Medical Articles by Dr. Ray

Feb

2017

Weight Gain In Menopause

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, Hormones, Menopause, Nutrition, Obesity, Osteoporosis, premenopause, Prevention, Women’s Diseases

Dr. Tasneem Bhatia, also known as Dr. Taz gave a lecture about weight gain in menopause. This was part of the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The full title of the talk was “Hormone Balance and Weight Control in Menopausal Women”. Dr. Taz practices integrative medicine at CentreSpring MD, Atlanta. GA.

A few statistics about menopause

Weight gain in menopause is common. There are 50 million women who suffer from this in the US. Globally 300 million women have this problem. The average weight gain is between 5 and 50 pounds. There may be a small percentage of women where a genetic component comes in, and where all the females in the ancestry had a weight problem after menopause. But we do not know for certain what is genetic and what is due to hormone deficiency. It is only in the last few decades that doctors have determined how important hormone deficiencies are in menopause.

About 10 million women who are over 40-years-old need treatment in long-term care facilities.

We will see below that when physicians incorporate this knowledge into a treatment schedule, the weight problem can normalize. It is possible to reduce the costs of taking care for postmenopausal women with obesity and diabetes by 2/3 of these cases.

Pathophysiological changes in menopause

There are three intertwining aspects that drive weight gain in menopause. There is an altered metabolic rate, and less calories are burning, which makes you gain weight when you eat the same amount of calories. Secondly there is a significant decline of three key hormones, estrogens, progesterone and thyroid hormones in menopause. Third, as the weight rises and the other mentioned hormones are missing, it is harder for the pancreas to keep up with insulin production and insulin resistance develops. I will explain this further below.

1. Decreased energy expenditure

With the lack of the ovarian hormones there is a slowing of the resting metabolic rate. There is also is a decrease of energy expenditure from reducing fat oxidation. Overall there is less need to consume the same amount of calories as before. But the hormonal changes trigger hunger and cravings.

2. Ovarian aging

With ovarian aging there is less estrogen production in the ovaries. This leads to less ovulation in the premenopausal period. A lack of ovulations creates a lack of progesterone production. When there are anovulatory cycles, there is no progesterone producing corpus luteum reducing progesterone production further. When estrogen and progesterone are missing, this is a stress on the thyroid gland that is trying to partially compensate for the lack of the ovarian hormones. Eventually though there is permanent thyroid hormone production and hypothyroidism sets in. This is very hard on the adrenal glands that produce cortisol. For some time the adrenal glands can compensate for missing thyroid hormones with cortisol overproduction. But in time adrenal gland fatigue develops.

3. Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes, which becomes a real menace together with the metabolic changes of obesity.

Health risks of weight gain

Dr. Taz pointed out that around the time of menopause there are very specific risks that have to do with the metabolic changes. There is a definite risk for heart attacks and strokes as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides show an increase and arteries calcify from circulating calcium leaking out from the bones into the blood stream.

Osteoporosis is common in menopause; the brittle bones lead to an increased risk of fractures in the hips, wrists and vertebral bodies.

Postmenopausal women also risk increase of cancer, particularly breast cancer and colon cancer. The higher the weight, the more risky it is for these women to get one of these cancers.

Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline is also very common in menopause. This may be directly related to a lack of estrogen and progesterone, but may also have to do with overconsumption of sugar and starchy foods.

Hormone changes in menopause

Hormone changes in menopause can be complex. It is not only about a lack of estrogens and progesterone. All hormones work together. When there is weakness in one area (in the ovaries with menopause), this condition will affect the hormones that are acting in the same way or in opposition to ovarian hormones. In this way it is understandable that the thyroid gland can develop a weakness (hypothyroidism) or why the adrenal glands are over stimulated first, but later suffer from adrenal fatigue. In a similar way the pancreas produces too much insulin, partially because weight gain stimulates this. Typically the physician finds the fasting insulin level elevated with menopausal obesity. But as insulin levels are too high, the body’s insulin receptors get lazy and do not respond fully to insulin anymore. The name for this condition is insulin resistance. In time insulin resistance can lead to diabetes.

1. Lack of estrogen

A lack of estrogen in menopause is likely the single most important reason for weight gain in menopause. As estrogen secretion declines, visceral obesity increases. In addition there is an impairment of insulin regulation. With obesity there is an additional risk of developing diabetes.

2. Progesterone

Progesterone is the other female hormone that is reduced with menopause. Bioidentical progesterone cream can prevent osteoporosis and hot flashes in menopause. Bioidentical progesterone replacement can also help a menopausal woman to sleep better. In menopause the production of progesterone goes down by 75% while estrogen production drops down by 35%.

3. Hypothyroidism

Menopausal women often suffer from hypothyroidism (with elevated TSH blood tests). Weight gain is often part of this. As a result it is important to check for hypothyroidism in menopausal women. It is important to check for micronutrients like iodine, selenium and iron and if they are low, supplementation may be necessary. Some women develop an inflammatory thyroiditis, called Hashimoto’s disease. A thyroid nuclear scan can confirm this. The reason this is important to recognize is that after several years when it burns itself out, hypothyroidism develops often, which requires thyroid hormone replacement.

4. Cortisol response

The cortisol response to stress is suboptimal due to the decreased progesterone levels in menopause. Progesterone is a precursor of cortisol, so in menopause not enough of it is around to synthesize cortisol. But in a group of menopausal women following a significant stressful event cortisol production was much higher than in non-stressed women.

5. Other hormones

Other hormones like leptins and melatonin are also contributing to weight gain in menopause. In rat experiments performed ovariectomies (mimicking menopause) and there was a clear relationship between low estrogen levels and weight gain. Higher estradiol doses inhibited leptin expression resulting in weight normalization.

Leptin and melatonin are influencing insulin regulation. This can in time lead to diabetes in connection with weight gain. It is at this point when a woman’s body shape can turn from a healthier pear shape to an unhealthy apple shape. The extra visceral (abdominal) fat is very active metabolically and causes inflammation in the body. These changes can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and digestive dysfunction.

Treatment of weight gain in menopause: food, hormones and lifestyle

How do you treat a complex problem like weight gain in menopause? It is no surprise that this will require a number of treatment modalities in combination.

1. Diet

It is important to start on an anti-inflammatory diet like the Mediterranean diet. Any extra sugar should be cut out as surplus carbohydrates lead to fat deposits and higher blood lipids. Dr. Taz suggested a 1200-calorie diet. Reduce salt intake. Eat more food during the day until 4 PM, nothing to eat after 8 PM. Increase plant-based foods, lower or eliminate trans fats. Increase foods rich in probiotics (bifidobacteria) like kefir, yogurt and kombucha.

2. Exercise

Do some exercise in a gym where you combine a treadmill for 30 minutes with 25 minutes of weight machines for strength training. Aim for doing this 5 times per week. But it would be more beneficial doing it every day. Have additional activity bursts on and off during the day. Exercise has been shown to increase HDL cholesterol, which protects from heart attacks and strokes.

3. Stress management

Supplements like adaptogens help the adrenal gland to better cope with stress. These are available through your health food store. Meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis will all help to refocus and protect you from stress. B-complex vitamins and vitamin C strengthen your immune system and give you more energy. Building and maintaining community is another factor in reducing stress.

4. Establishing healthy sleep

Many postmenopausal women have poor sleep habits, partially from hot flashes (due to estrogen deficiency), partially from melatonin deficiency and also from progesterone deficiency. In the next section I will describe how to normalize these hormones. But in addition you need to educate yourself to go to bed between 10 PM and 11 PM every night and to sleep 7 to 8 hours. If you go to bed later, you will disturb your diurnal hormone rhythm and this will interfere with a normal sleep pattern. There is an age-related reduction of melatonin production in the pineal gland. This is why many postmenopausal women are deficient in melatonin. You may need 3 mg of melatonin at bedtime. If you wake up in the middle of the night you could take another 3 mg of melatonin. You may experience a few nightmares as a side effect; otherwise melatonin is very well tolerated.

5. Bioidentical hormone replacement

The complex hormone deficiencies described above are responsible for the many symptoms of menopausal women including weight gain. It is important to work with a knowledgeable health care provider who knows how to prescribe bioidentical hormones. Typically blood tests and possible saliva hormone tests are done before replacement. This establishes which hormones have to be replaced. Typically bioidentical progesterone is replaced first. Secondly, estrogen is added as Bi-Est cream, if blood levels indicate that it is low. If thyroid is required because of a high TSH level (meaning hypothyroidism) supplementation with Armour or a similar balanced T3/T4 combination is started. If fasting insulin levels are high, the doctor may want to start metformin as this is known to normalize insulin resistance. Blood tests have to be repeated from time to time to ensure adequate hormone levels.

6. Supplements

Every woman treated will likely require different supplements. But magnesium is one mineral that is often missing in the diet. 250 mg of magnesium twice a day will be enough for most women and men to balance internal metabolic reactions. Magnesium is a co-factor to many enzyme systems. Vitamin K2 (200 micrograms daily) and vitamin D3 (around 4000 to 5000 IU per day) in combination are important to prevent osteoporosis. Apart from these there are many options to take other supplements. Ask your healthcare provider what you should take.

Weight Gain In Menopause

Conclusion

This was a fast review of what Dr. Taz explained in a talk about weight gain in menopause. There are complex hormone changes that need to be addressed. Patients with menopause need to follow a well-balanced diet like the Mediterranean diet. Stress management skills need to be learnt. A regular exercise routine needs to be followed. Healthy sleep patterns have to be reestablished. And missing hormones need to be replaced not in synthetic forms, which are toxic to the body, but in the bioidentical forms. Postmenopausal women will feel better when this comprehensive treatment program is in place; and in time they will feel normal again.

Feb

2017

Genetic Switches To Treat Obesity And Diabetes

By Ray Schilling | Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, Obesity, Stroke, Vitamins and supplements

Dr. Michael Nova gave a talk about the role of genetic switches to treat obesity and diabetes. He gave this talk as part of the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The full title of the talk was “Nutritional Genetics and Epigenetics in Diabetes and Obesity Management”. Dr. Michael Nova is the Chief Innovation Officer at Pathway Genomics, San Diego, CA 92121.

Twin studies are a powerful tool to show that longevity is both genetically caused as well as environmentally.

In the light of these studies the results showed that 80% of a long life (longevity) is due to a healthy lifestyle and 20% comes from genetics. In addition, there are powerful epigenetic factors that can slow down aging and that can interfere with the inflammatory process that causes heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Also, there are specific inflammatory markers, which blood tests can determine. As a matter of fact, one of the first inflammatory markers detected was the C-reactive protein.

What diseases are caused from inflammation?

