Longevity and traditional medicine -
Sulphur is used in our body for the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans which form the cartilage matrix. In osteoarthritis, the turn-over of glycosaminoglycans is greatly enhanced, and as a result sulphate levels in the body are rapidly depleted.
Therefore, dietary sulphur may play an important role in the treatment of osteoarthritis. It is possible that at least some of the therapeutic value attributed to these supplements is due to their sulphur content.
It is known that glucosamine hydrochloride has less therapeutic value than glucosamine sulphate. Increasing intake of dietary sulphates may have a similar effect to taking these products. Avocado soybean unsaponifiables ASU is a lipid mixture that has been gaining recent interest for its apparent beneficial effect on pain in osteoarthritis.
It is an extract derived from the hydrolysis of one-third avocado oil and two-thirds soybean oil. The main component of the resulting mixture is plant sterols, therefore any adverse effects on lipid profile with use of ASU is unlikely - in fact plant sterols are known to be beneficial in lowering cholesterol.
In short-term three to six month studies, there was a two month delayed onset of action and residual effects persisted for two months after treatment ceased.
In a long-term two year study, pain scores, mobility and concurrent NSAID intake were not different from placebo after one year. There is no evidence that ASU slows the narrowing of joint space, but there have been some observations of beneficial disease modifying effects in severe osteoarthritis.
Bottom Line : There is good evidence that ASU has medium term several months symptomatic benefit in osteoarthritis, including reducing NSAID use, but there is currently a lack of evidence for its long term benefit. Further investigation is required.
It is claimed that magnetic fields increase circulation and therefore enhance healing of tissue, however this has not been proven. Authors of a recent study concluded that exposure to a static magnetic field magnets in a mattress does not alter pain perception, sympathetic nerve function, blood pressure or heart rate.
Study participants were tested once on a regular mattress and once on a mattress with imbedded magnets - participants were not aware which treatment they were receiving.
Subjects first rested on the mattress for one hour, and then performed three interventions isometric handgrip, muscle ischaemia induced by a blood pressure cuff and immersion of their hand in ice water.
Exposure to the magnetic field did not alter pain perception during the three interventions and was not associated with increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity, heart rate or blood pressure at rest. It is interesting to note that the study most often quoted by companies selling magnetic mattresses did not actually involve the use of a magnetic mattress.
Pain response was tested in people with post-polio syndrome with pre-existing knee pain. The 29 people assigned to receive the treatment had a credit card sized magnetic device applied directly to the site of their pain.
These participants reported a greater reduction in their pain than the 21 participants assigned to the inactive device. Pain relief was achieved within 45 minutes and was assessed subjectively using a questionnaire. No physiological measurements were taken.
Bottom line : It seems unlikely that magnetic mattresses have any clinically significant effect. Sometimes something which shouldn't work, according to science, does work.
Belief in the value of alternative therapies is often very strong and this accounts for much of the success of otherwise ineffective treatments. Bottom line : If a person finds something to alleviate their symptoms and it does not cause financial burden, adverse effects or interact with or compromise their conventional therapy, then it is of benefit, whether or not a peer-reviewed meta-analysis proves that it works.
Bandolier knowledge library: a "down to earth" approach to assessing the evidence on many alternative therapies. Search by key word.
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Dilemmas: Alternative remedies and lifestyle measures for longevity The development and marketing of anti-ageing products is a multi-million dollar industry. The "science" of anti-ageing The development and marketing of anti-ageing products is a multi-million dollar industry.
For most people, quality of life is preferable over quantity of life. Life expectancy in New Zealand The average life expectancy of New Zealanders continues to rise according to Statistics New Zealand. Alternative treatments for osteoarthritis Do alternative treatments really work?
Questions to consider when assessing an alternative therapy for a patient may include: Is there clinical evidence of effect? Is it cost prohibitive? Are there adverse effects? Does it interact with other medications? Will it compromise conventional medical treatment?
Will it reduce the need for conventional medications? Glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis: some evidence of effect The mainstay of current treatment for osteoarthritis is to reduce pain. Table 1 : Supplements, herbal products and devices used for the treatment of osteoarthritis in New Zealand Product Evidence of clinical effect for OA?
What is the evidence? Acupuncture Inconclusive A review of 10 randomised controlled trials RCT found mixed evidence of effectiveness for pain reduction. Acupuncture did not provide results superior to physical therapy. The placebo effect may play a major role. Ongoing benefit has been observed but evidence is for benefit in the medium-term several months.
No significant adverse effects are known. A clinical trial found no significant difference between elk velvet and placebo for pain decrease in rheumatoid arthritis.
There was an overall decrease in pain for both groups. There is moderate evidence of efficacy. S-Adenosylmethionine SAMe Inconclusive Clinical trials demonstrated a reduction in pain and functional limitation which was greater than placebo and comparable to NSAIDs.
