Sep
17
2016

Seven Steps To Live Over 100 Years

By | alcohol, andropause, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Drugs, Fitness, Health, heart attack, Hormones, Medical Condition, Menopause, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, Prevention, Processed food, sleep, Substance abuse, toxins

Forbes invited me to publish a blog I wrote for Quora, “Seven steps to live over 100 years”.

The topic of habits by people who live more than a hundred years has been reviewed many times in the media. It continues to be popular. Here are seven things you can do to stay healthy followed by an explanation why.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step1: Stay active

You want to stay active every day, even if you retire. You want to move and keep your mind busy. Part of that is to do a daily formal exercise routine to keep those muscles toned, which will prevent falls in the future.

Explanation: when you keep your muscles toned and you move about, your balance organ and coordination remains sharp, you are less likely to fall and break a hip. 50% of those who sustain a hip fracture die.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 2: Eat a healthy diet

Eat a Mediterranean type diet or follow the Okinawan diet. These diets contain less meat (or no meat as in the Seventh Day Adventist diet), but lots of vegetables and fiber. This keeps your cholesterol down, your arteries open and your metabolism controlled, preventing diabetes. If you are not obese and you have no diabetes, you are going to be OK with your cardiovascular system for decades to come.

Explanation: Heart attacks are still on top of the mortality list. Avoid them and you got it made, if you want to make it to 100 and beyond. But we need to stay away from the poor fats and the obsession about eating beef. Red meat, if eaten too often gives you a higher risk of getting cancer and heart disease. So eat it only once a week at the most, the rest would be chicken, turkey meat or fish. Nothing wrong with a vegetarian meal, let’s say kidney beans or lentils on a day in between. This still gives you protein for your muscles, but spares you a heart attack.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 3: Take care of your teeth

Brush your teeth and floss every day. This will control the bacteria in your mouth and prevent leakage into your blood affecting your heart valves. Studies have shown that this prevents heart attacks.

Explanation: When I heard this first about 20 years ago, I found it strange. But the literature is clear: chronic gingivitis is associated with bacteria that grow on the gums and spread into your blood. They can then colonize your heart valves and even the lining of the arteries, particularly where there is already hardening of the arteries (arterial plaque). This can lead to heart valve disease like mitral valve disease or heart attacks.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 4: prevention of disease

See your physician right away if there is a new skin lesion or anything that is different on your body. Removal of early cancer and treatment of any early medical condition is always easier to treat than waiting until it is out of control. Particularly with cancer treatment at an early stage, which usually involves only a small surgical procedure, this will reward you with a ripe old age.

Explanation: I learnt this point in general practice. Patients who waited until small problems become big problems were always much worse off than patients who saw me for small problems that we could remedy at an early stage. As mentioned above this is particularly important in cancer cases, as usually stage 1 and 2 of a cancer is curable with surgery. Once you get lymph node metastases and distant metastases, the cancer is much more difficult to treat, if at all. This is a principle that is pretty much true for any disease. The prevention factor is huge. Make use of it!

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 5: Lifestyle matters

Watch excesses like smoking (cut it out!), alcohol intake, and recreational drugs. Smoking causes heart attacks, strokes, and cancers, which shorten your life. Recreational drugs just interfere with your body chemistry and have side effects. Cut them out, if you cherish growing older than 100. Alcohol needs to be kept at a very low consumption, if you want to preserve your liver, which is your central metabolic organ. If you can’t handle moderation with alcohol consumption, cut it out. No one has died from not consuming alcohol.

Explanation: I have already explained why lifestyle choices matter. The alcohol question is one that will be discussed back and forth for centuries. There are cardiologists who tell you that men should drink 1 to 2 drinks per day and women 1 drink per day and we all live longer, because of prevention of heart disease. The wine industry makes sure that you will hear this cardiology rule. It is true that centenarians often drink one glass of red wine per day. But there are plenty of centenarians who never drank in their life. It is a matter of personal choice.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 6: Avoid obesity and diabetes

I did mention to avoid obesity under point 2 above, which is associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Your ideal body mass index should be in the 21 to 22 range. You can achieve this by following the diets I mentioned above. You should cut out sugar and starchy foods.

