Archives for April 2017

Apr
22
2017

Only Moderate Alcohol Consumption Benefits Your Heart

A new study from England finds that only moderate alcohol consumption benefits your heart. The study appeared on March 22, 2017 in Great Britain. 1.937 million people (51% women, 49% men) had participated in this investigation over 6 years. The lead author, Dr. Steven Bell is a genetic epidemiologist. He said that the purpose of this study was to clear up some of the confusion from previous studies. He wondered why the control group without alcohol exposure had more cardiac problems than the moderate group. It did make sense though, that the high alcohol group had worse cardiac problems.

But he and researchers from Cambridge University and University College London did this study to get more detail. They were curious why the current non-drinking group serving as a control did not undergo more scrutiny. It consisted of a mix of lifelong abstainers; people who drank formerly, but then gave it up. And the other group was those who drink on an occasional basis.

With this in mind the researchers designed their study. They also used larger numbers to increase the reliability of the study.

Details of English study

The data comes from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink providing anonymous patient records from general practices in England. The patients upon entry into the study had to be older than 30 years, but have no evidence of cardiovascular disease. A total of 1,937,360 patients qualified to be part of the study.

Based on patients’ records and patients recollections people, researchers looked at 5 classes of drinkers:

  • Non-drinkers (14.3%)
  • Former or ex-drinkers (stopped drinking at one point, 3.7%)
  • Occasional drinkers (drinking rarely, 11.9%)
  • Moderate drinkers (drinking within sensible limits, 61.7%)
  • Heavy drinkers (hazardous alcohol use, 8.4%)

Various cardiovascular diseases apart from heart attacks

The end point of the study researchers concentrated on the frequency of cardiovascular diseases like angina, heart attack, sudden cardiac death, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and others. I only listed 6 of the 12 cardiovascular diagnoses as otherwise it would get too technical.

More information: Most study participants were non-smokers, their BMI was within normal limits, and they also did not have diabetes.

Findings of the study

There were significant differences among subclasses of alcohol consumption and the development of cardiovascular diseases over 6 years.

U-type dose response curve

The findings were in line with a number of previous similar studies that showed a U-type dose response curve between developing cardiovascular diseases and alcohol consumption. The group of non-drinkers (without former and occasional drinkers ) often had a 20% to 56% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, while moderate drinkers had no added risk.

Sudden cardiac deaths

On the other hand the heavy drinkers were at risk of developing cardiac arrest (50% increased risk) or heart failure (22% increased risk). A death from a sudden heart attack occurred in heavy drinkers with a 21% increased risk. A former drinker had a 40% increased risk for this, but a non-drinker a risk of 56% increased risk!

Smaller amounts of alcohol help to clean out arteries

A non-drinker had a 32% increased risk of getting a regular heart attack, a former drinker had a 31% increased risk, an occasional drinker 14%, a moderate drinker no added risk, and a heavy drinker had a 12% reduced risk! This seemed to show that drinking alcohol keeps the coronary arteries open and clean. I have had pathology demonstrations with Professor Dr. Adalbert Bohle at Tübingen University during my medical training in 1969. At that time he pointed out how clear and wide open the coronary arteries were in chronic alcoholics. It was not heart disease that killed those patients; they had died from end stage liver cirrhosis, and we saw pathological slides of that.

Strokes in heavy drinkers

Heavy drinkers get more ischemic strokes (33% risk increase) and more intracerebral hemorrhages (37% risk increase).

Lower leg arterial obstruction

Obstruction of blood vessels in the lower legs (peripheral arterial disease) is common with heavy drinkers (35% risk increase) and even former drinkers (32% risk increase). Non-drinkers have a 22% increased risk while moderate drinkers have a 0% risk (no increased risk).

Aortic aneurysms

There was no association between heavy drinking and aortic aneurysm. On the other hand, non-drinkers (32% increased risk) and former drinkers (23% increased risk) showed an increased risk of aortic aneurysm formation.

Other effects of alcohol consumption

The study above did not take into consideration that alcohol consumption has many other consequences beside cardiovascular effects. One for instance is the effect on the brain and the increase of serious car accidents. Another effect is the causation of cancer.

