Aug
21
2021

When Stress Becomes Abnormal

By | alcohol, Alzheimer’s disease, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, heart attack, Hormones, Smoking, Stroke, thyroid disease

Recently CNN published an article that dealt about when stress becomes abnormal.

We all have experienced stress. It makes our heart beat faster and our breathing speeds up as well. But when the stressful situation is over, stress usually subsides also. Some people though have so much stress in their lives that they never completely recover from any stressful situation. They develop chronic stress, which can lead to physical illnesses or mental disease. I have previously written about “stress drives our lives”. In the following I am reprinting the next 5 paragraphs.

Heart attacks and strokes when stress becomes abnormal

In a 2015 Lancet study 603,838 men and women who worked long hours were followed for an average time of about 8 years with respect to heart disease or strokes. All of the subjects were free of heart attacks and strokes when they entered into the study. There was a total of 13% more heart attacks in those who worked extra hours in comparison to those who worked 40 hours per week or less. With respect to strokes there were 33% more strokes in those who worked long hours. Researchers noted a dose-response curve for strokes in groups with various workloads. Compared to standard working hours there were 10% additional strokes for 41-48 working hours, 27% for 49-54 working hours and 33% for 55 or more working hours per week.

Stress drives some of us to substance abuse

In order to cope with stress many of us “treat” daily stress with alcohol. It makes you feel good subjectively, but it can raise your blood pressure causing heart attacks and strokes down the road. A low dose of alcohol may be healthy, but medium and high doses are detrimental to your health.

Next, many people still smoke, although scientists have proven long time ago that it is bad for your health. It can cause heart attacks, various cancers and circulatory problems leading to leg amputations.

Overeating is another common problem. Comfort food relieves stress, but it causes us to put on extra pounds. As you know it is easier to put weight on than to take it off. Being overweight or being obese has its own problems: arthritis in the hips and knees makes walking more difficult. The metabolic syndrome sets in, which is a characteristic metabolic change causing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and certain cancers. The more weight you carry, the less likely you are to exercise. This can lead to further deterioration of your health.

Diabetes can occur when stress becomes abnormal

Stress causes too much cortisol secretion from the adrenal glands. This raises blood sugar, and when chronic can cause diabetes. In addition, unhealthy eating habits in an attempt to cope with stress can cause weight gain. Insulin resistance causes high blood sugars and diabetes.

Korean immigrant study

In a 2012 California study 148 adult Korean immigrants were examined. They all had elevated blood sugars confirming the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. They had an elevated waist/hip ratio.

A high percentage of the study subjects had risk factors for type 2 diabetes. This included being overweight or obese and having high blood glucose readings. 66% of them said that they were feeling stressed, 51% reported feeling anxious, 38% said they were feeling restless, 30% felt nervous and 3% said they were feeling hopeless. It is easy to see the connection between stress and disease!

Australian study showed that anxiety can cause diabetes

An Australian long-term follow-up study computed risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Stress was a major contributor to diabetes.

A 30-day episode of any anxiety disorder had a 1.53-fold risk to cause diabetes. A depressive disorder had a 1.37-fold risk to cause diabetes and posttraumatic stress disorder had a risk of 1.42-fold to cause diabetes.

Infertility may develop when stress becomes abnormal

Stress changes hormones in women causing ovulation problems and infertility. 1 in 8 couples in America have problems getting pregnant. Physicians identified stress as at least one of  the contributing factors. But in men stress can also reduce sperm count and semen quality as this study describes.

Alzheimer’s disease and stress

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

Psychologists assessed the stress score in 1968,1974 and 1980. 161 females developed dementia (105 Alzheimer’s disease, 40 vascular dementia and 16 other dementias). The risk of dementia was higher in those women who had frequent/constant stress in the past. Women who had stress on one, two or three examinations suffered from higher dementia rates later in life. Researchers compared this to a group of women who did not have any significant stress. Specifically, dementia rates were 10% higher after one stressful episode, 73% higher after two stressful episodes and 151% higher after three stressful episodes.

Hormone system affected by stress

I have written an article before about how stress affects our hormone system.

I am reprinting excerpts from this here (the next 4 paragraphs).

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

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

Metabolic activation pathways

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

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

Target areas within your system

The target areas in your system are the

  • Pancreas, where blood sugar can rise because of insulin resistance. In particular, too much insulin production causes inflammation, hormone disbalances, kidney damage, and hardening of the arteries through plaque formation.
  • Thyroid gland, which depends on TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) for activation. Autoantibodies can also affect it negatively.
  • Brain: decrease in serotonin resulting in anxiety, depression and food cravings; decreased melatonin causing sleep disturbances; increased ghrelin and decreased leptin secretion leading to overeating and obesity.

Other target areas of stress

  • Liver/kidneys: both of these organs are important for detoxification; the liver produces thyroid binding globulin, which when increased can lower the free thyroid hormones.
  • Immune system (gut, lymph glands): the Peyer’s patches in the gut mucosa produce a large portion of the immune cells; lymph glands, the bone marrow and the spleen supply the rest. A leaky gut syndrome can affect the whole body, in addition causing inflammation and autoimmune reactions.
  • Hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal glands: this is the main axis of the stress reaction. A brain under stress activates the hypothalamus. It sends a cascade of activating hormones via the pituitary gland and likewise activates the adrenal glands. Finally, this leads to cortisol overproduction, and release of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the center of the adrenal glands. High blood pressure, anxiety, heart palpitations, arrhythmias and more can finally develop from this.

Treatment suggestions to cope with stress

There are thyroid supplements that can support the function of the thyroid gland. Similarly, there are several supplements to support the adrenal glands.
Chromium, vitamin D, magnesium, alpha-lipoic acid, fish oil and others are useful to support the pancreas. Relaxation methods like self-hypnosis, meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi and others are very useful to counter stress. If you can change your job to evade stress, take the opportunity and find another job with less stress. See a health professional and discuss what you can do to become more stress-resistant. If you are overweight or obese, see a dietitian to help you lose weight. Aerobic exercises like running for 30 minutes on a treadmill can help reduce stress. Various relaxation methods mentioned earlier also can counter stress. They help you to block out worrying about the past and the future, but instead focus on what is positive in the present.