Explanation: I have followed such a diet since 2001 and my body mass index is between 21 and 22. I grew up in Germany where an emphasis was put on sweets and starchy foods. Needless to say my modified Mediterranean diet deviates from the good old German diet significantly. I find healthy food very tasty.

Seven steps to live over 100 years – step 7: Sleep and hormones

Getting sleep regularly, having an optimistic outlook on life, and having good relationships help to keep the immune system strong and keep your hormones balanced. This in turn will keep you healthy emotionally and physically.

Explanation:

There are two comments I like to make. One is that when you have calm nerves, and your emotions are in balance, your stress hormones are under control. We know that people who are content and easy going live longer. The type A personality is the one who gets a heart attack.

The other point is that hormones have running times. When they start missing, we get menopause or andropause. When we are in our 50’s it is time to have your hormones checked by a knowledgeable health practitioner (naturopath, anti-aging physician). At this point regular physicians are mostly lack education about bioidentical hormone replacement. I mention this as in European studies it has been shown that replacement of missing hormones with bioidentical hormones resulted in more youthful lives. You can extend your life expectancy by 15 years using bioidentical hormones according to Dr. Hertoghe, an endocrinologist in Belgium.

Seven Steps To Live Over 100 Years

Seven Steps To Live Over 100 Years

Conclusion

People have had a long time fascination about the factors that lead to a healthy age above 100 years. I am suggesting that you concentrate on enjoying your life and keeping toxins out. Engage in some form of exercise or stay active all the time. Adopt a healthy diet. This is where perhaps most people go wrong. They think they can go on pouring junk foods and alcohol down their throats and never get heart disease or cancer. The truth is not quite like that. We do need to adopt a healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet. We also need to limit drinking to a healthy level. Replacing missing hormones with bioidentical ones will prolong your life as well. Given these recommendations, happy journey to 100 and beyond!

Aug
13
2016

Avoid BPA

By | Health, Hormones, Infertility, Obesity, toxins

After a lot of bad press as a hormone disruptor we know we should avoid BPA. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic compound that has been used since 1957 in plastic bottles and as lining inside cans, so they don’t rust.

Study showing why we should avoid BPA

Recently BPA has again hit the media as a new study has shown that there are things we can do to avoid high concentrations of BPA by changing our lifestyle.

This media report is based on a scientific study that Jennifer Hartl and coworkers have done. They followed patients who had consumed various items known to be contaminated with BPA and measured their urine BPA concentration 24 hours later. 9% of their study participants had consumed one can of food or more, while 2% had consumed 2 cans of food or more on the previous day. Researchers compared one can of food consumed to none. They found 24% of higher BPA concentration in the urine. With two cans of food consumed versus none they found that 54% of higher BPA concentration was found in the urine.

Researchers compared one or more specific types of canned foods to none consumed. Some interesting differences emerged. Canned vegetables and fruit showed 41% higher BPA in the urine test. Canned pasta measured 70%, but canned soup 229%. The researchers also tested canned beverages. None of them caused BPA elevation in urine tests.

What BPA does

93% of Americans 6 years and older have BPA in their urine indicating that it is in our bodies, and the body is attempting to get rid of it. It is known as an endocrine disruptor, but how effective BPA is as an endocrine disruptor remains to be seen. This link describes that BPA is 800-times weaker as an estrogen blocking substance in comparison to soy products.

There are two mechanisms of action where BPA interferes with normal body function.

  1. BPA functions as a weak estrogen and binds to the nuclear estrogen receptor. This partially blocks the action of the body’s own estrogen function.
  2. There is also a membrane based estrogen receptor on body cells that is involved in cell signaling and gene expression. BPA can add methyl groups to DNA, which silences gene expression. This latter mechanism is much more sensitive to BPA (probably by a factor of 1000-times) than the traditional effect on the nuclear estrogen receptor.

It is these newer findings that are of concern with regard to fertility in males. It is important that babies are not fed using regular plastic bottles, but rather that BPA-free bottles or glass bottles are used to avoid BPA exposure. Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to the hormone blocking effects of BPA as well as the interference of brain development and maturation by BPA.