The American Cancer Society clearly states that alcohol consumption has been causatively associated with cancers in the following locations:

  • Mouth
  • Pharynx (throat)
  • Larynx (voice box)
  • Esophagus
  • Liver
  • Breast
  • Colon
  • Pancreas

The conundrum of alcohol benefit for heart attacks versus alcohol cause of cancer

Many studies have shown a dose-response curve between alcohol consumed and the development of these cancers. In other words there is never a safe low dose, below which no cancer risk would occur over time.

These authors conducted a metaanalysis of 16 prospective cohort studies including 6,300 patients. It showed that alcohol caused cancer of the colon and rectum. High intake of alcohol showed a 50% increased risk of causing colon cancer. With regard to rectal cancer the risk was 63% higher. In both cases the highest alcohol intake was compared to the lowest category of alcohol intake.

More on cancer risk from alcohol consumption

These authors concluded their discussion by pointing out that 6% of the worldwide cancer deaths are attributed to alcohol intake. They also stated that colorectal cancer risk increased by 50% in the heaviest alcohol users. Among the group of heavy drinkers the cancer death rate would likely be 9%. There would a reduction of mortality from cardiovascular disease by one third in middle and old age. The end result would be 6% mortality again; essentially there is no change.

No matter how you try to solve this equation, there is a risk of cancer deaths from exposure to alcohol. There is also a risk that heavy drinking can cause significant cardiovascular diseases mentioned.

Only moderate alcohol consumption benefits your heart

Only moderate alcohol consumption benefits your heart

Conclusion

Everything we do in life has consequences. With regard to drinking you know that accidents are more common in drinkers; with prolonged exposure to higher alcohol consumption you can get dementia. Moderate amounts appear to have significant protection from heart disease, but the risk for several cancers is not negligible. This point was not mentioned in the study I discussed in the beginning of my blog. In the latter part I included some data about cancer risks from alcohol consumption.

Heart attack prevention with small amounts of alcohol

The paradox remains that non-consumption of alcohol is associated with a significant cardiovascular risk because of a U-shape dose response curve. Moderate alcohol use is associated with the lowest cardiovascular risk. The question is whether we can balance moderate drinking with staying in the low cancer risk area. The recommendation of 1 glass of wine for women and 2 glasses of wine for men has been confirmed by the above study. This is considered a healthy preventative dose with respect to cardiovascular risk. It is the official recommendation for cardiovascular disease prevention. The cancer literature clearly states that there is a small cancer risk from moderate alcohol intake. This is particularly true for the 8 cancers discussed. The last word may not have been spoken yet about reduction of cardiovascular risk.

You can prevent heart attacks without the use of alcohol

Dr James Nicholls, the director of research and policy development at Alcohol Research UK had this to say. He pointed to the fact that there are other ways to prevent cardiovascular disease. For those who do not drink at present it would not make sense to take up drinking. You can strengthen your heart by starting a Mediterranean diet and starting to exercise regularly. The beneficial substance for your heart in red wine is resveratrol. Taken it as a supplement. Resveratrol has no side effects and does not have the cancer risk like an alcoholic drink does. Dr. Nicholls added, “If you drink within the existing guidelines it is unlikely that alcohol will either lengthen or shorten your life.” It is really up to every individual to balance the wine glass with personal health!

Apr
15
2017

What Foods Lower Insulin Resistance?

When people get diabetes or prediabetes, what foods lower insulin resistance? You may have heard that eating too many carbs and gaining weight can cause high insulin values. This causes the body’s insulin receptors to become sluggish, a condition called insulin resistance. Continuing to eat too many refined carbs leads to a critical point. You can suddenly run out of enough insulin and would develop type 2 diabetes at this time.

So, what foods lower insulin resistance?

Low glycemic food

Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes occur because people do not pay attention to the glycemic load of the food they choose. Many people eat bread, pasta and starchy vegetables like potatoes. They also eat excessive sugary sweets, such as cupcakes, ice cream, or chocolate bars. All the pancreas can do is keeping blood sugar stable by overproducing insulin. But you can assist your pancreas to not overwork itself.

