Finally! Relief for Facial Pain

Finally! Relief for Facial Pain (Trigeminal Neuralgia)
By Rebecca Hanson

trigeminal_neuralgia.11114821_stdSusan was lying on the sofa with an ice pack against her cheek. Months of excruciating pain from ear to nose, hairline to chin delivered in sudden and often-continuous electric-shock-like jolts had defeated her. None of the medications her doctor had prescribed had helped her pain and surgery was too expensive and risky.

After talking with her chiropractor, she learned about a new pain treatment: Cold-laser for facial nerve pain (trigeminal neuralgia). From her first treatment Susan felt relief and within a dozen treatments she had complete relief.  Susan had her life back.

The trigeminal nerve originates at the base of the brain and has three branches that spread across the face. One branch of the nerve runs along the jaw line and is often affected by infected teeth. However, the infected culprit may not show up on dental imaging until months after the onset of pain. Migraine-like pain around the eye can be produced by the nerve-branch that runs from behind the ear up the temple, over the eyebrow to the mid-section of the forehead. And the third branch of this tree of pain creates a blaze of pain across the cheekbone. Sometimes only one branch will be affected and at other times all three.

Before considering brain surgery, most trigeminal pain patients go through the gamut of medications that are supposed to stop the pain. The common theory is that too much electrical stimulation or seizure-like activity is the cause of trigeminal pain. Most physicians offer the usual anti-seizure medications: carbamazepine (Tegretol) and pregabalin(Lyrica). These drugs often come with crippling side effects such as, blurred vision, loss of coordination, dizziness, drowsiness, severe memory loss, feeling like a “zombie”, etc. and in most cases are still not effective in relieving the pain.

There is hope

But there is one treatment that seems to have escaped the notice of mainstream medicine, a treatment that has brought relief to thousands of individuals if they find out about it. Cold-laser treatment—also known as low-level laser treatment—has been used since the 1970’s. It has no side effects. The laser beam only penetrates the first few millimeters of your skin to stimulate the nerves. Cold-laser reduces inflammation, increases circulation, and stimulates the production of stem cells resulting in regeneration of the myelin sheath around that nerve.[1]

Dr. Krisjan Gustavson, a long-time chiropractor at Diversified Health Clinic in Victoria, BC, Canada, has used cold-laser to treat between 600-700 patients with facial pain including trigeminal nerve pain. He estimates that at least 70% were helped and the average number of treatments was eight. (These are typical results, however, a patient may require more treatments to be pain-free). He has found that some patients remain pain-free for the rest of their lives and only 15-20% will suffer from reoccurring episodes of pain. Rarely, someone suffers chronically from trigeminal nerve pain, and those patients will require ongoing treatments as needed.

Cold-laser has proven to be more effective than the anti-convulsion drugs, is completely non-invasive as opposed to brain surgery and has no unhappy side effects.

If you or a loved one has trigeminal neuralgia then know that there is relief. Consider cold-laser treatment—it could change your life.

[1]  http://www.lasermedcenter.com/treatment-of-trigeminal-neuralgia.php

About the author:  Rebecca Hanson is a content writer, ghostwriter and co-author living in Victoria, BC, Canada.  Her website is ghostwriteratthesea.com

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How To Decide Whether To Buy a Supplement

Written By: Joe Pawlikowski

Mixed messages run amok in the fitness world. Some experts say one thing, while others flatly say the opposite. Oftentimes experts argue directly with one another, yet rarely do they come to a definitive conclusion. Making matters more complicated, it’s easy for both sides to find evidence for their claims. Typically you can find a study that argues from nearly every angle.

(Seriously, just go to PubMed and dig around a little bit. You’ll find a study supporting nearly anything you want to say.)

Perhaps no aspect of fitness involves as much contentiousness as supplements. If you pick up a typical fitness magazine, you might think them essential to training. If you read a natural training forum, you might think them poisons at best, immoral implements at worst. There are arguments from one extreme to the other, but as in most cases the truth lies in the middle.