Manufacturing of BPA free plastic

In an attempt to avoid BPA in manufacturing of plastic bottles and food containers industry has used other chemicals, among other materials something called BPS. This stands for “Bisphenol S”. A research paper found that BPS is an endocrine disruptor as much as BPA is and causes fat cells to grow rapidly. According to the author of this publication it may be partially responsible for the obesity wave. The author of this study recommends using glass containers as much as possible to avoid transfer of either BPA or BPS to food that comes in contact with plastic materials.

Avoid BPA from receipts

Have you ever thought that you may be able to absorb BPA through your skin from receipts when you buy items at a store? Yes, the machine of the checker prints receipts on heat sensitive paper. It contains BPA on it, which the body absorbs through the skin. If you scratch the printed part of the paper and it leaves a dark mark, it is thermal paper.

In this study workers were handling thermal receipts for four hours and their urine was monitored for BPA the following day. Another group was handling thermal receipts for 8 hours. In the first group that had exposure for 4 hours the BPA concentration in the urine rose to three times higher than the base rate. The second group exposed for 8 hours had BPA levels that were five times higher than the base rate. For comparison researchers measured another group that was wearing surgical gloves and their BPA concentration in the urine showed no change from the baseline.

I have changed my way of shopping. I think about whether I would ever want to exchange the item I just bought. If not, I tell the clerk that I do not want a receipt and he throw it out.

How you can avoid BPA exposure

  1. Do not use plastic containers to heat food in a microwave, use glass containers instead.
  2. Avoid all plastic food containers that have a “7” printed in a triangle on the bottom. Among these is a significant number that will release BPA over time.
  3. Avoid canned soups, such as tomato soup or canned mushroom soup. The paper reviewed at the beginning of this review showed these led to the highest BPA readings in urine tests the following day.
  4. Keep in mind that 2 out of 3 cans in supermarkets are positive for BPA. Eat as much fresh or frozen food as you can, but avoid canned food.
  5. Many canned beverages (such as beer, soda, juice) are acidic; this means that their thermal processing requirement is much different requiring lower temperature where BPA does not leach from the bottle into the stored fluid. These drinks when tested were BPA free.
  6. Among drinking water containers the following have been tested: Aquafina, Dasani, Arrowhead, Fiji and Kirkland Signature bottled water from Costco. They were all BPA free. Most water companies have now switched to BPA free containers, but avoid the containers with the “7” in a triangle as already stated, as some of them may leach BPA into the bottle content.
  7. Use fresh, unpackaged foods as much as possible. For instance, fruit and vegetables can often be had unpackaged. Check the packaging, check the type of plastic and if not sure, don’t buy it.
  8. Whenever possible, avoid handling thermal receipts; if possible, get an email receipt instead to avoid BPA exposure through the skin.
Avoid BPA

Avoid BPA

Conclusion

There has been a silent revolution where more and more plastic and resins have entered our lives. With it came the exposure to BPA, which is an endocrine disruptor. This may have consequences regarding male fertility. There is a change of fat metabolism in both sexes with weight gain as the end result. It also interferes with brain development in the fetus and in young children. BPA behaves like a cell poison.

In this blog I have shown ways to reduce exposure to BPA. We need to eat more fresh vegetables and fruit that merchants sell not in plastic. If merchants sell food in plastic or plastic containers, the wrapping material must be BPA and BPS free. The FDA and/or EPA must make labeling of containers mandatory. Whenever possible return to glass containers that are BPA free. Also bear in mind that heating plastics can release toxins. If you are heating food in a microwave, do not use plastic containers. Instead use glass or ceramics. It is common knowledge that they are safe!

Additional reference (Questions about BPA answered):

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_a_e/bisphenol_a_bpa_508.pdf

May
21
2016

Arsenic In Rice

By | Nutrition, Prevention, toxins

Recently news stories reported that there is arsenic in rice. This is important to know because in large parts of the world rice is one of the main food staples. But rice has also become an important side step from wheat for those who are gluten sensitive. Rice is one of the main ingredients in gluten free diets.

Source of arsenic in rice

Naturally high levels of arsenic in soil can be a source of high levels of arsenic in rice, although these cases are the minority. By and large high arsenic in rice comes from inadvertent, but deliberate human poisoning. As explained in the Consumers Report high arsenic values were found in rice grown in these states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas. These are the same states, where cotton was grown in the past. The U.S. has been the world’s leading user of arsenic.