Leave the high glycemic index foods alone. Instead eat low glycemic foods like non-starchy vegetables (peppers, broccoli), lean meats, fish and nuts. Add high-fiber foods like beans and some whole grains. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon. Have a dessert with berries that are rich in antioxidants. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and black berries are all low glycemic foods, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. They are “nature’s candy”.

Research on insulin resistance

In a study from Singapore differences of insulin sensitivity were found between lean Asian Indians and Chinese and Malays, living in Singapore. The Asian Indians had less insulin sensitivity, which means they had higher insulin resistance. This occurs because of a genetic variant of insulin sensitivity.

Another lengthy publication investigated the connection between metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. In addition it examined the connection of heart attacks and strokes to wrong diets. The researchers pointed out that the percentage of diabetes and cardiovascular disease will reduce significantly on a sensible diet. How is this achievable? By adopting a healthy diet that also leads to weight loss.

Diets in the US and in the Western world have major shortfalls, due to the fact that people consume not enough vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Instead we see a higher intake of red and processed meat. In addition there was higher intake of sugar-sweetened foods and beverages. Refined grains and flour products are another unhealthy food source. In the US and other westernized countries we see an overconsumption of sodium and saturated fat.The key to a healthy diet was adopting a Mediterranean diet. A study exists where a group of patients with metabolic syndrome consumed mostly whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and olive oil. The control group simply followed a “prudent” diet.

What foods lower insulin resistance? The Mediterranean diet does!

Two years later the group on the Mediterranean diet showed the following results: they had a higher intake of monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and polyunsaturated fat (fish oil) and fiber. Their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio had decreased. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a general measure for inflammation, had decreased. Other inflammatory kinins like interleukins had also decreased. The insulin sensitivity endothelial function score showed improvement. The important part overall was that the Mediterranean diet prevented the metabolic syndrome compared to the “prudent” control diet.

In 2018 a study from Spain was looking for positive effects when supplementing with olive oil or nuts. A Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil or extra nuts reduced the risk of heart attacks in a high-risk group compared to controls. The study included 7447 persons and these were the results after 4.8 years: the Mediterranean diet group that used more olive oil had 28% fewer cardiovascular events compared to the control group. The Mediterranean diet group with nuts had 31% less events. Heart attacks, strokes or death from cardiovascular disease were these “events”!

What foods are unhealthy?

In order to be able to avoid unhealthy foods it is important to identify what harms us. Foods to avoid are listed in this link. Sweetened beverages, fountain drinks, sodas and fruit juices contain loads of sugar. They will cause an insulin response and on the long-term insulin resistance. Avoid starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and yams. Also avoid processed snacks and boxed foods. Starchy foods break down into sugar, which also stimulates insulin release. Your no-food list continues with excessive sugary sweets, such as cupcakes, ice cream and chocolate bars. White bread, rice, pasta, and flour are also starchy, and the body breaks down starch into sugar and stimulates insulin production.

Some saturated fats are acceptable, but hydrogenated fat must be avoided altogether.

Epigenetic factors regarding insulin resistance

A recent publication on March 14, 2017 investigated the effect of exercise on insulin sensitivity in a mouse model where the mother mouse was obese.

Pregnant, obese mice were insulin resistant and the offspring came down with diabetes. But when the pregnant mice exercised, the insulin sensitivity came back to normal. In addition the offspring were not diabetic. This effect was not due to genetic factors. Instead the authors believe it was due to epigenetic factors, in this case treating insulin resistance with exercise. When the pregnant mother turns insulin sensitive, the offspring is programmed to regulate their blood sugar metabolism normally.

An April 2017 study from Korea investigated the effects of healthy nutrition on patients with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. They noted that avoiding unhealthy foods could normalize markers of disease.

The authors discuss how nutritional factors can contribute to inheritance of epigenetic markers in the next generation. They also showed how dietary bioactive compounds could modify epigenetic factors. Taking dietary components that regulate epigenetic factors contribute significantly to health. The authors concluded that a healthy diet could prevent pathological processes that otherwise would cause metabolic disease.

What Foods Lower Insulin Resistance?

What Foods Lower Insulin Resistance?

