The Obesity Epidemic

Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity is often associated with the high risk of having chronic diseases, such as, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. And then, thin people or vegetarians may have a lower risk of diabetes? No. Obesity may not be the main factor.

A healthy lifestyle will determine the quality of human health. Even in a vegetarian, who is also doing regular exercises, may not lower the risk of diabetes, if the main cause is genetic. It is a fact that, human genes, and family history of diabetes, are associate with the risk of diabetes.

Clinical controlled trials had shown solid evidence that type 2 diabetes is a disease of fatness. A five % of weight loss is sufficient to prevent most obese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance, in developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is obesity dependent, and obesity is well understood aetiology (study of causation), as the main cause of type 2 diabetes. (Astrup A, et al. 2000)

However, ask yourself!
How many times you met with an obese Indian, or Chinese?

An update 2012 data, from International Diabetes Federation showed that, there were 33.4 million men, and 29.6 million women with diabetes, in India. Also, there were 51.5 million men, and 40.8 million women with diabetes, in China.

While in my country of Indonesia, from about 300 million population, there were 3.2 million men, and 4.4 million women with diabetes, aged 20 to 79 years. In the US, there were 12.2 million men, and 11.9 million women with diabetes. (IDF)

According to the article published in 2009, by the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, the US generations might have a shorter life expectancy than their parents, if the obesity epidemic is not controlled.

Because, 35.1% of adults in the US, were classified as obese. In children, obesity will continue to increase steadily. The study showed that obesity may become the most difficult public health issues in the US. (Catenacci VA, et al. 2009)

Link Between Obesity and Prostate Cancer

The US Health Professionals Followup Study reported an inverse association between obesity, and the risk of developing prostate cancer, in men under 60 years of age, or in those with a family history of prostate cancer. The study found that body mass does not appear to affect the performance of prostate specific antigen as a diagnostic test. But, a lower body mass is associated with a higher cancer detection rate, on a prostate biopsy.

Although, several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the link between obesity and prostate cancer, including, hormonal alterations, hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin in the blood), glucose intolerance (inability to metabolize glucose), elevated IGF (insulin-like growth factor, hormone which exert an effect on bone cell metabolism), and leptin (hormone made by fat tissue, that acts on brain to regulate food intake, and body weight) levels, but, the mechanism which explains the association between obesity, and prostate cancer remains unclear. (Amling CL. 2005)

However, an article which published two months earlier, supported the hypothesis, that obesity is inversely associated with prostate cancer risk, in middle aged men. The study used the interviews from 753 men, aged 40 to 64 years, that were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1993 and 1996. (Porter MP, et al. 2005)

Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease

We cannot control from where we get our genes, and healthy lifestyle may not prevent us from getting diabetes. But, a healthy lifestyle may prevent us from getting coronary heart disease (CHD). High blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, are controllable risk factors of CHD.

A healthy diet and having regular exercise, can help maintaining a healthy weight, in which helps to control CHD risk factors. Five to ten % loss of body weight can lower the risk of CHD. Overweight children and teens are associated with the high risk of CHD, and may also have a shorter life expectancy than their parents, if their weight gain rates are not reduced. However, personally reducing calorie diets are not advised, unless approved by a physician. (NHLBI)

Image credit: Shakespeare's Monkey

What Makes You To Have Cajuput Oil in Your First Aid Kit

Photo credit: arnistm.

Cajuput is derived from the old Bahasa Indonesia spelling, kaju putih, which means white wood. In old Bahasa Indonesia spelling, the letter of J is read as Y, while DJ is read as J. Cajuput (Melaleuca leucadendra Linn.) has many synonyms such as Melaleuca cajuputi Roxb., Melaleuca cumingiana et lancifolia Turcz., Melaleuca minor Sm., Melaleuca saligna B., Melaleuca viridifolia Gaertn., Myrtus leucadendra Linn, and Melaleuca saligna Gmel.

There are also many common names for cajuput, such as, ai kelane, bai qian ceng (白千层), bru galang, cajeput, cajeputol, cineol, elan, eucalyptol, gelam, ghelam, ilano, inggolom, irano, irono, kayu gelang, kayu putih, lren, ngelak, nggielak, sakelan, swamp tea tree, waru gelang, and white tea tree. Cajuput, Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia Linn.) and Gum tree (Eucalyptus obliqua) are from the same family plant of Myrtaceae. Their leaves can be distilled to make an essential oil, in which have similar effects and smell.

Cajuput can grow on a barren land, heat resistant and can sprout back after a fire. Cajuput can be found from the lowlands up to 400m asl. Cajuput can grow near the coast, behind mangrove forests, in a boggy ground, or forming a small forest on dry land until wet.

