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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Over the last several year, probably more than 10 years now, professional athletes have been using Hyperbaric chambers to improve healing from bruising and injuries and it has worked fantstically for them. I am a big fan at leveraging the tech that professional athletes use for recovery from exercise but I was at the FDA consumer site today and saw that people have stretched the idea of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy into a new cure all for almost everything.

We see these kind of things often. A great idea is extended to be a cure all for lots of things that it was never designed for. Steroids for muscle weight gain, Acai berries for anything, and lately hyperbolic therapy for people with genetic diseases. Not sure how this can be extended to the following diseases but it looks like there is some research that may say it works.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves breathing oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared hyperbaric chambers for certain medical uses, such as treating decompression sickness suffered by divers.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has not, however, been proven to be the kind of universal treatment it has been touted to be on some Internet sites. FDA is concerned that some claims made by treatment centers using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may give consumers a wrong impression that could ultimately endanger their health.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen under a pressure greater than regular air pressure, so in a pressurized tank. Despite over a century of use in medical settings, hyperbaric oxygen remains a controversial therapy. The last 20 years have seen a clarification of the mechanism of action of hyperbaric therapy and a greater understanding of its potential benefit.

I have been able to find some reports of use for these things. Hyperbaric chamber treatment for Autism, and using it for treatment of  diabetic related foot ulcers, and even a treatment for Hypoxia?

As with other things that we see this looks like a technology that may be promising for some things but of course you need to be careful in what you read and be responsible to check the pros and cons of any therapy.


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Bill Clinton the Vegan?

I had no idea but just read an article about Bill Clinton and how he switched to a vegan lifestyle.

http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-08-2013/bill-clinton-vegan.html

bill-clintonI am not sure how much you have noticed or if it is just the people and blogs and facebook people I see but it seems like being a vegan is not nearly as crazy as it used to seem.

I remember as a kid people would be vegetarians, mainly just not eating meat or fish, and I used to think of it as unhealthy and very fringe lifestyle. But now, veganism abounds. We have a vegan cookbook at home and the foods, although a little strange, seem to be really good.

Not sure if I am ready to go vegan anytime soon but the whole idea of eating a cleaner diet is very tempting. I still have a lot of room to move in my diet right now. I take in a bit too much fat, I eat some processed foods every single day, I drink coffee, and I have a bit of a sweet tooth.

I really believe that people that are eating a vegan meal plan are on the right track as far as getting healthy goes. There are a lot of problems with North American cattle and chicken farming and the unhealthy additives, steroids, and unclean conditions of having so many animals in a cramped area to bring down fast food prices.

On the other hand I do still have a lot of problem with giving up chicken burgers, steaks, and hamburgers.

I guess just trying a few vegan dishes and cleaning up my diet is the best bet for me right now.

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What is Lapband Surgery


Lets start this post on what is lapband surgery by just letting me say that I hate the idea of surgery to fix overweight problems unless all diet and exercise options have been exhausted.

This is my second article on Lapband surgery as I wrote another lap band surgery article last year that talked about it as well

Looking at other diet and exercise options is critical as our bodies will always seem to find a way around the invasive ways that we try to change things.  People overeat after gastric bypass as we have seen lots of times on The Biggest Loser, hormone production decreases when we take steroids or HGH. But lapband surgery is becoming more popular and in a recent trip to LA I saw a lot of billboards so here is the FDA info on it.

What is Lapband Surgery

Lapband surgery

Lapband Surgery Basics

What is it? The Lapband surgery is a surgically implanted device that helps adults, who are at least 18 years old, eat less and lose weight. The Lap Band surgery consists of a silicone band, tubing, and an access port. The inner surface of the silicone band is inflatable and is connected by the tubing to the access port.

How does it work? The band is placed around the upper part of the stomach during a surgical procedure. The band is connected to an access port that is placed close to the skin. Later, the surgeon can adjust the band (adding or removing fluid) by piercing the access port through the skin with a needle. The band creates a small stomach pouch that can hold only a small amount of food. The narrowed opening between the stomach pouch and the rest of the stomach controls how fast food passes from the pouch to the lower part of the stomach. Inflating the band (adding saline) makes the opening smaller, causing food to pass slower. Deflating the band (removing saline) makes the opening larger, permitting food to pass faster. The band limits the amount of food that can be eaten at one time and increases the time it takes for food to be digested, helping people to eat less.

When is it used? The Lapband surgery  is used for weight loss in obese adults who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30-40, with one or more obesity-related medical conditions (such as Type II diabetes and hypertension), and when non-surgical weight loss methods (such as supervised diet, exercise, and behavior modification) have not been successful. Patients must be willing to make major changes in their eating habits and lifestyle.

What will it accomplish? The Lapband surgery will help patients lose weight and maintain the weight loss, and it may help improve their health. In a U.S. study of patients with a BMI between 30-40, 80% of patients lost at least 30% of their excess weight and kept it off for one year. There were some patients who lost no weight and others who lost over 80% of their excess weight. The quality of life for patients enrolled in the study improved significantly.

When should it not be used? It should not be used for someone who is a poor candidate for surgery, has certain stomach or intestinal disorders, has to take aspirin frequently, or is addicted to alcohol or drugs. It should not be used if someone is not able or willing to follow dietary and other recommendations.

Is Lapband Surgery Safe?

A 2007 study published in the American Journal of Surgery found up to 76 percent of Lap-Band patients developed complications over three years. In some cases, excessive vomiting caused stomach acid to erode the band. Last year, Allergan, the largest U.S. manufacturer of gastric bands recalled 152,000 defective bands.

Whether you are at a point where lapband is an option or not is up to you and a doctor. Let me caution you again though that it is important to look at any lapband surgery or gastric bypass as just an option after you have exhausted any diet and exercise options.