When Stress Becomes Abnormal

When Stress Becomes Abnormal

Conclusion

I have described what stress can do to your body. It can give you heart attacks and strokes. Stress in some people can lead to substance abuse. It can cause diabetes, infertility and even Alzheimer’s disease. I described how thyroid hormones, insulin and brain hormones are interconnected and suffer with stress. Other factors can make the effects of stress worse or better as I discussed in detail. Treatment of stress-induced conditions requires a combination of preventative steps and medical therapies. Ignoring stress is not an option as this could lead to premature death. Managing stress, as mentioned before, and keeping it to a minimum is the answer.

Aug
08
2020

Poor Diets Threaten Americans and Cause Diseases

By | alcohol, Alzheimer’s disease, Cardiovascular disease, diet, exercise, fish oil, Fitness, food, heart attack, Hormones, lifestyle, Lung Disease, Nutrition, Obesity, polyunsaturated oil, Smoking, Stroke, sugar

A new Federal Nutrition Research Advisory Group stated that poor diets threaten Americans and cause diseases. More than 500,000 people in the US are dying every year because of poor nutrition. 46% of adults have unhealthy diets; but children have even more, namely 56%. In 1979 the US healthcare cost was 6.9% of the gross domestic product. Compare this to 2018 when the US healthcare cost was 17.7% of the gross domestic product.

The Federal Nutrition Research Advisory Group states: “Poor diets lead to a harsh cycle of lower academic achievement in school, lost productivity at work, increased chronic disease risk, increased out-of-pocket health costs, and poverty for the most vulnerable Americans.”

You can improve your diet quality 

When you start cutting out junk food and other processed foods, the quality of your food intake is improving. Eat more vegetables, and fruit. Eat wild salmon, which provides omega-3 fatty acids. Do not consume vegetable oils like soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, corn oil and grapeseed oil. They all contain omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids and they convert mainly into energy. But the problem is that our western diet contains too many omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids can convert into arachidonic acid, which causes inflammation. This in turn can cause heart attacks and strokes on the one hand and arthritis on the other. Use cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil instead for cooking and on salads.

How does poor quality food affect your health?

Researchers are aware of trans fats causing Alzheimer’s disease, heart attacks and strokes for a long time. They increase the bad LDL cholesterol, decrease the good HDL cholesterol. Rancid oils contain free radicals that oxidize LDL cholesterol and attack the lining of your arteries through small dense LDL cholesterol. The FDA has started to initiate steps in 2015 to make the use of trans-fats in the food industry illegal. Completion of this in the US occurs in early 2020.

Japanese trans-fat study (Alzheimer’s disease)

This Japanese study followed 1,628 Japanese community residents (men and women) for about 10 years. Researchers used the typical trans fatty acid, elaidic acid to monitor the accumulation of trans fats in patients. This is possible with a simple blood test, which serves as a marker for industrial trans fats. 377 participants developed dementia (247 Alzheimer’s disease and 102 vascular dementia). Based on the blood elaidic acid levels earlier in the study individuals with higher trans-fat levels were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as the study progressed. Patients whose trans-fat blood levels were in the higher range were 50% to 75% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Diseases caused by poor lifestyle habits

It is important to review the diseases that shorten life expectancy due to having poor lifestyle habits. Note that it is not only your dietary habits that determine this, but in addition, several lifestyle factors.

Cardiovascular disease

Smoking, lack of regular exercise and poor eating habits result in being overweight or developing obesity. All of these are risks with LDL cholesterol elevation and HDL cholesterol lowering that leads to heart attacks and strokes. Here is a study that shows how life is shortened after a heart attack. It is clear from this how important it is to give up all of the poor lifestyle habits to avoid this from happening.

Cancer

90% of lung cancers are the result of cigarette smoking. Heavy drinking can contribute and also lead to cancer of the liver, esophageal cancer, cancer of mouth and throat and cancer of the breasts in women. In addition, consuming too much alcohol causes cancer of the colon and rectum in both sexes.

Diabetes

There are a variety of risk factors causing diabetes. Obesity, a lack of exercise, a bad diet with too much carbohydrates and the aging process are what contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes.

We see again that it is largely lifestyle issues that drive the onset of this disease. People who have developed diabetes need to control their blood sugar very closely to avoid complications of diabetes. This includes making healthier choices.

Otherwise complications of diabetes are diabetic nephropathy, blindness from macular degeneration of the cornea, heart attacks, stroke and diabetic neuropathy. In addition, vascular complications also include artery occlusions in the lower extremities with frequent foot or below knee amputations.

Chronic diseases

Often chronic diseases develop when there is generalized development of inflammation. COPD, chronic kidney disease and arthritis are examples of such conditions. In addition, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, asthma, Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis and diabetes belong into this category. All of these chronic diseases have in common that cytokines produce inflammation in the body. This keeps the chronic disease going and makes it more difficult to cure. When the person with a chronic disease makes poor lifestyle choices, the inflammation just becomes more chronic.

Smoking is one of the factors that makes chronic inflammation more chronic. Having a body mass index above 25.0 (being overweight) and above 30.0 (obesity) also creates more inflammation in the body. Excessive alcohol intake damages body cells and releases free radicals. These in turn cause inflammation and make the chronic disease more difficult to treat. An unhealthy diet tends to raise the bad LDL cholesterol, introduces pesticides and other chemicals into your system and adds to chronic inflammation. Finally, a lack of exercise is not contributing to a healthy circulation and lowers the protective HDL cholesterol, paving the way for heart attacks and strokes.

Poor Diets Threaten Americans and Cause Diseases

Poor Diets Threaten Americans and Cause Diseases

Conclusion

A new Federal Nutrition Research Advisory Group has been formed, which noted that many Americans follow very poor diets. 46% of adults in the US have unhealthy diets; but children have even more poor diets, namely 56%. This is of concern, because in time this causes a variety of diseases discussed here. Instead of just treating the symptoms of these diseases, it is important to improve the diet people are on, which prevents the development of these diseases. A well-balanced diet not only prevents diseases, it also leads to longevity and healthy aging without Alzheimer’s disease. Take care of what you eat, and be sure it is healthy!

Part of this text was published before here.

Jan
04
2020

Preserving Youthful Power

By | exercise, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, Health

Dr. Christopher W. Shade (PH.D.) presented a lecture in Las Vegas on Dec.13, 2019 talking about preserving youthful power. The presentation was at the 27th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine and his title was “Building Youthful NAD+ Power with Precursors, Sirtuin-Activating Compounds, and Methylation support”.