Arsenic in soil cotton was grown

Since 1910 about 1.6 million tons have been in use for agricultural/industrial purposes. Half of this occurred since the mid-1960s. Although arsenic is banned as an insecticide since the 1980’s, residues from the decades of use still linger on in agricultural soil today. Cotton production occurred in the south-central region of the US for a long time. This is a crop where heavy treatment with arsenical pesticides was used for decades in an attempt to combat the boll weevil beetle.

Arsenic in grape juice, apple juice and chicken meat

Arsenic containing insecticides are also used in the fruit growing industry. This explains the presence of arsenic in grape juice and apple juice.

Another source are arsenic compounds in chicken feed that is used to promote growth. As a result arsenic can then be found in chicken meat. For this reason alone it is recommendable to eat organic chicken that is free of arsenic.

Keep in mind that brown rice has persistently tested higher in arsenic than white rice.

Alternatives to rice

As drastic as it may sound, your safest approach is to avoid all cereals. This keeps you away from the various forms of gluten proteins that are present in all cereals, even in corn and oats. You can fill your plate safely with organic vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower and many others. You also can eat all lettuce varieties including spinach, arugula, Romaine lettuce, head lettuce, super greens and more.

Wheat has the highest gluten concentration

Many people have an addiction to grains and grain products, but they can do more harm than good. Wheat has the highest concentration of gliadin, but rye has its own gliadin protein, so does barley. It is much safer on the long term to stay away from them all. Not everybody will agree with me on that, but as far as I am concerned I can live this way quite well. High endurance athletes who seem to need more carbs for fuel, could have sweet potatoes for example instead of grains and do well on that.

Eliminating exposure from arsenic in rice

Now that we know that brown rice has more arsenic in it than white rice, and that Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas have high arsenic because of residual arsenic in their soils, it is relatively easy to choose the right rice, if you decide to consume it. This report explains what are safe rice alternatives and what rice is the safest.

Basmati rice from California is the lowest in arsenic. Quinoa and millet are rice alternatives that are low in arsenic. Low-arsenic buckwheat is not related to wheat and is gluten free.

Watch the origin of organic rice

In this context it is interesting to note that you cannot trust even organic rice with regard to arsenic toxicity. The last link notes that the rice grains accumulate arsenic from the soil. All of the other organic culturing methods are not enough to protect the crop from arsenic accumulation, if there is contamination of the soil or the water.

If you are serious about eliminating arsenic from your food, you may want to consider avoiding grains altogether.

What are signs of toxicity from arsenic in rice?

Arsenic toxicity can be acute or chronic. Most of today’s arsenic toxicity is chronic. Arsenic accumulates slowly from foods we consume. Arsenic contaminated occurs in regular chicken that was fed arsenic compounds for growth. Another source for arsenic are rice, non-organic grape juice and apple juice. Chronic exposure to arsenic can cause lung and bladder cancer. This is what studies in Argentina and Chile found where in some areas drinking water has naturally high arsenic levels.

A fast heart beat, low blood pressure and shock can be symptoms of arsenic poisoning. The person with arsenic poisoning may have a changed mental status and seizures can occur. A person may present with delirium with irrational thoughts and behaviors. The patient may present with a cholera-like clinical picture with vomiting and severe diarrhea leading to marked dehydration. Liver and kidney damage can occur. The finger nails show white lines across, called Mees lines.

Treating toxicity from arsenic in rice

A study of 3633 individuals showed that those who ate 1 helping of rice per day had a urinary arsenic level that was 44 percent greater than those who did not consume rice. People eating two or more rice products had 70% higher arsenic urine levels that those who ate no rice. It is clear from that study that avoidance of rice is a powerful tool treating chronic arsenic poisoning. With respect to drinking apple or grape juice the total urinary arsenic levels were nearly 20 percent higher than those who did not consume apple or grape juice.

There are natural substances that are good chelators. Researchers tested them found them and found them good to eliminate arsenic from the body.

Here are natural chelators: milk thistle seed extract, dandelion leaf extract, garlic bulb (allium sativum), cilantro leaf extract, L-glutathione, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine.

Intravenous chelation using EDTA

Intravenous chelation using EDTA is the gold standard that is in use to get rid of heavy metals including arsenic and lead. Dr. Cranton noted in his book on chelation therapy that arsenic occurs in the urine within 5 hours of intravenous EDTA chelation (Ref. 1).

