Medical Articles by Dr. Ray

Nov

2017

What Limits Our Life Expectancy?

Most anti-aging experts say that there are a number of factors that in combination lead to what limits our life expectancy. Right now the average life expectancy is about 80 years. With a bit of effort it can be expanded until 115 to 120 years. I like to discuss what these limits are.

1.Diseases that limit our life expectancy

Congenital hypertriglyceridemia and familial hypercholesterolemia

We all know that certain diseases can shorten a person’s life. Some families have a history of congenital hypertriglyceridemia. There is a history of all the male family members having heart attacks at a young age and dying prematurely. In other families it is the LDL cholesterol that is congenitally elevated, causing premature heart attacks.

Obesity

Obese people come down with diseases that shorten their lives. There is diabetes that is more common with its own problems of nephropathy, cardiovascular disease and blindness. But obese people also can get severe osteoarthritis in hips and knees that often lead to total hip and knee replacements. With complications people will die prematurely.

Liver cirrhosis

A number of conditions lead to cirrhosis of the liver: chronic alcohol abuse, viral hepatitis (particularly hepatitis B and C) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. There are also a few less common causes.

Kidney failure

There are several clinical conditions that can lead to kidney failure, like diabetes, high blood pressure, polycystic kidney disease, but also abuse of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) for joint disease.

Unfortunately kidney disease like this often shortens a person’s life.

Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease

When a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease the life expectancy will only be about 10 years on average.

Parkinson’s disease treats the patient somewhat better with a life expectancy of between 10 to 20 years after diagnosis.

But any neurological disease seems to significantly shorten the life of a of a person. This list is not complete, but these diseases are common. All of them will shorten a person’s life expectancy. The key is prevention to avoid the onset of these diseases.

2. Mitochondria and the biology of aging

The small organelles in each cell, the mitochondria are the power packs of our cells. Mitochondria can be preserved through exercise, CoQ10 supplementation and caloric restriction. This overcomes a lack of energy and strengthens the muscles of the body, which includes the heart. As Dr. Whitaker has shown in this link, it is simple. Eat less, exercise more and take nutritional supplements.

3. DNA mutations

The big question is how do we preserve DNA against damage from the everyday metabolism by-products and ionizing radiation from space? There are many open questions. Our DNA does not sit still, it constantly moves, genes are activated and suppressed, and in this process we lose cancer suppressor genes causing cancer that eventually can kill us. Our scientists today are smart, but they are not that smart that they would know all the future research results they have not yet detected. The answer would be stabilization of DNA, as this could prevent many cancers and would definitely prolong our lives.

4. Reducing telomere length

In one study the telomere length at the age of 100 was only 40% compared to the age of 20. Now we are learning that it is possible to lengthen telomeres by healthy lifestyles. Research in humans has shown that increased physical activity elongated telomeres. So did vitamin C, E, vitamin D3 supplementation and resveratrol. A Mediterranean diet and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation elongate telomeres as well. In addition, higher fiber intake, bioidentical estrogen in women and testosterone in men can be effective in elongating telomeres. Finally, relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation are also elongating telomeres.

Longer telomeres are responsible for longevity

Below I am listing evidence that longer telomeres are not only responsible for longevity, but protect you also against major diseases like heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

I like to start by providing a link where research explains more about this question.

Below I am going to summarize the facts that show that telomere lengthening is something to strive for.

General comments about telomere length

When telomeres shorten progressively, senescence sets in. Cells undergo a process called apoptosis, which is the normal process of cells dying. But some cells stay in that in-between state and transform into cancer cells. Shortening of telomeres affects health and the lifespan of a person. Shorter telomeres are responsible for the development of disease and reduced survival.

Telomeres as an internal clock, age-related

Telomere length can serve as an internal clock as to how long our cells and organs will live. In this context it is important to mention that lifestyles have an important role in preserving the length of telomeres (see below).

Telomere length decreases with age. In humans the loss of telomere length is about 26 (24.8–27.7) base pairs per year. This is the “clock that is ticking”. A number of factors affect the telomere length: age; genetic factors (some people come from families with longevity); certain factors that influence the gene expression, called “epigenetic factors”; social status and economic well-being; exercise; and smoking. The good news for everybody: gender does not affect the rate of telomere length loss, but lifestyle does!

Measurements of telomere length

People who had their white blood cell telomere length tested and got the result of having shorter telomeres than the average in their age group, had a 3-fold higher risk of developing a heart attack. People in nursing homes with shorter telomeres had a much higher risk of death than controls with longer telomeres. Excessively short telomeres can lead to genomic instability, inter-chromosomal fusion and cancer.
In cancer cells the telomeres are short, but telomerase, an enzyme that can elongate telomeres is elevated compared to the normal surrounding cells. Several studies have shown that shorter telomeres are a risk factor for cancer. An example was a genetic syndrome, called dyskeratosis congenita. Dyskeratosis congenita – Wikipedia In this syndrome the body cells have short telomeres. This leads to premature graying, vulnerability to infections, progressive bone marrow failure, predisposition to cancer at a young age and premature death in adults.

Effects of smoking and stress on telomeres

Effects of cigarette smoking: If you smoke one package of cigarettes per day, you lose an additional 5 base pairs in the telomere (on top of the average of 26 cited above). If you smoke one pack of cigarettes a day over 40 years, this is the equivalent to the loss of 7.4 years of life.
Stress ages you faster. A study showed that telomeres were shorter in a group of stressed women and telomerase was missing as well, when research measured white blood cells (monocytes). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. The difference between the telomere length of a control group and the stressed women was the equivalent of 10 years of life on average!

Lifestyle factors that influence telomere length

Dietary factors

High fiber intake showed an association with elongated telomeres in a group of women, but excessive weight shortened telomeres. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid was shortening telomeres as well. Reduction of protein intake tended to cause longer telomeres, which is responsible for longevity. In rat experiments protein restriction early in life led to longevity and long telomeres. In these animals’ kidney cell telomeres were particularly long.

Dietary supplements

Detailed studies exist about the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on telomeres. Studies followed women who consumed foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids for 5 years. A control group with low omega-3 fatty acids in their diet were also part of a study. The antioxidant effect of omega-3 fatty acids reduced the rate of telomere shortening. The control group lacking omega-3 fatty acid in the diet had much shorter telomeres. This group had a moderate risk for developing breast cancer. Other antioxidants like vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene showed a link to longer telomeres and a lower risk to develop breast cancer. Antioxidants protect the DNA of telomeres from oxidative damage.

5. Decreasing hormone production

Another factor of aging is hormone deficiency in general and human growth hormone (HGH) deficiency in particular. In the past the school of thought was that HGH was only important for bone growth in children and young teenagers. However, more research revealed that it has also an important maintenance function. This maintenance concerns our muscles including the heart and to preserve our brain. Here is a review article about human growth hormone deficiency that may be mind-blowing to you. When people age, they lose HGH production putting them at a considerable risk to get heart attacks and strokes. But they are also at a higher risk of serious falls due to muscle weakness and balance problems.

Diagnosis of HGH deficiency

When the doctor detects low IGF-1 levels in the blood this is a sign of HGH deficiency. This graph shows that beyond the age of 60 HGH levels are extremely low. Tests that check for low HGH metabolites in a 24-hour urine sample are necessary to confirm this.

Replacement of HGH in aging people

When this test is also showing HGH deficiency, the time has come to do daily HGH injections with human HGH. The injection is easy, as it uses using a similar pen that is the common device for insulin injections. The dosage is only between 0.05 mg and 0.25 mg per day, and the administration is before bedtime. There is a significant cost to this treatment. For this reason, it is important to check whether the personal health care plan covers injections with human growth hormone, as it is a true hormone deficiency in many aging people.

Replacing missing HGH production with HGH injections

This is remarkably effective not only for heart attack and stroke prevention, but also to treat muscle weakness. In addition, it treats lack of mental clarity and increases general well-being. Patients report that their joint and muscle aches disappear. They can engage in physical activities again. But HGH is not the only hormone that needs monitoring. Tests for thyroid hormones, sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone in women and testosterone in men are also necessary. When levels are low, there is a need for hormone replacement in the form of nature-identical hormones. The estimate is that you gain about 10 to 15 years of good and active living by replacing missing hormones with bioidentical ones.

6. What can we do to maximize our life expectancy?

Here are a number of factors that help preserve telomeres and thus reduce aging and keep you from getting serious illnesses like heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

Consider eating less.
Include antioxidants, fiber, soy protein and healthy fats (derived from avocados, fish, and nuts).
Stay lean, active, healthy, and stress-free (regular exercise and meditation).
Eat foods such as salmon, herring, mackerel, halibut, anchovies, catfish, flounder, flax seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, kiwi, black raspberries, lingonberry, green tea, broccoli, sprouts, red grapes, tomatoes, olive fruit, and other vitamin C-rich and vitamin E-rich foods. They are a good source of antioxidants. Avoid tuna and grouper fish because they are too high in noxious mercury.
These habits combined with a Mediterranean type of diet containing fruits, and whole grains will help protect your telomeres.
Replace missing hormones

What Limits Our Life Expectancy?