In the first place, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a signalling molecule between the DNA of the nucleus of cells and the energy producing mitochondria that reside in the cells. The exact nature of the interaction is described in this review article. It describes how stress leads to a depletion of NAD+ and sirtuins, and causes accelerated aging. On the other hand, calorie restriction and exercise lead to increased production of NAD+, activation of sirtuins and longevity.

Details about low NAD+ activity

It is important to realize that when NAD+ is below a critical level the following disease states can develop. First, in the brain it is Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disease. Second, in the eyes macular degeneration and keratoconjunctivitis sicca can develop. Third, severe plaque-type psoriasis can occur in the skin. Fourth, the pancreas develops hyperinsulinemia and metabolic syndrome. Fifth, type 2 diabetes can make your muscles weak. Sixth, sarcopenia with loss of muscle mass and cardiovascular disease in the heart can also develop. Seventh, the liver reacts to the metabolic syndrome by causing hepatic steatosis. Metabolic syndrome causes inflammatory cytokines in the fatty tissue. Eighth, the lungs react by developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ninth, your blood can get endotoxin-induced inflammation and sepsis from bacteria. A lack of NAD+ causes all of these negative changes simultaneously in the body.

In fact, when a person exercises regularly, uses intermittent fasting as a tool of calorie restriction and takes supplements of NAD+ all of these negative processes stop and sirtuins are activated restoring the body to a more youthful condition.

Summary about the effects of NAD+

In other words, NAD+ is important for cardiometabolic health, energy balance, liver health, immune health and cognitive health. NAD+ is also involved in maintaining the membrane polarity of cell walls. The blood /brain barrier and the gut/blood barrier are also kept intact by NAD+. In addition, NAD+ is involved in detoxification and control of the action of free radicals. It also is important to control Inflammation. For these reasons, it is not a surprise that people with normal NAD+ function will be healthier than those who have a problem with this.

Sugar reduces NAD+ to NADH

It is important to note that scientists could show in animal models and in humans that sugar overconsumption leads to the reduction of NAD+ to NADH. All of the negative effects described above for low NAD+ are then coming true. NADH is a reduced and disabled form of the oxidized NAD+. In essence, this substance has no biological action.

Energy metabolism

Biochemists have determined with regard to the energy metabolism of mitochondria that there are three occasions where enzymes are dependent on NAD+. Without NAD+ the energy-providing oxidative metabolism in mitochondria would not take place. As NAD+ is lower in older age, this explains why an aging population has less energy. In addition, as we age, the number of mitochondria per cell is decreasing. That is to say that an aging population has less energy than youthful people.

Other factors that are important in preserving youthful power

The AMPK signalling pathway

AMPK stands for 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase. This is an enzyme that consists of three protein portions. In humans it is expressed in liver, brain and muscle tissue. It provides energy in the liver by fatty acid oxidation. In muscles it stimulates glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation. AMPK also inhibits cholesterol synthesis, lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis. Fasting and exercise can stimulate AMPK production, which in turn will stimulate SIR1 genes and NAD+ production. This is especially happening in muscle tissue. To put it another way, there are a close-linked metabolic reactions between NAD+, AMPK and sirtuins.

Balance between AMPK, NAD+ and methylation

Given the right circumstances this can lead to detoxification, longevity and energy. This is what intermittent fasting and exercise can do for you. AMPK needs high NAD+ levels to give you all of the benefits. But NAD+ must be balanced with methylation. This is a somewhat difficult subject to explain, but the link explains it in somewhat technical terms. In other words, with a balance of the body’s biochemistry the person is healthy. When there is a disbalance, you get sick.

Practical application how to supplement for preserving youthful power

Dr. Shade asked the rhetorical question: how can we achieve a balance between NAD+ and methylation?

His answer is to supplement with the following supplements.

  • Trimethylglycine (Betaine) 2‐5g/day
  • Vitamin B2: 10‐30mg/day
  • SAMe or methylcobalamin 1000‐3000mcg/day
  • Measure Homocysteine as marker of methylation; if it is low, the methylation pathway is normal and there is balance.

Next: how to we raise NAD+? The answer is by cardio-metabolic blending.

  • Berberine and quercetin (they are respiratory chain modulators)
  • Resveratrol, silymarin and lipoic acid (they are liver kinase B1 activators)
  • Resveratrol or pterostilbene and quercetin (they are sirtuin activators)
  • Nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) 200- 400 mg per day
  • Trimethylglycine (Betaine) 2-5 grams per day and methylcobalamin, B2, and others (methylation support)
Preserving Youthful Power

Preserving Youthful Power

Conclusion

It is difficult to describe energy flow in biochemical terms. Dr. Christopher W. Shade did exactly that in a lecture he gave at the 27th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas on Dec.13, 2019. The key for preserving youthful power is to balance the metabolism that occurs in the nucleus of the body cells with the metabolism taking place in the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the energy producers, but the steering of this occurs through the metabolic products from the cell nucleus. NAD+ plays a key role in our energy metabolism. But there is an interplay with AMPK, which stands for 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase. Sirtuin genes interact with these messenger molecules as well and this is where longevity comes in.

Longevity through sirtuin stimulation

Sirtuins are longevity genes that help us get more energy for a longer period of time. Regular exercise stimulates this complex biochemistry giving us extra NAD+ for energy. Intermittent fasting also stimulates sirtuins, which adds to the extra energy and gives us longevity. This is not a bad deal when you look at it from a distance. We can achieve a lot preserving our energy through an active life style. Supplements can be an auxiliary measure, but they are not effective enough without positive lifestyle choices.

Nov
23
2019

Omega-6 Fatty Acids Compromise Your Health

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, heart attack, Heart Disease, Inflammation, Nutrition, omega-3 fatty acids, Stroke

In an editorial of the October 2019 edition of LifeExtension William Faloon explained that omega-6 fatty acids compromise your health. He focused particularly on memory loss and the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

After a review of the medical literature he noted that Americans are eating too many foods that are laden with omega-6 fatty acids. Part of it is due to food processing with the wrong oils ). But the other problem is that processed foods also are full of omega-6 fatty acids. The merchants like omega-6 fatty acids, because they prolong the shelf life of products. But recent evidence shows that a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in our food can interfere with our memory and may even lead to dementia.

Evidence that omega-6 fatty acids are interfering with brain function

A recent publication analyzed 116 non-demented subjects aged 69 on average.