However, it is thought that SAMe may act by decreasing the perception of pain and therefore the effect may diminish over time. Onset of action is slower than with NSAIDs. Some documented cases of agitation and manic reactions in people with bipolar disorder. There is a lack of evidence of efficacy.
Sulphur amino acids Many supplements used in the treatment of osteoarthritis also contain large quantities of sulphur e. ASU - the new kid on the block Avocado soybean unsaponifiables ASU is a lipid mixture that has been gaining recent interest for its apparent beneficial effect on pain in osteoarthritis.
The placebo effect Sometimes something which shouldn't work, according to science, does work. Many illnesses are cyclical and people often seek alternative therapy when symptoms are at their worst. When symptoms are better, this is attributed to the therapy, when it is the upwards side of the cycle.
An alternative therapy may be tried after months of conventional medical treatment and when symptoms improve, it is attributed to the new therapy rather than the prior intensive medical treatment. If the original diagnosis is wrong, then claims of a cure are meaningless.
Often the time and attention given by the provider of alternative therapy accounts for more improvement in wellbeing than the therapy itself. The psychological investment that people and their families put into believing that something will work may account for much of the perceived benefit of the treatment.
Further reading: Bandolier knowledge library: a "down to earth" approach to assessing the evidence on many alternative therapies. References Olshansky S, Hayflick L, Carnes B. Position statement on human aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci ;57 8 :B Oeppen J, Vaupel J.
Broken limits to life expectancy. Science ; Birks J, Grimley Evans J. Gingko biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev ;2:CD Statistics New Zealand.
Period life tables. Wellington, htm Accessed December htm Accessed January Access Economics. The economic cost of arthritis in New Zealand. A report for Arthritis New Zealand: Access Economics Pty Ltd, pdf Accessed December Clayton J. Nutraceuticals in the management of osteoarthritis.
Orthopedics ;30 8 Soeken K. Selected CAM therapies for arthritis-related pain: the evidence for systematic reviews. Clin J Pain ;20 1 Ameye L, Chee W. Osteoarthritis and nutrition. From nutraceuticals to functional foods: a systematic review of the scientific evidence. Arthritis Res Ther ;8 4 :R Reichenbach R, Sterchi R, Scherer M, et al.
Meta-analysis: Chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. Ann Intern Med ; 8 Allen M, Oberle K, Grace M, Russell A. Elk velvet antler in rheumatoid arthritis: phase II trial. Biol Res Nurs ;3 3 McCarthy C, Callaghan M, Oldham J.
Pulsed electromagnetic energy treatment offers no clinical benefit in reducing the pain of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review. BMS Musculoskelet Disord ;15 7 Richy F, Bruyere O, Ethgen O, et al. Structural and symptomatic efficacy of glucosamine and chondroitin in knee osteoarthritis: a comprehensive meta-analysis.
Arch Int Med ; Towheed T, Anastassiades T, Shea B, et al. Glucosamine therapy for treating osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev ;1:CD Linde K, Clausius N, Ramirez G, et al.
Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Lancet ; Bratton R, Montero D, Adams K, et al. Mayo Clin Proc ;77 11 Brosseau L, Welch V, Wells G, et al. Low level laser therapy classes I, II and III for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev ;3:CD Pearson W, Orth M, Karrow N, et al. Anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effects of nutraceuticals from Sasha's Blend in a cartilage explant model of inflammation. Mol Nutr Food Res ;51 8 Magnetic insoles for foot pain.
The above descriptions of his daily lifestyle and continuous practices do not cover the entire scope of complementary traditional medicine or alternative medicine, but undeniably such a stringent lifestyle management is a vital part of both modern western medicine and complementary traditional medicine from many other countries in the world.
This article discusses specifically the sequential benefits of every single health stage of his life through selected lifestyle management efforts of preventive medicine practice which is surely a vital part of the spirit of both traditional medicine and alternative medicine.
Other than the fundamental genetic factors and certain external environmental factors, when people do not pay attention to their lifestyle details, such as overeating, having a poor diet, lack of exercise, high stress, and sleep loss along with having certain long-term unhealthy habits cigarettes smoking, alcohol drinking, and illicit drugs use , they are likely to gain body weight as the first sign of their health problems, For most cases, being overweight and having obesity develop into type 2 diabetes conditions.
When excessive glucose circulates in the bloodstream, it causes damage to the structural integrity of the arteries and even to some micro-vessels. In addition, high blood pressure BP would easily create an artery rupture situation, and high cholesterol would cause an artery blockage situation through plaque buildup.
When combined with long-term unhealthy habits, mainly cigarette smoking, with these 6 poor lifestyle categories, diet, water intake, exercise, sleep, stress, regular life routines an essential part of all medical fields, whether traditional medicine or western medicine , it would eventually increase the risk of developing certain cancers.
These mortality threats, including CVD, Strokes, CKD, and cancers, would count for more than half of total death cases in the US and the world. Above described medical scenarios are applicable on both modern western medicine and traditional or alternative medicines.