Conclusion

At the 23rd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine on Dec. 13, 2015 in Las Vegas the endocrinologist, Dr. Thierry Hertoghe from Belgium gave a talk about “How to extend the human lifespan by 40 years”. He said that bioidentical hormone replacement could add 15 years of life. Organ transplants, if necessary, telomerase activators and stem cell therapy can add another 25 years of life expectancy to a total of 40 years. He felt that there is a limit of about 120 to 125 years of life expectancy. I have blogged on this here: life extended by several decades.

Limits of extension of life

“Living forever” is simply not in the cards, as we do not have all the answers to preserve DNA and mitochondria from damages. What nature has done since its existence is by rejuvenation through eggs and sperms create new life. This circumvents the longevity conundrum.

We are living longer than our ancestors. Many diseases have become treatable, and it is encouraging to see this progress. But there is a limit of what can be done.

More information http://nethealthbook.com/news/the-biology-of-aging/

Oct

2017

Take Enough Vitamin D3

By Ray Schilling | Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Inflammation, Multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, Stroke

Many people supplement with 300 to 400 IU of vitamin D3, but do they take enough vitamin D3? There is a simple way of finding out: ask your doctor to order a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test. This will show whether the gut absorbed enough of the essential vitamin. It will also show whether or not your vitamin D3 capsules or tablets were strong enough. It is now generally accepted that a good range of the vitamin D blood level is between 50 and 80 ng/ml. Unfortunately many Americans who come down with various diseases have blood levels of less than 30 ng/ml. Here are some facts about what a lack of vitamin D3 can cause.

Increased risk of mortality with lower vitamin D levels in ICU patients

A New England Journal study from 2009 reported about 1100 patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Their average vitamin D blood level was only 16 ng/ml. They tracked the mortality rates depending on the vitamin D blood level. Insufficient vitamin D levels showed an association with a mortality rate of 45%. An intermediate level had a mortality rate of 35%. And a satisfactory level of vitamin D had a mortality of only16%. Between the low level of vitamin D and the normal level there was a 3-fold difference in mortality!
Another study from 2015 repeated the mortality study with 135 ICU patients. Researchers correlated Vitamin D blood levels with mortality rates of patients. When vitamin D levels were below 12 ng/ml, there was a mortality rate of 32.2%. Patients with higher levels of vitamin D had a mortality rate of 13.2%. The authors concluded that vitamin D blood levels were an independent risk factor for mortality. Patients less than 12 ng/ml had a 2.4-fold higher risk of dying than patients with normal vitamin D levels.

Do patients with multiple sclerosis take enough vitamin D3?

Perhaps one of the earliest results of vitamin D3 research was the following observation. More than 90% of patients with multiple sclerosis were deficient in vitamin D blood levels. Their levels were below 20 ng/ml. Other researchers showed that vitamin D could directly tone down the aggressiveness of the immune cells of MS patients. These were the ones that attacked the myelin sheath. As a result of this knowledge it is important for MS patients to take high enough vitamin D3 supplements. When they reach good vitamin D blood levels their MS is better controlled.

Canada as a northern country has 291 MS patients per 100,000 people. Contrast this to 110-140 MS patients per 100,000 people in the northern US (between the 37^th parallel and the US/Canadian border). In addition south of the 37^th parallel there are only 57-78 cases of MS per 100,000 people. Researchers have concluded that the less sun light people get, the higher the rate of MS in the population will be. However, instead of sun exposure you can supplement with vitamin D3 capsules to get the blood vitamin D levels up to the range of between 50 and 80 ng/ml.

Do stroke patients take enough vitamin D3?

Strokes are very common. About 6.8 million Americans survive a stroke and live with various disabilities. 15% die shortly after their stroke. 40% are left with moderate to severe disabilities. Many require special care.

Studies have shown that patients with the lowest level of vitamin D have the poorest functional outcomes. Moreover, for every 10 ng/ml decrease in vitamin D levels the odds of a healthy recovery 3 months after the stroke fell by about half. This was independent of age and the initial stroke severity.
In another 2015 study from South Korea 818 stroke patients took tests to evaluate whether they had adequate vitamin D blood levels. There was a clear division between those whose levels were higher than 10 ng/ml or lower. When the vitamin D level was higher, there was a 90% better recovery from their stroke after 3 months. In comparison those whose vitamin D levels were below 10 ng/ml had poor recovery rates. Experts say that vitamin D levels should stay in the range between 50 and 80 ng/ml. This will prevent numerous diseases.

Do diabetics take enough vitamin D3?

Vitamin D3 can silence diabetes genes in connection with the right diet and cofactors of zinc and magnesium. A Mediterranean diet can stabilize the metabolism and fight inflammation. Zinc and magnesium are important cofactors in enzymes necessary to prevent diabetes. Vitamin D3 and omega-3intake are helping to control inflammation and preserve beta cells in the pancreas in diabetes patients. This is important for continued production of insulin.
A Chinese research team found that vitamin D3 protects beta cells in the pancreas from dying off. The finding was that vitamin D3 receptors in the insulin producing cells prevented the dying off of these cells, as long as there was enough vitamin D available. Insulin production by the pancreas remained effective. And insulin is vital for long-term survival of diabetes patients. The key for diabetes patients is to take adequate doses of vitamin D3 to protect their insulin producing beta cells.
A 2015 Italian study showed that micro vascular complications in diabetes patients were high, if the vitamin D3 blood levels were low. If patients had high levels of vitamin D3, there were no complications such as retinopathy or nephropathy. But if levels were below 20 ng/ml, damages were significant in the capillaries of the eyes and kidneys.

Do patients with inflammatory conditions take enough vitamin D3?

What do the lining of the arteries, the inflamed joints, a degenerative meniscus and heart attacks and strokes have in common? It is the inflammation that changes the body chemistry. It gets even more complicated, because the extra calories that we consume get stored as visceral fat. This is done automatically when you eat too much sugar and starchy foods. When the glycogen stores are full, any surplus sugar gets metabolized by the liver into triglycerides, fatty acids and LDL cholesterol and gets stored as body fat. The most active fat is the visceral fat between our guts and around our body organs. This produces interleukins and other inflammatory cytokines that circulate in the blood causing inflammation in all our arteries. Interleukin-6 is an inflammatory cytokine. High interleukin-6 levels contribute to causation of various cancers.

This 2015 study from Seattle University followed 218 obese postmenopausal women with a body mass index of larger than 25.0 for 12 months. Both received weight loss intervention and either 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily or a placebo pill. Both groups lost about 5 to 10% of weight in 12 months. However, the interleukin-6 level of the vitamin D3 group had a reduction of 37.3%. This was in stark contrast to the placebo group where the interleukin-6 level reduction was only 17.2%. This type of research shows the incredible power of vitamin D3. This likely is the reason why several cancer frequencies can show a reduction with regular vitamin D3 supplementation.

Attention deficit disorder and vitamin D3

Other research compared a group of 37 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD to 37 normal children. Blood levels of vitamin D were 19.11±10.10 ng/ml in the ADHD group and 28.67±13.76 ng/ml in the normal group. Other researchers have found similar findings, establishing that very low vitamin D levels have a connection with ADHD.
A prospective study from Spain involving 1,650 mother-child pairs investigated the effect of mother’s vitamin D level during her pregnancy with the risk for ADHD by the time the child was 4 to 5 years old. Schoolteachers followed the standard test procedures to establish the ADHD diagnosis. The study showed that for every 10-ng/ml increment of the mother’s blood vitamin D level during her pregnancy the children had 11% less ADHD-like symptoms. The authors cautioned that it takes mega doses of vitamin D3 to reach these kinds of results. The usual 400 IU of vitamin D3 per day will not achieve the desired increase of vitamin D3 levels, but amounts of 5,000 IU to 8,000 IU are necessary to achieve this.

Schizophrenia and vitamin D3

A 2014 Meta analysis found that low vitamin D levels have an association with a 2.16-times higher probability of having schizophrenia than controls with normal vitamin D levels. Another study examined whether those patients who had an acute psychosis would have lower vitamin D blood levels than schizophrenia patients in remission or control patients without schizophrenia. Studies compared 40 patients with an acute psychosis to 41 patients in remission and 40 healthy controls. Patients with an acute psychosis had extremely low vitamin D blood levels, while patients in remission had much better vitamin D levels. Healthy controls had the best vitamin D levels.

Absorption and metabolism of vitamin D3

Magnesium plays a central role in activating vitamin D3. This publication points out that magnesium is also necessary for absorption of vitamin D3 in the gut. The activation of vitamin D3 is also partially responsible for vitamin D absorption. Both vitamin D3 and magnesium play an important role in bone and calcium metabolism. The fact that every body cell has vitamin D3 receptors shows how important it is for the maintenance of the body. Many researchers say that vitamin D3 qualifies as a hormone because of the specific effects on cells via vitamin D3 receptors.