Other supportive steps are to check your drinking water for high arsenic and lead levels, particularly if you are on a well. Change the way you cook rice, if you want to continue to eat rice. Rinse the rice with 6 times the amount of water and discard the water. This will lower the arsenic content of the rice by about 30% while you deplete the rice only marginally of vitamin and mineral contents.

Eliminate arsenic from food and drinks

Avoid drinking non-organic grape juice and apple juice. This eliminates a significant amount of arsenic from your diet.

If you eat more than two or three helpings of rice per week, consider replacing some rice portions by arsenic-free grains. For those on a gluten-free diet quinoa, millet, and amaranth are good replacement options.

Arsenic In Rice

Arsenic In Rice

Conclusion regarding arsenic in rice

It is sad to notice that the food industry is inadvertently trying to poison us with arsenic. I am sure this is not happen deliberately. But it is necessary for us to defend ourselves and think about the food we are eating. Is it safe? Are we taking the right steps to minimize exposure to arsenic? I have covered this from various angles, avoidance of high arsenic food items, chelating out accumulated arsenic, and preventing further exposure to arsenic. I hope this has been helpful and has shown you what you can do in your particular case.

References:

Ref.1: Special Issue of Advancement in Medicine “A Textbook on EDTA Chelation Therapy”, edited by Elmer M. Cranton, Spring/Summer 1989. Human Sciences Press Inc. NY, USA.

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Apr
29
2016

The Hazards Of Formaldehyde

By | autoimmune disease, Cancer, immune system, toxins

Toxic levels of formaldehyde in laminate wood flooring were underestimated, concealing the hazards of formaldehyde. Specifically, laminate wood flooring produced in China and sold by Lumber Liquidators, based in Toano, Virginia were identified as a problem.

News about the hazards of formaldehyde in Chinese laminate flooring

Last year CBS ran a story with Anderson Cooper regarding Chinese imported laminate flooring that emitted more than the stated amount of toxic formaldehyde. This was based on independent testing by CBS. Examiners found that laminate packages released between 6 and 7 times the amount of allowable formaldehyde. Moreover, some packages of the cheap Chinese made laminate flooring even released 20 times the allowable amount.

Certainly, formaldehyde is part of the glue in use to bind the wood particles together to make the laminate flooring. The laminate top seals the wooden core and keeps most of the formaldehyde inside.

Formaldehyde leaks into the home slowly

But over time it gradually leaks into the home. It is a matter of how much formaldehyde was in the glue and how good the ventilation of the home is, which determines the concentration of formaldehyde in the air.

CBS bought 31 boxes of the Chinese-made laminate flooring that Lumber Liquidators was selling in Virginia, Florida, Texas, Illinois and New York. The examiners sent samples to two reference labs. Most noteworthy, only one package was compliant with formaldehyde emissions standards. Some were more than 13 times over the California limit. Both labs were surprised how high the readings were, as they had not encountered this when they tested regular laminate flooring before.

Effects of the hazards of formaldehyde

Dr. Philip Landrigan at N.Y.’s Mt. Sinai Hospital specializes in environmental pediatrics and exposure to toxic chemicals. He stated that what matters is the concentration of formaldehyde in the typical home where such a floor is installed. Nevertheless, it needs to be stated that these toxic levels were only found in the cheap flooring of the above named company and this product has since been removed from the market. Above all, formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (cancer producing substance). As a matter of fact, it irritates the airways, particularly in individuals who are sensitive like asthmatics.

Toxic effects on immune system of formaldehyde exposed workers

A 2014 occupational medicine study from China compared factory workers exposed to formaldehyde with controls. Notably, they found higher formic acid levels in the urine of exposed workers. Formic acid is the end metabolic product of formaldehyde. In addition, they also had higher B cell lymphocyte counts (in the high dose exposure group) and higher natural killer lymphocyte counts (in the low dose exposure group). As a result, this would explain the toxic effects on the immune system and the higher incidence of cancer in formaldehyde exposed individuals.