People constantly ask me whether they should try this supplement or that. Here is the advice I dispense to them.Some experts say one thing, while others flatly say the opposite.

Can you afford it?

The No. 1, unbreakable rule with supplements is that you must not break the bank to buy them. Going into debt just to purchase a fitness supplement is the height of absurdity. It might indeed enhance your workout and bring you closer to your goals more rapidly, but is that really worth the agony of debt?

Remember, when you go into debt you pay far more for the items you purchase. Perhaps you’re buying a $40 bottle of creatine, but if you buy it on credit and don’t pay it off immediately, that $40 turns into $45, turns into $50, and so on. Going into debt is generally a bad idea, but when it comes to supplements — and that is a loaded, heavy word for a reason — going into debt makes less than zero sense.

Going even further, I’d submit that unless you are completely flush with disposable income, you should eschew supplements. There are just better ways to spend your money. Don’t know if you’re totally flush? Start using an accounting program such as QuickBooks from Intuit. For starters, it’s a far better investment than supplements. It will also let you know when you have sufficient disposable income to start spending on supplements.

If you don’t have sufficient disposable income, you can stop reading right now. The answer is no, you almost certainly should not buy supplements other than maybe protein powder.

Is the brand reputable?

The first criteria is quite easy. As explained, it’s rather easy to determine whether you can afford to start purchasing workout supplements. If you’re unsure, chances are the answer is no. But once you determine that you can afford then, you start to get into some murky waters. The first pond you’ll encounter is that of brand. Is the brand of supplement you want to try reputable?

There are many ways to determine this, though it requires thorough research. You’ll need to start reading up on the supplement maker, both through user reviews of the supplement and through third-party, non-sponsored forums. I’m a big fan of using Bodybuilding.com for this purpose, since it has user reviews (hosted not on BB’s main site) and forums. They’re not the only one I check, but it’s a good starting point.

Beware, though: there are forums that deal with some shady supplements. Some of them sell their own lines of supplements, going so far as to commission studies that demonstrate their effectiveness. Of course, when you commission a study chances are it will turn out in your favor. It can be difficult to cut through this gray area, but the more vigilant you are in your research the more clearly you will understand which brands are reputable and which brands are selling you snake oil.

Prepare to waste money

Even reputable brands put out ineffective products from time to time. Sometimes that’s because they cut corners. Other times it means that while the supplement might work for some people, it is ineffective for others. The net result is that you are bound to buy a supplement at some point or another that does nothing for you. It is, unfortunately, the cost of doing business.

This is another reason why having sufficient disposable income is absolutely necessary if you want to start buying supplements. Some day, perhaps the very first time you experiment, you will buy a tub of something that has absolutely no effect on you. It will cause massive frustration, to have flushed $50 down the drain. But you’ll never know until you try.

Experiment in moderation

To repeat the point above, buying supplements is all about experimentation. You have to try many different things to see what works for you. The key to success is moderation. If you go all out and try six different supplements at once, you might not know which ones are taking effect. You won’t know what is interacting with what. Worst of all, you don’t know what ill effects you’re creating within your body.

The best way to approach supplementation is to go one supplement at a time. Try one thing. If it works, add another to see if they work together. If they don’t, try using the second without the first. What changed? If you want to add a third, try it in conjunction with the most effective of the first two (A, B, or A+B). This is the only way you can gauge with any accuracy what works for you and what does not.

Also understand that many supplements have adverse short-term effects that wear off after time. This is both in the positive and negative category. One supplement might give you a great after-workout pump for a few weeks, but the effect could wear off. In the same way, a supplement might force you to sit on the toilet for much of the day, with that effect going away with regular use.

All across the internet you’ll see articles asking if supplements work or are a bunch of hooey. Each article will come up with a different answer, as though we can lump all supplements in the same bin and either embrace or dismiss them wholesale. The truth is that supplementation can enhance your workouts and help you reach your goals more rapidly and efficiently. The specific supplements you use will depend on your personal situation, from finances through body tolerance. Find the right balance, and you should go ahead and experiment — so long as you do so in moderation.