Take Enough Vitamin D3

Conclusion

Vitamin D3 is an important signaling hormone and vitamin that regulates the body’s calcium absorption and is responsible for bone metabolism. Research has shown that the lack of vitamin D3 causes several unrelated diseases, like rickets, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia. But other diseases, where a lack of vitamin D3 was present, were diabetes, attention deficit disorder and strokes. When patients with elevated inflammatory markers take vitamin D3 their interleukin-6 levels dropped by 37.3%. To achieve this, patients needed to consume at least 2000 IU. We all should have our vitamin D blood level measured from time to time. It should be between 50 and 80 ng/ml. Too many Americans are deficient in vitamin D3 and come down with the diseases mentioned! Prevention and supplementation go hand in hand. You can prevent a lot of diseases this way.

Oct

2017

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement

By Ray Schilling | breast cancer, heart attack, Hormones, Menopause, Mortality, Osteoporosis, Stroke

Recently Medical News Today published an article on bioidentical hormone replacement in the Sept. 19, 2017 edition.

Although it was partially informative, I felt that there was an underlying bias against the use of bioidentical hormone replacement. The article made it sound as if hormone replacement therapy would not be safe. But the opposite is true with bioidentical hormone replacement.

Why are many women afraid of bioidentical hormone replacement?

At the time when there was a lot of confusion about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) the results of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) made it even more confusing. After all there was one trial to show once and for all that HRT would be beneficial. The expectation was that HRT prevents osteoporosis, heart attacks and breast cancer. But the results were quite different. Instead the study found a 41% increase in strokes, 29% increase in heart attacks, 26% increase in breast cancer, 22% increase in total cardiovascular disease and a doubling in the risk for blood clots.

Missing information about synthetic hormones

What the authors of the study did not explain was the fact that it was the properties of the synthetic hormones, progestin and Premarin were responsible for the negative effects. Had research insisted to perform the study with bioidentical hormones, the results would have been quite the opposite! With bioidentical hormone replacement we see the prevention of heart attacks and clots; cancer rates are lower than controls, and the prevention of osteoporosis is another benefit. The end result is a reduction in mortality rates. But the horrifying results that are due to the use of synthetic hormones and that the WHI warned about linger on in the minds of many women.

The use of bioidentical hormone replacement

Dr. John Lee pointed out in several of his books that the physician should only replace hormone loss with bioidentical hormones. He also pointed out that physicians should only replace those hormones that are at low levels or missing. This means that the woman should have confirmatory blood tests like FSH, LH, blood estrogen and salivary progesterone. If estrogen and progesterone are missing, the physician usually starts the woman on progesterone cream first. After two months, when laboratory tests show a saturation with progesterone , the addition of estrogen can follow, typically as the Bi-Est cream. This is a mix of estriol and estradiol.

Caution to balance against estrogen dominance

Progesterone is started first to balance against the potential cancer-inducing effect of estradiol. With the addition of progesterone a balance is the result, and estrogen will not cause breast cancer. This is also why Bi-Est is used: it is a mix of estriol and estradiol. Estriol is neutral with regard to causing breast cancer. Estradiol is the main natural estrogen in a woman, so some of it is necessary to make the woman feel normal. This is how the body receptors are functioning. But estradiol alone, when not in balance with progesterone, can cause breast cancer and uterine cancer.

The key is that only women who need bioidentical hormones should receive it. There are some women whose blood tests do not show a lack of estrogen, but only a lack of progesterone. These women should receive replacement with bioidentical progesterone to re-establish the hormone balance between estradiol and progesterone.

Safety of bioidentical hormone replacement products

As I have mentioned before, the Women’s Health Initiative in 2002 showed that on Premarin and progestin, two synthetic hormone products women came down with breast cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and thromboembolic events. They were using the synthetic drugs, namely conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate. The reason these women had to suffer these side effects was because their physicians insisted in using “pure hormones that a drug company had manufactured”. But these synthetic hormones were not pure hormones; they were adulterated with side chains so that pharmaceutical companies could patent them. These side chains made the synthetic hormones not fit the body’s hormone receptors. And this is the reason why the synthetic hormones created chaos in form of breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks.

Women’s Health Initiative authors whitewashed study results

Instead of admitting their mistakes, the full truth never became public. Instead the authors of the WHI study stated that it would be necessary to limit hormone replacement in menopause to the minimum amount of synthetic hormones to control symptoms, and their use should not exceed more than 5 years. These authors never distinguished between bioidentical hormones that fit the body’s hormone receptors and the synthetic hormones that irritated or blocked the body’s hormone receptors. There are thousands of women in Europe who have been on bioidentical hormones for decades, and they are doing just fine!

Bioidentical hormones in balance have no side effects

The truth is that bioidentical hormones –as long as they are kept in balance-do not have any side effects. Bioidentical hormones are the same that a woman produces in her ovaries before menopause sets in. The production of her bioidentical hormones kept her healthy. But the treating physician needs to carefully watch the balance of the hormones in the woman who is replaced with bioidentical estrogen and progesterone. This means that she needs to get enough progesterone to counterbalance estrogen stimulation. Hormones are constantly changing and if you don’t measure them, you don’t know what you are dealing with.

Dr. Lee said to measure hormone levels

John Lee showed a long time ago that you should measure hormones and identify those women who are truly hormone deficient. These are the ones who need hormone replacement. However, physicians should use only bioidentical hormones to replace what is missing. And they should also replace only as much as necessary to normalize the levels. This is also the level where postmenopausal symptoms disappear. Dr. Lee noted: “A 10-year French study of HRT using a low-dose estradiol patch plus oral progesterone shows no increased risk of breast cancer, strokes or heart attacks”.

How is bioidentical hormone replacement done?

The best method is usually a bioidentical hormone cream application to the forearms or to the chest wall once per day. This avoids the first-pass metabolism where the hormones, if absorbed from a pill in the gut have to pass through the liver. Part of the hormones can get metabolized and some of the hormone effect may disappear. By applying bioidentical Bi-Est cream and progesterone cream to the skin, the hormones get directly absorbed into the blood stream and can do their job without interference. The treating physician can prescribe different amounts of the bioidentical hormones depending on saliva tests or blood tests. 1 or 2 months later repeat blood or saliva tests can follow to verify that the amounts of the replacement hormones and their absorption are adequate for the patient’s need.

What are the side effects of bioidentical hormone replacement?

Normally, when estrogen and progesterone are in balance, there should be no side effect. However, in the beginning of replacement therapy sometimes one of the hormones gets too high. If this happens with estrogen replacement, the woman becomes estrogen-dominant. She would experience symptoms of bloating, fatigue, weight gain, depression, headaches, loss of sex drive. She can also develop uterine fibroids, endometriosis and hypothyroidism. It was Dr. John Lee who first described this (Ref.1). There can also be mood swings, craving for sweets, irritability, and sluggishness in the morning. The key is to cut back on the estrogen dosage; alternatively, if progesterone is low in saliva tests, this hormone may need an increase, which would rebalance estrogen. At the end of fine-tuning of bioidentical hormone replacement the woman will feel normal and have no negative side effects, but the process of fine-tuning may take several months.

Difficulties to measure progesterone levels

Dr. David Zava, PhD gave a talk on breast cancer risks. This was a presentation at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. Dr. Zava, who runs the ZRT laboratory spent some time to explain how to measure progesterone in a physiological way.

Blood (serum) progesterone levels do not adequately reflect what the hormone tissue level is like in a woman’s breasts. On the other hand saliva hormone levels are giving an accurate account of what breast tissue levels are like.

Progesterone blood levels versus progesterone tissues levels

Dr. Zava gave an example of a woman who received an application of 30 mg of topical progesterone. Next, laboratory tests observed hourly progesterone levels in the serum and in the saliva. The serum progesterone levels remained at around 2 ng/ml, while the saliva progesterone levels peaked 3 to 5 hours after the application. It reached 16 ng/ml in saliva, which also represents the breast tissue progesterone level. Dr. Zava said that the important lesson to learn from this is not to trust blood progesterone levels. Too many physicians fall into this trap and order too much progesterone cream based on a misleading blood test. This leads to overdosing progesterone. With salivary progesterone levels you see the physiological tissue levels, with blood tests you don’t. Dr. Zava emphasized that testing blood or urine as progesterone hormone tests will underestimate bio-potency and lead to overdosing the patient.