DNA changes in mouth cavity cells and nasal cells of anatomy workers

A 2015 study from Portugal examined DNA abnormalities in cells from anatomy workers. Furthermore, anatomy workers who prepare corpses with formaldehyde for anatomy courses are under the exposure of formaldehyde fumes. Another exposure can happen when fixating histology slides with formaldehyde to get them ready for microscopic examination. The researchers measured the the formaldehyde concentration in the air of the anatomy lab as 0.38 parts per million. Likewise, genetic analysis of cells from the mouth cavity and nasal cells showed significant DNA abnormalities, while controls without formaldehyde exposure did not have such DNA changes.

Formaldehyde poisons p53 cancer suppressor gene

In this study there was insufficient data to link formaldehyde exposure to causation of leukemia.  It is peculiar that on a molecular level it is clear what formaldehyde does to the p53 suppressor gene. But it is more difficult to show the link of formaldehyde exposure to the causation of a multitude of cancers.

WHO recommendation about formaldehyde

The WHO recommends keeping formaldehyde below 0.08 ppm in the air of factories where formaldehyde is used. WHO says that this will prevent nasal cancer and leukemia. Levels of 1 ppm can cause nasal cancer and leukemia in humans. The level for hardwood plywood is 0.05 ppm in the US since 2012

The CDC involvement in safe formaldehyde levels in the air of a home

The CDC faced with the problem of the Chinese laminate imports of Lumber Liquidators and did its own investigation. The conclusion was that these high concentrations of formaldehyde were not only affecting sensitive people, but in fact everybody. The CDC stated: “The lifetime cancer risk increased from the previous estimate of 2 to 9 extra cases for every 100,000 people to between 6 and 30 extra cases per 100,000 people. To put these numbers into perspective, the American Cancer Society estimates that up to 50,000 of every 100,000 people may develop cancer from all causes over their lifetimes.”

New guidelines for the limit of formaldehyde in residences

New guidelines for the limit of formaldehyde in residences were defined as 135 µg/m³ by the National Center for Environmental Health. This is a different nomenclature for formaldehyde concentration in the air and I will show the conversion to parts per million particles in a moment. This reference explains that 1 ppm = 1.23 mg/m³. 135 µg/m³ is the same as 0.135 mg/m³. When you divide 0.135 mg/m³ by 1.23 mg/m³, you have converted this into 0.11 ppm, the upper acceptable formaldehyde limit. Had the company followed proper procedure, it is clear from the recommendation above that the formaldehyde level of 0.05 ppm was in the safe zone. It was much smaller than 0.11 ppm. The cheap batch of plywood discussed above with the high formaldehyde glue gave measurements much higher than any of these guidelines.

Company response to bad publicity regarding “the hazards of formaldehyde”

As the stock of Lumber Liquidators plunged, the company decided to do something about this. In May of 2015 they stopped the sale of the cheap laminate products. It turned out that they had been poor quality, cheaper laminate boards; the producer had used glue with too much formaldehyde in it. The company had knowingly bought these for a 10% discount and hoped to make a huge profit through its over 360 stores in 46 states. Before this fiasco revenue was more than a billion dollars a year. Now the company tries to rescue its brand name through an ongoing painstaking public relations effort.

What to do, if you own cheap laminate flooring with the hazards of formaldehyde?

The CDC says you should ventilate the home, use additional vents to remove bad air, keep the temperature at the lowest comfortable setting and make your home a smoke-free home.

Many homeowners have ripped out the cheap laminate flooring and replaced it with better quality products and joined a class action suit against the company that sold them the product. Others leave it in place, open the windows and doors more frequently to keep the air concentration of formaldehyde lower; and they follow the other suggestions from the CDC.

According to this update formaldehyde levels are decreased significantly 6 to 10 months after initial installation.

The Hazards Of Formaldehyde

The Hazards Of Formaldehyde

Conclusion

Had Lumber Liquidators not been greedy for profit, we may never have known the story of formaldehyde overdosing of glue in one bad batch of laminate flooring. The unsuspecting consumer got a special deal, but nobody informed the consumer about the hazards of formaldehyde release! Keep in mind that not everything that is cheap is good quality.

Only a few years back urea formaldehyde was very popular as a means to insulate your home. Homeowners soon found out that this could lead to toxic formaldehyde fumes and they had to replace urea formaldehyde with glass fiber insulation.

Never sit back and think you are safe

You may not have to panic. Frequent ventilation, as described, can lower the formaldehyde concentration in the air. And eventually in the case of laminate flooring the concentration is low enough from the passage of time that there is no longer a danger from leaking formaldehyde gases.