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My Journey Into IMS/Dry Needling | Part II

My Journey Into IMS/Dry Needling | Part IIMy research into IMS/dry needling is complete, and I have chosen my health care practitioner – a    physiotherapist  from Diversified Health.

Entering the room on my first visit I was a bit anxious.  Knowing that the treatment can be uncomfortable is like taking Buckley’s cough syrup… you know it will taste horrible, but it works!

My therapist was great, we talked about my health history, why I chose this treatment, and what my expectations of this therapy was.  The therapist explained in great detail what would happen on this first visit and what I should expect after my treatment.

Laying on the table the practitioner felt the area in question, my low back and hips and located numerous trigger points.  A Trigger Point is a hyper-irritable spot within a taut band of skeletal muscle which is painful on compression. These trigger points, sometimes referred to as myofascial pain, can refer pain to other areas and often restrict the flexibility of the affected muscle.  If left untreated, they can create new trigger points.  As we talked about how intense the pain was, she was assessing where to place the needles.

My physiotherapist sterilized the treatment area and removed a needle from a sealed package.  Each sterilized needle comes in an individual sealed package. Because the filament needles are so thin there is virtually no discomfort when the needle is inserted.

As the needle entered the skin and reached the muscle, this is when the muscle contracted and I felt twitching, spasms, and tingling; a potpourri of senses.  As the practitioner moved the needle, I felt a sensation like hitting your funny bone,  weird, tingly and painful, but the whole experience happened in under 4 seconds.

This was repeated numerous times on different areas on my lower back and hips. The therapist worked on one side of my body, and then mirrored the treatment on the other side of my body. The physiotherapist talked to me throughout the treatment and was aware and attentive to my reactions to each treatment.

Each needle felt sightly different, some treatment areas felt achy, hot, a stinging then tightening feeling.  Some areas were extremely painful while others areas I felt very little.  The tighter or more damaged the muscle, the more discomfort you feel.

When the session was over, I found myself physically and mentally tired… not sure if it was because I was so anxious on my first visit or because the treatment was physical.  After resting for about 5 minutes, I got up and spoke with my physiotherapist, who answered all my questions, and gave me a set of exercises to complete at home.  Because of the release of toxins and lactic acid that get held in muscles I was quite tired, and found drinking lots of water after the treatment very helpful.  Two hours after my treatment I felt tired and achy, but nothing that an Advil couldn’t help.

There is absolutely no “down time” with IMS/dry needling.

What happened the next morning was just short of a “miracle”.  For the last several years I have found it strenuous to get up from a sitting position due to super tight muscles and back issues… nothing major, just always found myself  getting “prepared” to get up…tightening my stomach muscles and placing my hands on the chair to help push off.

I was standing in the middle of my living room when I suddenly realized that I had gotten out of my chair without a thought.  This may seem small, but this victory solidified my belief that IMS/dry needling is an outstanding treatment for chronic or acute pain.

Dry needling will not be for everyone, it is at times painful (3 to 4 seconds of pain), but there is no denying my results.  I have booked several more treatments, and will update you on my continued journey into IMS/dry needling in Part III.

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eToims Device Stimulates Trigger Points To Relieve Pain

EToimsNews Release – The company LLC is marketing a surface electrical stimulation device that targets deep muscles to relieve myofascial pain and discomfort. The patented portable ET127 Evoked Response Stimulator excites deep trigger points to elicit muscle twitches. According to the company, these abrupt, brisk, and vigorous twitches relieve pain by ending muscle spasms and promoting healing of irritable trigger points.

Twitches produced by eToims (electrical twitch obtaining intramuscular stimulation) stretch muscle fibers in spasm, resulting in compression of intramuscular blood vessels and nerve fibers and reducing traction on pain-sensitive structures, such as periosteum and joint capsules to which muscles attach, says Jennifer Chu, MD, founder of eToims Medical Technology. She explains that consequently, twitch-induced exercise also promotes local blood flow, improving tissue oxygenation, promoting healing, and removing local accumulation of pain-producing neurochemicals.