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement

Conclusion

Bioidentical hormone replacement, properly done, does not cause cancer, does not cause blood clots and prevents heart attacks and strokes. It also prevents osteoporosis and the associated fractures in older women. The key is that the natural hormones fit the body’s own hormone receptors. The reason why menopausal symptoms appear is that natural hormones (estrogen and progesterone) are missing. Physicians treated patients with synthetic hormones during the Women’s Health Initiative. In contrast, hormone replacement for missing hormones in a menopausal woman with bioidentical hormones has no side effect. Contrary to the Women’s Health Initiative in 2002 there are no breast cancers, no heart attacks and no strokes with bioidentical hormone replacement. What is even better is that these women will live without all the postmenopausal problems, and their life expectancy will be about 10 years longer than without bioidentical hormone replacement.

References

Ref. 1. Dr. John R. Lee: “What your doctor may not tell you about menopause: the breakthrough book on natural hormone balance”. Sept. 2004.

Oct

2017

A New Genetic Marker For Alzheimer’s

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Diabetes, genetic marker

“A new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s”; so reported a study dated August 11, 2017. Most of all, they found that a genetic marker, TOMM40 was stronger than the established genetic marker APOE4. It seems like the older studies overlooked the importance of the new TOMM40 genetic marker. This new marker may have been present at the same time as APOE4.

Details of study regarding a new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s

The APOE4 is especially relevant for the formation of lipoproteins. APOE4 showed a strong association with the formation of amyloid plaque. This is located in the brain areas where Alzheimer’s disease developed. Therefore the thinking in the past was that APOE4 would be the culprit behind memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast, the new study shows evidence that the TOMM40 genetic marker is the gene that actually orchestrates the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Thalida Em Arpawong is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California (USC) Dornsife College. She conducted research about the TOMM40 marker. Her supervisor was senior investigator Carol A. Prescott, who is a professor of psychology at the USC Dornsife College. She co-published the paper.

More info about the study involving a new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s

Professor Prescott used two verbal memory test results. They were the United States Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). In these tests immediate recall was compared to delayed recall 5 minutes later. Alzheimer’s patients have problems with short term memory recall. In total the study examined 20,650 HRS participants and 11,391 ELSA participants. Their age was 50 years and above since this is the typical age for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Genetic data was part of the examination in 7,486 HRS participants and 6,898 ELSA participants. The scientists looked at 1.2 million genetic variations of the human genome to fit the memory loss. In conclusion, only one gene area, TOMM40 showed a strong association with decline in immediate and delayed memory recall.

Hence professor Carol A. Prescott summarized the findings: “The results from this study…raise the question of how many findings in other studies show an association with APOE4 that may in fact be due to TOMM40 or a combination of TOMM40 and APOE4.”

Possible future clues from a trial using TOMM40 marker

A review paper points out the start of a new trial, called TOMMOROW. The review paper points out that the location of APOE and TOMM40 are on chromosome 19 in very close proximity. Pioglitazone is a drug that controls diabetes. Patients tolerate it well. It is used in the TOMMORROW trial. As this review paper states the TOMM40 gene is responsible for the outer mitochondrion membrane. Consequently the paper states: the “outer mitochondrial membrane channel through which peptides and proteins travel into mitochondria to support mitochondrial function and biogenesis” is the key for understanding Alzheimer’s disease. Because pioglitazone is a drug that induces mitochondrial doubling the researchers hope that it will help Alzheimer’s patients. It will probably be interesting to follow the phase 3 trial TOMMORROW, where research will observe the delay in onset of minimal cognitive impairment.

A New Genetic Marker For Alzheimer’s

Conclusion

Research has found a new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s, TOMM40 that identifies a higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Its location is close to the marker APOE on chromosome 19. It appears that TOMM40 may be more reliable in identifying patients at risk for Alzheimer’s disease than the older APOE marker. As a result research has started a new phase 3 trial, called TOMMORROW. This will tell whether or not Pioglitazone, a diabetic drug maybe useful in delaying Alzheimer’s disease in high-risk patients.

ADDENDUM: This link shows that the TOMMORROW trial had to be shut down, because the drug Pioglitazone had no effect on slowing down the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Oct

2017

How Much Drinking During Pregnancy Is Safe?

By Ray Schilling | alcohol, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, Pregnancy, Prevention

A recent review of the literature asked: how much drinking during pregnancy is safe? To the surprise of the researchers there was no clear answer in the medical literature between 1950 and July 2016. The researchers wanted to know whether 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks in a week would show a negative effect. Or would it affect the fetus and cause fetal alcohol syndrome?

What is fetal alcohol syndrome?

A mother who drinks several drinks of alcohol per day during her pregnancy will inflict serious damage to her baby. The end result is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). There is growth deficiency, usually below the 10 percentile in terms of weight, height or both. There is a characteristic facial appearance like small eye openings and a thin upper lip. In addition severe central nervous system damage is another toxic effect of alcohol on the fetal brain. This leads to gait problems, speech and psychological problems.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

When a pregnant woman consumes less alcoholic beverages, there may be less damage to the fetus. This partial damage to the fetus is called “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder”, which resembles the term “autism spectrum disorder”. However, these two conditions are not related.

In a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder some features of fetal alcohol syndrome would be present, but not all. A child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder may be able to lead an independent life as an adult.

Present rules about drinking during pregnancy

The CDC and the FDA say that a pregnant woman should not consume any alcohol during pregnancy. It even includes the weeks before a pregnancy. In addition, it also applies to the male before he fathers a child. It is a fact that sperm and precursors of sperm are very sensitive to alcohol toxicity. A woman’s eggs are also sensitive to alcohol toxicity. There is no place for a romantic dinner with alcohol and sex later in the evening, that leads to a pregnancy. Romance and a romantic dinner is quite possible without alcohol, if sex that leads to pregnancy is in the plans. If you plan on getting pregnant as a couple you must be responsible, male or female. In view of all of the knowledge it is just not a good idea to subject yourself to alcohol before pregnancy.

New questions about the minimum toxic amount of alcohol

A search of the literature between 1950 and July 2016 has not revealed any convincing data about what one glass of alcohol per day would do during pregnancy. Some researchers will likely want to approach this topic in the near future. There are many women in the US who drink that much during pregnancy, but do not tell their healthcare providers. Researchers would like to conduct a trial where they follow women who consume one glass of alcohol per day during pregnancy. They will want to compare that to a control group with no alcohol intake during the pregnancy. Next would be a thorough investigation of the offspring and about the presence or absence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. At the present time there is no such data. We know that some women expose themselves to these smaller amounts of alcohol. But we do not know whether or not there is a serious consequence for this.

New meta-analysis study from Bristol, England in 2016 regarding drinking during pregnancy

The closest study that may answer part of the above questions is a metaanalysis from England. It attempted to shed some light on exposure of smaller amounts of alcohol during pregnancy. They examined several studies where the exposure was up to 32 Grams of alcohol per week during pregnancy. This is called a meta-analysis.

Researchers examined several parameters like stillbirth, gestational length and preterm delivery (less than 37 weeks). They also examined other factors, like a small baby for gestational age, low birth weight (less than 2500 g), and features of FAS.

Findings of the Bristol study

Researchers pooled a total of 288, 512 participants from several studies. The low alcohol consumption group (less than 32 grams per week) had 10% preterm deliveries. 8% of the babies were small for their gestational age. The offspring of pregnant ladies who drank up to 32 grams of alcohol per week were compared to abstainers. The alcohol consuming group had babies that on average weighed 13.49 grams less. Low birth weights (less than 2500 grams) were the same in both groups. A large US study showed a 24% risk of placental abruption in the light-drinking group compared to abstainers. FAS symptoms, conduct disorder or hyperactivity syndrome were the same in any of the pooled studies. The outcome between abstainers and light-drinking mothers was the same. No apparent difference could be found between the children of either group.

Common sense about drinking during pregnancy

At this point it is the safest to go by the recommendation of the CDC and all the official medical societies that recommend to not drinking any alcohol 3 months before a planned pregnancy and during the pregnancy. I consider it common sense that you avoid a known nerve toxin like alcohol during pregnancy. The toxic effect of alcohol in a high enough dosage does horrendous damage, as it is obvious with fetal alcohol syndrome. It stunts the baby’s growth and damages the brain. We have also seen that a lower exposure to alcohol still produces fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It does not make sense to me to gamble, whether a lower concentration of alcohol may be “safe” to the fetus.

Limits of what research to do

Knowing that alcohol is a toxin to nervous tissue demands that no pregnant woman should drink alcoholic beverages at all. It simply is not safe. I suspect that some researcher who must do research at any cost will one day produce that hypothetical study of one drink of alcohol per day during pregnancy. I think it will show that a significant amount of cases have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The conclusion will be that it is safer not to drink alcohol during pregnancy.

How Much Drinking During Pregnancy Is Safe?

Conclusion

Sometimes science is going beyond where it should go. In the study analyzed above several studies were pooled as a metaanalysis. There are limitations in terms of reliability of such studies.