Dr. Nova showed a slide depicting MS and Alzheimer’s disease. In the heart area atherosclerosis was shown to cause heart attacks and strokes. Next diabetes, lupus, obesity and irritable bowel disease were depicted. Finally there is arthritis that interferes with joint movements. In other words, all of these conditions have inflammation at the core, which leads to worsening of the conditions, if the inflammation is not stopped through nutritional or medical means.

Age-related diseases also due to inflammation

Furthermore, inflammation is not only confined to these conditions. Research has shown that the following age-related diseases belong into the inflammatory category. These are: osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s), asthma, central obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. In these diseases the C-reactive protein is often up, so is the fasting insulin level. The rest of the talk concentrated on how various changes in food intake and supplements could lead to epigenetic changes that improve the patients’ conditions.

Human genetics are complicated

The speaker mentioned how complex the human genetics are, and he showed a number of slides that are too complicated to discuss here. There are unstable genes, which can become important in the development of illnesses, particularly when you don’t exercise and you eat a Standard North American diet. There are genes involved that cause diabetes, but they need environmental triggering to get expressed. Dr. Nova showed one slide that listed two genetic variants, which when activated by inflammation rendered the person positive for diabetes or heart disease. On the other hand, if inflammation is vigorously treated with a Mediterranean diet and Metformin, the hemoglobin A1C will decrease to less than 6.0% and diabetes will disappear.

Obesity and genetic factors

Obesity has a 40% to 60% hereditary rate. The fat mass and obesity-associated gene, FTO gene for short is the reason some people gain weight. When this gene is not present, the person has no problem maintaining a normal weight. The FTO gene is located on chromosome 16. Moreover, there are other genes with complicated names that can also increase weight.

It is important that there are many factors that work together in developing obesity. Dr. Nova called this the “epigenetic modulation”. He explained further that there are at least 12 factors working together that can reduce obesity. These are:

Diet
Diurnal/seasonal correlations
Smoking and other toxic chemicals
Street drug use
Disease exposure
Financial status
Exercise status
Microbiome healthy?
Therapeutic drugs
Alternative medicine
Social interactions
Psychological state

First, low carbohydrate diets and the ketogenic diet are helping to reduce weight. Second, financial stress leads to more cortisol production, which leads to weight gain. Third, an unhealthy bacteria composition in your gut causes you to gain weight, while a good composition of bacteria helps you lose weight. Furthermore, overcoming depression with cognitive therapy can help reduce your weight. Those are just a few examples in more detail from the list of 12 factors.

Extensive research has shown that genetic factors and environmental factors interact to lead to epigenetic marks or imprinting. It is important to realize that epigenetic factors have an influence on gene expression, but they don’t change the underlying DNA sequencing.

As can be seen, there are still gaps of knowledge how obesity develops, what percentage is due to genetic factors and how much is due to other factors including diets.

Diabetes and genetic factors

Nutrition can influence major metabolic processes in our body cells like phosphorylation, acetylation and methylation. This allows epigenetic mechanism of actions to interfere with the expression of inherited health problems like diabetes and other diseases. This has the potential to improve quality of life.

Useful supplements

Dr. Nora showed a slide with a number of useful supplements.

EGCG is the effective component of green tea. It supports the viability of the beta-islets of the pancreas that produce insulin. It leads to more secretion of insulin.
Naringin and Hesperidin decrease high blood sugar levels.
Anthocyanin decreases high blood sugar levels.
Quercetin increases cell proliferation in the liver and the pancreas.
Vitamin D3 reduces diabetes incidence and inflammation of the insulin-producing cells.
Biotin in combination with chromium increases insulin secretion and lowers blood sugars.
Vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin has anti-inflammatory effects.
Alpha-lipoic acid protects against diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels.

There are several genes responsible for the development of type 2 diabetes, one of them is the FTO gene that is also important in the development of obesity. But Dr. Nora projected a slide that showed 14 other genes that may lead to the development of diabetes. I have elected to not get into all of those details.

What Dr. Nora concluded is that healthy nutrition plays a vital role in preventing FTO gene expression. He talked about silencing genes, which good nutrition and supplements can do.

Silencing diabetes genes

A Mediterranean diet can stabilize the metabolism and fight inflammation. In like manner zinc and magnesium are important cofactors in enzymes necessary to prevent diabetes. In the same fashion Vitamin D3 and omega-3 intake are helping to control inflammation and preserve beta cells in the pancreas in diabetes patients.

Nutritional genetic modifiers

Foods that methylate DNA and silence genes are: citrus (hesperidin), apples (phloretin) and tomatoes (lycopene). The following foods do both DNA methylation and histone modifications: turmeric (curcumin), cinnamon (coumaric acid), green tea (EGCG), soybean (genistein), coffee (caffeic acid) and broccoli (isothiocyanates). These three foods only do histone modifications: garlic (allyl mercaptan), grapes, (resveratrol) and cashew nuts (anacardic acid).

Functional foods with regard to obesity and diabetes

Here are a few food items and their effects on your health.

The lignans of flaxseed lower LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.
The catechins of green tea prevent obesity, but also obesity-induced type 2 diabetes.
Saponins of fenugreek lower lipid peroxidation and increase the antioxidant level.
Soy proteins contain phytoestrogen, genistein and daidzein; this lowers cholesterol levels in the blood, prevents lipid peroxidation and also has antioxidant activity.
Banaba leaves extract contains corosolic acid and ellagitannins. These substances are able to lower glucose levels in the blood. It also has an anti-obesity effect.
Grapes and related products contain anthocyanin, flavan-3-ols and flavonols. They have blood pressure lowering qualities, lower blood fat levels and prevent hardening of the arteries.
Dark chocolate contains flavanols that are the main type of flavonoid found in it. Flavanols decrease blood pressure and make platelets in the blood less sticky. This prevents heart attacks and strokes. In addition these flavanols also decrease LDL cholesterol, which prevents hardening of the arteries.

Here are more items that help your health

Red wine, berries, pears, and apples: proanthocyanidins are the active polyphenols that make all of these fruit valuable. Proanthocyanidins prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing through their antioxidant effects, which in turn slows down hardening of the arteries. It reduces the inflammation associated with narrowing of blood vessels and normalizes the lining of arteries.
Onions contain two active ingredients, allyl propyl disulfide (which makes you cry when you cut onions) and S-methyl-cysteine sulfoxide. These substances have anti-diabetic effects and lower blood fatty substances.
Turmeric contains curcumin, which possesses antidiabetic properties.
Fruit and vegetables contain fiber, which lowers blood sugars and hemoglobin A1C.
Stevia from the stevia plant reduces blood sugars following a meal in patients with type 2 diabetes.

In summary, all these substances are examples of triggering epigenetic mechanisms to interfere with the expression of negative health problems where inheritance may also play a role.

Genetic Switches To Treat Obesity And Diabetes

Conclusion

This was a whirlwind review of how a healthy diet, supplements, fruit and vegetables, exercise and other healthy lifestyles can overcome genetic and epigenetic traits. After reading about this huge line-up of substances that can contribute to your health, you may feel slightly overwhelmed. Are you going to get all these wonderful items from the health food store and live on a bunch of supplements? Of course this is not the fact! Some herbals can be extremely helpful to combat inflammation, such as curcumin.

The essential facts of treatment of obesity and diabetes

But the most essential fact remains very simple: to cut down sugar and too many starchy foods, as they will trigger repressed genes to cause diabetes, obesity, heart attacks and strokes. We need to inform ourselves and stay vigilant to the fact how toxic foods may be, and we have to cut them out in order to stay healthy. We can become much more resilient to health challenges than we may have thought possible.

Feb

2017

Benefits Of The Ketogenic Diet

By Ray Schilling | Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, heart attack, Inflammation, Nutrition, Prevention, Stroke, sugar, Weight loss

Dr. Jeff Volek, PhD, RD gave a talk that clarified the benefits of the ketogenic diet. He is a professor at the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, and teaches in the Kinesiology Program. His lecture was part of the 24^th Annual World Conference on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas, Dec. 9 to 11, 2016.

There were 58 slides, some of them very detailed. I will summarize as best as I can what the presentation was all about.

History of diets

Dr. Volek stated that there were unintended consequences when the low fat/ high carb diet was introduced in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Ancel Keys, a physiologist had proposed in his diet heart hypothesis that saturated fat was the culprit that caused heart attacks.

As a result all major health agencies recommended the low fat/high carb diet. Obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes were the consequences. Another offshoot later from this was the statin craze where everybody was put on statins as high cholesterol was symptomatically treated. Nothing changed the diabetes and obesity wave and heart attacks and strokes continued to kill the affected persons. Among performance athletes the hypothesis was formed that carb loading would increase muscle performance. Researchers showed evidence that carb loading would improve performance. But athletes were dissatisfied with prediabetes and metabolic problems. Both the average consumer as well as the performance athlete noted that they felt better on a low carb/high fat diet. This is what the ketogenic diet is all about.

Diet heart hypothesis

With the diet heart hypothesis the saturated fat was removed from the diet and replaced by vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid. Dr. Volek explained that blood tests and other investigations were done on people who ingested the low saturated fat/high carb diet. The question was whether this would reduce heart attack rates and deaths by lowering serum cholesterol.

The Minnesota Coronary Experiment was a double blind study, which answered this question.

Cholesterol was reduced in the experimental group. But there was no reduction of heart attacks or strokes compared to a control group. Of concern was the large amount of refined carbohydrate content with the low fat diet. This essentially was responsible for the obesity and diabetes wave. The excess sugar turned into fat deposits and to insulin resistance, which caused diabetes. The low saturated fat/high carb diet of the 1960’s to 1990’s did not reduce heart attacks and strokes. To the contrary: the obesity/type 2 diabetes wave it had caused increased mortality from strokes and heart attacks further.

Laboratory tests on low fat/high carb diet versus the ketogenic diet

Forget hypotheses for a moment. Let us review what the different diets do in terms of lab tests. In a study where physicians put 40 overweight people with metabolic syndrome on a low fat diet or a low carb/ketogenic diet, they received the following blood test results. There were 20 patients in each group.

Low fat/high carb diet

Triglycerides in the blood went down by 20%, saturated fatty acids by 22%. LDL (the bad cholesterol) rose by 4%. Insulin levels went down by 17% and leptin levels also down by 17%. Glucose levels were down by 1%.

Low carb/ketogenic diet

Triglycerides went down by 52%, saturated fatty acids by 57%. LDL (the bad cholesterol) went down by 18%. Insulin levels went down by 49% and leptin levels by 42%. Glucose levels were down by 11%.

