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Dear Dr. Roach, I am a 67 year old man in excellent physical health. The only problem I have is these occasional bouts of dizziness. These episodes began around the age of 44. My symptoms are dizziness to varying degrees and, in extreme cases, nausea. The frequency has increased over the past two years to approximately every two weeks.
I do Epley's maneuver to relieve the symptoms, which disappear one or two days later. Epley is the only treatment available that works for me. Is there new research or treatment for this? I am also curious to know which foods could contribute to the onset of vertigo.
R.W.
Vertigo is a feeling of movement when there is none. Most often, people will describe a feeling of rotation. Others say the world is spinning, but swinging or tilting are other descriptors. Although vertigo is a very unspecific term, vertigo has a fairly limited number of diagnostic possibilities. In addition, the fact that you are improving with the Epley maneuver (more details below) indicates that the diagnosis is most likely benign paroxysmal peripheral vertigo.
Each ear contains an organ of equilibrium, also called semicircular cbads, which acts by the movement of hair cells inside these bony structures filled with fluid. Sometimes small crystals (called otoconia) form in a semicircular cbad. These support the hair cells and bring the two organs of balance to send to the brain contradictory signals on the movement, perceived as vertigo. The diet should not have a significant effect on the origin or treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, also known as BPPV.
The Epley maneuver, like other repositioning maneuvers, is designed to extract crystals from the semicircular cbads.
A video introducing the maneuver is available at youtube.com/watch?v=9SLm76jQg3g.
The recurrence of vertigo after a successful Epley maneuver is not uncommon, but recurrences as often as every two weeks for more than 20 years are outside of my experience.
I read articles on surgical options for refractory PVPV, but I managed to refer patients to vestibular rehab, performed by occupational therapists or qualified physiotherapists.
Dear Dr. Roach, What is your opinion on the alkaline diet? I have several friends who have battled cancer and who have adopted alkaline diets in addition to their cancer treatments. Do alkaline diets help in the treatment and prevention of cancer, or is it just another urban myth?
T.F.C.
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can have a beneficial effect on the treatment of cancer, in combination with the best cancer treatments available, whether surgical, chemotherapeutic or radiotherapeutic.
Some of the "alkaline diets" I've read speak about fruits and vegetables, and they can help and certainly will not hurt.
However, no diet replaces a complete treatment for cancer.
The body has powerful mechanisms to maintain an exact pH, regardless of the acidity (or alkalinity) of the foods you consume. The lungs and kidneys work together to maintain the body's pH at a slightly alkaline level. 7.4.
The body's pH only comes out of the normal range, which suggests a mediocre outcome without immediate treatment.
The mechanism by which it has been shown that fruits and vegetables have beneficial effects on some cancers is not known precisely, but it is probably related to healthy components of the food, without any effect on the alkalinity of the body.
Dr. Roach regretted that he could not reply to individual letters, but would incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers can e-mail their questions to [email protected]
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