Jun
09
2018

What Makes Chips Addictive?

By | addiction, alcohol, diet, Drugs, food, Nutrition, Obesity, sugar

When you emptied an entire bag of potato chips, you may ask yourself: what makes chips addictive? Scientists talk about hedonic hyperphagia or hedonic hunger. In plain English, it is the pleasure of eating, even when you are not hungry. There are certain foods that seduce you to overeat, and one of these are chips. Chocolate or candy can be other high-hedonic rating foods.

Erlangen experiments

A group of researchers from the Erlangen University in Germany set out to get to the bottom of this addiction eating. 17 healthy subjects with a body mass index of between 19 and 27 were recruited for eating experiments. They got either high calorie chips or low calorie zucchini. The chips created a marked stimulation on a functional MRI scan where the nucleus accumbens was lighting up. When they consumed zucchini no such stimulation could be documented. The researchers had done similar experiments with the same foods on rats. They too had functional MRI scans and the tests showed similar stimulation after the test animals consumed chips, but not after zucchini.

Nucleus accumbens, the addiction center for food

Professor Andreas Hess and his team in Erlangen say that the nucleus accumbens is the addiction center for food. They also did experiments with fat to carbohydrate composition to find the most addictive mixture. There is a certain fat to carbohydrate ratio that triggers food addiction. What surprised the Erlangen researchers was that both in rats and humans the optimal addiction potential was identical.

  • They found that rats preferred 35% of fat and 45% of carbohydrates in their chips. With humans there is the other factor: on top of the fat/carb mixture we like to taste some salt and spices, because this also will stimulate our appetite. The food industry has figured this out long time ago. This knowledge from tasting experiments is built into processed food.
  • The Erlangen researchers  also found that in obese people the nucleus accumbens was lighting up more intensely the higher the BMI was. That means that obese people are more food-addicted!

Triggering the nucleus accumbens

  • Professor Hess postulates that the 35% fat to 45% carb mix in potato chips is ideal for the body. It can mobilize quick energy from carbs, but also have storable energy from fat at the same time. It is this mix, which stimulates the addiction center in the nucleus accumbens.
  • In a study from Bethesda, Maryland researchers found an overlap between food addiction and drug addiction.  The common pathways in both is the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. This dopamine release makes us feel good, and as a result, we want to experience it again.
  • In this study patients with bulimia nervosa were examined. They found that   overconsumption of sugar-laden foods had very similar effects as drugs in drug-addicted patients. It is the release of dopamine, glutamate and the opioid system that are involved in both. The nucleus accumbens is also receiving stimulation in both situations.

What can be done about food addiction?

This publication noted that people who are food addicted eat higher amounts of fat and carbohydrates. With this mix the feel-good nucleus accumbens produces most dopamine, which is the driving force behind the addiction.

  • If you cut out sugar, you find it easier to control your eating portions. But you also must cut out processed food, as this is where a lot of hidden sugar is coming from.
  • Cut down on your fat consumption. Even if you reduce it from 35% to 10% or 15%, this is a huge step forward. It reduces your calorie intake significantly, but also reduces the stimulation of your appetite center.
  • Eat lots of vegetables, salads and some fruit. Be careful with some fruit like grapes, bananas, mangos, papayas and dates. They are all higher in sugars. If you cannot entirely avoid those, use portion control, so you are not overeating on them.

Portion control

Besides changing the food quality, you can reduce the portions of food you are eating. Instead of mindlessly emptying a whole bag of chips, you could get a small bowl and fill part of the bag of chips into it. Remove the bag into a cupboard that is difficult to reach. If you are sitting and watching TV, you could eat one chip at a time, but only during commercial breaks. This way your chip eating becomes more conscious and more controlled, and you set a limit. In time you may find that you can replace the chips with a lower calorie food like slices of apples, celery sticks or carrot sticks.

What Makes Chips Addictive?

What Makes Chips Addictive?

Conclusion

Researchers found that chips were addictive in rats and in humans. Functional MRI scans of brains in rats and humans showed that potato chip eating stimulated the nucleus accumbens. It was lighting up in both species when the test subjects consumed potato chips. Surprisingly, it did not matter, whether these were test animals or humans! A review of several research papers showed a similarity between food addiction and drug addiction. It is dopamine and other brain transmitters that stimulate the nucleus accumbens, which is the addiction center. One of the keys, professor Hess from Erlangen University in Germany found, is the fat/carb mix. When the potato chips contained 35% fat and 45% carbs, this stimulated the nucleus accumbens.

Changing your eating habits

Knowing all of this helps us to be able to change our eating habits. To avoid the pitfalls of food addiction, cut out sugar and starchy foods, and remove processed foods from your diet. Also reduce some of the fat to 10% or 15% fat in your total diet. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit low in sugar. In addition you should also consider with portion control to avoid mindless munching. Before you know it you can shed the pounds that you may have accumulated before. You will be able to reduce your BMI to 21 to 23. Many people have done it before you.

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Jun
02
2018

Combatting Aging using Artificial Intelligence

By | Anti-aging medicine, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, heart attack, Heart Disease, Inflammation, mitochondria, Obesity, Stroke, Weight loss

I found an article dealing with combatting aging using artificial intelligence. It comes from the April 2018 edition of the Life Extension Magazine.  Both of those concepts sound intriguing: “combatting aging”. It would be nice, if this would be a possibility! And “artificial intelligence” (A.I.) sounds mysterious. LifeExtension researchers have partnered up with an A.I. group, called Insilico Medicine.

Why did Life Extension engage in this project? Many people have side effects with the drug metformin, which is an old diabetes drug. It turns out that metformin stimulates anti-aging genes that help to elongate telomeres and also activate genes that prolong lives otherwise. The thought was to find out how exactly metformin protects against age-related disorders. Once researchers located the genes, they may be able to find herbs that can do the same as drugs with less side effects. Often herbs are safer than drugs.

Background regarding metformin

The FDA accepted metformin (trade name Glucophage) as the first-line therapy for type 2 diabetics, particularly if they are overweight or obese.

Side effects include gastrointestinal irritation with vomiting, cramps, diarrhea and flatulence. Even though this drug is not new, research does not fully understand all metabolic effects of metformin.

Promise of metformin as an anti-aging drug

A trial in Great Britain found that metformin has an interesting anti-aging effect. Diabetics on metformin lived longer than a control group of patients without diabetes who were not on metformin. The diabetics lived 15% longer than the controls. Further experiments with human cells and animal experiments showed that metformin is able to stimulate the mitochondria without producing as many free radicals. Free radicals cause inflammation that leads to heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s and cancer. The suggestion is that all of these diseases will be suppressed when the patient is on metformin.

Mimicking the effects of metformin with three herbs

The co-operative research between the Life Extension researchers and Insilico Medicine researchers concentrated on finding data that would replace the beneficial effects of metformin with three herbs stimulating the same life-prolonging targets in human cells. This is not a small task. The following three herbs in combination cover more than 78% of the actions of metformin.

Withaferin A (found in Ashwagandha)

Weight loss

Withaferin A is a component of the life-prolonging herb ashwagandha. This herb is in use in Ayurvedic medicine because of its ant-inflammatory action; it is also anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and has appetite-regulating activities. An important observation by researchers was that within 21 days of exposing obese mice to withaferin A they lost 23% of their weight. Other mice on the same diet received control solutions and did not lose weight.

Effect on neurodegenerative disease

There is a neurodegenerative condition, called Lou Gehrig disease (=amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). A group of mice that were the subjects of genetic modification to develop Lou Gehrig disease received withaferin A in their food. Compared to controls without withaferin A they had a 39% reduction of damaged proteins in their spinal cords. They also had 60% less loss of motor nerve cells. These are the nerve cells that pass on the electrical signals between the brain, the spinal cord and into the muscles. The life span of these animals that received withaferin A was 5.4% longer than control animals.