In this group of 20 subjects for each group the body mass index went down by 5% for the low fat diet and by 10% for the ketogenic diet after 3 months. The abdominal fat went down in that time by 12% for the low fat diet and by 20% for the ketogenic diet. The conclusion from these laboratory results and from the body measurements is that the low fat diet is showing some results of weight loss, but the ketogenic diet has superior results. The same is true for the blood tests. Only the ketogenic diet showed reduction of 7 key anti-inflammatory markers. In contrast, the low fat diet did not trigger the production of a single anti-inflammatory marker.

Anti-inflammatory benefits of the ketogenic diet

A 2008 study showed that several anti-inflammatory markers were greatly reduced from the ketogenic diet while a low fat diet did not show such a reduction.

As this 2009 study showed the LDL particles were getting bigger under the influence of a ketogenic diet, but they were getting smaller with a low fat diet.

Large LDL particles are also called pattern A particles, while small LDL particles are also called pattern B particles.

As this link shows there is good evidence that small LDL particles oxidize easier and are more atherogenic (causing hardening of the arteries). This means they lead to hardening of the arteries easier translating into heart attacks and strokes down the road. It is one thing that a ketogenic diet leads to larger LDL particles, which are more resistant to oxygenation. But it is another good thing that this diet is also anti-inflammatory. Overall this means that a ketogenic diet is counteracting the development of heart attacks and strokes.

Are saturated fatty acids in the diet causing heart attacks or strokes?

Dr. Volek discussed several large studies that have investigated this question. One of these studies discussed was a metaanalysis from 2010. Like all the other studies it showed that saturated fatty acids do not cause heart attacks and strokes. This is the secret behind the Inuit and the Eskimo diet. It is a high fat and meat diet. There is lots of seafood on the menu as well, which provides omega-3 fatty acids.

Dr. Volek pointed out that if you replace a certain percentage, let’s say 5% of saturated fatty acids with carbohydrates, this would cause 7% more heart attacks. He showed literature evidence to back this up. What causes increased heart attacks and strokes is more refined carbs in your diet (sugar and starchy foods!).

Do saturated fatty acids in your blood increase the risk for disease?

Dr. Volek showed several slides with references to various publications. Elevated saturated fatty acids in the blood cause a higher risk of getting a heart attack, heart failure, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. But this does not happen with a ketogenic diet. The values of the saturated fatty acids in the blood are 4% lower with the start of a ketogenic diet. With a low carb diet the calories derived from carbs are 12%. In comparison a low fat diet has 56% of carbs. Protein content in the low fat diet is 20%, in the ketogenic diet 28%. Saturated fat content in the low fat diet is 24%, in the ketogenic diet it is 59%.

Comparison of saturated fatty acid diet with the ketogenic diet

Let’s assume that both diets remain at 1500 Cal. per day. Then the saturated fat content for the low fat diet is 12 grams and the carbohydrate content is 208 grams. For the ketogenic diet these values are as follows: 36 grams of saturated fat and 45 grams of carbohydrates. Although there was a threefold higher saturated fatty acid intake, measurements of the circulating level of saturated fatty acids were 4% lower.

You are what you eat, but go easy on carbs

Dr. Volek pointed out that what makes you healthy or sick is how many carbs you include in your diet. If you follow a ketogenic diet with only 12% carbs you are much better off than when you follow a diet like the low fat diet with 56% of carbs. The higher the carb percentage in your food, the higher the production of saturated fatty acids in your system and the higher the storage of saturated fatty acids in your body fat. Conversely, the lower the carb percentage in your food is the higher the oxidation of saturated fatty acids will be.

Low fat diet compared to ketogenic diet

In other words the saturated fatty acids disappear from your blood. Also, with a ketogenic diet the storage of saturated fatty acids is lower in your body fat. With a low fat diet your insulin resistance increases, while with a ketogenic diet insulin resistance decreases. The difference in calories in these two diets (56% derived from carbs in a low fat diet versus 12% derived from carbs in a ketogenic diet) explains why the obesity/type 2 diabetes wave has developed and why heart attacks and strokes still top the mortality figures today.

Endurance athletes win medals on a ketogenic diet

Dr. Volek shared a few cases of world-class athletes that are on a ketogenic diet. They did well for themselves winning medals. Tim Olsen won the Western States 100-mile endurance run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, CA in 2012. Zach Bitter was the 100-mile track record holder in 2015. Mike Morton won the American 24-hour distance running record for 172 miles. Two Tour De France bicyclists made first and second place, Chris Froome (first place) and Romain Bardet (second place).

Sports teams also have been successful on a ketogenic diet: the Columbus Crew soccer team; New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly called the All Blacks; the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team are all on ketogenic diets.

Dr. Volek also pointed out that the military has tested the ketogenic diet. A ketogenic diet restores metabolic health, gives the soldiers more endurance, more stress resistance and decreased fatigue.

Benefits Of The Ketogenic Diet

Conclusion

A ketogenic diet is on the one end of the carb spectrum with only 10 to 12% of calories derived from carbs. At the other end is the low fat/high carb diet that caused the obesity/diabetes wave. The Mediterranean diet is in the center. The more you are able to cut down the carb percentage in your diet by cutting out sugar and starchy foods, the more your metabolism stabilizes and blood tests can be measure this. The ketogenic diet makes you lose weight down to your ideal weight and makes you gain more muscle strength and physical endurance. Sophisticated blood tests have shown that inflammatory markers go down on a ketogenic diet and factors that lead to hardening of arteries also go down.

The end result of being on a ketogenic diet

The end result on the ketogenic diet is that the rate of heart attacks and strokes goes down, something which was the original goal of Ancel Keys. It did not work, but it promoted a wave of diabetes and heart disease! Ironically adding saturated fat and other healthy fats while cutting down carbs will achieve disease prevention. This is the opposite of what Ancel Keys had recommended to do and what the processed food industry has mimicked. The ketogenic diet lowers mortality by cutting down heart attacks and strokes. With this knowledge it will finally be possible to get people on a path to better health.

More information about ketogenic diet: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto

Jan

2017

Cardiovascular Disease And Inflammation

By Ray Schilling | Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Fitness, heart attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, lifestyle, mitochondria, Nutrition, Obesity, sugar

Dr. Mark Houston talked about cardiovascular disease and inflammation – “the evil twins”. He presented this lecture at the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. Dr. Houston is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical School in Nashville, TN 37232.

New thinking about cardiovascular disease and inflammation

Dr. Houston pointed out that the old thinking about cardiovascular disease is defunct, needs replacing and, of course, that the new thinking needs to take its place. Specifically, here are a number of points regarding the new thinking.

Coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure are diseases of inflammation. In the same fashion, oxidative stress, vascular immune dysfunction and dysfunction of the mitochondria are also part of them.
Moreover, in the past it was difficult to reduce these cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, with the new thinking there are now new treatment approaches that help cure cardiovascular disease.
On the whole, the development of heart disease has a long history. First, endothelial dysfunction predates coronary artery disease by many years. Second, the next step is vascular smooth muscle dysfunction. Finally, inflammation develops and structural changes occur in the small and larger blood vessels with atheromatous deposits (plaques) and final occlusion, at which point you get a heart attack.

New approach to the old problem of plugged coronary arteries

Canadian physician Sir William Osler has already stated more than 100 years ago “A man is as old as his blood vessels”. In the first place, the old thesis was that cholesterol would lead to deposits that close coronary blood vessels and cause heart attacks. Dr. Houston called this the “cholesterol-centric “ approach. In reality, the truth is that with conventional blood tests you are missing 50% of all the high-risk patients that are going to develop heart attacks. They are missing the ones that have chronic inflammation, but normal cholesterol levels.

Coronary artery damage from cholesterol elevation versus inflammation

What was not common knowledge in the past was that oxidative stress associated with normal aging can also lead to chronic low-grade inflammation. This oxidative stress leads to mitochondrial DNA changes. Associated with it are biochemical changes that cause chronic inflammation, which in turn will affect the lining of the arteries. The literature describes a metabolic change that known as metabolic syndrome. It leads to high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and eventually heart attacks and strokes. Accordingly, the key today is to include in screening tests all parameters that will predict who is at risk to develop a heart attack or not.

Blood tests to screen for cardiovascular disease and inflammation

The physician should check blood tests and health history for dyslipidemia, high blood pressure (hypertension), hyperglycemia, smoking, diabetes, homocysteinemia, obesity etc. Also, patients with high GGTP (gamma-glutamyl transferase) levels in the blood are more at risk to develop diabetes. This in turn leads to inflammation of the arterial wall and heart attacks. There are 25 top risk factors that account for all causes of heart attacks.

Briefly, apart from the 7 factors already mentioned above the physician wants to check for high uric acid levels (hyperuricemia), kidney disease, high clotting factors (fibrinogen levels), elevated iron levels, trans fatty acid levels, omega-3 fatty acid levels and omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, low dietary potassium and magnesium intake with high sodium intake, increased high sensitivity C reactive protein level (hs CRP measuring inflammation).

Further high risk factors for coronary artery disease

The list to test for cardiovascular disease risk continues with blood tests for vascular immune dysfunction and increased oxidative stress, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, subclinical low thyroid levels, hormonal imbalances for both genders, chronic infections, low vitamin D and K levels, high heavy metals and environmental pollutants.

The speaker stated that he includes a hormone profile and vitamin D levels. He does biochemical tests to check for mitochondrial defects. Micronutrients are also checked as cardiovascular patients often have many nutritional deficiencies coupled with cardiovascular factors. Inflammation is monitored through testing the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP).

The Rasmussen score

In order to assess the risk of a patient Dr. Cohen, a cardiologist has developed the Rasmussen score, which is more accurate than the Framingham score.

The following tests are performed on the patient: computerized arterial pulse waveform analysis (medical imaging), blood pressure at rest and following exercise and left ventricular wall of the heart by echocardiography. Further tests include urine test for microalbuminuria, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP, a measure of congestive heart failure), retinal score based on fundoscopy, intima-media thickness (IMT, measured by ultrasound on the carotid artery) and electrocardiogram recording (EKG).

Here is what the Rasmussen score means:

With a disease score of 0 to 2: likely no heart attack in the next 6 years
The disease score is 3 to 5: 5% likely cardiovascular events in the next 6 years
Disease score > 6: 15% likely cardiovascular events in the next 6 years

Non-intervention tests to measure cardiovascular health

1. The ENDOPAT test

With this test the brachial artery is occluded with a blood pressure cuff for 5 minutes. Endothelial dysfunction is measured as increased signal amplitude. A pre- and post occlusion index is calculated based on flow-mediated dilatation. The values are interpreted as follows: an index of 1.67 has a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 77% to predict coronary endothelial dysfunction correctly. It also correlates to a future risk for coronary heart disease, congestive heart disease and high blood pressure.