In normal situations, trigger points stimulated to twitch produce movements that effect joint rocking and shaking. In acute situations, hyperexcitability of trigger points produces forceful twitches sufficient to lift the joint on which the stimulated muscle acts, causing these twitches to dissipate abruptly. In chronic situations, trigger points are very difficult to find, and twitch forces are feeble, says Chu.

According to Chu, acute and subacute myofascial problems resolve well with eToims as a standalone treatment. However, chronic problems tend to have guarded prognosis due to the presence of partial nerve and muscle fibrosis, requiring long-term eToims as an adjunctive treatment for improvement of quality of life. Chu has found that twitches, key to relief of myofascial pain or discomfort, are simultaneously diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic.

In the presence of very tight muscles, whereas routine exercise produces simultaneous active contractions of many muscles that can increase ischemic pain, eToims-induced twitches can enable active, painless exercise of 1 muscle at a time to remove or reduce pain.

Chu notes that a top football franchise in the UK now uses eToims for rehabilitation to prevent injuries as well as to rapidly rehabilitate soft tissue injuries to reduce elite-player down time. ET127 is now available for sale to clinicians in Europe, Canada, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as for home use as a personal device.

The practitioners at Diversified Health are certified to use eToims Therapy as a part of your treatment plan.

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Pasteurizing Almonds: Good or Bad?

almondsWritten By Jennifer Dages

Most almonds and hazelnuts in the USA are now irradiated. Irradiation is the use of radiation to help preserve foods and kill off bacteria. This has been standard practice since 2007 when the FDA decided that all raw almonds grown in the USA must be pasteurized before sale.

The reasoning behind this decision was 2 outbreaks of salmonella that were traced back to almonds (2001 and 2004).   The outbreaks were very mild and the almonds  turned out to be grown by conventional farmers, not organic farmers.

But nonetheless all almonds were to be irradiated rather than practices change to prevent the repeat of a problem.

So what is wrong with pasteurizing almonds?

If you are a raw milk drinker and supporter then you already know the answer to this question.  Pasteurization and heat destroy important enzymes and vitamins.

There are 4 main types of pasteurizing almonds:

  • steam processing
  • high heat treatment (roasting)
  • blanching
  • highly toxic fumigation treatment with propylene oxide (PPO)

Two are the primary methods used, which are steam processing, and PPO fumigation.

Steam processing is the method used for pasteurizing organic almonds and they are heated to a temperature of 200 degrees with steam.  Not only are the enzymes and vitamins destroyed but so are the  bonds of the fats and the fat then oxidizes and  becomes a source of free radicals.

Recent scientific studies show that heating almonds creates potentially harmful levels of acrylamide, a dangerous byproduct of the amino acid asparagine. Acrylamide is a chemical known to cause cancer, or reproductive toxicity (such as birth defects and other reproductive harm).

If your almonds are pasteurized with propylene oxide fumigation(PPO) there is much more to be concerned about.   PPO is a verified carcinogen that is highly flammable, with fumes that are  hazardous to a human being’s personal health.

The EPA has declared PPO a carcinogenic chemical that is responsible for neurological, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and immune system dysfunctions, as well as liver disease.   The European Union, Mexico and Canada have all banned the use of this toxic chemical in anything to do with our food.

Can you avoid pasteurized almonds?

You can avoid pasteurized nuts but you have to buy your almonds  directly from the farmer or you have to buy organic.   The other exception to this rule is nuts that are foreign imports often avoid the irradiation.

In researching I found one source at Raw Nuts and Seeds where they sell organic almonds that are not pasteurized.   Nuts.com  sells organic almonds from Spain that are not pasteurized.   Amazon also sells some organic imported almonds that are not pasteurized.

If you live in California which is almond country you may be able to find a local farmer that will sell you nuts before they send them to be pasteurized (kind of the way some farmers will sell their raw milk before the milk truck picks it up- just don’t tell anyone).