Ginsenoside (found in Ginseng)

The structure of ginsenoside is steroid-like. As the name already suggests, it is present in ginseng. The Insilico Medicine team noticed that it affects many of the same age-decelerating pathways like metformin. Ginsenoside prevents damage to the DNA and prevents loss of mitochondria, particularly in the brain and heart. In cancer cases ginsenoside also suppresses cancer stem cells, which slows down cancer growth. All in all ginsenoside reduces inflammatory changes; it also fights neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Gamma linolenic acid (present in borage seed oil)

Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is a fatty acid. The source of it is the evening primrose plant, black currant oil or borage. The Insilico Medicine researchers found that many pathways that metformin triggers are also responding to GLA. GLA can reduce inflammation, help with adaptation to stress can modulate metabolism and participates in regulation of gene expression. GLA is also part of energy sensing in diabetes and obesity. It also can slow down cancer development.

Discussion

One has to be cognizant of the fact that LifeExtension is in the business of selling herbal supplements. It would be in the company’s interest to find an herbal combination that mimics what Metformin does. They say they have found it; so we are told in the April 2018 article of the LifeExtension magazine. But a 78% overlap of actions when the herbs were compared to metformin is not a 100% overlap.

Conflict of interest

There seems to be a conflict of interest between doing basic research on anti-aging and marketing an anti-aging product. I like to see confirmation of these findings by other independent researchers. I am not too keen to spend $1.40 every day for the rest of my life in the hopes that this herbal concoction would slow down aging. Also to state that this mix of three herbs would do the same as Metformin is a large leap of faith. At this point I am not even ready to swallow metformin just because of one trial in England that showed a beneficial anti-aging effect.

Combatting Aging using Artificial Intelligence

Combatting Aging using Artificial Intelligence

Conclusion

The old dream of finding a pill for anti-aging is alive and well. If you believe this research you are likely to buy this pill and keep on taking it for the rest of your life. But I am not so certain that either swallowing metformin or swallowing this herbal concoction will do what the researchers were hoping for. They have done some basic research with mice and rats. But they tested each of the herbs  separately, and the researchers have then mixed the herbs and claim, that this mix will do what each single herb in isolation has done. We do not know anything about the interaction between these herbs. We do not know whether there will be the same anti-aging results with the mix. All these claims are yet subject to more testing.

Proposed clinical trial

I like to see a human trial where the anti-aging pill of Life Extension is given once per day for several years (let’s say 5 years). After that anti-inflammatory indicators, telomere length and toxicity should be tested in each subject that is part of the study. If trials like this were successful in humans, I would consider buying this new supplement, but not any earlier!

Apr
14
2018

Where Does Fat Go With Weight loss?

By | Anti-aging medicine, Cardiovascular disease, diet, exercise, Fitness, food, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, stem cells, telomeres, Weight loss

People often wonder where does fat go with weight loss? This question recently came up in a CNN conversation.  The answer was originally researched by Dr. Ruben Meerman and Professor Andrew Brown.

Dr. Meerman is an assistant scientist at the University of New South Wales and author of “Big Fat Myths: When You Lose Weight, Where Does the Fat Go?” Professor Brown is the head of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the same university.

When you lose 1 kilogram of fat, where does fat go with weight loss?

The interesting answer to this question is that fat gets metabolized. Dr, Meerman and Prof. Brown pointed out that originally Leifson et al. answered this question who used heavy oxygen and found out that this was metabolized into heavy water.

Technically these experiments are fairly complex, but they allow the researchers to see exactly where the body incorporates these chemicals and where they end up with breakdown of fat. The BMJ paper describes that the breakdown of 1 kg of fat follows the following pattern: It breaks down into 0.84 kg of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and 0.16 kg of H2O (water). In other words, the lungs are the primary organs that get rid of fat and the kidneys excrete the water. There is a bit of extra energy in this chemical reaction as well, which dissipates through the skin and through exhaled air.

What did health professionals think where the fat would go?

The health professionals were doctors, dieticians and personal trainers. About 65% of them thought fat would evaporate into energy/heat. About 10% thought fat would end up in the feces. 5% thought fat would turn into muscle. Another 5% thought fat would turn into sweat or urine. 8% were correct that fat would become CO2 and H2O. 7% said they did not know.

The chemistry of fat deposits and metabolizing fat

The body deposited triglycerides from the liver metabolism of sugar and fatty acids into fat cells and stored them as oleate (C18H34O2), palmitate (C16H32O2), and linoleate (C18H32O2). Part of this are many chemical reactions, including a number of enzymes. These fatty acids form esters and turn into gigantic molecules with this chemical formula: C55H104O6. The BMJ paper further says that an overall chemical description of metabolized fat would look like this:

C55H104O6+78O2→55CO2+52H2O+energy. In plain English it means that 1 molecule of fat ester (from fat storage) is metabolized together with 78 molecules of oxygen. This results in 55 molecules of carbon dioxide, 52 molecules of water and energy.

Fat turns into carbon dioxide and water

Based on this chemical reaction a calculation of the breakdown of fat into carbon dioxide and water was possible. The surprising result is that 84% of fat becomes carbon dioxide and only 16% of fat becomes water. We exhale the carbon dioxide from our lungs and it is mostly the kidneys that excrete the water. People who lose weight are aware that they have to urinate more often. But they do not notice that they get rid of a lot of carbon dioxide, as this is a subtle process.

Some observations from the fasting mimicking diet

The fasting mimicking diet (FMD) was at the center of the most recent anti-aging conference in Las Vegas I attended. This was the 25th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas, Dec. 14-16, 2017. Late in December 2017 I started 5 days of FMD and have just completed my 4th round of it (FMD is done 5 days out of each month). My main interest in doing this is to prevent heart attacks and strokes and I like the idea of stimulating telomeres for anti-aging and increasing stem cell production. See more details under this link.

Personal experience of fasting mimicking diet

I keep meticulous records of my body measurements using daily body composition scales, which I record in a booklet. Between March 23, 2018 and March 28 I lost 1.5 kg from 64.8 kg to 63.3 kg. Fat composition was reduced from 14.1% to 12.2%. Visceral fat was reduced from 6% to 5%. My muscle percentage rose from 38.1% to 39.1%. The basic metabolic rate was 1471 Calories on March 23 and went down to 1449 Calories on March 28. My body mass index went from 22.0 to 21.5.

I definitely noticed the frequent urination, something I had noticed in the past in 2001 when I lost 50 pounds over 3 months. Of course it is understandable when you reduce your daily calorie intake to 600 Calories per day that you will lose this amount of weight. People have different metabolisms. It may be that you won’t lose as much as I did.

What causes mainly weight loss?

There are many people who think that extra exercise would help you lose weight. But a publication has established that only about 8% of weight loss is due to exercising. 92% of weight loss is due to dieting.

Regular exercise is important for conditioning of your lungs, heart, muscles and joints. But to keep things in balance a reasonable diet, like a Mediterranean diet, should also be part of the regimen.

Sugar overconsumption

The obesity wave in the US started to take off between 1976 and 1980. 40 years later it is still rising. It is interesting to note that both wheat flour and sugar consumption in the US were increasing parallel to the rising obesity figures. In the 70’s the old-fashioned wheat has changed into the force hybridized Clearfield wheat, which is now 100% of the commercially available wheat. Clearfield wheat contains 7-fold higher gluten amounts than the old-fashioned wheat that your grandparents consumed. Gluten stimulates your appetite, so you crave more wheat and you crave more sugar. This becomes a vicious cycle.

Excess calories are stored as fat

The liver metabolizes sugar from regular food and from processed food into triglycerides and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol that plugs up arteries). As I mentioned above, the body stores any excess triglycerides as fat and deposits the excess into fatty cells. You see from this that essentially sugar and wheat end up as fat deposits. I suggest you change your food intake into eating sensible food with fewer calories. Start by eliminating most of your sugar, wheat and processed food intake. This will help you to melt fat away as I showed with an example of my 5 day FMD.

Where Does Fat Go With Weight loss?

Where Does Fat Go With Weight loss?

Conclusion

I reviewed facts about the chemistry of melting fat away. The question is where does fat go with weight loss? In the process of weight loss fat breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. I also documented how you can lose fat in just 5 days (1.1 kilogram) on a 600-calorie diet and reduce the body mass index from 22.0 to 21.5.

