Colon And Body Cleanse

I don't put a lot of faith in the concept of cleansing the body of toxins - the celery juice diet or oxygen colon cleanser - type of things - and even most physicians are suspicious of it.

But for the hundreds of people who believe they can - and periodically need to - purify their bodies (and for those of you who are curious about cleansing), there's Jane Alexander's Detox (Key Porter Books).

Alexander, a British writer specializing in alternative therapies, covers everything from the lymphatic system and how it works to toxins in our homes. Lots of quizzes and charts make for light, entertaining reading. She explores a bit of yoga, qi gong (a holistic system), meditation and the art of mindfulness. Finally, she offers her own detox program, which includes juicing, aromatherapy, water, water and more water.

A match for angioplasty Patients with blocked arteries who are on an aggressive regimen of cholesterol-lowering drugs may avoid surgical intervention, says a study released last week at the American Heart Association's meeting in Dallas. The worldwide study involved 341 patients and compared the drug atorvastatin (or Lipitor) therapy to traditional treatment that included angioplasty, a procedure that involves removing obstructions by dilating a small balloon inside a narrowed artery.

All patients in the study had at least a 50-per-cent blockage. At the end of the 18-month study, 87 per cent of patients on the drug needed no angioplasty and had fewer cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, than those in the angioplasty group.

High fat and seizures Fifty-five per cent of kids with difficult-to-control seizures decreased their seizures by 50 per cent after six months on a high-fat, low-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, according to an article in the November issue of the American Medical Association's Archives of Neurology.

The so-called "bacon and eggs" cure is not a cure but an alternative therapy developed in the 1920s; it is individually calculated and rigidly controlled. An Archives editorial cautions that parents may be drawn to the diet because they think of it as more natural and less risky than medication. "They are soon to find that there is nothing at all normal or natural about the (ketogenic) diet," the editorial says. But it is an option. Some experts say the diet mimics the effect of starvation, releasing a lot of ketones into the blood and, in the process, inhibiting the brain cells responsible for the fits.

That butterfly on your neck As many as 500,000 men and women (particularly women over the age of 40) have hypothyroidism, a deficiency of the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland that moves with swallowing at the front of the neck. The Thyroid Foundation of Canada reports that of 1,200 participants recently tested for thyroid disease, one in seven overall had abnormal thyroid levels in their blood. Thyroid disease symptoms are mistaken for other conditions, such as menopause, depression or the general signs of aging.

Hypothyroidism, one of several thyroid conditions but the most common, occurs when the thyroid gland is under active and does not produce enough hormone. Its signs are low energy, depression, a slow heart rate, weight gain, cold intolerance, muscle fatigue, dry skin, constipation and hair loss.

Hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, occurs when there is too much circulating thyroid hormone. People with this condition are hot and sweaty, anxious and often have palpitations. Easy and successful treatments are available for all thyroid conditions.