But when it comes to testing what smaller amounts of alcohol do to a pregnancy we need to ask a few questions. Are we as a society really willing to risk future humans just to satisfy our curiosity whether or not drinking during pregnancy would be “safe”? Common sense tells us that alcohol as a known neurotoxic substance will be detrimental to a developing brain in a fetus, even in smaller amounts. Also, it is not clear whether ethics committees throughout the US will allow such a claim or will shut it down in the planning stages before it can ever take off. I would guess that it is more likely that any such plans for a trial of that nature will come under the scrutiny of the medical authorities including the CDC, the FDA and the American Medical Association and be shut down fairly quickly, because of the potential damage that could be inflicted onto the fetus.

It is much safer to carry on with the existing laws and recommendations and avoid all alcohol exposure before and during pregnancy.

Sep

2017

Parkinson’s Disease May Be Stopped

By Ray Schilling | coffee, depression, Diabetes, Drugs, Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is common in the US; new research shows that the use of an old anti-depression medication can stopParkinson’s disease The use of nortriptyline, a 50-year old antidepressant has shown to normalize a nerve cell protein. In rats nortriptyline dissolved toxic alpha-synuclein clusters in brain cells. These toxic protein clusters seem to be happening in the brain of Parkinson’s disease patients also. It is the protein by the name of alpha-synuclein that research first found in rats to cause the toxic protein clusters in nerve cells of the substantia nigra, a part of the brain stem.

But nortriptyline was able to normalize the concentration of the protein. In preliminary studies in humans the investigators found that there was a significant improvement of Parkinson’s disease with the use of nortriptyline.

Placebo controlled trial with nortriptyline

Now a research team from Michigan State University in Grand Rapids conducted a larger clinical placebo-controlled trial. The lead researcher Collier of the study group found that Parkinson’s patients who received treatment for depression with the tricyclic agent nortriptyline needed less dopamine, the main drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease. This indicated to the researchers that nortriptyline was preserving brain cells that were still making their own dopamine. In rat experiments they could show that it was the dissolving of toxic alpha-synuclein proteins by nortriptyline that was the key to therapeutic success.

Lisa Lapidus, a co-worker on the Michigan State University research team summed up their research: “What we’ve essentially shown is that we are dealing with a drug that the FDA approved already 50 years ago. Patients tolerate the medication relatively well. This could be a much simpler approach to treating the disease itself, not just the symptoms.”

Parkinson’s disease may be stopped also by old diabetes drug

Thomas Foltynie found that the diabetes drug exenatide helps patients with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Foltynie is a professor of neurology at the University College London and co-author of the study.

Exenatide is an injection drug. When preliminary studies showed that this drug was effective in helping Parkinson’s disease patients lose their problems with walking and balance, a formal study followed.

Professor Foltynie designed a study where 60 people with Parkinson’s disease either got injections of exenatide or placebo injections. Patient exams followed regarding their musculoskeletal system and balance at baseline and every 12 weeks. A score system of 132 points assessed their Parkinson’s disease. After 48 weeks those who had been taking exenatide had a gain of 1 point on that scale while the placebo group dropped 3 points. After 48 weeks the drug administration (exenatide) finished. But after another 12 weeks another scoring and assessment of the Parkinson’s disease symptoms took place. The experimental group on exenatide scored 3.5 points higher than the placebo group. This suggests that exenatide is helping to treat the cause of Parkinson’s disease, not just the symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease may also stop through the use of caffeine

Parkinson’s disease was in the news again because of another study that involved breaking up misfolded alpha-synuclein through caffeine.

Misfolded alpha synuclein forms clumps inside dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra of the brain stem. Misfolded alpha synuclein acts like a toxin to the dopamine producing cells and eventually these cells die off. This is the brain region that is responsible for making muscle movements smooth and stabilizes balance. The cells that have misfolded alpha synuclein clumps in them also go under the name of “Lewy bodies”.

Dr. Jeremy Lee from the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) has isolated two compounds from coffee. They are called C8-6-I and C8-6-N. They can bind to alpha-synuclein and prevent clumping, which stops the toxic effects on dopamine producing nerve cells. Like with nortriptyline the caffeine effect is a curative approach to Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s Disease May Be Stopped

Conclusion

There is a new therapeutic approach to Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have detected a protein called alpha-synuclein to cause toxic protein clusters in nerve cells of the substantia nigra, a part of the brain stem. When these cells die from the accumulation of these misfolded proteins, patients come down with Parkinson’s disease. But three different methods of treatment can improve Parkinson’s disease by dissolving the protein alpha-synuclein.

Nortriptyline was able to normalize the concentration of the protein. In preliminary studies in humans the investigators found that there was a significant improvement of Parkinson’s disease with the use of nortriptyline.
Exenatide, an injection drug for diabetes, has been described to help Parkinson’s patients get better.
Caffeine can also dissolve misfolded alpha synuclein (two compounds from coffee called C8-6-I and C8-6-N). This helps patients with Parkinson’s disease to stabilize.

This is only the beginning of a new approach to Parkinson’s disease and an attempt to cure the disease by dissolving the underlying mechanism. So far the drugs that are in use for Parkinson’s disease are only attempting to stimulate dopamine producing nerve cells to produce more dopamine. But the underlying pathology of accumulating misfolded alpha-synuclein clumps is not yet in the treatment protocol. The new research is different, as it takes this into account in an attempt to prevent the condition.

Sep

2017

Close Diabetes Control Prolongs Life

By Ray Schilling | Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, Drugs, Eye Diseases, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, kidney disease, lifestyle, Mortality, Other neurological conditions, Prevention, Weight loss

A 20-year study showed that close diabetes control prolongs life. A study divided 160 people with diabetes into two groups. The one group continued to get standard care. Yet the other group received a multi targeted, aggressive treatment protocol. As a result after 20 years the group with the intensive treatment protocol lived 7.9 years longer than the group with the standard treatment.

Dr. Oluf Pederson was the senior investigator of the physician team that followed the diabetes group. He said that they concentrated on a number of known adverse factors and treated them aggressively. These factors were first of all high blood glucose values and clotting risks, also high blood pressure and high triglycerides and in addition cholesterol values. Behavior modification was the therapeutic method to get people with risk factors to exercise more, adopt a healthy diet and stop smoking. Medication in select cases also played a role.

More details about the study

The intervention of intensive treatment lasted 8 years. After that the patients were still in a follow-up study for 13 years. At the beginning of the study patients were on average 55 years old and were borderline obese.

The investigation team screened for complications of diabetes. This included screening for kidney disease, heart disease and blindness. Dr. Joel Zonszein, the director of the New York Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center said: ”These results are impressive and most patients do not receive the correct treatment, according to national surveys.”

Other studies about diabetes

Foreign studies

Study from Croatia

Another study from Croatia involved 200 patients. It concentrated on patients who did not respond to metformin. Physicians used alternative treatment modalities, and they observed and measured blood sugars and hemoglobin A1C in the following 6 months. The study concluded that those patients who received aggressive treatment of their condition did better than those who did not receive the same vigorous approach.

Study from Japan

This Japanese study documented that female patients with type-2 diabetes developed kidney damage earlier than their male counterparts. Consequently, the investigators pointed out how important it is to treat diabetes aggressively to avoid kidney damage.

Study from Singapore

This 2016 study from Singapore analyzed retroactively the impact of diabetes on the long-term survival after coronary bypass grafting (CABG). 5720 consecutive patients had their isolated first CABG surgery between 1982 and 1999. The mean follow-up was 13 years. 34.6% of the patients had diabetes, 51% had high blood pressure and 46.6% had elevated blood lipids. The initial mortality after the CABG surgery was 2.4% in the diabetic group and 1.8% in the non-diabetic group. 20-year survival rates following CABG surgery were 30.9% in diabetics and 49.2% in the non-diabetics, an 18.3% difference. The 20-year freedom from cardiac mortality rates was 56% in diabetics and 68.4% in non-diabetics. Other risk factors that led to cardiac mortality were the following: female gender (1.43-fold risk), diabetes (1.51-fold risk), previous heart attack (1.54-fold risk) and a low left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 35% (2.6-fold risk). The conclusion from this study was that long-term survival in diabetics following CABG surgery was much lower than that of non-diabetic controls. Hence the key to improving long-term survival for diabetics is to treat comorbidities like high blood pressure and elevated lipids aggressively as well as getting blood sugars and hemoglobin A1C values under control.

US studies

In this US study 558 youth (age less than 21) between February 2012 to July 2015 received follow-up. Between 40% and 50% of these diabetics needed insulin to improve their diabetes. Unfortunately their diabetes showed poor control, as their high hemoglobin A1C values indicated. Median HbA1C was 6.7%, 8.5%, 9.6%, and 9.7% in those with disease duration less than 1 year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years and less than 4 In other words, the longer the young patients had diabetes, the less seriously they took their treatment. Only 33% treated their high blood pressure and only 11% their elevated blood lipids. Microalbuminuria, an indicator of diabetic kidney disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were present in 5% to 6% of these young diabetic patients. The authors came to the conclusion that there were serious gaps in treating these young diabetics. Further follow-up data of the same group of patients in the coming years will provide further data. In conclusion, the new hemoglobin A1C ranges of 3.8% to 4.9% as the new normal range explains why these youths who do not treat their diabetes properly are at high risk to develop complications from their poorly controlled diabetes.