Blood tests were taken where 32 nutrients related to a Mediterranean diet were analyzed. In addition the researchers from the University of Illinois did functional MRI scans to assess higher brain function. The researchers also did cognitive tests to assess mental functioning.

  • The results of these experiments showed that higher lycopene levels had an association with better memory and higher executive function.
  • Subjects with higher carotenoids and trans lutein showed higher intelligence on testing.
  • B-vitamins that reduce homocysteine (vitamin B2, folate and vit. B12) and vitamin D showed an association with better executive functioning.
  • Two parts of memory testing showed that a proper balance of omega 6 to omega 3 ratio resulted in a better memory.
  • Higher omega-3 levels in the blood associated with higher overall intelligence and better executive function.

Impact of omega-6 on brain function

Researchers have proven that omega-3 fatty acids can help controlling inflammation in the body. This can prevent cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. However, our western food contains a surplus of omega-6 fatty acids, which causes inflammation in the body. It depends on our food choices, but it also depends on the preparation of the food. One chicken leg with skin contains about 1800 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. The process of deep-frying the same chicken leg increases the content to 4322mg of omega-6.

One deep fried KFC chicken breast with skin has 12,663 mg omega-6 fatty acids The reason is that a lot of the deep-frying oil is full of omega-6 fatty acids.

Cooking oils

Here is a run down of cooking oils. All of the cooking oils have a different mix of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid composition. Many also contain oleic acid, which is an omega-9 fatty acid.

Researchers have proven that omega-3 fatty acids can help control inflammation in the body. This can prevent cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

As it is obvious from the table in the second last link olive oil contains 71.27% oleic acid, 9.76% omega-6 and 0.76% omega-3. It is the content of the majority of oleic acid (omega-9), which makes olive oil such healthy oil. Only two table spoons of olive oil per day will prevent heart attacks and strokes because oleic acid lowers the bad LDL cholesterol and increases the good HDL cholesterol. Olive oil removes beta-amyloid plaques inside the brain, which means it prevents Alzheimer’s disease.

Recommendation of best cooking oil

Considering that olive oil has such powerful healing properties, I recommend that you cook and bake with olive oil. Also use olive oil as part of your salad dressing. On the other hand avoid these oils: corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil and safflower oil. They contain too much inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.

Our western food contains a surplus of omega-6 fatty acids, which causes inflammation in the body. It depends on our food choices what is in the food. But it also depends on the preparation of the food. One chicken leg contains about 1800 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. When it is deep fried with skin it contains 4322mg of omega-6.

One deep fried KFC chicken breast with skin: 12,663 mg Omega-6 fatty acids. One of the reasons is that a lot of the deep-frying oil is full of omega-6 fatty acids.

Math to calculate retained omega-6 from deep-frying

You notice that many cooking oils are high in omega-6. Soybean oil has 50.42% omega-6 in it. If you cook French fries or chicken in it and the food retains only 1 teaspoon of oil in it, that’s 5000 mg times 50.42%, which is 2521 mg of omega-6 added just from deep-frying your food.

Balancing omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that are mainly used for energy. But the problem is that in our western diet too many omega-6 fatty acids are in our food. Omega-6 fatty acids can be converted into arachidonic acid, which causes inflammation. This in turn can cause heart attacks and strokes on the one hand and arthritis on the other hand. In the past a healthy ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 was 4:1 or less. The average American now eats food with 16-times the amount of omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3’s. This is an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 16:1.

KFC chicken breast example

In the example of a KFC chicken breast with skin 12,663 mg omega-6 fatty acids are consumed. To balance this with omega-3 fatty acids the person would have to consume 3166 mg omega-3 fatty acids. One serving of wild salmon provides 2000 mg of omega-3. I take 3600 mg of molecularly distilled fish oil every day as a supplement (2 capsules in the morning and 2 at night). Together with the wild salmon this is 5600 mg of omega-3. This would result in an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 2.26:1, which is considered to be well balanced. But generally people do not consume so much seafood and fish oil supplements to balance the omega-6 fatty acids with omega-3. It comes down to be selective with your food choices.

Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (dementia)

Since the mid 1980’s dementia cases have reduced by an average of 25%.

This is because people have become more conscious of healthier eating habits and supplements. More people take lycopene, a carotenoid supplement that helps prevent heart disease. Whatever helps the heart also helps the brain. Omega-3 supplements and consumption of seafood, especially wild salmon, is also useful. If people will reduce their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio to 4:1 or less, which too can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Study to show that omega-3 fatty acids preserve the brain in older age

The following study looked at brain structure using MRI scans. 3660 participants aged 65 received MRI brain scans. The researchers recorded their food intake with questionnaires. They rescanned 2313 of these individuals 5 years later. The group highest in omega-3 consumption was compared to the group with the lowest omega-3 consumption. Blood tests were also done both initially and 5 years later to verify the omega-3 intake. The researchers found that the higher omega-3 group had less subclinical infarcts and the white matter of the brain was of a better grade. They concluded that fish consumption, the major source of omega-3 fatty acids, had a beneficial effect on brain health later in life.

Omega-6 Fatty Acids Compromise Your Health

Omega-6 Fatty Acids Compromise Your Health

Conclusion

Omega-6 fatty acids are abundantly present in junk food, deep fries, processed foods and polyunsaturated oils like corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil and safflower oil. Because food processors like the long shelf life of processed food made with these oils, people’s intake of omega-6 fatty acids has been climbing. Now the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio regarding the average American food consumption is about 16:1. It should be 4:1 or less. It is important that you learn what contains omega-6 fatty acids and that you start cutting down. You do need a certain amount of omega-6 fatty acids for cell energy, but most people do not get enough marine based omega-3 fatty acids. Wild salmon and other seafood provides omega-3 fatty acids.

Balancing omega-6 with omega-3

I have shown using an example how you can balance omega-6 and omega-3. Having the right ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 will also help you prevent dementia down the road. Consuming more olive oil can prevent heart disease and dementia as well. This contains oleic acid (an omega-9 fatty acid), which lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol.

Nov
16
2019

Trans Fat Causes Alzheimer’s Disease

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, heart attack

The FDA is aware for some time that trans fat causes Alzheimer’s disease. This is why the FDA has outlawed trans fats in 2015. But the industry was given 3 years to phase out trans fats. The FDA also gave special extensions to many companies, which allows these companies to continue adding trans fats into your food until January 2020. CNN reported about a Japanese study that examined the correlation between trans fat levels in the blood and the risk of coming down with Alzheimer’s disease.