Conclusion

It is interesting to note that insulin resistance can be reversed into insulin sensitivity by eating healthy foods. Research papers are now describing how a healthy diet of the mother can affect her offspring positively. These effects are due to epigenetic factors, as genetic factors have not changed.

We are already hearing that diseases like heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and others can largely be prevented by a proper diet. The key is to avoid high glycemic foods and eat low glycemic foods instead. It is not complicated. Eat non-starchy vegetables (leafy greens, peppers, broccoli), lean meats, fish and nuts. Add high-fiber foods like beans and some whole grains. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon. The end result is that insulin resistance disappears and metabolic processes return to normal. This was what Hippocrates had in mind when he stated “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Apr
08
2017

Breast Cancer Risks

Dr. David Zava, PhD gave a talk on breast cancer risks. His presentation took place at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The detailed title was: “The Role of Hormones, Essential Nutrients, Environmental Toxins, and Lifestyle Choices on Breast Cancer Risk”.

He pointed out that both estrogens and progesterone are safe hormones, as long as the doctor does not overdose them and keeps a hormone balance. Unfortunately many women in menopause have too much estrogen on board as the ovaries are still producing them, but there is a lack of progesterone, the moderating hormone that makes estrogen safe.

In the following I am summarizing Dr. Zava’s talk with regard to the essential messages, but leave away much of the highly technical detail of the presentation. This would dilute the message of this blog. I will include a few links for those who wish to read more details about the topic.

Balance between estrogen and progesterone

Most of her life a woman is used to cyclical hormone changes between estrogen and progesterone. When a woman no longer ovulates in premenopause and menopause there is a surplus of estrogen and a lack of progesterone. Having no ovulation means that there is no corpus luteum developing, which is where in the past progesterone production took place. This creates a disbalance where estrogen is dominating; it is called “estrogen dominance”.

This is a dangerous hormone disbalance, because the breast ducts experience a growth stimulus, but the modifying, calming effect of progesterone is missing. Mixed into this is that the stress hormone, cortisol also can make the effect of estrogen worse. On the other hand Dr. Zava showed slides from studies documenting replacement of missing progesterone with a skin progesterone cream (percutaneous bioidentical progesterone cream).

Progesterone concentration in breast lumps after progesterone cream applications

Plasma and breast tissue concentration of progesterone were measured in 40 premenstrual women. The diagnoses were breast lumps and the physicians arranged surgery for them. One group received progesterone cream treatment for 10 to 13 days; the other group was the placebo group. At the time of surgery the plasma (blood) values of progesterone were the same, but progesterone levels in breast tissue were more than 100-fold higher than the values from the placebo group who had received a neutral skin cream. The same experiment also showed that progesterone reduced the number of proliferating epithelial cells (experimental progesterone group). Estrogen on the other hand led to an increase of the number of proliferating epithelial cells (placebo group).

Progesterone cream applied to breasts of premenopausal women

Another example that Dr. Zava gave was a study where 25 mg of bioidentical progesterone cream applied directly to breasts of premenopausal women increased breast tissue progesterone 100-fold, while blood concentrations of progesterone remained the same. Again progesterone decreased the breast stimulation by estrogen of normal epithelium cells.

How to measure progesterone levels

Dr. Zava who runs the ZRT laboratory spent some time to explain how to measure progesterone in a physiological way. He said that these experiments and others that he also projected tell a clear story. Blood (serum) progesterone levels do not adequately reflect what tissue levels in a woman’s breasts are. On the other hand saliva hormone levels do give an accurate account of what breast tissue levels are like. A woman received 30 mg of topical progesterone application. She then had hourly progesterone levels in the serum and in the saliva done. The serum progesterone levels remained at around 2 ng/ml, while the saliva progesterone levels peaked 3 to 5 hours after the application. It reached 16 ng/ml in saliva, which also represents the breast tissue progesterone level.

Blood progesterone levels are unreliable

As a result, Dr. Zava said that the important lesson to learn from this is not to trust blood progesterone levels. Too many physicians fall into this trap and order too much progesterone cream, which leads to overdosing progesterone. In contrast, with salivary progesterone levels you see the physiological tissue levels, with blood tests you don’t. Dr. Zava said: avoid using venipuncture blood or urine in an attempt to interpret hormone test levels, as you will underestimate bio-potency and overdose the patient.