Most people do not recognize the importance of watching their diet to achieve weight loss. 92% of weight loss occurs as a result of dieting. Wheat and sugar consumption have a direct connection to the obesity wave that started between 1976 and 1980. I have cut out all wheat, all sugar and all processed food in 2001. This allowed me to lose 50 pounds then and my body mass index today is 21.5. It can be done, even if you are 73 years old.

Mar
24
2018

Prevent Plugged Arteries

By | Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, diet, exercise, fish oil, Fitness, food, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, lifestyle, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, Prevention, Processed food, Stroke, sugar

There are several ways to prevent plugged arteries, which will translate into less heart attacks and strokes. The message is simple: if you get less heart attacks and strokes, you will live longer. Below I am examining ways to prolong life by various ways to prevent plugged arteries.

You probably heard of plaque formation in the arteries. This is the process where a combination of fat, calcium, cholesterol and cell waste forms a deposit (plaque) under the lining of the arteries.

The end result is that the blood won’t be flowing freely through the affected arteries. This can cause a heart attack or a stroke. Essentially, this is the point where a clot forms in the narrowed passage of the artery. It is also the point, when the clinicians make a diagnosis of a heart attack or a stroke.

Let’s examine what leads to plaque formation in the arteries.

Trans fats

Trans fats are contained in fried foods like French fries, in margarines and other butter substitutes. As margarine is a common ingredient of cakes, cookies, pastries and pies, these are all bad news for our heart health. I consider them off limits. If you eat those foods, you build up plaque in your arteries, which leads to premature heart attacks and strokes.

Lack of exercise

It has been common knowledge for a long time that being sessile leads to premature hardening of the arteries. In the late 1800s to the early 1900s physical exercise was promoted in various countries around the world.

The latter part of the 20th century saw a renaissance of the fitness movement. It was trendy to go running, cycling, and swimming or working out at a gym. It is not only trendy but healthy: cardiologists support all of these sports to help people stay healthy and keep the arteries free from plaque formation.

Too many refined carbs

Sugar and processed foods, especially those with added sugar to improve flavor, have a direct relationship to heart attacks and strokes. It is known that sugar causes high LDL cholesterol and high triglycerides. In addition sugar also causes inflammation of the arterial walls, which causes plugged arteries. However, sugar is only part of the problem. Starchy foods like rice, noodles, cakes, cookies and other foods made with flour get broken down into sugar. Both lead to insulin production. And both lead to changes of the lining of the arterial walls.

In the 1980s and 1990s there was a school of thought that a low fat diet would be healthy in terms of heart attack and stroke prevention (the low fat/high carb diet). This turned out to be a nutritional disaster: the high carb content of such a diet was the problem. It led to weight gain, obesity and death.

Red meat is a problem

Several studies have documented that saturated fat from red meat is only part of the problem. The other part is carnitine, which is abundantly present in beef, pork, lamb and venison. But mortality of people eating unprocessed red meat is only marginally elevated. It is when people eat processed red meat that there is a significant rise in mortality from heart attacks and strokes. This study examined this. They found that gut bacteria were stimulated by red meat to produce substances that stimulate bacteria in your gut to secrete TMA and TMAO, which makes your platelets more sticky and contributes to plugging your arteries. This research paper from the Cleveland Clinic explains it in more detail.

What must I do to prevent plugged arteries?

Eat the right food

A Mediterranean diet is anti-inflammatory. It contains lots of vegetables, but little red meat. Fish and chicken that contain much less L-carnitine are more dominant in Mediterranean food. As mentioned above, you want to avoid trans fats. And you also want to avoid sugar and too many starchy foods. This includes sugar-sweetened beverages. Making these changes will keep your insulin levels in the normal range eliminating inflammation in your arteries. Avoid eating processed foods, because they contain food preservatives and lots of sugar that we want to avoid. Eat more unsaturated fats like avocados, walnuts, olives, trout, herring, and salmon. The last three contain marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids that are particularly helpful in preventing heart attacks and strokes by being anti-inflammatory and by elevating the protective HDL cholesterol. Drink lots of green or black tea, rooibos tea, or ginger tea. They contain antioxidants and bioflavonoids that prevent plugged arteries.

Regular exercise

Many publications have shown that regular physical exercise will lower blood pressure, condition your muscles including your heart and lower mortality.

Only 10 minutes of brisk walking every day reduced the death rate by 33% compared to those who did not exercise at all.

Regular physical exercise does not only prevent heart attacks and strokes, it also reduces the risk of getting another 35 chronic diseases, as the link shows.

Here are some common exercises: jogging, cycling, running, brisk walking, swimming, playing tennis and doing aerobics. All of them will strengthen your muscles and condition your heart and lungs.

Other ways to prevent plugged arteries

Smokers must quit smoking, as smoking has been identified as a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

Exposure to prolonged stress is a factor that leads to hardening of arteries. Stress management is possible by counseling, by self-hypnosis, yoga, tai chi and other relaxation methods.

Risk factors associated with plugged arteries

We already have mentioned the risk factors that are associated with clogged arteries. But for clarity I would like to repeat the major risk factors here.

  • Smoking
  • High blood pressure
  • Elevated LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol)
  • Reduced HDL cholesterol (HDL is increasing with exercise)
  • Obesity (often associated by ingestion of too many carbs)
  • Insulin resistance and diabetes
  • Lack of exercise (too much sitting in front of the TV or doing computer work)
  • Unhealthy diet (Standard American diet instead of Mediterranean diet)
Prevent Plugged Arteries

Prevent Plugged Arteries

Conclusion

We often think that we have no input whether or not we get a heart attack or a stroke. This is completely wrong. If you adopt the solutions I have listed here, you can change things for the better. You will reduce your risk to get a heart attack or a stroke. Treat high blood pressure. Stop smoking. Cut out sugar and starchy foods to reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. Exercise regularly and your HDL will protect you from heart attacks and strokes. Shed pounds, if you are obese by starting a Mediterranean diet and cutting out sugar. This will also improve your insulin resistance or diabetes. Start daily exercise as this reduces your risk of a heart attack or a stroke. In addition exercise reduces the risk of 35 chronic diseases that have also been mentioned in one of the links.

Nov
26
2017

Prevent Cancer, Cut Sugar

By | Cancer, Inflammation, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, sugar, Weight loss

If you want to prevent cancer, cut sugar! This is the message of an Oct. 13, 2017 study. The research team had done experiments for 9 years, when they concluded that it was refined sugar that caused spontaneous mutations of RAS proteins. RAS proteins are responsible for cell growth. When a substance like sugar turns them on all the time, they can cause mutations that lead to cancer. In this article research concentrated on yeast cells, and the publication is in Nature Publication. The CNN publication describes this in simpler language. Essentially the research team found that a sugar molecule, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, was responsible in obese patients and in diabetic patients to mutate a RAS protein, which as a result can turn into an oncogene causing cancer.

Evidence that sugar causes obesity and type 2 diabetes

  1. A September 2017 US study followed 41 children age 9 to 18 with initial fructose consumption of >50 g/d. The treatment of the children consisted of an isocaloric fructose restriction of only 9 days. Following that their liver fat content decreased from 7.2% to 3.8%. In addition intraabdominal fat decreased and new fat production was reduced from 68% to 26%. The authors pointed out that reduction of sugar consumption in obese children was a very effective treatment tool.
  2. This August 2017 study from Helsinki followed 71 obese males for 12 weeks. They consumed 75 grams of added fructose every day in addition to their normal food intake. The liver fat content increased and cardiovascular risk factors worsened as blood tests showed. The investigators concluded that the adverse cardiometabolic effects were a result of the added fructose. They were not secondary to the weight gain (a theory in the past).
  3. This February 2017 study from the US the Taiwanese Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan was also of interest. It consisted of a 5-year long study involving middle-aged and elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. The result was that patients with more physical activity, a better diet and a higher score regarding psychosocial health did much better with respect to managing their diabetes. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is particularly important for the elderly to prevent diabetes.