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For the brain, practice makes efficiency, not perfection

 Written by John Timmer

The brain isn’t a static piece of hardware like a computer. If it needs to do something repeatedly, it’s able to remodel itself in order to cope with the cognitive demands. Past studies have indicated London cab drivers see an expansion of the area of the brain that’s involved in spatial reasoning, while professional musicians see an expansion of the area of the brain that provides control over their muscle actions.

Normally, more neural hardware means a higher energetic cost, as cells require a certain amount of energy purely for maintenance (even more when they are active). But a study that tracked the control of limb movements in monkeys suggests that the brain actually executes control over well-practiced movements with increased efficiency, burning through fewer calories in the process.

The procedure for the tests was fairly simple: a small group of monkeys was trained to do a variety of tasks. One of the tasks didn’t involve their arms at all and acted as a control. Two tasks involved directing their arms to a variable target, and therefore the task couldn’t be precisely memorized. Two others involved moving their arms in the same way every time, allowing the monkeys to practice it to the degree that it could become a routine.

Over the course of the practice and after the monkeys were trained, the researchers tracked brain activity using a form of glucose that was tagged with a radioactive tracer. If nerve cells were active, they’d take in more glucose and thus radioactivity, making them easier to spot with the right imaging techniques. At the end of the experiment, they inserted electrodes into the part of the brain called the motor cortex, which controls movements.

The researchers confirmed that the area of the brain that controls the arms (part of the motor cortex) was quiet during the task that didn’t involve using them. And they saw this area light up with radioactivity after performing tasks that involved unpredictable movements of the arms.

But something else entirely occurred when the monkeys performed the task that always involved the same set of arm movements: over time, the amount of glucose taken up by the motor cortex dropped. By the end of the experiment, the well-practiced monkeys showed far less activity when performing this task than the one that wasn’t predictable. As the authors put it, “large portions of arm motor cortex (up to 86 percent in individual monkeys) were devoid of task-related activation during the two internally generated tasks.”

The authors checked the timing and amount of motion involved in completing the two classes of tasks but didn’t find any significant differences between the two. All of this suggests that the brain was simply less active when performing a routine task that the monkeys had memorized.

Except that wasn’t the case. Tests with the electrodes showed that the amount of electrical activity appeared to be roughly the same in the motor cortex regardless of the type of task. More significantly, by tracking the radioactive glucose near the electrodes, they found that routine tasks essentially decoupled electrical activity from the demand for glucose.

The authors suggest that the routine learning of a task increases the efficiency with which the relevant areas of the brain can generate activity. But that’s a hard idea to square with the fact that basic energetics demands that nerve cells require at least a certain amount of energy to reset themselves after firing. Even the authors admit that “at this point we can only speculate about the origin of the dissociation” between neural activity and the demand for energy. One of their more compelling speculations is that the area of the brain reorganizes its connections so that very little nerve firing is needed to get a message out.

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Your Healthy Greek Yogurt Harbors A Deadly Secret

Guest Article – Co.Exist

Greek yogurt is healthy and good, but the process of making it creates something called acid whey. Acid whey is very bad: accidental spills of it have killed thousands of fish. But Greek yogurt is booming, so what to do with its dangerous byproduct?

For every container of Greek yogurt you see on a supermarket shelf, picture another container (or two or three) of deadly poison. It’s called acid whey, and it’s a toxic byproduct from the yogurt-making process that’s becoming a big problem for manufacturers as their product continues its assault on the hearts and minds of health-conscious Americans.

Never heard of “acid whey?” Neither had we. Modern Farmer explains:

It’s a thin, runny waste product that can’t simply be dumped. Not only would that be illegal, but whey decomposition is toxic to the natural environment, robbing oxygen from streams and rivers. That could turn a waterway into what one expert calls a “dead sea,” destroying aquatic life over potentially large areas. Spills of cheese whey, a cousin of Greek yogurt whey, have killed tens of thousands of fish around the country in recent years.