Historical failure of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT)

A review of breast cancer would not be complete without mentioning the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated this trial in 1991.

Researchers prematurely terminated Women’s Health initiative

The WHI ended suddenly in July 2002. The authors stated: “The overall health risks exceeded benefits from use of combined estrogen plus progestin for an average 5.2 year follow-up among healthy postmenopausal US women.” The study found a 41% increase in strokes, 29% increase in heart attacks, 26% increase in breast cancer, 22% increase in total cardiovascular disease, a doubling of blood clots. The recommendation made by this study was to discontinue PremPro.

Breast cancer in the Million Women Study from synthetic hormones

Another study that was mentioned was “Breast cancer and hormone-replacement therapy in the Million Women Study”.  In this study postmenopausal women received HRT with synthetic hormones, either estrogen alone or estrogen mixed with a progestin (in British English “progestagen”). After 5 years estrogen alone had a 30% increased risk of developing breast cancer. HRT with an estrogen-progestagen mix had a 100% increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Huge difference between bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormones

Unfortunately in both of these human experiments the researchers used the wrong hormone substances, namely synthetic estrogens and synthetic progestins. They are NOT identical with natural estrogens and progesterone that a woman’s body makes. As long as the hormones used for hormone replacement therapy are chemically identical to the natural hormones, the body will accept them as they fit the natural hormone receptors in the body. It is the misfit of synthetic hormones that blocks the estrogen receptors or the progesterone receptors. You can readily see from the illustrations of this link that there is a fine balance between the workings of these receptors and there is absolutely no room for patented side chains that Big Pharma introduced into synthetic HRT hormones.

Individualizing bioidentical hormone prescriptions based on blood tests

The other problem of both these studies was that every woman was getting the same dose of hormones and that nobody measured their estrogen blood or estrogen saliva hormone levels. In retrospect the regulatory agencies should never have allowed these “hormones” to hit the market.

Breast cancer develops in three stages

Dr. Zava explained that it common knowledge for some time that breast cancer develops by going through 3 stages.

  1. Initiation

First of all, damage to the DNA of one of the cells types in the breast is what starts the process in the development of breast cancer. This can be done by catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones as was shown by these researchers.

Aromatase inhibitors is useful to reduce estrogen in overweight or obese women where aromatase is present in fatty tissue. The reason obese women have more breast cancer is likely from the extra estrogen production from androgens. Aromatase converts these male hormones from the adrenal glands into estrogen.

Iodine/iodide alters gene expression, which reduces breast cancer development, but also slows down cell division in existing breast cancer. The authors suggested to use iodine/iodide supplements as adjuvant therapy in breast cancer treatment.

  1. Promotion

Furthermore, the next step is that something has to promote the DNA mutation into becoming part of a cancer cell. Estrogen quinones are dangerous estrogen metabolites. They can form from catechol estrogens (other metabolites of estrogen) by reactive oxygen species. But selenium, a trace mineral can interrupt the formation of estrogen quinones, which stops the breasts cancer promotion process. A study from the Klang Valley, Malaysia showed that selenium showed a dose-response effect with respect to prevention of breast cancer; the more selenium in the food, the less breast cancer occurred.

  1. Progression (includes invasion and metastases)

Finally, several factors can help the breast cancer cells to progress, grow bigger locally and eventually move into other areas of the body as metastases. Dr. Zava showed several slides where details of metabolic processes were shown and how changes in some of these would lead to progression of breast cancer. Estrogen excess is a common pathway to breast cancer. The key is to balance it with progesterone, supplements, remove anything that causes estrogen overproduction like obesity (via the aromatase pathway).

The fallacy of overdosing or underdosing

When estrogen is overdosed, it becomes aggressive as indicated before; it can initiate DNA mutations that can cause breast cancer. If it is under dosed, the lack of estrogen can cause heart attacks, strokes and osteoporosis. When estrogen is balanced with progesterone a postmenopausal woman feels best and she is protected from the negative effects of estrogen.