Evidence that obese patients and type 2 diabetics get more cancer

  1. In this 2016 study from Poland the effect of diabetes causing various cancers was under investigation. The authors pointed out that worldwide in 2014 there were 387 million cases of type 2 diabetes and it was still rising. When they looked at correlation between various cancers and type 2 diabetes they found that diabetes had the strongest association between pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. But there was also an association between diabetes and breast cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer. Head and neck cancers were more frequent among diabetics. Some diabetic medications made cancer frequencies worse, others, like metformin made them better.
  2. In this March 2016 article from the BJC (British Journal of Cancer) cancer frequencies were correlated to patients with obesity and to patients with diabetes. Researchers found that some types of cancer correlated with obesity, whereas others did with diabetes and not with obesity. They found that type 1 diabetes had its own set of cancer risks while type 2 diabetes had a different set of cancers that correlated to the disease

More on cancer risks in diabetics

  1.  A 2015 study from Malaysia with an 11-year follow-up describes that type 2 diabetes had increased in the population which researchers studied. The investigators concentrated on a female population where they found a strong correlation between diabetes and endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. In a group of 860 cancer patients they found that 26.5% were diabetics. They were at a much higher risk of getting these cancers.
  2. A 2016 study from the US examined 2,836 veterans who had problems with their esophagus. 1,704 received a diagnosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma, 1,132 of them had gastroesophageal reflux disorder. Among the cancer patients there were 30.8% diabetics. The researchers calculated that for diabetics there was a 2.2-fold higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. The only other risk factor they could identify was nicotine dependence, which showed an association with a 1.7-fold risk of to develop esophageal cancer.

Evidence that sugar causes cancer

As explained earlier research found that fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is responsible in yeast cells to lead to RAS mutations. Human cells have the same metabolism as yeast cells, and they also have RAS protein and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is important for cancer development in humans. Yeast cells are diploid cells as are human cells. But yeast cells are not human organisms, so the parallel stops at one point.

  1. A 2014 study from China showed that fructose-bisphosphate aldolase was a marker for lung cancer metastases. This enzyme breaks down fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. Depletion of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A reduces cell motility of cancer cells and the ability to cause more tumors. In other words, the key for cancer cells to thrive is the presence of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.
  2. In this 2013 study from Beijing gastric cancer biopsies research examined these samples for fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the enzyme that breaks down fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.

The enzyme was under expressed in 86.2% of the gastric cancer biopsies. This meant that glycolysis was stimulated in the cancer cells. An overabundance of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate caused tumor cells to get into an active phase and to metastasize.

Discussion of why sugar causes cancer

I have previously discussed this topic in a blog 3 ½ years ago. At the time a few steps were missing from the knowledge we have today. Nothing has become different regarding the connection of sugar overconsumption and the risk of developing cancer. First of all, we have learnt that fructose overconsumption or sugar overconsumption leads to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate in the blood, which stimulates RAS proteins to mutate and stimulate oncogenes to cause cancer. In addition, people who are overweight, obese or have diabetes have too much insulin production, which can also lead to cancer causation. Finally, obese people have a lot of very active kinins in the blood that can cause cancer as well. In conclusion, what has changed between March 2014 and now is that we have a lot more detail why things happen the way they do. Connections that used to be obscure have now a rational explanation.

The message is that we need to cut out refined sugar from our diet, cut out starchy foods and cut out processed foods. This will improve our metabolism and reduce our risk of getting cancer. We will also lose weight, which I have experienced in 2011 when I lost 50 pounds over 3 months. What did I do? I was just doing what I described to you: cutting out sugar, starchy foods and processed foods.

Prevent Cancer, Cut Sugar

Prevent Cancer, Cut Sugar

Conclusion

Want to reduce your risk for getting cancer drastically? Then cut out sugar and starchy foods along with processed foods (which have too much sugar in it).  Strangely enough it was only now that researchers have found the missing link. The culprit is fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, a metabolic byproduct from sugar consumption. It stimulates a RAS gene, which can mutate, turn into an oncogene and eventually cause cancer. This fact was not known a few years ago. But the knowledge that cancer can occur due to diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance goes back a long time.

We need to learn from science: cut out refined sugar, starchy foods and processed foods. This will change insulin resistance into insulin sensitivity. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate will not accumulate, but get normally metabolized. This way fructose-1,6-bisphosphate does not pose a problem for RAS proteins. Your insulin level will normalize, the previous kinin overproduction will disappear and your risk for cancer will decrease.

We have allowed the sugar industry to undermine our health for too long. It is time to take back the control over our lives, assess our food habits and make the necessary changes.

Jun
24
2017

Lower Blood Sugar Prevents Diabetes

By | Diabetes, exercise, Nutrition, Obesity, Prevention, Processed food, sugar, Weight loss

It seems like conventional medicine has ignored for several decades that lower blood sugar prevents diabetes. Medical researchers reevaluated the normal range for blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C, which is a 3 months average of blood sugar values.

In 2016 UCLA researchers reported that 46% of adults in California are either prediabetic or have diabetes.

In contrast 33% of young adults (age 18 to 39) also have prediabetes.

What is worse is the fact that even patients with prediabetes get complications. Normally only patients with diabetes suffer from these. These include kidney disease, retinal problems with loss of vision, neuropathy, hardening of the arteries and cancer.

Key to preventing this from happening is to recognize that prediabetes is already the beginning of diabetes. Not only is it important to prevent diabetes, but prediabetes as well.

Determination of prediabetes and diabetes

The conventional test for diabetes is a fasting blood sugar.

Prediabetes

In the past there was a consensus that patients with prediabetes had a fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L).

Diabetes

126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests indicates that you have diabetes.

Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test

This test gives an average of blood sugar over 2 to 3 months. Physicians thought that a hemoglobin A1C test below 5.7% would be normal, between 5.7 and 6.4 percent they considered it to be prediabetes and at 6.5 or higher on two separate tests meant a diagnosis of diabetes.

Re-evaluating normal ranges to diagnose diabetes and prediabetes

Many researchers have said that the normal values from the guidelines for blood sugar or for glycated hemoglobin A1C are too high. This is the reason why diabetic complications developed even with prediabetes.

At the 22nd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine In Las Vegas (Dec. 10-14, 2014) Dr. Piliszek stated that the normal range for hemoglobin A1C is skewed in the medical literature. It should be: 3.8% to 4.9%. This is very important to know for diabetics and any caregiver who looks after diabetes patients. If you consider a hemoglobin A1C of 6.0 as “normal”, the diabetic patient has the risk of dying prematurely of a heart attack or a stroke. According to the new guidelines even a patient whose hemoglobin A1C is 5.5 has diabetes and needs aggressive treatment to prevent complications associated with diabetes. Conventional guidelines would have considered this patient to be normal.

A 1999 study made it clear that patients with a blood sugar of more than 85 mg/dL were at risk of developing diabetes complications. Researchers observed about 2000 patients with fasting blood sugars of more than 85 mg/dL over 22 years. About 40% of them died of heart attacks or strokes! Because of studies like this, physicians demanded the new diabetes guidelines.

The authors concluded that fasting blood glucose in the upper normal range was an independent risk factor of cardiovascular death.

New guidelines

Prediabetes is not a separate diagnosis, but is mild early diabetes, which is reversible with aggressive treatment. Dietary changes (cutting out sugar and refined carbs) are often effective. In some cases the addition of metformin may be required.

The new normal ranges are:

Fasting blood sugar of 85 mg/dL or less is normal.

Hemoglobin A1C of 3.8% to 4.9% is the new normal range.

These values are based on observing patients over a long period of time and seeing whether or not they develop complications from diabetes.

Most noteworthy, uncontrolled diabetes leads to complications like damage to the lining of the arteries in all the key organs. It is the cause for the following conditions: kidney damage (nephropathy), eye damage (retinopathy), brain and nerve damage (neuropathy), as well as heart attacks and strokes (vascular damage).

Certainly, patients often end up with dialysis when kidney failure has set in. Retinopathy causes blindness and neuropathy leads to excruciating pain. Heart attacks and strokes often cause premature death. Those who ingest a high-glycemic diet have a 49% higher risk of getting lung cancer than those with a low-glycemic diet as this link from the MD Anderson Cancer Center showed.

Calorie restriction

A research group found that calorie restriction reduced fasting insulin levels in a group of overweight men and women.

