Dogs Being Trained to Sniff Out Diabetes

A canine's hyper-sensitive nose can detect tiny changes in blood sugar

AYLESBURY, England - Dogs are being trained in Britain as potential life-savers to warn diabetic owners when their blood sugar levels fall to dangerously low levels.

Man's best friend already has been shown capable of sniffing out certain cancer cells, and dogs have long been put to work in the hunt for illegal drugs and explosives.

Their new front-line role in diabetes care follows recent evidence suggesting a dog's hyper-sensitive nose can detect tiny changes that occur when a person is about to have a hypoglycemic attack.

A survey last December by researchers at Queen's University Belfast found 65 percent of 212 people with insulin-dependent diabetes reported that when they had a hypoglycemic episode their pets had reacted by whining, barking, licking or some other display.

At the Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs research center in Aylesbury, southern England, animal trainers are putting that finding into practice and honing dogs' innate skills.

The charity has 17 rescue dogs at various stages of training that will be paired up with diabetic owners, many of them children.

"Dogs have been trained to detect certain odors down to parts per trillion, so we are talking tiny, tiny amounts. Their world is really very different to ours," Chief Executive Claire Guest told Reuters TV.

The center was started five years ago by orthopedic surgeon Dr John Hunt, who wanted to investigate curious anecdotes about dogs pestering their owners repeatedly on parts of their body that were later found to be cancerous.

At around the same time, the first hard evidence was being gathered by researchers down the road at Amersham Hospital that dogs could identify bladder cancer from chemicals in urine.

The move into diabetes followed the case of Paul Jackson, who told Guest and her team about his dog Tinker who warns him when his sugar levels get too low and he is in danger of collapsing.

"It's generally licking my face, panting beside me. It depends how far I have gone before he realizes," Jackson said.

Tinker has now been trained by the Aylesbury center and is a fully qualified Diabetic Hypo-Alert dog, complete with red jacket to announce himself as a working assistance animal.

Source: Just One More Pet

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

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Yogurt...A Tangy Treat That’s Good for Your Bladder

Here’s a diet "do" that may help keep your bladder cancer-free. Start your day with some yogurt. Later, have some more for a snack. 

Compared with their peers who never ate yogurt, people in a study who ate two or more servings daily had almost a 40 percent lower risk of bladder cancer. Talk about an antiager! 

Lactic Acid in Action

Cultured milk products like yogurt contain something that other dairy items lack: lactic acid bacteria. Just how the bacteria helps stave off bladder cancer isn’t clear, but the fact that it does have an immune-boosting reputation is one possibility.  

(Can too much yogurt be a bad thing?  As long as it’s low-fat, yogurt is an excellent package of calcium, protein, and carbs. So we’re not concerned with the amount you’re eating. But we are a little worried about the flavoring. Some of the most popular brands of flavored yogurt contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a commercial sweetener that has two bad habits: It inhibits a hormone (leptin) that tries to tell you when you’re full. And some studies indicate it never shuts off another hormone (ghrelin) that insists you’re hungry -- so even after you’ve scraped the container clean, you may still think you want more. Better: Add your own fruit to plain (no sugar added) low-fat yogurt. Delish)

Dairy That Really Does Your Body Good
Along with keeping bladder cancer at bay, yogurt has been shown to lower the risk of liver cancer, defend against gum disease, and -- when coupled with fiber-rich foods -- ease gas and bloating. So keep the yogurt coming wth these recipe ideas:

§             Turn it into a drink. Try this Apricot Smoothie.

Apricot Smoothie Canned or Fresh Apricots

Ingredients 1 cup canned apricot halves in light syrup 6 ice cubes 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt 3 tablespoons sugar Directions 1. Blend apricot halves, ice cubes, yogurt and sugar in a blender until frothy

§             Use it to make healthier blue cheese dressing. 

§             Have it for dessert. 

§             Plop some on your soup -- .

The Evidence Against Soy

Dow Chemical and DuPont, the same corporations that brought misery and death to millions around the world through Agent Orange, are now the driving forces behind the promotion of soy as a food for humans. They are financing anti-meat and anti-milk campaigns aimed largely at those concerned about animal welfare and the environment, trying to convince them that imitations such as "soymilk" are not only healthier than the real thing, but better for the earth too.

There is no evidence that consuming soy products can improve health, reduce environmental degradation or slow global warming. In fact, the evidence suggests quite the opposite.

The studies below regarding the effects of soy on health are eye-opening, particularly the review by the American Heart Association -- which no longer supports the health claims about soy endorsed by the U.S. government.

Overall risks and benefits of soy assessed

Latest review by American Heart Association

Soy inhibits iron absorption

Poor iron bioavailability

Poor calcium bioavailability

Calcium and zinc absorbed better from milk than from soy -- even without phytates

Soy provides no benefits with respect to heart disease risk

Soy causes bladder cancer

Soy isoflavones during pregnancy increase breast cancer risk in female offspring

High levels of cadmium in soy formula

Soy linked to peanut allergy and increased risk for asthma

Whole milk vs. soy beverage -- asthma risk

Persistent sexual arousal syndrome associated with increased soy intake

Genistein: Does it prevent or promote breast cancer?

Source:  Dr. Mercola