2. The VC Profile

This test measures the elasticity of the arteries. There is a C1 index that measures the elasticity of the medium and smaller vessels and the C1 index, which measures elasticity of the larger arteries and the aorta. The smaller the numbers are, the less elastic the arterial walls.

3.The Corus CAD score

This is a genetically based blood test. The score can be between 0 and 40. If the score is 40, there is a risk of 68% that there is a major blockage in one or more coronary arteries.

4. Coronary artery calcification

The CAC score correlates very well with major event like a heart attack. There is a risk of between 6- and 35-fold depending how high the CAC score is. The key is not to wait until you have calcification in your coronary arteries, but work on prevention.

Treatment of cardiovascular disease and inflammation

When the doctor treats heart disease, all of the underlying problems require treatment as well. It starts with good nutrition like a DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet.

Next anti-inflammatory and other supplements are added: curcumin 500 mg to 1000 mg twice a day, pomegranate juice ¼ cup twice per day, chelated magnesium 500 mg twice per day, aged garlic 1200 mg once daily, taurine 3 grams twice per day, CoQ-10 300 mg twice per day and D-ribose 5 grams three times per day. This type of supplementation helps for chest pain associated with angina. On top of this metabolic cardiology program the regular cardiac medicines are also used.

Additional supplements used in the metabolic cardiology program may be resveratrol 500 mg twice per day, quercetin 500 mg twice per day, omega-3 fatty acid 5 grams per day, vitamin K2 (MK 7) 100-500 micrograms per day and MK4 1000 micrograms per day. In addition he gives 1000 mg of vitamin C twice per day. This program helps in plaque stabilization and reversal and reduction of coronary artery calcification.

Case study showing the effect of metabolic cardiology program

Here is a case study where Dr. Houston treated a heart patient. He was a white male, first treated for congestive heart failure as a result of a heart attack in June 2005. Initially his ejection fraction was 15-20%. His medications were: digoxin 0.25 mg once daily, metoprolol 50 mg twice per day, ramipril 10 mg twice per day, spironolactone 25 mg twice per day and torsemide 20 mg once daily. These medications remained in place, but the patients followed the metabolic cardiology program in addition. Here are the results of his ejection fraction (EF) values after he was started on the metabolic program:

Initial measurement: EF15-20%. Marked shortness of breath on exertion.
3 months: EF 20-25%. He reported improved symptoms.
6 months: EF 25-30%. He said that he had now minimal symptoms.
12 months: EF 40%. He had no more symptoms.
24 months: EF 50%. He reported: “I feel normal and great”.
5 years: EF 55%. He said” I feel the best in years”.

A normal value for an ejection fraction is 55% to 70%.

Cardiovascular Disease And Inflammation

Conclusion

Testing for heart disease risk has become a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and the tests have opened up a window to early intervention. Metabolic cardiology is a new faculty of cardiology that assists in the reversal and stabilization of heart disease. It will help high blood pressure patients and stabilizes diabetes, which would otherwise have deleterious effects on heart disease. Metabolic cardiology improves angina patients. It also prevents restenosis of stented coronary arteries. As shown in one clinical example reduced ejection fractions with congestive heart failure will improve. The metabolic cardiology program achieved all of these improvements.

As usual, prevention is more powerful than conventional treatment later. To give your cardiac health a good start, don’t forget to cut out sugar, exercise regularly and follow a sensible diet.

Jan

2017

How To Avoid Being Hungry

By Ray Schilling | Cardiovascular disease, diet, heart attack, Heart Disease, Nutrition, Obesity, Stroke, Weight loss

Dr. Ludwig gave a lecture about how to avoid being hungry at a conference in Las Vegas. The actual topic was “Always Hungry?” I attended the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas where this lecture was given. Dr. Ludwig is a Harvard-based endocrinologist who has been researching weight loss methods and obesity for over 20 years. Here is a list of his major publications.

Dr. Ludwig stated that the low fat/high carb diet popular in the1980’s until the early 2000’s was misguided and probably even harmful. The theory at that time was that obesity was caused by too much saturated fat. This has since been proven to be wrong. Instead it has been proven that increased sugar intake is responsible for the obesity wave.

General information about weight gain

The carbohydrate-insulin model states that without insulin you cannot gain weight, because in order to store fat in fatty tissue you need insulin to transport fatty acids across the cell membrane of fat cells.

In this context it is important to note that high glycemic index food increases the blood sugar. This leads to stimulated insulin production, and the liver converts the extra sugar into fatty acids that get deposited as fat in fatty tissue.

The glycemic load from a person’s diet is the single best predictor for a rising blood sugar level. After food intake the blood sugar goes up, glucagon goes up, epinephrine goes up within 4 hours. It is the epinephrine, which after 4 hours makes you hungry again.

The nucleus accumbens is the addiction center. At 4 hours after a high glycemic index milk shake the nucleus accumbens was stimulated in 12 subjects of a double blind trial.

The nucleus accumbens does not work in isolation. It is not only involved in food satisfaction, but also in sexual satisfaction and even plays a role in satisfaction that some people get from playing video games.

Low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean or low-fat diet

In an Israeli study from the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008 investigators were interested to find out which diet was helping people to lose most weight.

322 moderately obese subjects that were aged 52 years on average were randomized to one of the following diet groups.

They compared

a low fat diet (Atkins type, restricted calorie) with a
Mediterranean diet (low carb, restricted-calorie) and a
Low fat/high carb diet (low fat, non-restricted-calorie)

What was the result? The mean weight losses were: 2.9 kg (low fat group), 4.4 kg (Mediterranean diet group), and 4.7 kg (low fat/high carb group). Of the 272 participants who had completed the intervention after two years of the study the weight loss was 3.3 kg, 4.6 kg, and 5.5 kg in the same sequence as above.

Next the researchers examined the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is a measure for the heart attack risk. It was 20% lower from the baseline in group 2 (Mediterranean diet group). The low fat groups (group 1 and 3) were 12% lower from the baseline.

36 subjects had diabetes. There was a clear winner with respect to lower fasting blood sugar and insulin levels, namely the Mediterranean diet (group 2).

The authors concluded that the Mediterranean diet is preferable to low fat diets as they have shown an improvement in lipid profiles and in control of diabetes.

The “POUNDS LOST” study

This was a 2-year study that investigated 4 different lower calorie diets to help people lose weight. Despite the significant difference in diet composition, these 811 free-living overweight or obese adults ages 30-70 from Boston, MA and Baton Rouge, LA lost 16 pounds at 6 months and 9 pounds at the end of two years. The diets were 1) low fat (20%) or 2) high fat (40%) 3) average protein (15%) or 4) high protein (25% of total calories).

The authors concluded that any reduced, calorie-controlled diet would help obese or overweight people to achieve weight loss that lasts. It is interesting that it did not matter whether the diet was low or high in fat, or had low or high protein content. What did matter was that all diets were low in sugar.

Sugar is the driving force

Dr. Ludwig pointed out that without insulin you couldn’t gain weight. High glycemic index food increases blood sugar. The glycemic load is the single best predictor to indicate whether a person will gain weight or lose weight when you consume food. It is an irony that in the 1980’s and 1990’s the wrong assumption that a low fat/high carb diet would be heart healthy created the obesity wave. We have abundant data available that show otherwise: high sugar content of food brings the calorie count up as everybody can read on the food labels.

Sugar stimulates the food addiction center

This will lead to weight increase, which has been abundantly proven. Sugar also stimulates your nucleus accumbens, the food addiction center. As you probably know it is extremely difficult to get out of this food addiction cycle unless you cut out sugar. You even need to go one step further and include many starchy foods that will within 30 minutes of digesting them turn into sugar. Your system makes no difference whether you eat a few teaspoons of sugar or two slices of white bread. The response of your pancreas is insulin, which gladly stores the fatty substances your liver made as fat.

How to get out of the vicious food cycle

As the quoted publications and many other ones have shown, it only matters that you limit your refined carb intake. You can vary the fat content and you can vary the protein content and still lose weight provided you watch the low carb intake. You also need portion control, which is a given! Study glycemic index and glycemic load sites on the Internet. The links I provided are just some examples. The more you educate yourself about carbs, the better for you. Note that many fruit and vegetables belong to the low-glycemic load/index foods. Avoid the high glycemic index foods like dates and cornflakes. Stick to low-glycemic index foods, which are less than 55. With regard to low-glycemic load food the values should be below 10.

The Mediterranean diet is a very desirable diet, which has been proven to be anti-inflammatory.

The zone diet of Barry Sears is also an anti-inflammatory diet and he summarizes this in this link.

How To Avoid Being Hungry

Conclusion

I have summarized the content of a talk given by Dr. Ludwig. We learnt from this that sugar and refined carbs are the driving force that leads to “feeling hungry”. This stimulates your nucleus accumbens, the food addiction center. Let’s assume that a person is obese or overweight and wants to lose some weight. You need to start by being strict with yourself. Cut out sugar and high-glycemic foods. This will remove the food addiction factor that keeps you going back to the wrong, high calorie foods. You will also consume more low calorie vegetables and fruit, which have more fiber that fills you up.

Monitor your body mass index

Once you are used to the new way of eating, there is no need to count calories. I recommend that you weigh yourself daily on body composition scales and record the results. This allows you to monitor your body mass index (BMI), your weight, your fat percentage, and your muscle percentage. Typically you will lose 2 to 3 pounds per week on such a low-calorie diet. Later the weight loss will slow down to 1 to 2 weeks per week until you reach your goal. Don’t go lower than a BMI of 21.0 to 22.0 and discuss your goal with your doctor.

Jan

2017

Gut Bacteria Can Protect Your Brain

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, autoimmune disease, breast cancer, Cancer, Dementia, immune system, Infectious Disease, Inflammation, Nutrition, Obesity, organic food, Other neurological conditions, Parkinson’s disease, Prevention

The neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter gave a keynote address where he pointed out that gut bacteria can protect your brain. The topic of his actual talk was “Rewrite your brain’s destiny” and the venue was the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. Many of the talks centered around the gut microbiome. Specifically, in this talk Dr. Perlmutter stressed the fact that the right mix of gut bacteria will protect your brain, while the wrong mix can make you sick. There were many slides, but too much information to mention all of details of the talk here. With this in mind, I will summarize the broad outline of Dr. Perlmutter’s presentation and certainly emphasize the practical implications this has for everyday life to prevent degenerative brain diseases.

A few facts

Did you know that the brain uses 25% of the body’s energy, but has only a 3% of the body’s weight?