Another study showed that restrained eating patterns lower fasting glucose and postprandial (after meals) glucose. As a result it also improved insulin sensitivity in normal weight individuals.

Some practical hints about diets to treat diabetes

  1. First of all, the obvious fact is that excessive sugar intake is harmful. But in addition a drastic reduction of refined carbs is also needed, as they just turn into sugar within half an hour of ingesting them. Cut out potatoes, pasta, and bread. You may have a slice of rye bread or full grain bread occasionally. This type of diet is called a low-glycemic index diet. Hence, as indicated earlier a study from the MD Anderson Cancer Center has shown that lung cancer is more common the higher the glycemic index is and is also more common in diabetics.
  2. Also, a Mediterranean diet has been shown to be anti-inflammatory. As diabetes and prediabetes are associated with chronic inflammation, it is useful to go on a diet that counters inflammation. Similarly, the DASH diet, which was developed for high blood pressure patients, is also anti-inflammatory. Here are a few examples of snacks that may be helpful.
  3. Finally, include fish and fish oil supplements in your diet. These contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory. Another useful piece of advice: eat lots of vegetables and salads as they contain healthy bioflavonoids and antioxidant vitamins. This stabilizes the lining of your arteries.
Lower Blood Sugar Prevents Diabetes

Lower Blood Sugar Prevents Diabetes

Conclusion

The old blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C guidelines need a significant revision. In contrast, new guidelines based on actual measurements and clinical trials that showed no complications of prediabetes on the long term have replaced them.

A fasting blood sugar of 85 mg/dL or less is normal. A hemoglobin A1C of 3.8% to 4.9% is now the new normal range.

Consequently, the doctor needs to be more aggressive about early nutritional intervention and probably include metformin as well to restore insulin sensitivity. It is no longer appropriate to allow complications of diabetes like nephropathy, retinopathy or neuropathy to develop. Unfortunately food manufacturers still overload processed food with sugar. Each patient needs to be vigilant about the food he/she eats. Therefore, low glycemic nutrition is the mantra to follow. Also stick to natural, unprocessed foods instead of the highly processed foods that populate the shelves of the supermarkets.

Apr
01
2017

When Food Causes Inflammation

By | Abdominal Pain, Arthritis, autoimmune disease, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, depression, Diabetes, diet, heart attack, Heart Disease, immune system, Inflammation, lifestyle, Nutrition, Obesity, Pain, Prevention, Processed food

Dr. Hal Blatman gave a talk about when food causes inflammation. He gave his talk on Dec. 9 at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The original title was “Food, Pain and Dietary Effects of Inflammation”.

Dr. Blatman is the medical director of Blatman Health and Wellness Center, Cincinnati and Batman Medical Services, Manhattan.

General remarks about nutrition

Dr. Blatman pointed out that mistakes of nutrition are often behind chronic diseases and illnesses. The physician’s task is to explain to patients how they can change their food intake to improve inflammation in the body and to allow the body to heal itself.

Hippocrates said 400 BC “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

In this context Dr. Blatman stated that nutrition could exacerbate symptoms or relieve symptoms and there must be rules for good nutrition. If we do not take care of our nutrition, the gut flora composition changes and causes leaky gut syndrome. But if we consume healthy foods all of this improves.

Mathematical formula for when food causes inflammation

To make it easier to understand the impact of food on our health the speaker offered this formula:

G-B+R=P

G = stands for good, beneficial things you can put into your body.

B = bad, toxic things that affect your body negatively.

R = reserves that your body has since birth (minus the amounts you have used up)

P = pain and problems you are going to experience

It is P (pain and other medical problems) what brings the patient to see the doctor. G and B is what the patient can change. When done right, the P value in the formula reduces and the pain or medical problems go away.

Nutritional rules

Dr. Blatman said there are three rules about nutrition.

Rule #1 is to not eat fake or toxic foods

He listed NutraSweet, Splenda, Saccharin, margarine and olestra.

Aspartame

Aspartame experiments on rats showed that it can cause cancer: Dr. Blatman said that aspartame causes multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma in man. Aspartame worsens depression, 10% is metabolized in the liver into methanol, a nerve poison.

Splenda

Splenda (sucralose) originates from sugar. However, several chlorine atoms were inserted into the sugar molecule. It reduces beneficial microflora in the gut. It also interacts with liver enzymes, which interfere with the bioavailability of oral drugs.

Saccharin

Saccharin alters gut bacteria and increases glucose tolerance.

Hydrogenated fat and margarine

Insects don’t eat margarine, mold will not grow on it, and it will not support life. Merchants like it because food does not turn stale on shelves. Hydrogenated fats like margarine are like poisons. They raise the bad LDL cholesterol levels and reduce beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. The prostaglandin balance changes so that inflammation occurs. There is increased evidence of diabetes and the cell membrane composition changes. Proinflammatory cytokines can cause pain in the dorsal root ganglions. It follows from all of this that it is best to cut out all hydrogenated fat and margarines.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil

The cell membrane consists of two lipid layers at a specific ratio of omega-6 essential fatty acids and omega-3 essential fatty acids. It also contains triglycerides, phospholipids and protein. Cell membrane absorb nutrients to move into the cell and eliminate waste out of it. The cell membrane needs to remain flexible and within neurons needs to transmit electrical information. The membrane composition is critical for the cell membranes to perform optimally. It is here that the physician has to explain this to the patient. All the fats we eat are the raw material, which will make up our cell membranes. So what fat we eat that day travels into the cell wall that becomes part of it that day. The same process occurs with cell wall repair. If we eat hydrogenated fat that day, it travels into the cell wall.  A membrane with hydrogenated fat will:

  • Not transmit nutrients inside the cell
  • Will not transmit waste out
  • Causes the membrane to lose flexibility
  • In a nerve cell there will be abnormal neuron transmission

If we eat hydrogenated fat, we become like a “genuine GM truck fixed with inferior parts”, so Dr. Blatman. The interesting observation is that it takes 4 months after eliminating hydrogenated oil from the diet to get it out from red blood cells. Be aware that French fries increase pain for 4 months, so why eat them?

Olestra

Olestra, an artificial fat: This fat, Olestra has been developed as an artificial fat and is used in chips. It can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and weight gain with long-term use. Olestra belongs into the group of fake/toxic foods. Don’t eat Pringles or chips that are made with this.

Healthy oils

There are two types of essential fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Many processed foods contain only omega-6 fatty acids, because this is the cheapest way to produce them (they are based on vegetable oils). Instead you want to eat healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids contained in nuts and fish. You can also add molecularly distilled, high potency omega-3 fatty acids (purified fish oil) as a supplement to help restore the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 in your food intake. Avoid omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil, safflower oil, grape seed oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and peanut oil.

Metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids versus omega-3 fatty acids

Compare the metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids with that of omega-3 fatty acids.

The linoleic acid of omega-6 fatty acids gets metabolized into arachidonic acid, which causes pro-inflammatory mediators, PGE2 and LTB4. On the other hand with omega-3 fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is metabolized into EPA, DHA and the anti-inflammatory mediators PGE3 and LTB5.

It is easily understandable why a surplus of omega-6 fatty acids from processed foods will disbalance the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. This ratio should be 1:1 to 3:1, but many Americans’ omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is 6:1 to 18:1. Omega-6-fatty acids cause arthritis, heart disease and strokes. Be particularly careful in avoiding soybean oil, which is the most popular oil in the last few decades to foul up the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio through processed foods.

Balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids

When it comes to balancing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in your diet, be aware that nutritional balancing can help you restore the ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1:1 to 3:1. An easy way is to cut out processed foods as much as possible. Supplement with molecularly distilled fish oil capsules to add more omega-3 fatty acids into your food intake. Dr. Blatman gave the example of rheumatoid arthritis patients that were put on omega-3 supplements. After 24 weeks their joint swelling and tenderness went down.

Rebalancing the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was able to treat depression as this research showed. This makes you wonder how much depression may be caused by overconsumption of processed food.

