An obesity drug called Qnexa, which is a combination of Phentermine (a common prescription obesity medication) and Topiramate (a seizure drug) has been called unsafe by an FDA panel which also stated that Qnexa should not be sold.

Though there were studies that showed that there were significant health risks to taking the medication, the FDA was unable to procure enough data to justify approving the drug.  Among the health concerns that were connected to Qnexa were an increased heart rate, potential birth defects, and thoughts of suicide.

With this kind of news, what are people supposed to do when they are seeking assistance in their effort to lose weight?  Weight loss is, after all, a very challenging process and millions of people find that the struggle is so great that their dieting efforts are continually failing.  If drugs prescribed by their doctors are also not healthy, many are looking into studies that are revealing promising results with alternatives to prescription drugs.

For example light therapies and vitamin D supplementation are proving to be significant in assisting obese people to achieve a healthy body mass index (BMI).

In the study published in the Obesity journal in February, 2010, “25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration Correlates With Insulin-Sensitivity and BMI in Obesity”, a team of researchers from Italy showed there is a notable relationship between the amount of vitamin D a person has in his or her body, and that individual’s BMI.  It showed that among obese participants, both low concentrations of vitamin D and insulin-sensitivity seem to rely on the higher body mass.

Therefore, receiving adequate amounts of vitamin D through natural sunlight, certain tanning beds, and supplements can help the body’s metabolism to naturally function at a better rate.  This, combined with a well balanced, portion controlled diet and regular daily exercise can have a significant impact on weight loss.

Sources:

• http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/16/fda.diet.drug.rejected/?hpt=Sbin
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20150902
• http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/2008/ucm116998.htm
• http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm149575.htm

The safety of the popular diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone), manufactured by Glaxo, has been called into question by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff scientists and the drug was recently placed at risk for a massive recall.  The result of the vote by the FDA panel after a two-day meeting with the endocrinologic and metabolic advisory committees which ended July 14, 2010, was to keep the drug available to the U.S. Market but with significant new restrictions. Most importantly, stronger warnings regarding the cardiovascular risks surrounding the use of Avandia.

The drug’s safety has been in question since 2007, the last time the FDA considered taking it off the market in the United States when a dozen studies showed worrying data regarding the safety of Avandia in response to a 2005 analysis which linked the drug to an increase in heart attacks by 43 percent.  This new labeling could reduce the use of Avandia by 95 percent.

The risks associated with diabetes medications are leading people to look into effective alternative treatments of their condition, such as the recent vitamin D3 and sunlight therapies that are shown in important studies to be quite effective.  For example, the recent study by endocrinologist Esther Krug, MD, from Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital (as well as assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) showed that over 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes were vitamin D3 deficient and that the greater the deficiency, the worse the diabetic condition.  Those findings support previous studies that have linked insulin production cells and the production of the insulin itself with vitamin D3.

Vitamin D can have an impact on glycemic control, so diabetic patients should discuss adding vitamin D3 to their diets through proper nutrition, supplements, and exposure to sunlight or full-spectrum lighting.

Sources:

• http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100709-708932.html
• http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/07/fda-panel-gives-avandia.html
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369232879016248.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
• http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2010/07/04/6747/vitamin-d-deficiency-common-in-people-with-poor-diabetes-control-/

As my fist official act back in the saddle, I’ve asked Julie Campbell from JBC Online E Publishing (jbconlineepublishing.com) to help me sift through all the light therapy news since October of last year and get this website up to date.  Julie has written for us now and then for what feels like almost 10 years now, and I’m happy to have her in my corner.   Welcome, Julie, and thank you.

Wow.  Just sat down to get back to work and I notice there have been no posts since 10/09.  That’d make me wonder if we’re even still in business. Here’s what’s been going on.  Get ready, it’s not a nice story.

I was scheduled for surgery in November ’09, so I was busy getting my proverbial ducks in a row.

Surgery was canceled at the very last second because, I guess, certain herbs do not play nice with anesthesia.  So surgery was rescheduled to December ’09.  More time to order the ducks, didn’t blog for another month.

Surgery went well but recovery revealed just what a wimp I am, and I didn’t get any work done after surgery, either.

6 weeks into recovery,  January 14th, (here’s the ugly part) my aunts knocked on my door and told me my mother and 2 sisters had been shot, 2 were dead,  one was in the hospital, and they didn’t know which sister was which, but my mom, for sure, was “gone.”   Over the next 5 hours we found out that one of my sisters had actually left the scene a few minutes earlier and was unharmed,  and my little sister (18) was in stable condition after 5 gunshot wounds.

That was 7 months ago.  You would think things could not get worse, but they have, steadily, since that day.   Needless to say, I haven’t worked on my business at all.  I’ve shipped orders, but that’s it.   And today, as I thought hard about getting back to work on a regular schedule, I realized that there’s more to my staying away than I thought.  For instance, my mother taught me this business, and I’ve never worked on it without her around.  Coming back to work is going to be another very raw passageway through the grieving process, which I am not looking forward to at all.   I’m told of this process,  “you have to go through it, there is no way around.”  So here we go.

A team of researchers, including an Indian scientist, has found that blue curing light used to harden dental fillings may stunt tumor growth as well. Read the full article here >

For the purpose of this post, what I noticed here more-so was the treatment time: 90 seconds per day.