Japanese trans fat study

This Japanese study followed 1,628 Japanese community residents (men and women) for about 10 years. Researchers used the typical trans fatty acid, elaidic acid to monitor the accumulation of trans fats in patients. This is possible with a simple blood test, which serves as a marker for industrial trans fats. 377 participants developed dementia (247 Alzheimer’s disease and 102 vascular dementia). Based on the blood elaidic acid levels earlier in the study individuals with higher trans fat levels were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as the study progressed. Patients whose trans fat blood levels were in the higher range were 50% to 75% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Comment by an Alzheimer’s researcher

Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York was not involved in the study. But he commented on the importance of it. He said: “The study used blood marker levels of trans fats, rather than more traditionally used dietary questionnaires, which increases the scientific validity of the results.” He continued: “This study is important as it builds upon prior evidence that dietary intake of trans fats can increase risk of Alzheimer’s dementia.”

Other studies that indicate that trans fats cause Alzheimer’s disease

On June 10, 2019 researchers published a paper that stated that three simple steps would prevent strokes and heart attacks. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. In the US about 610,000 people die of heart disease every year, which is about one in every 4 deaths. Here are a few facts. First, there is the simple observation that patients do not control their high blood pressure enough to avoid a heart attack or stroke. Secondly, patients with high blood pressure need to restrict their salt intake, or they will develop heart attacks or strokes. Finally, patients need to avoid exposure to artificial trans fatty acids as this leads to direct damage of the lining of the arteries.

Why avoiding artificial hydrogenated fats is important

Given enough time, this will cause heart attacks and strokes. If patients survive to a ripe old age, they will develop Alzheimer’s disease as well. Apart from controlling blood pressure and restricting salt intake the third factor was to avoid artificial hydrogenated fats.

Hydrogenated fatty acids or trans fats

Hydrogenated fatty acids or trans fats still make their way into the grocery-shopping basket. They are present in baked goods, snacks like chips, creamer and margarines. Think of cakes and cookies, crackers, piecrust, potato chips, corn chips and microwave pop corn. Deep fried food is also full of trans fats (french fries, doughnuts, fried chicken). Trans fats can make their way into frozen pizza crusts, non-dairy coffee cream, canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls. Above all do not buy any form of margarine. Hydrogenated fatty acids affect the arteries directly by increasing the harmful LDL cholesterol and decreasing the protective HDL cholesterol. This accelerates hardening of the arteries, which in turn causes heart attacks, strokes and on the long run Alzheimer’s disease. 

Eliminate trans fats

We need to eliminate trans fats as they are causing heart attacks and Alzheimer’s disease. There is an important difference between ruminant trans fats and artificial trans fats. Ruminant trans fats have been part of the human diet for millennia like milk fat and fat from cows, goats or sheep that are on pasture. Milk products for instance contain fat with 2-5% natural trans fats. 3-9 % of the fat in beef and lamb consists of natural trans fats. Studies have shown that the body is able to handle these natural trans fats, and heart attacks are not more frequent in people eating moderate amounts of these products including butter from cows that graze on pasture.

Artificial trans fats

Quite the opposite is true for artificial trans fats in margarine that comes from vegetable oil. Avoid bakery items like sweet pieces or muffins and other products that contain hydrogenated oils. Read labels! Use olive oil or coconut oil, but avoid vegetable oils like corn oil, safflower oil or grape seed oil to get away from trans fats and unstable oils that turn rancid. Rancid oils contain free radicals that oxidize LDL cholesterol and attack the lining of your arteries through small dense LDL cholesterol. Remember that merchants add artificial trans fats to prolong the shelf life of processed food. Your best defense against trans fats is to not buy processed foods. This is what I do.

Poor diet habits can cause Alzheimer’s

A new study from the Brock University in St. Catharine’s, Ont. showed that poor diet habits can cause Alzheimer’s. A significant risk for Alzheimer’s was a combination of high saturated fats in the diet in combination with too much sugar. Another triggering factor was the normal aging process that also contributed to the development of Alzheimer’s.

Study showing that poor diet habits can cause Alzheimer’s

Master student Bradley Baranowski and PhD student Kirsten Bott conducted the experiments under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Rebecca MacPherson. The experimental group consisted of middle-aged mice that were observed for 13 weeks. They received a high-fat/high-sugar diet. The control group received a normal diet.

The experimental group with the high fat/high sugar diet was aging prematurely. They also showed elevated inflammatory markers, elevated insulin levels and cellular stress. Dr. MacPherson mentioned that the middle-aged mice would be comparable to humans aged 40 to 60. “We’re trying to see what the initiating signals are that can lead to progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” MacPherson said.

Lifestyle choices matter

“People often view Alzheimer’s disease as a genetic disease when in fact, genetic mutations leading to Alzheimer’s accounts for less than five per cent of cases,” Baranowski said in the press release. “This study highlights that our lifestyle choices matter and can potentially put us at risk of developing or progressing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

Over the years many other researchers have analyzed what factors contribute to developing Alzheimer’s. It probably is a combination of several factors.

Trans Fat Causes Alzheimer’s Disease

Trans Fat Causes Alzheimer’s Disease

Conclusion

Researchers are aware of trans fats causing Alzheimer’s disease, heart attacks and strokes for a long time. They increase the bad LDL cholesterol, decrease the good HDL cholesterol. Rancid oils contain free radicals that oxidize LDL cholesterol and attack the lining of your arteries through small dense LDL cholesterol. The FDA has started to initiate steps in 2015 to make the use of trans fats in the food industry illegal. Completion of this in the US occurs in early 2020. Many countries are more lax in their laws. It is up to the consumer to read food labels and decide not to buy certain products known to contain trans fats like frozen pizza crusts, non-dairy coffee cream, canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls, just to mention a few. Eliminate artificial trans fats from your food and avoid the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Feb
02
2019

Hormones Helping In Menopause

By | Alzheimer’s disease, heart attack, Hormones, Menopause, Stroke

Dr. Filomena Trindade presented a talk about hormones helping in menopause. This talk was part the 26th Anti-Aging Conference of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas from December 13 to 15, 2018. The exact title of her talk was “Women and cognition: insulin, menopause and Alzheimer’s”. Above the age of 80 Alzheimer’s disease in women becomes much more common compared to men. PET scans of the brain of postmenopausal women in comparison to PET scans of premenopausal women, often show more than 30% slow down of metabolism after menopause. Literature regarding that finding showed that it was mostly the decline in ovarian estrogen production that was responsible for the slow down in brain metabolism. Other factors that lead to Alzheimer’s disease are central adiposity (abdominal) and inflammation in the body.