Suggested doses of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation

Dr. Blatman suggested the following doses of omega-3 supplementation for various purposes:

  • 1 gram/day as supplementation for healthy adults with a good diet
  • 1-3 grams/day for people with cardiovascular disease
  • 5-10 grams/day for patients with an autoimmune disease, with chronic pain or with neuropsychiatric conditions

He mentioned that these doses are empirical, but in his opinion definitely help. Due to quality differences he suggested that you buy fish oil capsules in a health food store where the quality is best. Stay away from discount stores (the quality is the worst) and drug stores.

Other healthy oils are olive oil and coconut oil. They are also useful for cooking.

Rule #2 is not to eat inflammatory foods

Our body functions like a luxury car; it needs pure food to function. Anything less leads to inflammation, particularly when you eat sugar and processed foods.

Inflammatory foods are sugar, white flour, fruit juice and white/red potatoes. A medium potato=1/2 cup of sugar! Other problematic foods are wheat grain contained in breads, pasta, cereal and thickeners in soups and sauces.

What is the problem with these foods? They break down the zonulin proteins that are a bridge between the lining cells of the gut.

This leads to an increase of intestinal permeability, and leaky gut syndrome can develop. Inflammatory cytokines from visceral fat add to the gut inflammation, and cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure can develop.

Fried potatoes, in particular the consumption of French fries, have been identified as the cause of inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD). Countries with the highest consumption of French fries have the highest incidence of IBD.

A Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are anti-inflammatory diets.

Rule #3 is to not disturb the bowel flora

A healthy bowel flora is symbiotic with the body. You achieve this by eating green leafy vegetables. A toxic flora from dysbiotic microbes comes from eating white flour, white sugar and red meat. Red meat leaves residues on which dysbiotic bacteria thrive.

Symbiotic gut bacteria produce vitamin K, cobalamin, pyridoxine, biotin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and short fatty acids. They also degrade metabolic toxins, prevent pathogens from colonization and they stimulate the immune system to mature.

Dysbiosis occurs when the wrong diet consisting of sodas, white flour, sugar and red meat is over consumed. There are toxins that are produced by the dysbiotic microbes. These injure the bowel wall and make the immune system work harder. Immune system dysfunction, fatigue and fibromyalgia can follow.

Dr. Blatman stated that gut dysbiosis that causes leaky gut syndrome could also cause ulcer disease, diabetes, heart disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain and even cancer.

When Food Causes Inflammation

When Food Causes Inflammation

Conclusion

This was a whirlwind tour through a talk given by Dr. Blatman during the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. What food we eat determines what gut bacteria we harbor, symbiotic ones or toxic ones. This in turn determines which way our health develops. But the content of what we eat is also important. If we consume processed foods we end up consuming way too many omega-6 fatty acids, which cause inflammation, arthritis and heart disease. This is happening in front of our eyes, if we start seeing things the way they are. I was aware of this since the mid 1990’s. In a lecture I attended at a continuing education conference a cardiologist pointed out that inflammation was the determining factor of whether or not our patients would get a heart attack.

Cholesterol concept being replaced by inflammation concept

The lecturer mentioned then that the older cholesterol concept would be replaced by the newer inflammation concept. He was right, but it goes even further! There is the important omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, and fish oil supplementation helps. At the same time it is necessary cutting out processed foods. But there is the newer insight that our bowel flora and red meat consumption can culture toxic bacteria in our own gut. It is in our power to start eating more vegetables and cut out sugar and starchy food. It is time to see chips and French fries not as a “convenience” but a hazard to your health. Food does not have to cause inflammation; right food choices will help us to stay well and live longer.

Mar
25
2017

How Stress Affects Our Hormone System

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Anti-aging medicine, autoimmune disease, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, fractures, Heart Disease, Hormones, immune system, Inflammation, Nutrition, Obesity, stress, thyroid disease

Dr. Andrew Heyman gave a detailed talk recently about how stress affects our hormone system. He presented his talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. It was entitled “Understanding the Stress, Thyroid, Hormone Connections & Prioritizing Systems”.

Dr. Heyman stressed in particular that there is a triad of hormonal connections that is important to remember: the thyroid hormones, the stress hormones (adrenal glands) and the pancreas (insulin production). It seems like we need a balance of these hormones for optimal energy production and circulation. Under stress our sugar metabolism can markedly derail, we develop obesity and fatigue. But when balanced we experience vitality and wellbeing.

Metabolic activation pathways

Dr. Heyman projected a slide that showed the metabolic activation pathways. Likewise, he stated that a number of different factors could influence the hormone system:

  • Diet: trans fats, sugar, too many carbs, food allergies.
  • Drugs: drug-induced nutrient depletion (over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs).
  • Physical exercise: frequency and type matters.
  • Environmental exposure: chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, plastics, molds, and pollens.
  • Stress: physical stress, psychogenic stress.
  • Genetics: methylene-tetra-hydro-folate reductase enzyme deficiency (MTHFR mutation), APOE genes, lack of vitamin D
  • Disease: past or present conditions, active disease or syndromes.

Target areas within your system

The target areas in your system are the

  • Pancreas, where blood sugar can rise because of insulin resistance. In particular, too much insulin production causes inflammation, hormone disbalances, kidney damage, and hardening of the arteries through plaque formation.
  • Thyroid gland, which depends on TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) for activation. Autoantibodies can also affect it negatively.
  • Brain: decrease in serotonin resulting in anxiety, depression and food cravings; decreased melatonin causing sleep disturbances; increased ghrelin and decreased leptin secretion leading to overeating and obesity.
  • Liver/kidneys: both of these organs are important for detoxification; the liver produces thyroid binding globulin, which when increased can lower the free thyroid hormones.
  • Immune system (gut, lymph glands): the Peyer’s patches in the gut mucosa produce a large portion of the immune cells; lymph glands, the bone marrow and the spleen supply the rest. A leaky gut syndrome can affect the whole body, in addition causing inflammation and autoimmune reactions.
  • Hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal glands: this is the main axis of the stress reaction. A brain under stress activates the hypothalamus. It sends a cascade of activating hormones via the pituitary gland and likewise activates the adrenal glands. Finally this leads to cortisol overproduction, and release of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the center of the adrenal glands. High blood pressure, anxiety, heart palpitations, arrhythmias and more can finally develop from this.

Hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal glands activation and clinical effects

The main hormone axis of the stress reaction goes first from the hypothalamus, secondly via the pituitary gland and thirdly to the outside surface of the adrenal glands, which produces cortisol. The term for this is the HPA axis. Stressed people, therefore, make too much cortisol, which weakens immune functions, reduces human growth hormone production, increases belly fat, increases blood pressure and reduces insulin action. In addition, stress also reduces estrogen production in women and testosterone production in men.

Accordingly, the final clinical presentation is osteopenia, then osteoporosis with spontaneous fractures of bones. In addition there is also cardiovascular disease leading to heart attacks and strokes, and cognitive decline with memory loss. There are complications with infections. Also the metabolic syndrome can lead to obesity and type 2-diabetes.

Stress and the hippocampus

In the center of our brain there is a memory-processing unit, the hippocampus that converts short-term memory into long-term memory. Repeated stress interferes with normal hippocampus function. Indeed, high cortisol levels interfere with the proper functioning of the hippocampus causing memory problems.

Hippocampus atrophy can come from chronically high cortisol levels due to chronic stress. In addition this can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Effects of chronic stress

Chronic stress leads to cardiovascular disease, to diabetes, chronic inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, thyroid disorders, cancer, neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases. Researchers showed that inflammation releases tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), which is a key player of chronic inflammation. This, however leads to the release of other inflammatory kinins like IL6 and others. The resulting chronic inflammation can cause Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, insulin resistance, dementia, metabolic syndrome, obesity and atherosclerosis with associated markers (decreased HDL, increased LDL, CRP and triglycerides).