Cajuput tree is 10-20 m high, multi-layered leather stem, white with grayish colored of its irregular exfoliate skin surface. Small stem with branching that hang down. Single leaf, quite thick like leather, and short stalk. The leaves when squeezed, or crushed will smell of cajuput oil. (Sentra Informasi IPTEK)

Cajuput Oil

Cajuput oil is a volatile oil from the fresh leaves and twigs of cajuput. It used as a stimulant, rubefacient in rheumatism, muscle and joint pain, flavoring, stimulant, antiseptic, expectorant, and anthelmintic. Precautions to use by pregnancy women, breast feeding mom, and a person with hypersensitivity to tea tree plant. (Medical Dictionary)

Minyak Kayu Putih Cap Lang

An Indonesian original product manufactures, in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is found in 1963, has been exported through out the world, and is found to be sold online on Amazon.com.

Cajuput Oil vs. Insects

I had described how I used Minyak Kayu Putih Cap Lang to get rid of head lice naturally on my previous post.

Though in the bottle of Minyak Kayu Putih Cap Lang is only said to help relieve muscle aches, abdominal pain, flatulence, nausea, and itching from insect bites. But, I managed to use it to treat eczema, and itcy rashes that I often suffered.

So far, I could not find any referrences on scientific evidence which indexed in PubMed. Only a study by Malaysian scientists who demonstrated aerosol spray of cajuput oil effects against dangerous mosquitoes. But, this 2012 study explained to what I had been experinced in my early post, on how a louse died from a single drop of cajuput oil.

An aerosol spray of cajuput oil was evaluated against the dengue vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, at low cost housing flats, in Section 10, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The study suggested that extracts of cajuput essential oils possess an adulticidal effects (the ability to kill adult heartworm as distinct from that used to kill the microfilarial, or larval stages), and could be considered, as well as to be utilized for future dengue vectors control. (Abu Bakar A, et al. 2012)

Cajuput Oil to Awaken from Unconsciousness Seizure

Back in May 28, 2011, after I watched Champions League Final football match between Barcelona vs. Manchester United, in local TV channel, my three years old son, Michael, experienced an absence seizure, due to high fever.

Absence seizures involve an interruption to consciousness, where the person experiencing the seizure seems to become vacant, unresponsive for a short period of time, usually up to 30 seconds, and slight muscle twitching may occur.

To avoid a tongue biting by my unconscious son, I used cajuput oil to awake him, by rubbing the oil all over to his nose and lips, because his mouth is blocked by his teeth. Not less in five seconds, he was awaken. Then, I took a warm water to compress all of his body. After that, I left him with my wife at 4 am, in the morning, to get an anti fever drugs in nearest pharmacy.

My mom always told me that seizure may be dangerous, if the kids were not being awaken first, before being taken to the hospital. In a case of tonic clonic seizures, death may occur on the way to the hospital, due to tongue biting, urinary incontinence, and the absence of breathing. My mom was experinced in dealing with seizures, because I often got seizures, when I was below the age of five years old.

Can I Drink Cajuput Oil?

Even though all cajuput oil manufacturers forbid the products for internal use, and only for external use. But, according to dr. Adji Suranto, SpA, an Indonesian pediatric, a member of Perhimpunan Dokter Indonesia Pengembang Kesehatan Tradisional Timur (Indonesian Doctors Association of Advanced Eastern Traditional Health), in Jakarta, cajuput oil can be used as an oral medication to treat colds, throat infection, worms intestine, cholera, colic and as a gargle for mouth cavity infections.

For internal use, one to ten drops of 100% cajuput oil, mixed with a grain of sugar cubes (about 4 grams), and dissolved in a glass of drinking water. When used as an oral medication, it should be dissolved first to pay attention on the proportion. But, if the oral medication is used excessively, it might lead to an increasing of heartbeat and excessive sweating. (Majalah Anakku)

Cajuput to Treat Diabetes and Obesity

A study is indexed on Journal of Natural Medicines, April 2013, Volume 67, Issue 2, pp 264-270, by Azis Saifudin, Shigetoshi Kadota, Yasuhiro Tezuka, from the Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. The study demonstrated the water and methanol extracts of 28 Indonesian medicinal plants, in which among them were cajuput, for their protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP-1B) inhibitory activities.

PTP-1B is a negative regulator of the insulin signal transduction cascade, initiated when insulin binds to the insulin receptor. PTP-1B is used as a target for the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance, and type 2 diabetes. PTP-1B deficient mice are more sensitive to insulin, improved glycemic control, and resistance to diet induced obesity, than wild type control mice. (Liu G, et al. 2002)

With four other plants water extracts, the water extracts of cajuput at 2.05 μg/mL, exhibited strong inhibitory activity. The results suggest that, all 28 Indonesian medicinal plants may contribute for the treatment, or prevention of type 2 diabetes, and obesity through PTP-1B inhibition. (Saifudin A, et al. 2013)