Heart attacks and erectile dysfunction

Heart attacks are more common among patients with uncontrolled diabetes. This US study classified diabetics according to the tightness of their diabetes control. Researchers found examining 606 men and 606 women with diabetes that they could reduce their risk of a heart attack, if they controlled smoking, glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C), systolic blood pressure, and total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The control of all these risk factors could contribute to the prevention of heart attacks. 35% of men and 45% of women could prevent having a heart attack. A laxer control still would prevent 36% of heart attacks in men and 38% in women. A very aggressive diabetes control could prevent 51% of heart attacks in men and 61% in women. Most noteworthy: close diabetes control prolongs life.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a big problem among diabetic men. This study from Seattle shows the investigation of 136, 306 men with erectile dysfunction. 19, 236 of these men had diabetes prior to their ED problem. Over a two-year observation period diabetic men had much worse ED problems. As a result they needed to receive secondary line treatments like penile suppositories or injectables. Others needed tertiary treatments like penile prostheses. In those whose diabetes control was good, oral agents as first-line therapies were usually sufficient.

More studies about risks and benefits of lifestyle

Middle-aged women with diabetes have a 4- to 5-fold higher risk for developing heart attacks while men do not show such a higher risk. It is probably particularly important for women to control diabetes when they are diagnosed with it to reduce the risk of coming down with a heart attack.
In 2011 Taylor from Newcastle University showed in a group of diabetes patients that he could cure diabetes permanently with an extremely low calorie diet. The trial was simple: he took overweight or obese patients with diabetes and put them on a starvation diet of 600-700 calories per day for 8 weeks. Consequently 43% of diabetic patients received a permanent cure of their diabetes. More info: http://nethealthbook.com/news/cure-diabetes-permanently/

Close Diabetes Control Prolongs Life

Conclusion

The new hemoglobin A1C ranges that are desirable are between 3.8% to 4.9%. When diabetics bring their hemoglobin A1C level into this range, they do not get complications from their previously poorly controlled diabetes. Close diabetes control prolongs life. But as can be seen from a brief review of the literature physicians tend to be lax, patients are lax, and diabetes is often not well controlled. This leads to erectile dysfunction in males, to heart attacks and kidney failure in both sexes. Blindness and painful diabetic neuropathy are also common complications of poorly controlled diabetes. Amputations from clogged arteries are also among the complications. “Close diabetes control prolongs life” is the new mantra that everybody with diabetes needs to follow.

Lifestyle changes control diabetes and prolong life

As stated above Dr. Taylor from Great Britain has shown that a brief 600 to 700 calorie diet can cure 43% of diabetic patients permanently. Quit smoking, bring the glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C) into the normal range, control your systolic blood pressure as well as your total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Do all these things, exercise regularly, and your diabetes will be well controlled. Remember: close diabetes control prolongs life!

Sep

2017

Healthy Oils For A Healthy Body

By Ray Schilling | coconut oil, fish oil, Inflammation, olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated oil

Healthy oils for a healthy body? Quite frequently the news are full of articles that want to inform you what fat or oil to eat. At the end the consumer often faces information overload and confusion.

Here I am reviewing what we know about the various oils.

1. Coconut oil not as good as it was thought

This review article pointed out that coconut oil does elevate the bad cholesterol, called LDL cholesterol. This is not a desirable effect, as it can lead to heart disease and possibly heart attacks. On the other hand coconut oil also elevates HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol that mobilizes LDL cholesterol. The article points out that coconut oil may be a better choice than butter. Butter does not elevate HDL cholesterol to offset the effects of LDL cholesterol. Researchers felt that the occasional use of coconut oil instead of butter would be justifiable. But they advised strongly against the daily use of coconut oil. Instead they recommended olive oil, canola or soybean oil, along with nuts and seeds, as your primary fats. I agree with olive oil, but have concerns about canola or soybean oil, as I explain it later in this article.

Dr. Andrew Weil reviewed coconut oil in Self Healing August 2014. He said that the effect on cardiovascular health remains largely unclear. He is not aware of any “study that has shown using coconut oil leads to significant weight loss”. It is basically a thumbs down assessment for coconut oil. You may want to use it occasionally for baking or a special Thai food meal.

Let’s remember that the long-lived populations such as in Okinawa and others never used coconut oil.

2. Polyunsaturated fatty acids used in processed food

A news release in 2016 describes new FDA food guidelines. They recommend that saturated fat should not exceed 10% of the total daily caloric intake, but there are still different opinions: some studies show that saturated fat may not be responsible for hardening of the arteries. Other studies have shown that breast cancer is more common in persons who consume more saturated fat .

In the 1980’s the news came out that saturated fats would be bad for arteries. At that time there was a switch to polyunsaturated fatty acids. These consist of safflower oil, canola oil, sunflower seed oil, corn oil, soybean oil and grape seed oil.

However, the irony is that these vegetable oils were highly unstable and lead to oxidation causing heart disease and cancer.

In contrast olive oil is a much more stable oil. And long-lived populations in the Mediterranean seem to be the proof, that it is a healthy fat source for them and for us.

Personally I have cut out polyunsaturated fatty acids out of my food and I suggest you do the same. We know now that polyunsaturated fatty acids lead to inflammation via the arachidonic acid pathway. This can cause gout, arthritis, diabetes, and inflammation of the arteries with subsequent clots causing heart attacks and strokes. I don’t need all of these diseases, I am doing fine without polyunsaturated fatty acids.

3. Omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

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. Safflower oil, canola oil, sunflower seed oil, corn oil, soybean oil and grape seed oil are mostly omega-6 fatty acids and the type of polyunsaturated fatty acids that prevail in processed foods. With the consumption of too much processed food the body has a problem constructing cell memranes. When you compare the metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids with that of omega-3 fatty acids, there is a fundamental difference. The linoleic acid of omega-6 fatty acids metabolizes 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.

Disbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

It is easy to understand 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. Read labels to avoid soybean oil and other 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 simply 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.

4. Fish oil

What we learned from this is the importance of fish oil as a supply of omega-3 fatty acids. But nuts also supply us with omega-3 fatty acids. Eating fish three times per week is another way to get enough fish oil on board. There is a word of caution. Our oceans are so contaminated with mercury that you want to be careful and eat only fish low in mercury content. Avoid swordfish, tuna fish or grouper.

But wild salmon and mackerel are fish low in mercury and safe to eat. I would recommend that you eat seafood at least three times per week to have a good source of omega-3 fatty acid. In addition I would also recommend you take omega-3 supplements. I take it in the form of molecularly distilled high potency omega-3. I take 2 capsules twice a day. In addition I take 750 mg of krill oil once per day, another source of molecularly distilled marine omega-3 supplement.

5. Cold pressed virgin olive oil

Organic olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids that are neutral in terms of effects on the cardiovascular system. But it also contains a lot of polyphenols and among these in particular hydroxytyrosol that lower blood pressure and protects you from hardening of the arteries. This likely is the main reason why the Mediterranean diet is so healthy, apart from its emphasis on vegetables, which further makes it desirable. In a 2012 study from Spain it was found that mortality from heart attacks was 44% lower than that of a control group who did not incorporate olive oil in their diet.

Only two tablespoons of virgin olive oil per day protect you from heart disease. It does so by reducing the total cholesterol level in the blood as well as the LDL cholesterol level. At the same time the more polyphenol is contained in olive oil (such as in extra virgin olive oil), the more HDL your body will produce, which is essential to extract oxidized LDL from arterial plaque. On top of that polyphenol rich olive oil will increase the size of the HDL particles (these larger particles are called HDL2), which are more efficient in extracting oxidized LDL from arterial plaque.

Effects of olive oil

Olive oil has been shown to lower blood pressure and prevents heart attacks and strokes.

A Sept. 2014 study in humans showed that higher polyphenol olive oil as found in extra virgin olive oil caused an increase in the more effective HDL2 particles, which cleans out plaque from arteries more efficiently than the regular, cheaper olive oil. You should use mainly olive oil for your regular cooking. Cold pressed, virgin olive oil is more expensive than the regular olive oil, but this is what has been proven to enhance health and to prolong life, if you consume it regularly.

Healthy Oils For A Healthy Body

Conclusion

Sometimes it is useful to think about what fats you are consuming. We tend to eat too many omega-6 fatty acids from processed foods. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in safflower oil, canola oil, sunflower seed oil, corn oil, soybean oil and grape seed oil. Food merchants use these polyunsaturated fatty acids to have a longer shelf life of their products. But the more omega-6 fatty acids we consume, the higher the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio gets. This leads to inflammation in the body and the arteries. It causes heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses. Years ago I cut polyunsaturated fatty acids out of my food intake. Instead I use organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. It is full of polyphenols (and among these in particular hydroxytyrosol). It lowers blood pressure and prevents heart attacks and strokes. I am not convinced that the hype around coconut oil can be verified. At this point I would suggest only occasional use of it.