Brain insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s

Older women with Alzheimer’s have more IGF-1 resistance and IGF-1 dysfunction. Other studies showed that minimal cognitive impairment (MCI) progressing into Alzheimer’s disease (AD) might be due to type-2 diabetes. One of the studies stated the following:

“We conclude that the term type 3 diabetes accurately reflects the fact that AD represents a form of diabetes that selectively involves the brain and has molecular and biochemical features that overlap with both type 1 DM and type 2 DM.“

Another publication said that type 3 DM is a neuroendocrine disorder that represents the progression of type 2 DM to Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Trindade presented several hormone studies in postmenopausal women who started to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Older women with existing Alzheimer’s did not respond to estrogen hormone replacement. They did not recover with regard to their memory loss. However, younger women who just entered menopause responded well to estrogen hormone replacement and many recovered from their memory loss.

Hormone changes in menopause

There are a number of hormones that experience changes with the onset of menopause. Estrogen production ceases in the ovaries. The production of progesterone in the ovaries also ends. In addition thyroid and adrenal gland hormone production decreases. Often insulin production is increased, but insulin resistance is present at the same time.

Stress can interfere with progesterone and aldosterone production as pregnenolone is the same precursor molecule for both hormones.

How stress interferes with Selye’s general adaptation syndrome

Stage 1 of Selye’s adaptation syndrome, called arousal, involves elevation of cortisol and DHEA. When stress is over, the patient recovers on his/her own.

Stage 2 is the adaptation stage, where cortisol is chronically elevated, but DHEA is declining. The patient feels stressed, has anxiety attacks and may experience mood swings and depressions.

Stage 3 is the exhaustion stage. The underlying cause of this stage is adrenal insufficiency. Both cortisol and DHEA blood levels are low. Patients often suffer from depression and chronic fatigue.

Other hormones and menopause

DHEA and cortisol (stress) have the same precursor (pregnenolone). This means that when a patient is stressed, DHEA production tends to suffer as most of the pregnenolone is used for the production of cortisol.

Dr. Trindade spent some time explaining the complicated details of thyroid hormones during menopause. In essence stress can interfere with the normal metabolism of thyroid hormones with respect to T3, T4 and reverse T3. The end result is that not enough functioning thyroid hormones are present and hypothyroidism may develop.

Both estrogen and progesterone are lower in menopause. In a longitudinal French study with over 80,000 postmenopausal patients the women that received replacement with bioidentical progesterone and estrogen did the best in terms of low Alzheimer’s rates and lower heart attack rates. You achieve optimal Alzheimer’s prevention best starting hormone replacement at the time when menopause starts. You need both estrogen to control hot flashes and to give you strong bones, and progesterone for preservation of your brain, your hair growth and a good complexion.

Hormones Helping In Menopause

Hormones Helping In Menopause

Conclusion

Hormones are missing in menopause and this becomes the starting point for many postmenopausal complaints of patients. The sooner the physician does blood tests to diagnose hormone deficiencies, the better. Various studies showed that the best result in terms of Alzheimer’s prevention is possible, when estrogen and bioidentical progesterone are replaced right at the beginning of menopause. This approach prevents neuroinflammation. There are no extracellular beta amyloid protein deposits and no intracellular tau protein deposits that typically are present with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition the cardiovascular system stays healthier for longer. It contributes to preventing heart attacks and strokes. A longitudinal French study with over 80,000 women who have received treatment with a combination of estrogen and bioidentical progesterone have excellent survival data. The women also enjoy excellent mental health, no cardiovascular complications and less cancer than controls without hormone treatment.

 

Jan
19
2019

Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Hormones, neurological disease, Nutrition, Parkinson’s disease, Prevention, testosterone

Dr. Thierry Hertoghe, an endocrinologist from Belgium, stated that Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones. This talk was part the 26th Anti-Aging Conference of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas (from December 13 to 15, 2018).

First of all, Dr. Hertoghe treated many Alzheimer’s patients himself and noted that they often have multiple hormone deficiencies. Secondly, common deficiencies affect thyroid hormones, human growth hormone, estradiol for women and testosterone for men. But even vasopressin and oxytocin are hormones that may be lacking. Third,  after doing thorough blood tests to assess hormone levels, Dr. Hertoghe replaced what hormones were missing. Finally, many Alzheimer’s patients got their energy, muscle strength and memory back.

In the following I am summarizing what Dr. Hertoghe told the audience about the various hormones. Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones. Later I provide the hormone doses that Dr. Hertoghe uses for replacement.

Progressive memory loss

Generally, patients who develop Alzheimer’s disease start losing short-term memory first, but in time they will also lose long-term memory. Often this disease process starts in the 60’s as age-associated cognitive impairment. In the 70’s it may progress further to mild cognitive impairment, only to take off in the 80’s as Alzheimer’s disease. The astute clinician may order some screening blood tests in the 60’s and 70’s. In a male low testosterone, low DHEAS and low thyroid hormones may be present. Certainly, blood tests will show this readily. Frequently, in women low estradiol, low thyroid and low DHEAS may also be present. The reason this is important is that simple hormone replacement can return a person back to normal. Yes, this is right: hormone replacement can bring a person with age-associated cognitive impairment or mild cognitive impairment back to normal! In other words, Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones.

Hormones important to monitor with Alzheimer’s disease

There are 6 hormones that are important for memory restoration in Alzheimer’s patients: IGF-1 (and growth hormone), thyroid hormones, estrogen and testosterone, vasopressin (and oxytocin) and pregnenolone. However, as Alzheimer’s patients often have sleep problems, another important hormone is melatonin.

Oxytocin to calm down aggressive Alzheimer’s patients

Notably, Dr. Hertoghe found that Alzheimer’s patients often are restless and can be aggressive. This makes it difficult to care for them in a home. Oxytocin is the hormone of trust, affection, sociability and concerns about others. It calms down aggressiveness. But with oxytocin treatment the Alzheimer’s patient feels better, becomes friendly, cooperative and warm-hearted.

As an illustration Dr. Hertoghe gave an example of one of his 80-year old patients with aggressive Alzheimer’s disease. She became unmanageable for her non-married son and other contacts. 5 IU of oxytocin sublingually changed this woman into a friendly, compassionate, warm-hearted woman, and the aggressiveness disappeared completely.

