Author Archives: Lily Kiswani

About Lily Kiswani

I am an Integrative medicine practitioner. I transitioned into Integrative medicine after three decades of Gynecology practice and Endoscopic surgery. I was the first female Laparoscopic surgeon in India. I have co-authored a textbook, Endoscopic Gynecologic Surgery, available on Amazon. Now, after all these years, with the realisation that I can help people regain their lost health, I find myself inordinately excited and blessed to have this opportunity.

Pesticides and Diabetes

A recent Medscape article recounts the link between specific agricultural pesticides and an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes in wives of farmers using the pesticides.

This was in farming communities in Iowa and Connecticut.

What is the chance, however, that the same does not hold good in our local communities? In fact, during a demonstration of an agricultural product to grape farmers in an unnamed area famous for its grapes, the farmers candidly declared that they never eat their own produce, because they are fully aware of the pesticides they have used during the process!!!

But we buy, eat and relish the same grapes – because we don’t know better or because we don’t have a choice.

 

So the bottomline is – our food is exposing us to the risk of chronic illness when it is supposed to nourish us. Scary, isn’t it?

Simply underlines the need for protection. We have seen in an earlier post, that what we eat affects our genes and this information is passed on to our offspring and also our grandchildren.

How can we protect ourselves? Through liberal intake of anti-oxidants in fruit and vegetables. By eating organic as far as possible. By avoiding processed foods and GMO foods. By choosing meat and dairy from grass fed animals.

Be sensible, stay healthy, avoid illness!

Prediabetes Associated With Increase in Cancer Risk

Prediabetes  is associated with a significant increase in cancer risk that is independent of the effects of obesity, according to the results of a large new meta-analysis.

Yuli Huang, MD, PhD, from First People’s Hospital of Shunde, Foshan, China, and colleagues found that prediabetes is associated with a 15% increased risk for cancer overall, based on data derived from 16 studies.The study was published online in Diabetologia.

Over 10 years ago, the ADA lowered its definition of prediabetes to that of a fasting plasma glucose concentration ranging from 100.8 to 124.4 mg/dL.

Serum Insulin level indicates prediabetes before Glucose level rises, so what we need to do, is to monitor our serum insulin level even more than the blood sugar level, and aim to maintain insulin level below 5mIU/L, preferably 3mIU/L and under. 

Destroy diabetes!

 

Cancer – Causes and Prevention

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Causes of Cancer

  • Genetic – only 10%.

Having a genetic predisposition does NOT condemn us to actually suffering from the disease.

  • Poor Nutrition – 30%.

Sugar feeds cancer. Green tea, 5 – 8 cups a day, reduces recurrence of breast cancer.

  • Inflammation and Infections
  • Obesity
  • Environmental Toxins.

 

So this means that if we can maintain a healthy lifestyle, we can beat our genetics.

What constitutes a healthy lifestyle?

  • Optimum nutrition. 9-13 servings of vegetables, including 1-2 fruit, per day. Ideally free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Definitely free of Genetic Modification.
  • Nutritional supplements to cover the gap between what we can consume and what our body actually needs.
  • Optimum exercise
  • Optimum sleep
  • Stress reduced, mindful living

That’s it! It’s always simple to remain healthy.

Depression – are drugs really the answer?

The top-selling antidepressant drug today is Cymbalta® (generic name duloxetine) which is supposed to help maintain serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain. Estimates show that reported sales of the medication are more than $4 billion annually. But if serotonin is not related to depression, all that money is being spent for a drug that has little benefit.

A recent study at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine suggests that some of these drugs are worthless for fighting this problem.

Prozac and similar drugs to boost serotonin levels enjoy huge sales even though reports show that up to 70 percent of the people taking these medications do not get any relief from their depression.

In the latest study, scientists found that lab animals without any serotonin in their brains did not show symptoms of depression although they were very aggressive and demonstrated compulsive behavior.

The scientists believe that their data strongly suggest that serotonin is actually not an important factor in depression.

Much better results are obtained with

Omega 3 supplementation

Repair of ‘Leaky Gut’ with avoidance of toxins and use of prebiotics. Healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and oily fish. Omit refined carbohydrates.

Exercise

Meditation

Social support group

Maintaining adequate vit D levels, exposure to sunshine.

8 hours of sleep.

Simple, doable strategies with no side effects!

Stay Healthy.

Vitamin D levels and risk of illness

Carole Baggerly is the founder of Grassroots Health, a non-profit organization conducting research into the effects of vitamin D. 

According to her research:

35% of our healthcare costs will decrease if everyone has adequate levels of vitamin D.

Randomised Controlled Trials have shown that 2000IU of vitamin D given IV daily decreased the incidence of all cancers by 77%.

Breast cancer incidence decreases 75% when serum vitamin D level is maintained at or above 50ng/ml.

Serum level of 30ng/ml and above corresponds with 50% lower incidence of cancer recurrence.

Diabetes Mellitus incidence decreases 60% at levels of 40ng/ml and above.

So, Simple!! Just ensure adequate intake and blood level of Vitamin D, and Stay Healthy!!