there is any credible scientific evidence to back it up. You know the sort of outrageous claims I’m talking about. Consumers deserve better than this and so do you. How do you know if something is good or bad? How do you know if something works or not? How do you know if the evidence is good or credible? And if we don’t have enough evidence to be sure, how do you take the necessary precautions until we do and what questions do we need to ask to find out? Who do you believe? What do you buy? How do you look out for your loved ones?

These questions are important but you’re busy. The children need to get to school, there are bills to pay; the car needs new tires; the dog hasn’t been fed this morning and the thousand and one other things you have to do or think about today. And even if you did have the time to think about these questions, do you have the necessary knowledge to decide? That’s where Promoting Good Health comes in.

We have spent our lives looking at experimental data, assessing whether a piece of scientific evidence is good or bad and whether it’s credible. We’ve also spent our lives looking carefully at living systems and thinking deeply about how they work in both health and disease. We want to share that knowledge with you. We want to be a source of unbiased information to consumers, information that is based on sound fundamental principles and credible scientific evidence. Information that is based on fact and not on hype or vested interests. Information that can help you. Information you can trust.

Why? Because it matters. That’s both our message and our mission.

Until next time, stay happy and healthy.