After all, for both western medicine and traditional medicine, improving metabolism and strengthening immunity are the basic cornerstones to avoiding ultimate mortality and prolonging the lifespan.
In addition, he has chosen the space-domain viscoplastic medicine theory SD-VMT energy model to calculate individual energies or degree of influence or degree of contribution associated with 3 individual input stress components concerning the single output strain.
These 6 sets of complicated calculations have utilized the developed VMT module of his Chronic research software on his iPhone device. The different rankings have also matched with conclusions from many published medical papers he has read and learned along with his previous own research work.
Heavy body weight would push fasting plasma glucose FPG in the early morning higher than normal which serves as the baseline for postprandial plasma glucose PPG in the daytime. Both obesity and diabetes serve as the foundation for many other life-threatening diseases. When increased body weight and elevated glucose are combined with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, CVD and CKD will occur.
Furthermore, different kinds of cancers can develop when genetic factor and certain external environmental factors are included.
These 4 complications, CVD, strokes, CKD, and cancers, have occupied more than half of the total death cases annually which would eventually shorten the expected lifespan of patients, i. Other than the fundamental genetic factors and certain external environmental factors, when people do not pay attention to their lifestyle details, such as overeating, having a poor diet, lack of exercise, high stress, and sleep loss along with having certain longterm unhealthy habits cigarettes smoking, alcohol drinking, and illicit drugs use , they are likely to gain body weight as the first sign of their health problems, For most cases, being overweight and having obesity develop into type 2 diabetes conditions.
The first paper, No. The second paper, No. The third paper, No. The author was a severe T2D patient since He weighed lb. By , he still weighed lb. During that year, his triglycerides reached high risk for CVD and stroke and his albumin-creatinine ratio ACR at high risk for chronic kidney disease.
He also suffered from five cardiac episodes within a decade. In , three independent physicians warned him regarding the need for kidney dialysis treatment and the future high risk of dying from his severe diabetic complications.
In , he decided to self-study endocrinology with an emphasis on diabetes and food nutrition. He spent the entire year of to develop a metabolism index MI mathematical model.
During and , he developed four mathematical prediction models related to diabetes conditions: weight, PPG, fasting plasma glucose FPG , and HbA1C A1C. Through using his developed mathematical metabolism index MI model and the other four glucose prediction tools, by the end of , his weight was reduced from lbs.
In , he achieved excellent results on all fronts, especially his glucose control. This hectic schedule inflicted damage to his diabetes control caused by stress, dining out frequently, post-meal exercise disruption, and jet lag, along with the overall negative metabolic impact from the irregular life patterns; therefore, his glucose control was somewhat affected during the two-year traveling period of BMI In fact, with the special COVID quarantine lifestyle since early , not only has he written and published ~ new research articles in various medical and engineering journals, but he has also achieved his best health conditions for the past 27 years.
These achievements have resulted from his non-traveling, low-stress, and regular daily life routines. Of course, his in-depth knowledge of chronic diseases, sufficient practical lifestyle management experiences, and his own developed high-tech tools have also contributed to his excellent health improvements.
Furthermore, he extracted the 5-minute intervals from every minute interval for a total of 96 glucose data each day stored in his computer software. The human body and organs have around 37 trillion live cells which are composed of different organic cells that require energy infusion from glucose carried by red blood cells; and energy consumption from labor-work or exercise.
When the residual energy resulting from the plastic glucose scenario is stored inside our bodies, it will cause different degrees of damage or influence to many of our internal organs.
According to physics, energies associated with the glucose waves are proportional to the square of the glucose amplitude. The residual energies from elevated glucoses are circulating inside the body via blood vessels which then impact all of the internal organs to cause different degrees of damage or influence, e.
diabetic complications. Elevated glucose hyperglycemia causes damage to the structural integrity of blood vessels.
China is on the brink of a huge Longevity and traditional medicine shift. While Fueling your exercise regimen government prepares for strains on the medical system, members of mediciine older generation—more Longevlty and mobile than those before—are taking Longevtiy into their Longevity and traditional medicine hands. Often this takes the form of widely accepted alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal remedies. Bama, an autonomous county renowned for its many centenarians, now reportedly receives at least two million visitors a year. Cancer patients and stroke victims travel there to undergo natural treatments but often find peddlers of shady remedies. Rural China has embraced the financial potential of this type of ecotourism, says Stanford economist Karen Eggleston. In Lohgevity era tradihional by traritional medical advancements and increased life expectancy, the tradihional of traditioonal is evolving. Traditional medicine, Longevity and traditional medicine the cornerstone Sports performance nutrition our health Longevity and traditional medicine, is gradually making way for a new approach — Longevity Medicine. This field focuses not just on extending lifespan, but on enhancing the overall quality of life as individuals age. In this article, we look at the core principles of Longevity Medicine, explore its emphasis on preventive health behaviors, personalized treatment plans, and innovative aging interventions. The field of longevity medicine is rapidly becoming an important area of healthcare.
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