Insomnia in Alzheimer’s patients

About 45% of Alzheimer’s patients develop “sundowning”. When the sun goes down they start getting hyperactive, develop unacceptable behaviors and they become restless. Research papers showed that blood melatonin levels are low in these patients. Indeed, this is why they respond very well to small amounts of melatonin at bedtime. As a conclusion, within only a few days of starting this, their sundowning disappears, and they become easier to look after.

Dr. Hertoghe provided material from several research papers that showed that Alzheimer’s patients are often deficient for melatonin. Replacement with varying doses of melatonin solved even more complicated insomnia problems.

Melatonin is a powerful anti-oxidant. Interesting animal experiments have shown that melatonin has memory-enhancing properties. Researchers believe that melatonin improves the extracellular senile plaques with amyloid-beta peptide accumulation (first of 2 Alzheimer’s lesions). In addition melatonin also decreases the intracellular neurofibrillary degeneration tangles, the second of the two specific Alzheimer’s lesions.

IGF-1 and human growth hormone

Several studies have shown that Alzheimer’s patients have a significant drop in IGF-1 levels and growth hormone levels. This affects their short-term and long-term memory. Serum IGF-1 has an inverse correlation with cognitive impairment. Dr. Hertoghe said that IGF-1 treatment in Alzheimer’s patients increases their brain volume, increases the functional network of neurons in the brain and increases memory.

Brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s patients from chronically depleted IGF-1

Dr. Hertoghe showed a slide of a normal brain with a view from the outside and a cross section view of the brain. The same slide contained the view of an Alzheimer’s patient’s brain. It showed brain atrophy resulting in a much smaller brain and the cross section displayed an increase of the hollow spaces (e.g. the third and forth ventricle). He stressed that in his view the brain shrinkage of Alzheimer’s patients is due to prolonged low levels of IGF-1. This in turn is due to a lack of production of human growth hormone.

With IGF-1 treatment the serum IGF-1 was increasing and the cognitive function in older adults recovered. Dr. Hertoghe provided many literature citations to support this, which I will not repeat here.

Case report of a male patient with Alzheimer’s disease

Dr. Hertoghe presented one of his patients with Alzheimer’s. Lab tests showed that he had deficiencies of thyroid hormones, DHEA and testosterone. But despite replacement of these hormones he remained severely affected with Alzheimer’s. He did not remember his own name, could not go to the toilet on his own, spoke only a few words and suffered from severe fatigue. He received 4 injections around his eyes with IGF-1 and mesotherapy from his doctor (described below) with human growth hormone and IGF-1. Within a few weeks he had a complete reversal of his cognitive decline. He could return to his professional driving career doing halftime work with a delivery van in the city. He could read a newspaper and understood what he was reading. Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones.

Thyroid hormones

According to Dr. Hertoghe thyroid hormones help to establish short-term and long-term memory and treat the apathetic depression in Alzheimer’s patients. Many Alzheimer’s patients are hypothyroid.With this deficiency they have swollen lower eyelids, a puffy face and paleness of the face. In a 1990 study a group of Alzheimer’s patients had 26% lower T3 levels when compared to normal controls. Many patients with hypothyroidism have memory loss, before their deficiency is corrected. Dr. Hertoghe stated that 13% of all dementia cases are reversible by proper thyroid hormone treatment.

Estradiol can improve long-term memory loss

Research showed that estradiol could improve long-term memory in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease cases. Many female Alzheimer’s patients are deficient in estrogens. If they do, they have dry eyes, a pale face and thin, dull hair. In a 2005 study 33 control women were compared to 48 women with Alzheimer’s disease. The estradiol levels in the Alzheimer’s disease group showed significant depletion compared to the normal control group. There was no significant difference found with regard to progesterone, testosterone and LH&HSH levels. Another study showed that in cerebrospinal fluid of women with Alzheimer’s disease the estradiol level was significantly reduced while the beta-amyloid levels were significantly increased.

Dr. Hertoghe reviewed several studies that showed that symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease disappeared with estradiol supplementation. Both memory and mood responded to the treatments.

Men with Alzheimer’s disease are often testosterone deficient

Testosterone is important for long-term memory. Men in andropause report erectile dysfunction, general weakness and memory loss. The physician needs to be aware that the patient may be starting to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Hertoghe showed a slide based on a publication, which stressed that testosterone enhances memory. It increases brain blood flow and thickens the myelin sheets. Testosterone increases dendrite and synapses and in addition decreases amyloid beta-peptide production. Neurotoxicity is also reduced. The end result is improvement of Alzheimer’s in males with testosterone replacement.

Pregnenolone improves short-term memory

Pregnenolone gets synthesized in the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Dr. Hertoghe said that pregnenolone is a neurostimulating “neurosteroid”. Pregnenolone concentrations in brain tissue are about 25- to 35-fold higher than in the blood stream. Some cases of Alzheimer’s disease can come from a lack of pregnenolone and pregnenolone sulfate. Patients who have Alzheimer’s because of a lack of pregnenolone have blood levels that are 2.5-fold lower than pregnenolone levels in normal controls. When these patients are treated with pregnenolone, their memory improves. The mechanism of the effect of pregnenolone is by increasing acetylcholine by more than 50% in the hippocampus. It also protects the hippocampus from glutamate and amyloid beta. Pregnenolone improves short-term memory over a period of 3 to 4 months of treatment.

Vasopressin improves short-term and long-term memory loss

Postmortem studies on Alzheimer’s patients showed that there is decreased vasopressin in the brain cortex. In patients with alcoholic dementia (Korsakoff psychosis after recovery) there was decreased vasopressin in the cerebrospinal fluid. Often patients with diabetes insipidus have decreased vasopressin and are in danger of developing dementia. If not treated, they develop short-term and long-term memory loss. When treated with vasopressin or Desmopressin their memory recovers within 4 hours of starting therapy. Younger patients (50 to 73) do better with memory recovery than older patients (74 to 91).

Treatment details of hormone replacement for Alzheimer’s disease

Before hormone treatments are given to a patient it is important to do a battery of blood tests. This will help the physician to identify the missing hormones in a particular patient. Each of the missing hormones are then administered separately.

Oxytocin

This hormone can be given sublingually or intranasally. Sublingually 5-10 IU are given daily. With the sublingual approach 1 or 2 sprays are given daily. Each spray contains 8 IU of oxytocin. Improvement is visible within 2 to 5 days. A full recovery takes 2 to 3 months.