You need to eat fish three times per week and other seafood as a source of omega-3 fatty acids. This is important to keep your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio well balanced. I also take fish oil supplements regularly like krill oil once daily and fish oil capsules twice a day. You can buy these molecularly distilled to ensure they are mercury contamination free.

Sep

2017

Resveratrol Effective In Humans

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Anti-aging medicine, Arthritis, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, mitochondria, Mortality, Nutrition, Osteoporosis, Stroke, telomeres

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant; but is resveratrol effective in humans?

Quack watch says: don’t buy into the hype that resveratrol is effective in humans.
WebMD claims that there would not be enough medical evidence to say that the average person should supplement with resveratrol to receive benefits.

Despite these recommendations the following evidence supports that resveratrol is indeed effective in humans.

Resveratrol effective in humans: high blood pressure patients

First of all, a 2017 study of high blood pressure patients examined resveratrol supplementation with two groups, 46 stage 1 hypertension patients and 51 stage 2 hypertension patients. Stage 1 hypertension had a systolic blood pressure of 140–159 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure of 90–99 mmHg. Stage 2 hypertension had a systolic blood pressure of 160–179 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure of 100–109 mmHg. Analysts divided both stage 1 and 2 subgroups into two groups, one receiving regular antihypertensive medication, and the other group receiving regular antihypertensive medication plus Evelor. Evelor is a micronized formulation of resveratrol. The trial lasted two years.

Blood pressure lowering effect of resveratrol

The purpose of the trial was to determine the effect of resveratrol. added to the regular antihypertensive medication (or not) to see whether it had blood pressure lowering effects. The interesting result showed that the resveratrol addition was sufficient to bring the blood pressure down to normal levels with only one antihypertensive drug. The control group without resveratrol needed two or three drugs to get the blood pressure under control. In addition, liver function tests showed that resveratrol normalized negative side effects of the antihypertensive drug on the liver. Both liver enzymes, glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) and gammaglutamyl transferase (Gamma-GT) were normal in the resveratrol group.

Resveratrol effective in humans: diabetes patients

Diabetes patients can get help with resveratrol. 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. Another 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 was 1000 to 5000 mg.

Resveratrol effective in humans: improves bone density

Furthermore, resveratrol improves bone density in men: 66 middle-aged obese men with an average age of 49.3 years and a mean body mass index of 33.7 were recruited for this randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. The purpose was to study whether there would be changes in bone turnover markers (LDH, an enzyme involved in bone turnover), but also whether bone mineral density (BMD) would increase. The researchers gave resveratrol to a high group (1000 mg per day), a low group (150 mg) and the third group received a placebo (fake pills). The end point was an elevation of the bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP). The investigators measured this in the beginning of the study and at 4, 8 and 16 weeks.

Difference between high and low dose resveratrol

The high group of resveratrol had a 16% increase of the BAP throughout the study and a 2.6% in lumbar spine bone density (measured by a trabecular volumetric method). The low resveratrol group showed no bone restoring effect. MJ Ornstrup, MD, the lead investigator said that this was the first time that a clinical team has proven that resveratrol can serve as an anti-osteoporosis drug in humans. She added that resveratrol appears to stimulate bone-forming cells within the body.

Resveratrol effective in humans: anti-aging effects

Finally, the Nurses’ Health Study showed that both a Mediterranean diet and resveratrol can elongate telomeres.

The fact that you can have a longer life with a Mediterranean diet is common knowledge for some time. But now a study has shown that the reason for a longer life is the fact that telomeres get elongated from the Mediterranean diet. Telomeres are the caps at the end of chromosomes, and they get shorter with each cell division. This is the normal aging process.

Important information from the Nurses’ Health Study

The finding of elongated telomeres comes from the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study that started enrolling subjects in 1976. At that time 121 700 nurses from 11 states enrolled in the study. In 1980 participants filled in diet sheets to determine who was adhering to a Mediterranean diet. The researchers accepted 4676 middle-aged participants in this study. This diet consists of a combination of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, grains and olive oil. They also consumed fish and lean meats. The control group followed a regular diet. Between 1989 and 1990 blood tests were obtained to measure telomere length in white blood cells. It is known that smoking, stress and inflammation shortens telomeres.

Slowed telomere shortening

The lead author Marta Crous-Bou stated that overall healthy eating was responsible for longer telomeres in comparison to the control group. But the strongest association was in women eating a Mediterranean diet in comparison to the controls. For the best diet adherence score there was a 4.5 year longer life expectancy due to slowed telomere shortening.

Resveratrol lengthens telomeres

Longer telomeres associated with the lowest risk to develop chronic diseases and the highest probability of an increase of the life span. I have reviewed the importance of lifestyle factors in this blog where I pointed out that Dr. Chang found a whole host of factors that can elongate telomeres by stimulating telomerase. Research in humans supports the notion that an increase in physical activity elongates telomeres. So did vitamin C, E and vitamin D3 supplementation, resveratrol, a Mediterranean diet and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. In addition higher fiber intake, bioidentical estrogen and progesterone replacement in aging women and testosterone in aging men, as well as relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation are also elongating telomeres.

Aging is due to shortening of telomeres. Elongation of telomeres by resveratrol leads to prolonged life (or anti-aging).

Resveratrol effective in humans: resveratrol and cancer

In addition, this overview shows, it seems that several mechanisms of action give resveratrol the power to be an anticancer agent. Resveratrol is anti-proliferative and has anti-angiogenesis mechanisms. In addition resveratrol stimulates apoptosis, which is programmed cell death. All these actions together help resveratrol to have anticancer properties. Resveratrol is also useful in combination with other cancer treatments, which improves survival figures. As the link above explains, there is a need for more cancer clinical trials with a variety of cancers and larger patient numbers. Many smaller clinical trials have already been very successful showing efficacy of resveratrol as a chemotherapeutic agent.

Resveratrol is anti-inflammatory

Also, in this 2015 publication about malignancies and resveratrol an overview is given about the use of resveratrol and cancer treatment. It summarizes that the development of cancer is a multifactorial process that involves the 3 stages of initiation, promotion and progression. One of the cancer promoting factors is chronic inflammation. Resveratrol has anti-inflammatory qualities. At this point it is not clear how the animal experiments will translate into the human situation. More clinical observations are necessary.

Resveratrol effective in humans: cardiovascular disease

Resveratrol has beneficial effects on preventing hardening of the arteries, diabetes, various cancers and inflammatory conditions like Crohn’s disease and arthritis. Furthermore, as this link explains resveratrol also stimulates the antiaging gene SIRT1 by 13-fold. This confirms the anti-aging effect of resveratrol. This 2012 study confirmed that it is resveratrol from red wine that is responsible for the “French paradox” (longer life expectancy despite high saturated fat intake).

Resveratrol effective in humans: polycystic ovarian syndrome

Similarly, polycystic ovarian syndrome could be significantly healed with resveratrol in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. It involved 30 subjects who completed the trial. Each of the subjects received 1500 mg of resveratrol or placebo daily for 3 months. Measurements showed a decrease of serum total testosterone by 23.1% at the end of 3 months in the experimental group versus the placebo group. There was also a decrease of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate of 22.2%.There was a reduction of the fasting insulin level by 31.8%. At the same time there was an increase of the insulin sensitivity by 66.3%. The authors concluded that resveratrol had significantly reduced ovarian and adrenal gland male hormones (androgens). This may be in part from the drop in insulin levels and the increase of insulin sensitivity.

Resveratrol effective in humans: anti-arteriosclerotic effects in diabetics

Most noteworthy, a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was done on 50 diabetics. Arterial stiffness was determined by the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of resveratrol on the stiffness of arteries in a group of diabetics and compare this to a placebo. Diabetics have premature hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerotic changes). After 12 weeks of taking 100 mg of resveratrol per day there was a significant reduction in arterial stiffness in the experimental group, but not in the placebo group. Blood pressure also decreased by 5 mm mercury (systolic) in the experimental group.

Resveratrol effective in humans: ulcerative colitis patients

Finally, 56 patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis received 500 mg of resveratrol or placebo and were observed for 6 weeks. This was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. The researchers used bowel disease questionnaires to assess the bowel disease activity before and after the treatment. The resveratrol group decreased the disease activity significantly, but it also increased their quality of life. Blood tests showed that this improvement occurred as a result of reducing oxidative stress by resveratrol.

Resveratrol effective in humans: Alzheimer’s disease prevention

Here is a study where 52 Alzheimer’s patients were divided into two groups; one group received 200 mg of resveratrol for a number of weeks, the other group placebo pills. There was a significant improvement in memory tests in the resveratrol group and functional MRI scans showed better functional connectivity in the hippocampi of the subjects. The hippocampus is the seat for short-term memory, which is not functioning normally in Alzheimer’s patients.