Hormone imbalance causes disease

  1. Excess cortisol production from stress leads to Th2 type inflammatory kinins; usually associated with this is a reduction of DHEA (a male hormone in the adrenal glands), which leads to reduced Th1 type kinins. Overall, the end result is chronic inflammation. When chronic stress has tired out the adrenal glands, a four-point salivary cortisol level test shows a flat curve. This indicates adrenal gland fatigue or, if worse, even adrenal gland insufficiency. Most noteworthy, patients with leukemia, breast cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, pituitary gland cancer and lung cancer show such a pattern.
  2. The disregulation of the HPA axis is particularly evident in patients with metabolic syndrome. People who have this syndrome have a high morning serum cortisol level. As a matter of fact, high cortisol increases the risk to develop metabolic syndrome.
  3. Metabolic connections: high cortisol leads to a partial blockage of thyroid hormones, which in turn leads to hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism will affect glucose tolerance, and if not treated leads to type 2 diabetes.

In a large study involving 46,578 members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest it was determined that for every 1 point above a fasting glucose level of 84 mg/dL there was an additional 6% risk to develop type 2 diabetes over the next 10 years.

Pathological hormone disturbances

Dr. Heyman mentioned the following hormone patterns that he discussed in detail, increased cortisol levels, increased insulin levels and decreased thyroid levels.

Elevated cortisol

Prolonged elevation of cortisol leads to atrophy of the hippocampus with brain atrophy and Alzheimer’s or dementia. The immune system gets altered, there is lower DHEA hormone leading to weaker muscles and weakened immunity. There is insulin resistance (decreased insulin sensitivity), decreased serotonin and increased depression. Carbohydrate cravings lead to weight gain (central obesity). Changes in the thyroid metabolism leads to hypothyroidism.

Increased insulin level

People who develop high insulin levels are usually sugar or carbohydrate addicts. As they gain weight they change their metabolism into the metabolic syndrome. The extra insulin that is floating around triggers the insulin receptors to become less sensitive (also called “resistant”). The people love to eat. They snack frequently on protein bars and candy bars. As they gain weight, consequently their energy goes down and as a result they often develop painful joints. This prevents them from being physically active. They notice episodes of foggy thinking. Women complain of frequent yeast infections.

The body tries to compensate by slightly decreasing thyroid hormones and slightly increasing cortisol levels.

Decreased thyroid levels

There is increased lactic acid production and decreased insulin sensitivity. Oxidative stress is increased. The patient is depressed and cognition and memory are reduced. Also, the gut has slower motility. The mitochondria, the energy packages in each cell are reduced and functioning less productively. Cardiac function is reduced.

The body tries to compensate for the primary thyroid weakness by slightly elevating insulin and cortisol.

Treatment of stressed hormone system

Before the doctor can treat a disbalanced hormone system, blood tests have to be done that show what kind of hormone constellation is present. Dr. Heyman suggested the following support with supplements.

Treatment of thyroid disorders

Thyroid supplementation may involve any of these: Selenomethionine, iodine, chromium, thyroid glandular, tyrosine, ferritin, Ashwagandha, coleus forskohlii, 7-keto DHEA, ferritin and iron. Other possible supplements that were mentioned by Dr. Heyman were Rhodiola, schisandra, ginseng, Rg3, eurycoma longifolia, neuromedulla glandular, DHEA, tryptophan/5 HTP, licorice, Cordyceps.

This, however, is not all. Missing thyroid hormones need replacement with a balanced T3/T4 medication like Armour thyroid.

Adrenal support

The following supplements are used to support adrenals: Adrenal glandular, vitamin C, adrenal cortex extract, Holy Basil, Pharma GABA, Magnolia/Phellodendron, L-theanine, sterols & sterolins.

Pancreatic support

These supplements support the insulin production in the pancreas:

Chromium, vitamin D, magnesium, alpha-lipoic acid, fish oil, micro PQQ, bitter melon, cinnamon, arginine, vanadium, benfotiamine (synthetic derivative of B1 vitamin) and Bergamot.

Dr. Heyman completed his talk by giving a few patient examples, explaining what blood tests showed, what the hormone disbalance was, and which treatment options were helpful.

How Stress Affects Our Hormone System

How Stress Affects Our Hormone System

Conclusion

Dr. Andrew Heyman gave a talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. He talked about how stress in due time affects our hormone system. Symptoms from stress can stem from different causes including hormone disbalances. Given these points, conventional medicine would simply treat the symptoms. However, this will not be successful with stress-induced hormone disbalances, namely, because it does not treat the causes. Obviously only causal treatment of the hormone disbalance will restore the person’s wellbeing and the symptoms will disappear at the same time. In short, anti-aging medicine and integrative medicine are attempting to follow this approach.

Mar
11
2017

Obesity And Diabetes Can Cause Cancer

By | breast cancer, Cancer, Diabetes, Fitness, Inflammation, Nutrition, Obesity, prostate cancer, Vitamins and supplements

Dr. Nalini Chilkov gave a talk about how obesity and diabetes can cause cancer. The original title was “Integrative Cancer Care, Increased Rates of Cancer and Cancer Mortality Associated with Obesity and Insulin Resistance, Nutraceutical and Botanical Interventions”. She presented her talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended.

In the following I will present a brief summary of her lecture.

Obesity is a major risk factor for cancer

Obesity causes 14% of all cancer deaths in men and 20% of cancer deaths in women.  This link explains this in more detail. The following 15 cancers related to obesity in terms of causation. They are: colon cancer, gastric cancer, gallbladder cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, renal cancer, multiple myeloma and esophageal cancer.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology reported about a meta-analysis involving 82 studies. This involved more than 200,000 women with breast cancer. The researchers compared premenopausal and postmenopausal women who were obese or normal weight. Premenopausal, obese breast cancer women had a 75% increase in mortality compared to the normal weight breast cancer group. In comparison with the normal weight group the postmenopausal group of obese breast cancer women showed a 34% increase of mortality.

With obese prostate cancer patients there is a similar observation. Obese patients have a more aggressive prostate cancer on the Gleason score and the cancer is in a more advanced stage at the time of diagnosis.

Diabetes increases mortality from cancer

Obesity is a common risk factor for both cancer and diabetes. But diabetes by itself is also increasing mortality of several cancers. In a consensus report details of the relationship between cancer and diabetes have been discussed in detail. The following cancers have been identified to have an increased risk of diabetes: pancreatic, gastric, esophageal, colorectal, liver, gallbladder, breast, ovarian, endometrial, cervical, urinary bladder, renal, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A meta-analysis suggests that cancer patients who are diabetic have a 1.41-fold increased risk of dying compared to those cancer patients who have normal blood sugars. Dr. Chilkov explained in detail what the various mechanism are that account for the faster cancer growth in obese and diabetic patients. High insulin levels is one of the risk factors, so is IGF-1, an insulin-like growth factor. The aromatase enzyme in fatty tissue turns male type hormones into estrogen, which also can stimulate cancer growth.

Carbohydrate restriction diet to prevent obesity

Low carb diets like the Mediterranean diet, the ketogenic diet and the Atkins diet will drop blood insulin and lactate levels. Cancer size and cancer growth are related to insulin and lactate levels. A low carb diet can reduce insulin-mediated uptake of sugar into cancer cells.

Research has shown that cancer metabolism slows down when a 10%-20% carb/high protein diet is consumed by the patient. This reduces the amount of sugar that is taken up by cancer cells. It also reduces insulin, so there is less cancer growth. A ketogenic diet is a more strict way to restrict carbohydrates. Intermittent fasting is also a useful method to reduce carbohydrate intake.

Here is an interesting study that illustrates the power of intermittent fasting. The study involved 2413 patients with early breast cancer who were followed for 7 years. Those breast cancer patients, who consistently did not eat anything between dinner and breakfast for 13 hours or more, had a 36% lower risk of having a cancer recurrence. There was also a 21% lower risk of dying from breast cancer when fasting was done for 13 hours or more overnight.

Supplements to prevent obesity, diabetes and cancer

A low carb diet and in some cases even a ketogenic diet is beneficial as a baseline. A regular exercise program is also useful for general fitness building and cardiovascular strengthening. In addition Dr. Chilkov recommended the following supplements.