There are trillions of gut bacteria

The gut flora has trillions of gut bacteria with its own DNA material. 99% of the DNA material in our body comes from the gut bacteria and the bacteria on our skin surface; only 1% of the entire DNA in the body is your own DNA. We are eating for 100 trillion bacteria, but it is important to remember that if they are good bacteria they provide us with important vitamins and they produce molecules that stimulate our immune system.

We need healthy gut bacteria

This means we better have bacteria in our guts that are friendly, not the bad bacteria that can cause us problems. An Italian study determined the gut flora of children in central Africa (Burkina Faso) and compared the gut flora to children from developed countries in Europe. There was a significant difference with the African children having a healthy microbiome in the gut and the children from developed Europe having unhealthy gut bacteria. This is important new information. Many other research papers have established that leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune diseases are linked to dysbiosis, which is the name for the unhealthy microbiome in the gut.

Chronic inflammation

Dr. Perlmutter showed several slides where literature was cited showing that chronic inflammation in the civilized world is increasing. He also showed that dysbiosis (unhealthy gut bacteria taking over) is also increasing. On several slides Dr. Perlmutter showed that in civilized countries like Iceland, Denmark, Germany, the US, Japan and others the bacterial diversity of the gut bacteria in people was vastly reduced compared to the diversity of gut bacteria of people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria or rural India.

Diminished gut bacterial diversity causes more Alzheimer’s disease

The same countries that have diminished gut bacterial diversity (dysbiosis) also have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand the same countries with diverse gut bacteria have a low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. When infestation with parasites was examined there was also a parallel between increased parasitic stress and low Alzheimer’s disease rates, again in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria or rural India. The same countries where gut dysbiosis was present the parasitic infestation was low.

Further research has established that gut dysbiosis leads to an inflammatory condition of the gut where lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from gut bacteria are absorbed causing inflammatory reactions within the body.

Leaky gut syndrome causes neurological diseases

At the same time this leaky gut syndrome can cause obesity and leakage in the gut/brain barrier as indicated in this link. The result is neuroinflammation, cognitive impairment and vulnerability to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Our most dreaded brain diseases come from inflammation: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, autism, multiple sclerosis etc. These are degenerative brain disorders due to chronic inflammation. If you eat a lot of red meat, sausages and processed foods your gut microbiome will undergo negative changes. If you eat healthy food with lots of vegetables, fruit and you cut out sugar and too many starches, you have a healthy microbiome, which develops a robust immune system. We have to rethink the gut/brain connection and learn how to prevent these chronic illnesses.

Obesity and gut dysbiosis

The link above showed that obesity has a connection to inflammation. It was also shown with MRI scans that the part in the brain, called hippocampus was shrivelled up (atrophied). This is a typical sign of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The investigators also confirmed with mental health functional tests that these patients had cognitive decline.

Another study also noticed that in a group of obese patients the hippocampus part of the brain was shriveled up the more obese people were. Obesity and dysbiosis of the gut flora are part of the same problem.

Practical application: the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet are both healthy, balanced diets, strikingly different from the Standard American diet. In a study the hypothesis was tested whether the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet would postpone dementia in a group of elderly patients. The answer was: yes, the hypothesis is true.

What does gut dysbiosis do?

It was shown in mice that chronic inflammation of the gut through ingestion of an irritant (dextran sodium sulfate) led to reduced new nerve growth in the hippocampus compared to control animals. It only took 29 days to show a marked difference between experimental and control animals in terms of reduced growth in the nerve cells of the hippocampus, the center of cognitive control.

The gut wall released inflammatory kinins, which were the negative mediators affecting the brain.

Antibiotic residue and Roundup in food causes gut dysbiosis

Antibiotic treatments and antibiotic residues in milk, milk products, meat, but also in all GMO foods are the irritants of the gut wall in humans. The antibiotics change the gut flora and lead to dysbiosis, which then causes gut wall inflammation and the cascade of events described above. The new finding is that GMO food contains RoundUp (they are “Roundup ready” crops). The herbicide Roundup was originally patented as an antibiotic and still leads to significant dysbiosis. Dr. Perlmutter urged the audience to buy organic food as the only method to reduce our exposure to Roundup. Roundup contributes to causing celiac disease and gluten intolerance in addition to exposure to the modern wheat (Clearfield wheat). The FDA is starting to do testing on foods for Roundup (glyphosate).

Roundup linked to cancer

If things are sounding bad for Roundup, it only gets worse: Roundup has now been linked to causing cancer. In medicine it usually takes some time before the effect becomes obvious is. The agriculture industry has embraced the use of Roundup; I suspect that denial will be the first line of defense. My first line of defense in turn is to stick to organic food.

To sum up: Roundup and the Standard American diet lead to dysbiosis in the gut, which causes leaky gut syndrome. This causes inflammation with the release of cytokines and LPS from the gut wall to the blood. These substances cross the blood/brain barrier and lead to inflammation in the brain. This affects the hippocampus with the classical sign of shrinkage.

Chronic inflammation and neurological disease

But Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, autism in children and Alzheimer’s disease in older people are all caused by chronic inflammation. There are three more brain-related diseases that are related to gut inflammation: stroke, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Perlmutter spent some time explaining that antibiotic overuse even leads to an increase of breast cancer as a Danish study has shown. Antibiotic use showed a linear increase of breast cancer as a result of increased antibiotic amounts used. The highest group had a twofold risk compared to a control group with no antibiotic use. Dr. Perlmutter interpreted this to indicate that chronic gut inflammation can even cause a disease like breast cancer.

What can we do to diversify our gut bacteria?

Exercise: A recent study has shown that regular exercise is associated with a diversified gut flora. The reason seems to be the production of butyrate with exercise, which leads to a diversified gut flora. LPS levels (lipopolysaccharides from gut bacteria) are lower in people with a higher fitness score.
Eat a DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet as indicated above.
Avoid GMO foods because of the presence of Roundup, which functions like an antibiotic and leads to gut bacteria dysbiosis.
Remember “Antibiotics are weapons of mass microbial destruction”. If you need to take them be careful that you rebuild your gut flora with probiotics. Use of antibiotics increases the risk of type-2 diabetes by 1.53-fold. It also causes a quadrupling of Alzheimer’s disease.
A woman should consider natural childbirth whenever possible, as with a vaginal birth the child gets into contact with gut bacteria. Vaginally delivered children remain healthier than children delivered by Cesarean section for several years.
Acid-suppressing medications and NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory medication for arthritis) can also lead to dysbiosis. Proton pump inhibitors increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 44%.
Prebiotic fiber can prevent Alzheimer’s. Probiotics do the same.
Avoid sugar: even the Oompa Loompa knew that “If you eat sugar, you get fat”. Obesity and gut dysbiosis cause a higher risk of degenerative brain diseases.
Take magnesium supplements (250 mg twice per day) and DHA from fish oil capsules. It stabilizes your brain metabolism.
In severe, persistent cases of gut dysbiosis a fecal transplant can be considered by your gastroenterologist. This procedure takes place in more than 500 hospitals in the US.

Gut Bacteria Can Protect Your Brain

Conclusion

The diversity of gut bacteria is immensely important. As discussed, in rural areas of the world there is gut bacteria diversity. In civilized parts of the world dysbiosis of the gut flora frequently occurs. This can lead to gut inflammation and the inflammation eventually becomes internal and can even reach the brain. These are the points to remember: exercise; avoid GMO foods, use prebiotics and probiotics. Avoid antibiotics; also avoid meat from animals that were fed antibiotics for faster growth. Don’t eat processed foods and avoid sugar. A healthy gut creates a healthy body, and this includes a healthy brain as well.

Dec

2016

What Works Against Alzheimer’s?

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Diabetes, Drugs, Inflammation, lifestyle, Nutrition, sugar

.Eli Lilly’s promising drug solanezumab failed; so, what works against Alzheimer’s? This drug was supposed to dissolve the amyloid deposits that function like glue and make the patients lose their memory. This phase 3 trial was to test the drug on patients to assess efficacy, effectiveness and safety. But instead it showed that the new drug did not stop the loss of memory.

Brain bleeding as a side effect of potential Alzheimer’s drug

Now all those who were hoping for solanezumab to be effective, will jump on another drug, aducanumab. Biogen from Cambridge, Massachusetts, has developed this drug. Out of 165 subjects only 125 completed preliminary studies. 40 patients who discontinued it, had negative side effects. These included fluid building up in the brain, which was thought to be due to removal of the plaques. But others, had brain bleeding.

Although the drug manufacturer is still hoping that aducanumab will work out as an anti-Alzheimer’s drug, I have my doubts. A drug that can have potential brain bleeding as a side effect does in my opinion not qualify as an anti-Alzheimer’s drug.

Factors that help prevent Alzheimer’s

1. Diet can be as effective as a drug in treating Alzheimer’s

In September 2015 researchers from Rush University published results of putting Alzheimer’s patients on the MIND diet. The MIND diet was a prospective study where 923 people aged 58 to 98 years participated. Researchers followed these people for 4.5 years. Three groups of diets were tested: Mediterranean diet, DASH diet and MIND diet.

The MIND diet study result

The adherence to the diet was measured: those who followed the diet very closely, other participants who were less diligent, and finally those who were not compliant with the diet. With regard to the MIND diet the group with the highest adherence to the diet reduced the rate of Alzheimer’s by 53% compared to the lowest third. This is like a highly effective Alzheimer’s drug! The second group still was able to reduce the rate of Alzheimer’s by 35%, which would be like a regular strength drug. The control diets were the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet. The group that was strictly adhering to the DASH diet reduced Alzheimer’s by 39%, the group that was very conscientious in adhering to the Mediterranean diet reduced Alzheimer’s by 54%. The middle thirds of both control diets did not show any difference versus the lower thirds.

Findings of Alzheimer prevention by diet

The conclusion was that a strict Mediterranean diet had a very good Alzheimer prevention effect, as did a strict MIND diet. However, when patients did not adhere too well to a diet, the MIND diet was superior still yielding 35% of Alzheimer’s prevention after 4.5 years. The other diets, when not adhered to that well, showed no difference from being on a regular North American diet. Here is more info about the MIND diet.

Conclusion

Avoid the Standard American Diet. Adopt a Mediterranean diet and stick to it in a strict fashion or adopt the MIND diet. The other benefit is that there are no side effects!

2. Stress and Alzheimer’s

A 2010 study from Gothenburg University, Sweden examined 1462 women aged 38-60 and followed them for 35 years.