I think as time goes on we are going to see the treatment times for light therapy treatments decrease dramatically.  I’m thinking of blue light acne treatment, and red light for healing and anti-aging, where treatment times are commonly 15 or 20 minutes per day per area.   I think further research in those areas will show that, not only is less time required to produce a result, but that results will be better as treatment times decrease.

If you are currently using blue light therapy for things like acne treatment, try decreasing the treatment time and see how it goes.  It can’t hurt to try, and if you can save yourself some precious time, all the better.

(an exception to this would be our LightWave CS, please use as directed, the treatment time has already been adjusted to seconds per day, with good results.)

H1N1 Swine Flu

People want to do everything they can to protect themselves against the H1N1 swine flu this season, and some have asked me if light therapy can be of any help.  Here are a few ways I came up with:

Since we are approaching fall and losing the potency of the sun, our vitamin D3 levels begin to drop.  As far as flu prevention – get your vitamin D level tested now, and do what you can to get and keep your 25(OH)D level between 50-70  ng/mL all year.   All the information about Vitamin D3 and H1N1 flu is found at the Vitamin D Council’s website here:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/h1n1-flu-and-vitamin-d.shtml

Air purifiers are available with UVC  light which should kill the H1N1 swine flu virus (and any other bug) as it passes through.  UV ‘sanitizing wands’ are also available for general disinfection of hard and soft surfaces at home and on the go.

In case you get the flu, see your doctor immediately, of course.  In addition to his recommendations:

Sci\ART Global has always recommended amber light for colds and flu, shone on the bare chest and back for about 10 minutes each side per day, or twice per day.

Green light is recommended to boost immunity, since the Thymus gland is in that chakra zone.  The lungs also extend into this chakra zone and might likely benefit from the application of green light as well.

In the winter, GE Dichromatic lights are really nice for light & color therapy, because they also throw heat, which is wonderful when you’re sick.   The bulbs do get hot, though, and they stay hot for some time after turning them off, so be careful when using them around children.   LEDs are also available in amber and green.  LEDs are safer and consume less energy, but are missing the soothing heat of the GE dichromatic incandescent.

If you know of other ways that light can help prevent or speed recovery from the the flu this season, please  leave your comments below for the benefit of all.  Thanks!

Sorry, but I’ve moved this article to my other website at IntelligentAcneTreatment.com.
Please click here to view it over there. Thanks!

Table top acne lights have been around for years. These lights are more affordable than the hand-held type, and they cover a much larger treatment area, making them more convenient for those with moderate-severe acne.

Table-top type acne lights are more affordable than their hand-held counterparts, however they lack the portability many people need today.

Like the hand-held chart, this is a “real-life” type of chart, designed to reveal things that are going to matter to you over time, such as warranty, cost of replacement bulbs, and return policy details.

The chart also assumes each product will be effective when used as directed and they should be, for about 86% of people.

Hand-held acne lights are becoming very popular for their sleek design and travelability. If you are treating the occasional zit or trouble spot, a hand-held acne light is perfect and wonderful. If you have acne more often, or over a larger area, a head-held acne light might become tedious and time consuming, and you might find a table-top model more convenient for daily treatments.

This chart compares the following hand-held acne lights: LightStim, Tanda, Evis MD, Baby Quasar & LightWave CS. This is a real-life type comparison, so you can see the things that really matter, such as how you are going to spend – not just your money, but your time – along with how long your investment is protected (warranty) and if you get your money back if it doesn’t work for you (return policy).

The  chart assumes every product will be effective when used as directed and, in fact, they all should be. Whatever the product, acne light therapy is effective for about 86% of people.

You can see that LightStim and LightWave are a single unit, where the others are red and blue separately. If you are looking to treat acne alone, an acne light that combines red and blue light would be most convenient for you. If you would like to use red light for other things too, such as to build collagen, then you might like having the red and blue lights separately.

If there is an aspect of the acne lights that you are interested in which is not included on this chart, let us know and we’ll add it.  Also, if you find anything about this chart to be inaccurate, please send us a quick email so we can fix it.

By the way, LightWave CS is our light, and so here’s a coupon should you decide to buy it.

Coupon Code: LTOHHCT – Save an additional $20 off current sale price.

(notes on the LLLT Symposium, American Society for Photobiology, August 7 & 8, 2009.)

Most of the parts on this thing were pretty dry, however, some of the scientists had a sense of humor.

This was my favorite line of the weekend:

“The only way a (low level) laser is going to hurt somebody is if they drop it on their foot.”

I’m sorry I didn’t get the speaker’s name to credit that to.   There was a chuckle through the audience, indicating agreement on the part of all.

It was mentioned over and over, there are zero adverse side effects to low level light therapy, be it low level laser or LED light therapy.  As mentioned above, this includes red light therapy, red/infrared light therapy and infrared light therapy – generally wavelengths between 600nm and 1100nm.

It was said that light only effects cells “under stress” and has no effect on healthy cells.

The last part of the weekend was specifically devoted to “Human Safety Evaluation of Light-based Devices for Home Use” and he was talking about things like the resistors inside the devices getting hot, so that if you took the thing apart and touched one of them, you might burn your fingers.  If there were any reported negative side effects of LED or low level laser light therapy, we’d have heard about them then.  There are none.