Resveratrol Effective In Humans

Conclusion

Resveratrol has a long history of showing evidence of improving health. It does so by countering oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which lessens hardening of arteries. This prevents heart attacks and strokes. Resveratrol is also a powerful anti-inflammatory, which helps patients with diabetes, with Crohn’s disease and arthritis. There is even a cancer preventing effect of resveratrol because of anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenesis effects as well as stimulating apoptosis. These combined anticancer properties make resveratrol a chemotherapeutic agent. It is also effective in combination with conventional anticancer drugs.

Resveratrol helps prevent hardening of arteries and cancer

There are enough randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trials in humans to show that resveratrol is effective in preventing and treating several disease conditions. The medical establishment claims that there would not be enough medical evidence to say that the average person should supplement with resveratrol to receive health benefits. After my review outlined above I come to the opposite conclusion. It is quite clear that resveratrol has several important healing properties. It can improve diabetes; prevent hardening of arteries, lower blood pressure, attack osteoporosis and prevent Alzheimer’s disease. I have been taking 500 mg of resveratrol daily for years. It has not harmed me.

Aug

2017

Decreased Sperm Counts In Men

By Ray Schilling | alcohol, autoimmune disease, blood test, diet, Drugs, Hormones, Infectious Disease, Infertility, Medical Condition, toxins

What do decreased sperm counts in men tell us about our world? A recent study has shown that over the past 40 years males in many centers that tested for sperm counts have lost 50% of the sperm count that was normal in the 1970’s. The question is, what could have caused this? Nobody has definite answers. But here are the factors that the Mayo Clinic lists for low sperm counts.

Medical causes of decreased sperm counts in men

A varicocele: A varicocele is dilatation of veins close to the testicles. It is presumed that this leads to a higher temperature inside the testicles and this causes a lowered sperm count and poor sperm quality.
Antisperm antibodies can cause infertility. Due to low sperm counts.
Infections in the testicles reduce sperm production. Gonorrhea and HIV infection are some of the common infections.
Some men develop retrograde ejaculation. With this the sperm enter the bladder on ejaculation instead of coming out from the tip of the penis. Alpha-blockers, a type of blood pressure medication can do this as a side effect. But there are also various health problems that can cause retrograde ejaculation like diabetes, surgery to the prostate, urethra and bladder. Spinal injuries can be also a cause of retrograde ejaculations. In many cases the sperm production in the testicles is still present and sperm could be sampled from there for artificial insemination.
Tumors of the pituitary gland can interfere with hormone production of testosterone and sperm counts will fall or stop. But other pituitary hormones, thyroid hormone and adrenal gland hormones are needed for fertility.
Chromosome defects like Klinefelter syndrome and others can be a cause of abnormal development of the male genitals with low or missing sperm production.
Celiac disease is a bowel disease that is due to gluten sensitivity. It causes low sperm counts and infertility, which responds to a gluten free diet. Sperm counts normalize with this diet.
There are medications that can decrease sperm production like chemotherapy, anabolic steroid use, antifungals and certain antibiotic medications and some ulcer medications.

Lifestyle causes leading to decreased sperm counts in men

Certain lifestyles and occupations can cause a man to have a decreased sperm count.

Drinking alcohol excessively can reduce testosterone production, which decreases sperm count.
Recreational drug use: steroids to increase muscle mass cause testicular atrophy and decreased sperm count. Cocaine and marihuana also decreases the sperm count.
Certain occupations like welding from exposure to heat and truck driving from prolonged sitting have been associated in some studies with infertility. But there are other studies that could not confirm this correlation.
Smoking: Men who smoke have lower sperm counts than men who don’t smoke.
Excessive weight: Obese men transform some of their testosterone into estrogen through the action of the enzyme aromatase, which is amply present in fat cells. This leads to low testosterone levels and low sperm counts.

Environmental causes of decreased sperm counts in men

The environment in terms of heat production around the scrotum or exposure to chemicals or ionizing radiation can lower sperm counts in men.

Heat around the testicles: studies do not all agree, but there is a tendency for low sperm counts when using saunas and hot tubs frequently. Sitting for longer times or using a laptop computer for longer periods can also increase the temperature of a man’s scrotum and lead to a low sperm count.
Exposure to heavy metals like lead, mercury and others can be the cause of infertility.
Exposure to radiation can reduce sperm production. With high doses of radiation sperm production may cease entirely. With lower radiation exposures sperm counts may be down for several years before they recover to normal.
Industrial chemicals: exposure to fumes from certain chemicals can lead to low sperm counts; benzenes, herbicides, pesticides, xylene, toluene, painting materials and organic solvents are on this list.

Recent study about decreased sperm counts in men as an indicator

We have now reviewed the major causes of low sperm counts in men. I like to revisit the recent sperm study I mentioned in the beginning of this blog. It is unlikely that men in North America, Europe and Australia would spontaneously produce less than 50% of the sperm than men 40 years earlier had produced. The next puzzling fact is that the study found normal sperm production in men in Africa, South America and Asia.

This points to epidemiological differences that reduce the sperm count in men in North America, Europe and Australia. In view of the multitude of possible causes it will require a task force that does a comparative study worldwide looking at exposure history, diets, social habits and other factors.

Fertility clinics are thriving because couples want children. With low sperm counts of males there is more infertility than there was in the past. Density gradient centrifugation is a reliable method of enriching sperm counts.

In the past a couple had no problem getting a successful pregnancy when they wanted it. Now couples often have to be assessed in a fertility clinic because of problems with regard to decreased sperm counts in men, which can cause infertility.

Decreased Sperm Counts In Men

Conclusion

A new study has noticed that over the past 40 years many men have developed low sperm counts. This has caused significant problems with fertility among couples. Fertility clinics are busy trying to help these couples. Density gradient centrifugation has become a common technique to enrich sperm samples prior to artificial insemination. It is a puzzle why the recent study has found normal sperm counts in samples of men living in Africa, South America and Asia. In contrast men living in Europe, North America and Australia have 50% lower sperm counts. The reason may be multifactorial. It will require a team of experts to sort out this discrepancy and hopefully find an answer for men in Europe, North America and Australia to bring their sperm counts back to normal.

1.Diseases that limit our life expectancy

Congenital hypertriglyceridemia and familial hypercholesterolemia

Obesity

Liver cirrhosis

Kidney failure

Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease

2. Mitochondria and the biology of aging

3. DNA mutations

4. Reducing telomere length

Longer telomeres are responsible for longevity

General comments about telomere length

Telomeres as an internal clock, age-related

Measurements of telomere length

Effects of smoking and stress on telomeres

Lifestyle factors that influence telomere length

Dietary factors

Dietary supplements

5. Decreasing hormone production

Diagnosis of HGH deficiency

Replacement of HGH in aging people

Replacing missing HGH production with HGH injections

6. What can we do to maximize our life expectancy?

Conclusion

Limits of extension of life

Increased risk of mortality with lower vitamin D levels in ICU patients

Do patients with multiple sclerosis take enough vitamin D3?

Do stroke patients take enough vitamin D3?

Do diabetics take enough vitamin D3?

Do patients with inflammatory conditions take enough vitamin D3?

Attention deficit disorder and vitamin D3

Schizophrenia and vitamin D3

Absorption and metabolism of vitamin D3

Conclusion

Why are many women afraid of bioidentical hormone replacement?

Missing information about synthetic hormones

The use of bioidentical hormone replacement

Caution to balance against estrogen dominance

Safety of bioidentical hormone replacement products

Women’s Health Initiative authors whitewashed study results

Bioidentical hormones in balance have no side effects

Dr. Lee said to measure hormone levels

How is bioidentical hormone replacement done?

What are the side effects of bioidentical hormone replacement?

Difficulties to measure progesterone levels

Progesterone blood levels versus progesterone tissues levels

Conclusion

Details of study regarding a new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s

More info about the study involving a new genetic marker for Alzheimer’s

Possible future clues from a trial using TOMM40 marker

Conclusion

What is fetal alcohol syndrome?

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Present rules about drinking during pregnancy

New questions about the minimum toxic amount of alcohol

New meta-analysis study from Bristol, England in 2016 regarding drinking during pregnancy

Findings of the Bristol study

Common sense about drinking during pregnancy

Conclusion

Placebo controlled trial with nortriptyline

Parkinson’s disease may be stopped also by old diabetes drug

Parkinson’s disease may also stop through the use of caffeine

Conclusion

More details about the study

Other studies about diabetes

Foreign studies

Study from Croatia

Study from Japan

Study from Singapore

US studies

Heart attacks and erectile dysfunction

More studies about risks and benefits of lifestyle

Conclusion

Lifestyle changes control diabetes and prolong life

1. Coconut oil not as good as it was thought

2. Polyunsaturated fatty acids used in processed food

3. Omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

Disbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

4. Fish oil

5. Cold pressed virgin olive oil

Effects of olive oil