Psychological stress ratings went back to 1968,1974 and 1980. 161 females developed dementia (105 of them Alzheimer’s disease, 40 vascular dementia and 16 other forms of dementia). The risk of dementia was higher in those women who had frequent/constant stress in the past. The condition became more severe the more stress they had to face in the past. Women with exposure to stress on one, two or three examinations had higher dementia rates later in life in comparison to women who had no exposure to any significant stress. Specifically, dementia rates were 10% higher after exposure to one stressful episode, 73% higher after two stressful episodes and 151% higher after exposure to three stressful episodes.

Conclusion

Prevention of Alzheimer’s is possible by avoiding stress and seeking counselling when stress occurred .

3. Be creative, prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia

In an April 8, 2015 publication from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and Scottsdale, AZ 256 participants aged 85 years and older (median age 87.3 years, 62% women and 38% men) were followed for 4.1 years. Psychological tests measured mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At the time of recruitment into the study all of the tests for MCI were normal. As the study progressed it became apparent that there were various risk factors that caused the onset of MCI, which is the immediate precursor of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.

The finding was that the presence of the genetic marker APOE ε4 allele carried a risk of 1.89-fold to develop MCI and later Alzheimer’s disease.

Further findings of the study

When patient showed signs of depression at the time of enrolment into the study, the risk of MCI development was 1.78-fold. Midlife onset of high blood pressure led to a 2.43-fold increase and a history of vascular disease showed a relationship of 1.13-fold higher MCI development. The good news was that four activities correlated with a lower risk of developing MCI with aging. When the person engaged in artistic activities in midlife or later in life the risk for MCI development 73% lower, involvement in crafts reduced it by 45% and engagement in social activities by 55%. In a surprise finding the use of a computer late in life reduced MCI development by 53%. These are very significant observations. This would be equivalent to highly effective anti-Alzheimer’s drugs.

Conclusion

If you stimulate your mind in older age, even browsing on the computer, this will help you to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Lifestyle factors contributing to Alzheimer’s

a) Sugar consumption: Sugar consumption and too much starchy food like pasta (which gets metabolized within 30 minutes into sugar) causes oxidization of LDL cholesterol and plaque formation of all the blood vessels including the ones going to the brain. On the long-term this causes memory loss due to a lack of nutrients and oxygen flowing into the brain.

b) Lack of exercise: Lack of exercise is an independent risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise increases the blood supply of the brain, strengthens neural connections and leads to growth of neurons, the basic building blocks of the brain. Exercise increases mood-regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and endorphins.

c) Sleep deprivation leads to memory loss, but so does the use of aspartame, the artificial sweetener of diet sodas. Make your own homemade lemonade. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon. Add mineral water to fill an 8 oz. glass. Add a tiny bit of stevia extract for sweetening. Stir and enjoy. Stevia has been in use for thousands of years.

5. Hormone changes

A lack of testosterone in men and estrogen in women interferes with cognition and memory. For this reason it is important after menopause and andropause (=the male menopause) to replace what is missing with the help of a knowledgeable health professional.

Progesterone is manufactured inside the brain, spinal cord and nerves from its precursor, pregnenolone, but in women it also comes from the ovaries until the point of menopause. The myelin sheaths of nerves requires progesterone and progesterone also has a neuroprotective function. In menopausal women bioidentical progesterone is a part of Alzheimer’s prevention.

Melatonin is a hormone, a powerful antioxidant and a neurotransmitter at the same time. It helps in the initiation of sleep, stimulates the immune system and protects from the toxic effects of cobalt. Lab tests in Alzheimer’s patients found elevated values. In an aging person it is wise to use melatonin at bedtime as a sleep aid and to preserve your brain.

6. Genetic risk of Alzheimer’s

At the 22nd Annual A4M Las Vegas Conference in mid December 2014 Dr. Pamela Smith gave a presentation entitled ”How To Maintain Memory At Any Age”. She pointed out that there are about 5 genes that have been detected that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and in addition the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4). About 30% of people carry this gene, yet only about 10% get Alzheimer’s disease, which shows how important lifestyle factors are (in medical circles physicians call this the “epigenetic factors”) to suppress the effect of the APOE4 gene. She also stated that our genes contribute only about 20% to the overall risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This leaves us with 80% of Alzheimer’s cases where we can use the brain nutrients and hormones discussed above and exercise to improve brain function.

7. Vitamin D3 protects your brain from Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease of old age. We know that it is much more common in patients with type 2 diabetes where insulin levels are high. Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease can be termed type 3 diabetes.

The resulting neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid-beta deposits damage nerve cells, which are responsible for the memory loss and the profound personality changes in these patients.

What does vitamin D3 have to do with this?

A 2014 study showed that a low vitamin D level was associated with a high risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Specifically, the findings were as follows.

Vitamin D level of less than 10 ng/ml: 122% increased risk of Alzheimer’s
Vitamin D level 10 to 20 ng/ml: 51% increased risk of Alzheimer’s

The same research group found in two trials that vitamin D deficiency leads to visual memory decline, but not to verbal memory decline.

Generally supplements of vitamin D3 of 5000 IU to 8000 IU are the norm now. But some patients are poor absorbers and they may require 15,000 IU per day. The physician can easily determine what the patient needs in the dosage of vitamin D3 by doing repeat vitamin D blood levels (as 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels). The goal is to reach a level of 50-80 ng/ml. The optimal level with regard to nmol/L is 80 to 200 (according to Rocky Mountain Analytical, Calgary, AB, Canada).

8. Avoid sugar overload

We already mentioned sugar consumption under point 4. But here I am mentioning it again because of the insulin reaction. An overload of refined carbs leads to an overstimulation of the pancreas pouring out insulin. Too much insulin (hyperinsulinemia) causes hormonal disbalance and leads to diabetes type 3, the more modern name for Alzheimer’s. All starch is broken down by amylase into sugar, which means that anybody who consumes starchy food gets a sugar rush as well. Too much sugar in the blood oxidizes LDL cholesterol, which leads to inflammation in the body. The consequence of chronic inflammation are the following conditions: hardening of the arteries, strokes, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s due to brain atrophy, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

What Works Against Alzheimer’s?

Conclusion

In the beginning we learnt about a failed phase 3 trial regarding an anti-Alzheimer’s drug. Next we reviewed several factors that can all lead to Alzheimer’s and that have been researched for many years. It would be foolish to think that we could just swallow a pill and overlook the real causes of Alzheimer’s disease. I believe there will never be a successful pill that can solve the increasing Alzheimer’s problem. It is time that we face the causes of Alzheimer’s. This means cutting down sugar to normalize your insulin levels.

Lifestyle changes necessary to avoid Alzheimer’s

We need to supplement with vitamin D3 because we know that it helps. For women in menopause or men in andropause it is time to replace the missing hormones with bioidentical ones. We need to handle stress and avoid sleep deprivation. And, yes we need to exercise regularly. Following a sensible diet like the Mediterranean diet or the MIND diet makes sense. And let us keep our minds stimulated. Chances are, when we do all of this that we will not need any Alzheimer’s pill. This is not good news for the drug companies, but will be very good news for you. Last but not least, there are no side effects, only health benefits!

Additional resource on how to preserve your memory.

Dec

2016

Spironolactone Helps Against Herpes Infections

By Ray Schilling | Infectious Disease

There are limited numbers of antiviral drugs for herpes, but certainly now research showed that spironolactone helps against herpes infections. Spironolactone is an older heart medicine that helps with cardiac failure, but it is also used in unwanted hair growth in women with a hormone disbalance, called hirsutism.

Dr. Swaminathan and colleagues have shown in new research from the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT that spironolactone blocks the multiplication of herpes viruses.

Common herpesvirus infections

Although there are 100’s of different herpes virus strains, you will recognize some of the following names.

Herpes, type 1 (HSV-1)

HSV-1 causes cold sores on the lips or inside the mouth.

Herpes, type 2 (HSV-2)

HSV-2 is the cause of genital herpes.

Herpes, type 3 (HSV-3)

HSV-3 causes both chickenpox and shingles (herpes zoster). When the immune system is immature, it presents as chickenpox (mostly in children). But when there is partial immunity from a chickenpox childhood infection, shingles can present in an aging person as a localized shingle infection (medically called “herpes zoster”). An interesting vaccination study showed that vaccination against varicella caused a suppression of chronic HSV-1 so that there were no more cold sores compared to the non-vaccinated group that did.

Herpes, type 4 (HSV-4)

You may know HSV-4 as the Epstein-Barr virus. It is the cause of infectious mononucleosis. Other names for this disease are glandular fever or “kissing disease”.

Treatments for herpes infections

The typical antiviral treatments for HSV-1 and HSV-2 are acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), and valacyclovir (Valtrex). As a matter of fact, all these drugs belong to the same pharmacological class of drugs. The same drugs work for chickenpox and shingles/herpes zoster (HSV-3).

In a 2013 publication researchers gave acyclovir (Zovirax) to patients who had been hospitalized with infectious mononucleosis.

They had a shorter duration of hospitalization and fever than a control group not treated with acyclovir. The authors did propose that patients with mononucleosis should receive acyclovir.

Drug-resistant herpes strains

One problem that has surfaced is that herpes drug resistant herpes strains seem to evolve, which are resistant to all of the newer anti-herpes drugs as well. The reason for this is that current anti-herpes drugs work by inhibiting the ability of the virus to replicate DNA, thus stopping its proliferation. When the virus learns to overcome that barrier we call this resistance and this will also affect all of the drugs that utilize the same mechanism of action.

The team from the University of Utah screened several drugs and came upon spironolactone, which is a standard medicine for treating heart failure. Dr. Swaminathan and his team found that spironolactone was also able to stop the viral proliferation, however the drug blocked the virus through a different mechanism. Spironolactone inhibited the action of a protein, the SM protein.

This different mechanism of treating herpes virus infections has opened a new door to further research for newer drugs. Hopefully these new drugs will only have the anti-herpes virus effect, but not the anti-heart failure effect. Dr. Swaminathan is confident that his team will be able to separate these two actions and then come up with a new group of anti-virus drugs.

Spironolactone helps against herpes infections, has few side-effects

Spironolactone has been on the market for over 50 years and has a very good low side effect profile. It is useful for people with heart failure to reduce the retained fluid that can accumulate around the heart or in the lungs. This allows the patient to breathe easier and have more energy. Spironolactone also helps with fluid accumulation in patients who have cirrhosis or have nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disease.

In a completely different set of patients spironolactone can help women who produce too much male hormone in their ovaries. This normalizes the hormones and help them lose the awkward, unwanted facial hair growth.

Some generalized side effects are: mild nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Breast swelling or tenderness can develop. Dizziness, headache and mild drowsiness can occur. Some people develop leg cramps. Males can experience impotence and difficulties having an erection.