What I have learnt from this is the following: never sit back and think you are safe. Watch what you are eating. Watch what you are drinking. Women, watch what cosmetics you put on your skin. Be aware of the potential hazards of fire retardant in textiles and noxious substances in building products. All of this can impact the quality of the air you are breathing!

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Jan
31
2016

The Gut and Brain Connection

By | Alzheimer’s disease, blood brain barrier, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Fitness, Gastrointestinal Disease, heart attack, Heart Disease, Inflammation, Nutrition, toxins

There is a lot of talk about the gut and brain connection. At the 23rd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 11-13, 2015) in Las Vegas there were several lectures pointing out the importance of the gut flora for proper brain function. As a matter of fact, if you have the wrong gut flora, you can get a number of diseases like diabetes, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, some cancers and even obesity. Martin P. Gallagher, MD, DC talked about this in his talk entitled “Gut on Fire, Brain on Fire!”

Function of the microbiome

The microbiome is the sum of all microbial organisms inhabiting the human body, which colonize mainly the colon, but also to a lesser degree the small intestine. Dr. Gallagher stated that the microbiome weighs only 7.1 oz., although in the past some have estimated its weight to be as high as 3 pounds. The purpose of the microbiome is to help form a gut/blood barrier. It forms a 30-micron thick layer in the GI tract, protects the intestinal lining and metabolizes food remnants, especially from carbohydrates. In addition, it also communicates with the immune system. There is a cross talk between the lining of the gut and the and the body’s immune system. The gut bacteria help the body to create stability; as a result the good bacteria also decrease intestinal permeability.

Leaky gut syndrome develops

When inflammation occurs in the gut, the thickness of the biofilm is less than 30 microns. Intestinal permeability increases and becomes “leaky gut syndrome”. This can be the cause of autoimmune diseases and possibly other diseases.

The enteric nervous system

The gut can produce as many neurotransmitters as the brain and spinal cord can synthesize. The enteric nervous system communicates with the brain through the vagal nerve. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that regulates motility of the gut. The control system of the gut can work on its own and override the concerns of the central nervous system.

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the enteric nervous system as well as the brain. With Alzheimer’s disease the characteristic brain lesions are also present in the enteric nervous system!

A mouse experiment showed the following. The Lactobacillus strain is  normally part of the microbiome of the gut.  Re-introduction of Lactobacillus into the gut flora resulted in healing certain parts of the brains of these animals, which researchers associate with anxiety and depression. But when the researchers severed the vagal nerve of these animals, none of these healing changes occurred.

The gut-brain-axis

For this reason the researchers suggested that the gut bacteria are able to communicate with the brain via the vagal nerve. Researchers have coined this connection the “gut-brain axis”. These protective gut bacteria have the ability to protect humans from gastric acidity, from bile acid toxicity, they adhere to the lining of the gut and they persist to reside within the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics help the immune system to maintain the immunologic memory and to secrete antibodies, called immunoglobulins.

Two strains with benefit to humans are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii. Probiotics often help against diarrhea. The natural food for gut bacteria in the colon comes from starches of chicory, asparagus, inulin and onions that are indigestible in the stomach and small intestine, but are fermented in the colon to provide food for the bacteria residing there.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

Overgrowth of the small intestine with bacteria that produce endotoxins appears to have significance in both animal models and human disease. Chlamydia species as well as Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme) can produce toxins that cause hypersensitivity to pain in soft tissues in fibromyalgia and animal models of fibromyalgia. Moreover, SIBO – small intestinal bacterial overgrowth – in experimental animals caused the same hypersensitivity of the soft tissues and also leaky gut syndrome.

Risk factors for SIBO

What causes SIBO is too little stomach acid production, treatment with proton pump inhibitors (powerful anti acid medications) and antibiotics. To summarize, Dr.Gallagher said that SIBO also occurs in post-surgical patients, in patients with diabetes, is brought on by alcohol, nicotine, drugs and GMO foods.

Neurogenic inflammation

Normally the blood brain barrier keeps immune cells from the body out of the brain. Only glucose, proteins and lipids are allowed into the brain, but not lipophilic neurotoxins. In contrast, neurogenic triggers, when admitted to the brain, will compromise the function of the immune cells of the CNS, called microglia. In essence, this can result in memory loss, Alzheimer’s, dementia, seizures, migraines, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer, weakness, numbness, etc.