The scale of the problem—or opportunity, depending on who you ask—is daunting. The $2 billion Greek yogurt market has become one of the biggest success stories in food over the past few years and total yogurt production in New York nearly tripled between 2007 and 2013. New plants continue to open all over the country. The Northeast alone, led by New York, produced more than 150 million gallons of acid whey last year, according to one estimate. (Emphasis mine.)

Possible solutions to the acid whey problem include farmers mixing it with cattle feed, incorporating it into fertilizer, or making biogas from it. Another is using it to make baby-food. But nobody’s really figured it out. As Cornell dairy scientist Dave Barbano told Modern Farmer: “Because the Greek yogurt production grew so rapidly, no one really had the time to step back and look at the other viable options.”

The cheese industry has solved its whey problem by selling the stuff to companies that make body-building supplements. But the “sweet whey” produced from cheese-making is richer in protein than acid whey, and therefore easier to process.

For now, it remains a mystery what will become of all that whey. But by all means, keep eating the Greek yogurt and feeling good about yourself.

Zak Stone is a staff writer at Co.Exist and a co-founder of Tomorrow Magazine.
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Preventing & Reversing Osteoporosis

Preventing & Reversing Osteoporosis Guest Article by Dr. James Meschino

Recent evidence proves that specific dosages of Calcium, Vitamin D and the Icariin flavonoid (from the Epimedium Herb) can not only prevent osteoporosis, but also reverse bone loss in individuals who already have osteoporosis. In fact, the same dosages required to reverse osteoporosis are also the same dosages that prevent this disease.

Osteoporosis: The Magnitude of the Problem

Approximately one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50 develop osteoporosis in our society. These are alarming statistic since 25% of individuals who sustain an osteoporotic hip fracture die within the first year from related complications. In Canada, more women die each year from the consequences of hip fractures than from the combined death rate from breast and ovarian cancer (Osteoporosis Society of Canada).

The real tragedy is that osteoporosis is 100% preventable, but its prevention requires optimal intake of certain nutrients, along with adequate physical activity. Sadly, most of your patients are not getting sufficient bone support nutrients.

Responsibility in Osteoporosis Prevention & Management

Chiropractors are viewed as “Bone Doctors” by their patients. As such, a great deal of the responsibility for the prevention and management of bone loss in your patients falls to you. In regards to nutrition, the following intake levels of calcium, vitamin D and icariin flavonoid have been shown to prevent osteoporosis and can even help patients with osteoporosis regain some of their bone density back.

Calcium 1500 mg
Vitamin D 1200-1400 IU
Icariin Flavonoi 60 mg (from Epimedium)

Recent Studies of Interest Showing Reversal of Bone Loss

1. The study by Hitz et al (2007) showed that supplementation with 1550 mg of calcium (from calcium carbonate) and 1400 IU of vitamin D increased bone density in men and women over the age of 50, who had already sustained a bone fracture previously. These individuals gained bone density in the neck of the femur (a critical site for life-threatening fractures) and spinal vertebrae.

2. The study by G. Zhang, L. Qin, Y. Shi. (July 2007) showed that supplementation with 60 mg of icariin could increase bone density in postmenopausal women. After two years of supplementation, bone mineral density at the hip (femoral neck) and lower spine (lumbar) increased by 1.6 and 1.3 per cent, respectively, in the icariin group, and decreased by 1.8 and 2.4 per cent, respectively, in the placebo group.

Other bone support nutrients of importance include:

Magnesium  500 mg
Vitamin C  1000 mg
Copper 2 mg
Zinc  15mg
Silica 2-3 mg
Boron 1.5 mg
B-50 Complex

Dr. James Meschino is the chief formulator for the Adeeva brand of products.  See his other health-related articles at: www.meschinohealth.com

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Purchasing Vitamins On-Line

Purchasing Vitamins On-LineWhen you make a purchase on-line, you save time and money; but is purchasing vitamins the same as purchasing items like books or clothing.

Here’s what you need to know to when shopping on line for vitamins.