Spironolactone Helps Against Herpes Infections

Conclusion

It is not often that an existing drug that has been well researched in the past finds a new application in a completely different area than originally developed for. This is the case for spironolactone, which is effective as an anti-herpetic drug. Further research will likely be able to separate the anti-viral effect of spironolactone from the anti-heart failure effect. Dr. Swaminathan and his team did not think that this was too difficult a problem. In the meantime physicians can use spironolactone for severe herpetic infections when the other drugs do not help. These may be cases of drug resistance.

Overall the detection of an anti-herpetic effect of spironolactone has been an important step forward. This is also true with respect to treating the whole group of herpetic diseases.

Dec

2016

Magnesium Is Essential To Life

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, headache, Health, heart attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, immune system, Inflammation, kidney disease, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, Osteoporosis, Prevention, Stroke

Magnesium is an important co-factor in many biochemical reactions, so magnesium is essential to life.

Many diverse diseases and cancers can develop from magnesium deficiency. The key is to supplement with magnesium regularly to get more than the government recommended daily allowance (RDA). The RDA for magnesium is 420 mg a day for males and 320 mg a day for females.

In the following I will review the diseases that occur without enough magnesium on board.

A lack of magnesium can cause heart disease

In this 2014 study 7216 men and women aged 55-80 with at high risk for heart attacks were followed for 4.8 years. The risk of death from a heart attack was found to be 34% lower in the high tertile magnesium group when compared to the lower magnesium tertile group.

The protective mechanism of magnesium was found to be as follows. Magnesium counteracts calcium and stabilizes heart rhythms. Magnesium helps to maintain regular heart beats and prevents irregular heart beats (arrhythmias). It also prevents the accumulation of calcium in the coronary artery walls. This in turn is known to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Another study, which was part of the Framingham Heart Study, examined calcification of the heart vessels and the aorta as a function of magnesium intake.

There were 2,695 participants in this study. For each increase of 50 mg of magnesium per day there was a 22% decrease in calcification of the coronary arteries. For the same increase of magnesium the calcification of the body’s main artery, the aorta, fell by 12%. Those with the highest magnesium intake were 58% less likely to have calcifications in their coronary arteries. At the same time they were 34% less likely to have calcifications of the aorta.

In a Korean study a group with low magnesium levels was at a 2.1-fold higher risk of developing coronary artery calcifications compared to a group with normal magnesium levels.

Low magnesium increases your stroke risk

In a 2015 study 4443 subjects, men and women aged 40-75 were followed along.

928 stroke cases developed. The researchers compared the group with the highest 30% of magnesium intake with the lowest 10% of magnesium intake. They had significantly lower blood pressure (7 mm mercury) and lower total cholesterol levels. They also had 41% less strokes than those with low magnesium intake.

In a 2015 study that lasted 24 years the authors investigated 43,000 men.

Those with the highest magnesium supplement had a 26% lower stroke risk. Those with the lowest magnesium intake served as a control.

Among women low magnesium levels were shown to cause 34% more ischemic strokes than in controls.

This study included 32,826 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study. Examiners followed them for 11 years.

It is clear from all these studies that supplementation with magnesium can prevent strokes.

Magnesium protects kidney function

This study examined 13,000 adults for 20 years to see how kidney function was dependent on magnesium levels. Those with the lowest magnesium levels had a 58% higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease. It makes sense when you consider that magnesium is necessary to keep arteries healthy, blood pressure low, and blood sugars stable. When diabetics do not control their blood sugars optimally their kidneys develop kidney disease. The term for this is diabetic nephropathy. In the presence of magnesium supplementation and a low sugar diet people are less likely to develop diabetes or kidney disease.

Magnesium helps blood sugar control

A metaanalysis showed that magnesium supplementation was able to improve blood sugar control. This occurred in both diabetics and borderline non-diabetics within 4 months of supplementing with magnesium.

An important factor in helping control blood sugar is magnesium. Here is an article as an example.

Magnesium good for bones and teeth

Magnesium is important for calcium metabolism and this is helping your bones and teeth to stay strong. The bones store half of the body’s magnesium. Another location for magnesium are in our teeth.

Low levels of magnesium lead to osteoporosis, because one of the two structural components of bone (calcium and magnesium) is missing. In addition low magnesium causes inflammatory cytokines to increase. These break down bones. The Women’s Health Initiative showed that when daily magnesium intake exceeded 422.5 mg their hip and whole-body bone mineral density was significantly greater than in those who consumed less than 206.6 mg daily.

With regard to healthy teeth magnesium is important as it prevents periodontal disease.

This study found that there was less tooth loss and there were healthier periodontal tissues in 4290 subjects between 20 and 80.

Those who took magnesium supplements had healthier teeth.

Migraine sufferers improve with magnesium

A double blind randomized study showed that magnesium supplementation can reduce migraines. The researchers in this trial used 600 mg of magnesium supplementation for 4 weeks.

This reduced migraines by 41.6% in the magnesium group compared to the non-supplemented control group.

Another study showed that both intravenous and oral magnesium are effective in reducing migraine headaches.

Intravenous magnesium showed effects on improving migraines within 15 – 45 minutes. The authors concluded that one could supplement other migraine treatments with both oral and intravenous magnesium.

Too little magnesium can cause cancer

It may surprise you to hear that magnesium can even prevent some cancers. Two cancers have been studied in detail. I will limit my discussion to these two.

Pancreatic cancer

One study found that pancreatic cancer was reduced. Researchers recruited 142,203 men and 334,999 women between 1992 and 2000 and included them in the study. After 11.3 years on average 396 men and 469 women came down with pancreatic cancer. On the male side they found that when the body mass index (BMI) was greater than 25.0 there was a 21% reduction of pancreatic cancer for every 100 mg of added magnesium per day. There were a lot of smokers on the female side, which interfered with the study as confounding factors undermined statistical validity.

In another study, the US male Health Professionals Follow-up Study was examined after 20 years of follow-up. Those with a BMI of above 25.0 on magnesium supplementation had a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. The pancreatic cancer rate in the higher magnesium group was 33% lower than in the lower magnesium group. The higher group consumed 423 mg of magnesium daily, the lower group 281 mg per day. It is significant that in both studies it was the heavier patients who came down with pancreatic cancer. It is common knowledge that obesity is a pancreatic risk factor.

Colorectal cancer

A study done on Japanese men showed that magnesium could protect them significantly from colon cancer.

Men who consumed the highest amount of magnesium developed 52% less colon cancer over 7.9 years. Researchers compared them to the group with the lowest 20% intake of magnesium. The women in this study did not reach statistical significance.

A study from the Netherlands examined colon cancer in patients. They found that only in patients with a BMI of greater than 25.0 magnesium did have protective effects. For every 100 mg of magnesium per day increase there was a 19% reduction of colon polyps. And there was also a 12% reduction of colorectal cancer for every 100 mg increase of magnesium per day.

Magnesium plays an important role in genome stability, DNA maintenance and repair. It also prevents chronic inflammation and reduces insulin resistance, all factors contributing to cancer reduction.

Live longer with magnesium

Consider that magnesium is the fourth most common mineral in the body. Add to this that magnesium is a co-factor of more than 300 enzymes in the body. Magnesium is an important co-factor in the conversion of chemical energy from food that we ingest. Magnesium is regulating blood sugar, blood vessel health and our brain electrical activity. 50% of our stored magnesium is located in our bones, which helps the strength and integrity of them.

Because of the distribution of the enzymes to which magnesium is a co-factor, virtually every cell in the body depends on our regular intake of magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency develops in older age

Since the 1950’s soils have lost magnesium where farmers grow vegetables and raise fruit trees. We simply do not get enough magnesium from food.

But chelated magnesium is freely available in health food stores. Take 250 mg twice per day, and you will have enough.

Because our metabolism slows down, there is a critical age where magnesium deficiency becomes more obvious than when we are younger. By the age of 70 there are 80% of men and 70% of women who do not get the minimum of magnesium-required amount they should get (350 mg for men and 265 mg for women).

Proton pump inhibitors lowering magnesium levels

At this age many people are on multiple drugs. For many proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are used to suppress acid production in the stomach. PPI’s have been associated with low magnesium blood levels. This link explains that when a patient takes PPI’s the total time of taking the medication should not exceed 1 year.

Low magnesium levels accelerate the aging process on a cellular level. Low magnesium levels increase senescent cells that can no longer multiply. Some of them could cause the development of cancer. These senescent cells also can no longer contribute to the immune system. This causes more infections with an adverse outcome.

Remember to take chelated magnesium capsules or tablets 250 mg twice per day and you will be protected from low magnesium levels in your body.

Here is why we live longer with magnesium supplementation

Our blood vessels will not calcify as early; they keep elastic for longer, preventing high blood pressure. Our kidneys will function longer with magnesium, preventing end-stage kidney disease. We need our kidneys to detoxify our system! More than 300 enzymatic reactions all over our body help that we have more energy and also help to prevent cancer. When there are fewer strokes and less heart attacks this helps reduce mortality. Magnesium supplementation helps to lessen the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and also reduces insulin resistance. Researchers have shown that this prevents Alzheimer’s disease.

The bottom line is we live longer and healthier; that is the meaning of longevity.

Magnesium Is Essential To Life

Conclusion

Magnesium is a key essential mineral. It balances calcium in the body and participates in many enzymatic reactions in the body as a cofactor. As long as we have enough of this mineral we won’t notice anything. It is with magnesium deficiency that things go haywire. Heart disease or a stroke could affect you . You could get kidney disease. And you could even get pancreatic cancer or colorectal cancer. If this is not enough, magnesium deficiency can cause diabetes, osteoporosis and bad teeth. You may suddenly die with no obvious cause. But, if balance your your magnesium blood level by taking regular supplements, you will carry on living and eliminate a lot of health problems.

Dec

2016

Cancer Rates Increased In Women

By Ray Schilling | breast cancer, Cancer, cervical cancer, lifestyle, lung cancer, Prevention

A recent review of cancer rates worldwide shows that cancer rates increased in women. This by itself is alarming, but based on that data the rates likely will go up by 60% in the year 2030. The main reason is the smoking discrepancy among women and men. Men as a group have been smoking more than women. But women as a group are more and more embracing smoking. All of the negative health consequences of the last 3 decades for men are just starting to show now for women as well.

The World Health Organization explains it this way: in high-income countries like Australia, Canada, the US and Western Europe women smoke at nearly the same rate as men.

But in low and middle income countries women do not smoke as much as men do. For instance in China 61% of men are smokers, but only 4.2% of women are smoking. In Argentina 34% of men are currently smokers, which compares to 23% of women who smoke in this country.