Measures that help prevent breast cancer

Supplement only with bioidentical hormones

When supplementing with bioidentical hormones, keep estrogen within physiological limits and don’t overdose. This can be measured through blood tests or saliva hormone tests. Your most important natural opponent of estrogen is progesterone, which is usually missing in menopause. Measure hormones using tests (progesterone only with saliva tests, estrogen either by blood tests or saliva tests). Don’t rely going by symptoms.

Progesterone to estrogen ratio

Keep the progesterone to estrogen ratio (Pg/E2) at an optimal range, which is in the 100- to 500-fold range. Measure the saliva hormone level of both progesterone and estrogen and calculate. Remember that progesterone serum levels are meaningless. The much higher progesterone level protects the postmenopausal woman from estrogen side effects. Here is a statement worth noting: “Until evidence is found to the contrary, bioidentical hormones remain the preferred method of HRT.” This was the conclusion of a study using bioidentical hormones, where the protection from breast cancer and heart attacks and strokes was also noted.

Eat more fiber containing foods and less beef

Increase fiber intake and reduce red meat consumption. This will eliminate conjugated steroid hormones in the stool. It also increases the sex hormone binding globulin in the blood, which limits the bioavailability of estrogens. Fiber absorbs bile toxins and removes them from the body.

Calcium supplement

Calcium-D-glucarate is a supplement that will decrease beta-glucuronidase. The estrogens were conjugated with the purpose to be eliminated, but beta-glucuronidase causes the conjugated estrogens to be reabsorbed.

Reduce breast cancer risk with probiotics

Probiotics likely stimulate the immune system and help reduce the risk of breast cancer.

No pollutants and toxic chemicals

Avoid toxins like petrochemical pollutants and toxic chemicals. Avoid trans fats. If toxic, heavy metals are present (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury) remove these. Some naturopaths use EDTA chelation to do this.

Other useful supplements

Supplements: sulforaphane (broccoli), EGCG (green tea), alpha-lipoic acid (antioxidant), cruciferous vegetables, resveratrol, selenium and iodide/iodine, N-acetyl cysteine-glutathione. All these supplements/nutrients will prevent estrogen to go to the “dark side”. The dark side is the formation of toxic 4-OH estrogen that could further be converted into catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones that can damage DNA and cause mutations.

Methylation of catechol estrogens

Increase methylation of catechol estrogens: vitamin B1, B6, B12 and folic acid. Methyl donors also are useful for this purpose: MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), SAMe, and Betaine.

Healthy lifestyle (diet , exercise) helps your immune system

Improve your diet (Mediterranean type), exercise moderately, reduce stress, and replace hormones in physiological doses as discussed under point 1 and 2.

Breast Cancer Risks

Breast Cancer Risks

Conclusion

Dr. David Zava, PhD gave an interesting talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. Estrogens, when unopposed by enough progesterone, can cause mutations in breast tissue of women and cause breast cancer. He also reviewed two major clinical trials that utilized hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The problems with these were the synthetic estrogen hormones that caused breast cancer and the synthetic progestins that also behaved like estrogens (not like progesterone) and caused even more breast cancer. The lesson from this is that only bioidentical estrogens and progesterone work in hormone replacement for menopause. Also, the hormones balance each other as discussed under measures that help to prevent breast cancer. In addition there was a list of other useful supplements given that can be taken to reduce the danger of breast cancer.

Apr
01
2017

When Food Causes Inflammation

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

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

General remarks about nutrition

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

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

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

Mathematical formula for when food causes inflammation

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

G-B+R=P

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

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

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

P = pain and problems you are going to experience

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

Nutritional rules

Dr. Blatman said there are three rules about nutrition.

Rule #1 is to not eat fake or toxic foods

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

Aspartame

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

Splenda

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

Saccharin

Saccharin alters gut bacteria and increases glucose tolerance.

Hydrogenated fat and margarine

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

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil

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

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

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

Olestra

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

Healthy oils

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

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

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

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

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

Balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids

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

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

Suggested doses of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation

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

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

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

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

Rule #2 is not to eat inflammatory foods

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #3 is to not disturb the bowel flora

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

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

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

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

When Food Causes Inflammation

When Food Causes Inflammation

Conclusion

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

Cholesterol concept being replaced by inflammation concept

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

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