  1. To reduce inflammation in the body, Dr. Chilkov recommended taking 2000 to 6000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per day (molecularly distilled fish oil).
  2. Berberine 500 to 1000 mg three times daily. Dr. Chilkov said that Berberine has anti-cancer properties, improves insulin sensitivity and reduces absorption of sugars in the intestinal tract.
  3. Curcumin inhibits cancer cell division, invasion and metastatic spread through interaction with multiple cell signalling proteins. Several researchers showed that curcumin could lower blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin production from beta cells in the pancreas. Triglycerides, leptins and inflammation in fat cells are also lowered by curcumin. Insulin sensitivity increases through the action of curcumin. Dr. Chilkov recommended 300 mg/day of curcumin for 3 months.
  4. Resveratrol, the bioflavonoid from red wine is a powerful anti-inflammatory. This antioxidant has several other effects, which make it challenging to measure each effect by itself. This group of investigators managed to simultaneously measure these effects. They found that resveratrol lowered the C-reactive protein by 26% and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by 19.8%. Resveratrol also decreased fasting blood sugar and insulin; in addition it reduced hemoglobin A1C and insulin resistance. The recommended daily dose of resveratrol is 1000 to 5000 mg.
  5. Green tea catechins (EGCG) help to normalize the glucose and insulin metabolism. The dosage recommended was 1-3 grams per day.
  6. Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) contain polysaccharides with antidiabetic and antiobesity effects. They make gut bacteria produce three types of short-chain fatty acids that control body weight and insulin sensitivity.
Obesity And Diabetes Can Cause Cancer

Obesity And Diabetes Can Cause Cancer

Conclusion

Obesity is a risk factor not only for diabetes, but also for cancer. Chronically elevated blood sugars, increased fasting insulin levels and increased IGF1 levels can cause cancer. In addition they can stimulate tumor growth and increase cancer mortality. It is for this reason that the health care provider should screen all diabetics for cancer. In her talk Dr. Nalini Chilkov gave clear guidelines what supplements will be beneficial to reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes as well as cancer. Start with a healthy, balanced diet. Add an exercise program. Then consider some of the above-mentioned supplements to reduce your risk for cancer, diabetes and obesity.

Mar
04
2017

Weight Loss Surgery Is Unnecessary

By | Cosmetic surgery, depression, Diabetes, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity

Dr. Flavio A. Cadegiani gave a talk saying that weight loss surgery is unnecessary. Dr. Cadegiani is the director of a weight loss clinic with the name Corpometria Institute in Brasilia, Brazil. He is board certified in endocrinology and metabolism and in internal medicine. He presented his talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended.

Here are the main topics that he presented.

Weight measurements are wrong when based on the BMI

Dr. Cadegiani stated that we do not understand obesity, because we look at it from the wrong angle. Current dietary approaches have failed. But obesity research is still proceeding in the wrong way. If all else fails, weight loss surgery is finally the last resort. But this is wrong.

The problem with body mass index (BMI) is that people would consider an athletic body type “obese”, because the BMI exceeds 30.0. However in a very muscular person the reason for the elevated BMI is an increased muscles mass, not fat. Body composition scales reveal that, but a simple weight measurement does not.

Dr. Cadegiani recommended measuring waist circumference with <94 cm (37 inches) for men and <88 cm (34.65 inches) for women being normal.

10 reasons why we are misled by the BMI

  1. The inventor of the BMI was a mathematician. He explicitly stated that the BMI would not predict the level of fatness of an individual. The other factors are bone mass and muscle mass.
  2. Because the BMI ignores the waist size, it is scientifically invalid.
  3. There are physiological reasons why it is wrong: studies did not factor in the relative proportion of the bone, muscle and fat content.
  4. The BMI gets the logic wrong: the CDC site claims that the BMI “is a reliable indicator of body fatness for people”. This is simply not true!
  5. The BMI is based on bad mathematics: the formula assumes low muscle mass and high fat content.
  6. The BMI is lying by scientific authority: Dr. Cadegiani said it has an “air of scientific authority, but it is mathematical snake oil.”
  7. The BMI suggests that there are distinct categories of underweight, ideal, overweight and obese. It assumes sharp boundaries that hinge on a decimal place. All of this is nonsense.
  8. Cynical people could suspect that medical insurance companies lobby for the continued use of the BMI as it keeps their profits high. Sometimes insurance companies charge higher fees for people with an elevated BMI.
  9. Doctors can contribute to the continued use of the BMI, if they don’t feel the need to use another way of assessing their obese patients.
  10. It is embarrassing that we still base the assessment of obesity on a 200-year-old mathematical formula when we know of  more reliable measures.

Bariatric surgery done too easily

Dr. Cadegiani noted that publications on bariatric surgery (=weight loss surgery)

underreport surgical complications and deaths. The bariatric industry is rich, and 90% of the booths during obesity conferences belong to bariatric-related companies. Long-term follow-up studies are lacking. Those who do follow-ups report an increase of pancreatic tumors after 10 years following bariatric surgery.

Long-term follow-ups also describe a 70% increase of psychiatric disorders including depression and alcoholism. Those who had bariatric surgery experience a 200% increase in suicides.

Overcoming weight centered approach

Here is how to avoid the weight-centered approach that would lead the clinician to wrong conclusions.

There are four factors that need consideration:

  1. The assessment includes metabolic blood markers
  2. The assessment incorporates body composition scales
  3. The patient participates by measuring waist circumference and body weight
  4. The clinician incorporates clinical signs and symptoms

Classic metabolic markers are liver enzymes and hormone levels like testosterone, Thyroid (T3) LH and IGF-1. Apo B and triglyceride levels have to come into consideration  for a lipid metabolism assessment. The physician monitors inflammation through a combination of uric acid levels, ferritin and C-reactive protein (CRP). An oral glucose tolerance test and fasting insulin level can predict diabetes 5 to 10 years before it will occur clinically. Other metabolic markers are homocysteine and metalloproteinases. There are newer tests to measure insulin resistance.

Oxidized LDLc is the only marker that is linked to diabetic retinopathy. Another marker, resistin is an independent marker for obesity-related cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. A triglyceride glucose-waist circumference index has been found to be the best predictor for future development of diabetes.

Body composition analysis

The patient measures his/her own waist circumference and body weight on body composition scales. This gives additional information about fat and muscle composition. Dr. Cadegiani’s team likes to understand what is really going on in terms of what triggers fat excess.

Questions are: what is the level of emotional overeating? How much anxiety is there in the patient’s life that leads to overeating? What is the social and cultural environment? What were previous weight loss attempts? And what is the family history in term of excessive weight?

Other important factors are to check for binge eating disorders or night eating syndrome. In addition any patient planning to go for weight loss therapy should be checked for depression, mood disorders and suicide potential.

Otherwise body composition scales by electrical bioimpedance were found to be very useful in assessing fat and muscle percentage as well as visceral fat percentage.

Aggressive clinical approach improves metabolism

Dr. Cadegiani and his group have published their own research paper in February 2017 showing that an aggressive clinical approach can prevent the need for bariatric surgery.  This publication describes that in a group of 43 subjects who were thought to be bariatric surgery candidates only 3 patients (7%) went on to have the procedure done. 93% of the subjects were able to shed pounds with the method offered and avoided bariatric surgery.

They documented that clinical parameters and blood tests all improved on their program. The researchers focused on triggers that caused obesity in their patients. The measured markers were oxidized LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, the liver enzymes ALT and μGT, fasting glucose, Hemoglobin A1C, uric acid and CRP. All of these parameters improved with the modification in food intake. 81.2% of the weight loss was from the reduction of fat mass. 46.5% of patients had a normal waist circumference measurement at the end of the trial. They also achieved normal body fat and visceral fat percentages. As already stated 93% of all the patients in this trial avoided weight loss surgery, called bariatric surgery.

Dr. Cadegiani suggested that obesity should be approached with a scientifically based and responsible method. This will change the way we manage obesity.

Weight Loss Surgery Is Unnecessary

Weight Loss Surgery Is Unnecessary

Conclusion

Attention to detail of the patient with weight problems will allow the patient to reduce fat percentage. Waist measurements should be regularly performed as well as body composition scales measurements. This way the physician can follow the fat and muscle percentages. Key to success is to reduce the refined carb contents of food intake (sugar and starchy foods) and have a calorie deficit diet. Exercise is also an important component. An aggressive clinical approach to obesity can improve the clinical outcome and can prevent bariatric surgery.