Always make sure the on-line store you will be shopping from uses SSL (secure sockets layer) which means that they encrypt sensitive information. Look for the locked padlock icon at the bottom of your browser window.

When shopping on line a little research goes along way. Learn about the merchants and look for reviews from other shoppers.  Ask if they have a representative that you can discuss issues such as the quantity and quality of ingredients, what type of “fillers” are being used, and what the correct dosage is.

Before you make any purchase ask questions: What is the return policy? How do they ship the item? How do they keep the temperature stable? Think of the questions that you would ask any sales associate when shopping at your favourite health food store.

When your item arrives, keep all the documentation and the original packaging. Make sure you check the expiration date, and that the seal is secure.  If you are not satisfied with your purchase, many companies require that the item is shipped back in the original packaging.

If you find a website that seems too good to be true, offering extremely low prices or large quantities …STOP… these are red flags that you need to investigate this company further. There are numerous rogue websites selling counterfeit over-the-counter and prescription drugs that look like regular store websites.

Make sure that you know what dosage is save for your health concerns, especially if you are already taking additional supplements or medicine!  For example:

~Too much calcium. High levels of calcium in the blood can cause inflammation of the blood vessels

~Too much copper – Can have a pro-oxidant effect, damaging your tissues and cells.

~ High levels of manganese – Many formulas contain too much manganese, which can cause insomnia.

Before taking any new supplement, contact your health care practitioner to discuss the effects and benefits of your new regime.

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Could Coffee Combat Mouth and Throat Cancer?

Written by Michael Wood

Drinking more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee a day could reduce your risk of dying from mouth and throat cancer.  It was shown that those that drink over 4 cups a day’s risk was cut by half compared to those who either didn’t drink coffee, or those who only occasionally drink it.  This doesn’t mean that if you aren’t drinking that much coffee you should immediately up your amount and should only be taken as positive news for those already doing so.

There have been several studies in the past that have suggested that coffee drinking is linked to reduced levels of mouth and throat cancer.  Further, it is believed that it isn’t the caffeine in coffee that leads to the reduced risk, but all the rich antioxidants, polyphenols and similar compounds that help to combat cancers forming.

Data was collected from a study known as the Cancer Prevention Study II, where data has been collected by the American Cancer Society (ACS) since 1982, which included a whole host of lifestyle and health information from almost 100,000 men and women, including their consumption of coffee and tea.  Over the course of 26 years follow-up, 868 died from mouth and throat cancer when originally none of the participants had any form of cancer.

When tea and coffee consumption was analyzed alongside the deaths as a result of mouth and throat cancer, it was discovered that those who drank more than 4 cups of coffee a day had a 49% lower risk of death from those cancers compared to those who drank less coffee or none at all.  Further to this, the link was not affected by a person’s gender, or either their tobacco or alcohol usage.

Diagnosing mouth and throat cancer

The problem with both mouth and throat cancers is that they are hard to diagnose in the early stages of development and symptoms don’t usually appear until the cancer is advanced; they can sometimes also be misdiagnosed as something else such as toothache or other dental problems.  There is a bigger risk of contracting either types of cancer if you are a regular smoker or heavy alcohol drinker.

Signs of cancer developing can sometimes be spotted during routine dental check ups by dentists and dental hygienists.  It’s for this reason why it’s important to make sure you are visiting your dentist every 6 months – dentists also suggest that you should give yourself an oral examination using a mirror once a month to look for symptoms.  Symptoms to look out for are mouth sores that fail to heal and pain in your mouth that doesn’t go away.

So I should up my coffee?

The researchers are not recommending that people now go out and start drinking 4 cups of coffee a day; however those that already do can take some good news out of the discovery.  Much more research needs to be conducted on whether coffee could be used as a form of cancer prevention.  Especially considering that there has been a fair amount of debate recently on the pros and cons of drinking coffee, more recent information suggests that the benefits could

Michael regularly writes on behalf of dental insurance provider AXA PPP healthcare on a number of health and wellbeing topics.

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