When this gap will close, likely by the year 2030 women will have a whole host of diverse cancers, heart attacks and strokes caused by the smoking habit.

Some statistics and facts

High-income countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel and many northern and western European countries have a 5-year survival rate for breast cancer of 85%. In contrast the 5-year survival rates are 60% or less in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa, Mongolia, Algeria and India.

Cancer prevention measures can make a big difference later in life. Examples are hepatitis B vaccination, which will prevent liver cancer; vaccinating boys and girls against HPV, which will prevent cervical cancer in women; also having regular mammograms will detect breast cancer earlier and improve breast cancer survival rates.

Dr. Nestor Esnaola, surgical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA said that the cancer prevention methods just mentioned might not be available in developing countries. Instead of mammographies repeat breast self-examinations are more important there. Campaigns against smoking can be utilized in order to prevent cancer of the lungs, the throat and neck. And if colonoscopies are not available, stool samples can be tested for blood and hemoglobin to check for colon cancer.

Different cancer rates increased in women in different countries

There are different cancer types that make the top chart for different countries. For instance in 2012 breast cancer was on top of most countries worldwide as the number 2 killer behind heart attacks and strokes. But other cancers ranked fairly high as well as causes of death: colorectal, lung and cervical cancers.

Despite this trend there were other countries like China and North Korea that had a higher incidence of lung cancer rather than breast cancer. The cancer researchers stated that the reason for this is that the smoking rates are higher in these countries. As already pointed out in China more than ½ of the men smoke, but only a small minority of the women smoke. But women in China are exposed to high amounts of secondhand smoke in addition to environmental pollution, which still causes a lot of lung cancer in women who live in this environment.

In many African countries cervical cancer is very common. Women, who are HIV positive, have a 5-times higher rate of cervical cancer. Southern and eastern Africa where there are higher rates of HIV, have higher rates of cervical cancer.

More data about women’s cancer rates

An overview article entitled “Global Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rates and Trends—An Update” points out some interesting statistics. The greatest numbers of cancer cases and deaths occur among women in Eastern Asia. The estimate for 2012 worldwide was for 1.7 million cancer cases and 1 million deaths in women. China dominated its region with 75% of all female cancer cases and deaths in the region. In North America cancer cases and deaths within the US comprise 90% of the region. The cancer cases and deaths in India make up about 65% of the region of South-Central Asia.

The top mortality rates are found in low to medium income countries, namely in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.

The most frequently diagnosed cancers in women are breast, lung, and colorectal cancers in economically more developed countries. However, the statistics are different for less developed countries where the top three most diagnosed cancers are breast, cervix, and lung. Similarly the leading causes of cancer deaths for women in developed countries are lung, breast, and colorectal cancers. In developing countries the leading causes of cancer deaths for women is cancer of the breast, lung, and cervix.

Cancer frequencies for women in different countries

The American Cancer Society reports that breast cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer among women in 140 countries. Cervical cancer is most common in 39 countries, all of which are low to medium income countries. There are some countries where other cancer types are more common. For instance in China and North Korea lung cancer is more common among women, in Mongolia and Laos liver cancer, and in South Korea it is thyroid cancer.

The most common cause of death from cancer in women is breast cancer in 103 countries, cancer of the cervix in 43 countries and lung cancer in 27 countries. Other most common cancer deaths in women are in the following countries:

Stomach cancer: in Bhutan, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Tajikistan
Liver cancer: in Laos, Mongolia and The Gambia
Colorectal cancer: in Japan and Slovakia
Esophagus cancer: in Turkmenistan.

Prevention and early detection

Changing the risk factors could modify 20% of breast cancer mortality worldwide. Avoiding excess body weight, physical inactivity and reducing alcohol consumption could all significantly reduce breast cancer mortality. For instance, women with a body mass index of greater than 35.0 have a 1.6-fold higher risk of breast cancer and a 2.1-fold higher mortality rate from breast cancer than women with a body mass index of less than 25.0.

Regular breast cancer screening with mammography is another tool that will reduce breast cancer mortality as the cancer is diagnosed earlier and treated at an early stage where it can often be cured. The WHO recommends for those countries where mammography programs are established that screening should be done only every two years and only between the ages of 50-69 to avoid X-ray over exposure.

Early detection, like for any cancer is the key for successfully treating breast cancer. When there is an early diagnosis of breast cancer, surgical removal in healthy tissue (lumpectomy) often cures breast cancer. Unfortunately in low to medium income countries the cancer is often found too late, requires more invasive mastectomies and radiotherapy and has a lower survival rate than in developed countries.

Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer accounts for the 4^th most frequently diagnosed cancer in the world. In 2012 there were 527,600 cases of cervical cancer worldwide and 265,700 deaths from cervical cancer occurred in the same year. 90% of cervical cancers occur in developing countries with India accounting for 25% of the total cases. The key in detecting cervical cancer is a regular screening program. In developed countries where this has been in place cervical cancer incidence has decreased by 80% in 4 decades. At the other end of the spectrum are countries like Uganda, Zimbabwe, and some countries of Central and Eastern Europe where cervical cancer rates have been climbing.

Human papilloma virus

The reason for the spread is that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is now more common and screening methods for cervical cancer are not in place. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common carcinogenic subtypes of the human papilloma viruses; they are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers worldwide. Vaccinating teenagers before they engage in sex is a powerful tool to interrupt the infectious spread of an important risk factor for cervical cancer.

Cervical swab for HPV-DNA test

Instead of the traditional Pap test from the past the new test that is in use now is an HPV-DNA test, a cervical swab that will detect DNA from HPV directly. It is more sensitive than the traditional Pap test. If the HPV-DNA test is positive, the patient sees a gynecologist who performs a colposcopy test. This is a microscopic exam of the cervix. The gynecologist can use several effective treatment methods like a loop electrosurgical excision procedure, laser ablation therapy, cryotherapy or conization for deeper cervical cancer lesions.

As with any cancer early detection and treatment is paramount with cervical cancer. In developed countries the 5-year survival rate is 60 to 70%. In India the 5-year survival rate is 46%.

Cancer of the lung

In 2012 there were 583,100 cases of lung cancer in women worldwide and 491,200 died from it. Lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women and the third most common cancer. The statistics of lung cancer reflect the tobacco epidemic. It takes about 20 to 30 years after widespread smoking begins in a country before the deadly statistics set in. The peak of the cancer epidemic and the heart attack rates occurs about 30 to 40 years following the peak of smoking in that population.

Lung cancer rates globally

Lung cancer rates in women have lagged behind men, because women as a group have started smoking later. In places like Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States women started smoking earlier, and they are in the process of declining their smoking habit or quitting. The new lung cancer cases and also the lung cancer mortality rates are reflecting this. Sadly, in many countries of Europe and Latin America women started smoking much later and they are still increasing their lung cancer statistics and mortality rates. Lung cancer killed 1.1 million men and 0.5 million women worldwide in 2012. Cancer epidemiologists estimate that in addition there are 21,400 lung cancer deaths annually from second-hand smoke in non-smokers worldwide.

Other causes of lung cancer

Beside smoking there are other risks causing lung cancer. The estimated risk for women to die in millions is: exposure to household air pollution, 1.6; outdoor air pollution, 1.4; second-hand smoke, 0.35; occupational risk factors, 0.10; and residential radon, 0.03.

Cancer Rates Increased In Women

Conclusion

Women are still in the midst of a global increase of cigarette smoking, which starts often with female teenagers. As long as the smoking rate goes up there will be more breast cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society provided a detailed review of various cancers and how they are still increasing worldwide, because nobody pays attention to preventative measures. A simple step to prevent cancer is to quit smoking. Another step is to engage in regular physical activity. Finally keeping your body mass index under 25.0 is a third step that can be done by adopting a Mediterranean diet.

There are several pockets within the developed countries where cancer rates are coming down, which is encouraging. I illustrated this complex topic by giving an initial overview and then three examples of breast cancer, cervical cancer and lung cancer.

A few statistics about menopause

Pathophysiological changes in menopause

1. Decreased energy expenditure

2. Ovarian aging

3. Insulin resistance

Health risks of weight gain

Hormone changes in menopause

1. Lack of estrogen

2. Progesterone

3. Hypothyroidism

4. Cortisol response

5. Other hormones

Treatment of weight gain in menopause: food, hormones and lifestyle

1. Diet

2. Exercise

3. Stress management

4. Establishing healthy sleep

5. Bioidentical hormone replacement

6. Supplements

Conclusion

What diseases are caused from inflammation?

Age-related diseases also due to inflammation

Human genetics are complicated

Obesity and genetic factors

Diabetes and genetic factors

Useful supplements

Silencing diabetes genes

Functional foods with regard to obesity and diabetes

Here are more items that help your health

Conclusion

The essential facts of treatment of obesity and diabetes

History of diets

Diet heart hypothesis

Laboratory tests on low fat/high carb diet versus the ketogenic diet

Low fat/high carb diet

Low carb/ketogenic diet

Anti-inflammatory benefits of the ketogenic diet

Are saturated fatty acids in the diet causing heart attacks or strokes?

Do saturated fatty acids in your blood increase the risk for disease?

Comparison of saturated fatty acid diet with the ketogenic diet

You are what you eat, but go easy on carbs

Low fat diet compared to ketogenic diet

Endurance athletes win medals on a ketogenic diet

Conclusion

The end result of being on a ketogenic diet

New thinking about cardiovascular disease and inflammation

New approach to the old problem of plugged coronary arteries

Coronary artery damage from cholesterol elevation versus inflammation

Blood tests to screen for cardiovascular disease and inflammation

Further high risk factors for coronary artery disease

The Rasmussen score

Non-intervention tests to measure cardiovascular health

1. The ENDOPAT test

2. The VC Profile

3.The Corus CAD score

4. Coronary artery calcification

Treatment of cardiovascular disease and inflammation

Case study showing the effect of metabolic cardiology program

Conclusion

General information about weight gain

Low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean or low-fat diet

The “POUNDS LOST” study

Sugar is the driving force

Sugar stimulates the food addiction center

How to get out of the vicious food cycle

Conclusion

Monitor your body mass index

A few facts

There are trillions of gut bacteria

We need healthy gut bacteria

Chronic inflammation

Diminished gut bacterial diversity causes more Alzheimer’s disease

Leaky gut syndrome causes neurological diseases

Obesity and gut dysbiosis

What does gut dysbiosis do?

Antibiotic residue and Roundup in food causes gut dysbiosis

Roundup linked to cancer

Chronic inflammation and neurological disease

What can we do to diversify our gut bacteria?

Conclusion