Melatonin

Most patients in the higher age group do no longer produce their own melatonin. With the oral route 1-3 mg are given every night before going to bed. An alternative is to use sublingual tables 0.5mg to 1.0mg at bedtime. The first improvement can be seen 2-5 days after the start of replacing melatonin, the full impact takes about 2-3 months from the start of the treatment.

IGF-1 and human growth hormone

Replacement of IGF-1 can be done by injecting IGF-1 or human growth hormone (HGH). HGH stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1. IGF-1 is somewhat cheaper than HGH. When IGF-1 is used, 0.3mg to 1mg is injected at bedtime. Progress is slow; the first improvement is visible at 2-4 months, it takes up to 24 to 36 months for a full recovery.

For severe memory impairment with Alzheimer’s, the doctor does a double treatment approach with both IGF-1 and HGH: first subcutaneous IGF-1 injections around the eyes 4 times per day (0.01mg each). Secondly, at the doctor’s office the doctor administers mesotherapy injections with 1mg of HGH and 1mg of IGF-1 and vasodilators 3 times per week. Two weeks later the doctor administers another course of mesotherapy. He may repeat this twice in 14-day intervals. Now the interval increases to monthly therapy for 3 months and finally every 3 to 4 months. The patient can use IGF-1 nose drops instead of subcutaneous IGF-1 injections.

Thyroid hormones

Dr. Hertoghe prefers desiccated animal thyroid hormone replacement as the T3/T4 ratio is best matched to what the ratio is in humans. Depending on the severity of thyroid hormone deficiency the patient takes 30-150mg of thyroid hormone every morning. Dr. Hertoghe starts with a low dose and slowly increases the dosage. Clinical progress is very slow. It takes until the second month before the first improvement takes place. Full improvement can take 8-12 months.

Estradiol

Replacement of estradiol in postmenopausal women with Alzheimer’s disease received ether more than 0.1mg per day or 0.625mg of conjugated equine estrogen daily. In both cases there were improvements of their memory and improvement on the Hamilton depression scale.

Dr. Hertoghe’s preferred way to treat postmenopausal women with Alzheimer’s disease is as follows. The first 25 days of each month he gives them 1-2mg of oral estradiol valerate each day and 100mg of micronized progesterone. If they prefer an estrogen cream, he gives them 1-3mg per day transdermal estradiol and 100mg micronized progesterone capsules.

The first improvement is visible after 2-4 months; there is further improvement the next 8-12 months.

Testosterone

There are two methods of how to do hormone replacement with testosterone, either by injection or as transdermal cream. The injection treatment uses 250mg of testosterone enanthate or cypionate every 2 -3 weeks. The patinet can also self-administer testosterone enanthate (50mg twice per week) for a more even blood level of testosterone. The transdermal approach involves 100-250mg transdermal, nanoliposomal testosterone daily.

The memory will improve 2-4 months into replacement therapy. The full improvement takes 8-12 months.

Pregnenolone

The replacement therapy is 100mg per day in the morning for the first 4 months. Then there is a dosage reduction to 50mg daily. Studies have shown that 30mg of pregnenolone is not enough to treat memory loss. Short-term memory improved after 3 to 4 months in about 75% of patients.

Vasopressin

The best vasopressin preparation to use is bio-identical vasopressin. It comes as 1 nasal spray with 10IU of vasopressin. Upon awakening the patient or caregiver applies 1-2 sprays into the nose. The patient receives the second dose 10 minutes before lunch by nasal spray.

Apart from hormones, lifestyle changes are also recommendable.

Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones

Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones

Conclusion

Who would have thought that Alzheimer’s disease could have anything to do with hormones? Dr. Hertoghe, the endocrinologist from Belgium did many hormone tests on Alzheimer’s patients and concluded that various degrees of hormone deficiencies can indeed cause Alzheimer’s disease. But what is more is that you can replace the missing hormones and see complete cures in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is treatable with hormones. This is something conventional medicine can only dream of. At this point this hormonal approach is not yet mainstream medicine; but it would not be a surprise to me, if in 10 or 20 years interested physicians do this type of therapy routinely in their practice. When hormones are missing, replace them. When the memory is fading, think about testing for missing hormones! It will make a difference in the quality of life for the patient as well as for his family.

Oct
14
2017

A New Genetic Marker For Alzheimer’s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Possible future clues from a trial using TOMM40 marker

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

A New Genetic Marker For Alzheimer’s

A New Genetic Marker For Alzheimer’s

Conclusion

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

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

Sep
02
2017

Resveratrol Effective In Humans

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

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

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

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: high blood pressure patients

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

Blood pressure lowering effect of resveratrol

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: diabetes patients

Diabetes patients can get help with resveratrol. Resveratrol, the bioflavonoid from red  wine is a powerful anti-inflammatory. This antioxidant has several other effects, which make it challenging to measure each effect by itself. Another group of investigators managed to simultaneously measure these effects. They found that resveratrol lowered the C-reactive protein by 26% and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by 19.8%. Resveratrol also decreased fasting blood sugar and insulin; in addition it reduced hemoglobin A1C and insulin resistance. The recommended daily dose of resveratrol was 1000 to 5000 mg.

Resveratrol effective in humans: improves bone density

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

Difference between high and low dose resveratrol

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: anti-aging effects

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

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

Important information from the Nurses’ Health Study 

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

Slowed telomere shortening

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

Resveratrol lengthens telomeres

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

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: resveratrol and cancer

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

Resveratrol is anti-inflammatory

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: cardiovascular disease

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: polycystic ovarian syndrome 

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: anti-arteriosclerotic effects in diabetics

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: ulcerative colitis patients

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

Resveratrol effective in humans: Alzheimer’s disease prevention

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

Resveratrol Effective In Humans

Resveratrol Effective In Humans

Conclusion

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

Resveratrol helps prevent hardening of arteries and cancer

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

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Feb
11
2017

Genetic Switches To Treat Obesity And Diabetes

By | 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 24th 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:

  1. Diet
  2. Diurnal/seasonal correlations
  3. Smoking and other toxic chemicals
  4. Street drug use
  5. Disease exposure
  6. Financial status
  7. Exercise status
  8. Microbiome healthy?
  9. Therapeutic drugs
  10. Alternative medicine
  11. Social interactions
  12. 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

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.