What triggers inflammation?

Here is a long list of different items that cause inflammation: aging, hormone deficiencies, obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, fungal infection, the Standard American diet (SAD), pain, trauma and mechanical stress, heavy metals, food allergies, toxins, gut dysbiosis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, mal-digestion/absorption, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, recreational drugs and alcohol, lack of exercise and lack of sleep.

Neurotoxic insults start the chain of reactions  like heavy metals, nutritional deficiencies, viruses/fungus/bacteria, inflammatory diet, MSG, solvents, pesticides, herbicides, etc.. One or more of these factors destabilize the tight junctions of the blood brain barrier, which leads to neurogenic inflammation.

Result of neurogenic inflammation

The result is Parkinson’s disease, MS, dementia, chronic pain, behavioral and personality changes, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and Lyme disease. What seems to be happening a lot is that there is overgrowth of abnormal bacteria in the small bowel, which produce toxins. These in turn lead to leaky gut syndrome, which allows neurogenic triggers to attack the blood brain barrier. It seems like from here it is a short step to neurotoxic insults of the brain overstimulating the microglia, which will produce the diseases listed above.

Healing of brain inflammation

First of all, treatment starts with the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Second, people who are gluten sensitive need to eliminate gluten entirely from their food. Third, casein sensitive people need to eliminate dairy products. Furthermore, a triple strength, molecularly distilled fish oil product is taken as a supplement every day with 4 grams or more of DHA/EPA. This helps the anti-inflammatory response.

Glutathione

One of the most powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories is intravenous glutathione. This is given as intravenous chelation therapy, which removes heavy metals. Other chelation agents such as EDTA intravenously may be given alternatively. Dr.Gallagher said that glutathione serves as primary cellular defense against free radicals, is a powerful antioxidant and serves as detoxifying agent against xenobiotics. Xenobiotics are remnants of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and pollutants that are contained in crops we eat.

Dr. Gallagher gives 600mg of glutathione twice per day intravenously for 30 days. Uniquely, in Parkinson’s disease patients whose mid brain is often poisoned by mercury this leads to 42% decline of disabilities and the effect lasts for 2 to 4 months after this treatment has been stopped. Coupled with this the treatment also protects telomeres, the caps on the ends of cellular DNA as well as mitochondrial DNA. In addition, glutathione is protective of neurons and nerves.

Curcumin

This common Indian spice, found in turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory. It is a safe natural agent and has also anti-viral and anti-tumor activities. It binds to the vitamin D receptor and works synergistically together with vitamin D3. Solid lipid curcumin particle technology makes curcumin 65-fold more bioavailable; free curcumin is allowed to pass the blood brain barrier. Lower doses achieve the same effect than regular curcumin.

According to a publication using lipidated curcumin the following observations were made: improved vascular function; equally important, inflammatory markers reduced by 14%; in like manner, triglycerides lowered by 14%; by the same token, oxidative stress reduced; not to mention, catalase increased and finally total antioxidant status improved. Here is another paper about lipidated curcumin.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory by countering the arachidonic acid pathway that leads to inflammation. Physicians recommend it as triple strength, molecularly distilled fish oil. DHA/EPA are the active ingredients. Chronic inflammation requires 2 to 12 grams daily; irritable bowel syndrome 6 to 12 grams daily; depression, anxiety and insomnia require 2 to 4 grams per day; autoimmune disease, back pain and degenerative joint disease 4 to 12 grams per day.

Gut/brain dysbiosis

For gut/brain dysbiosis Dr. Gallagher recommended to start with a 10-day fruit/vegetable detox program. Milk thistle, glutathione and pancreatic enzymes in combination lead to improvement. Lipidated curcumin is also useful. The physician also gives glutamine, prebiotics and probiotics for gut support. He also tells the patient to take molecularly distilled fish oil (DHA/EPA) and vitamin D3 as anti-inflammatories. Doctors also administer oral and intravenous glutathione to detoxify. Many doctors use natural as a combination of glutathione, oregano, olive leaf and silver salts.

The Gut and Brain Connection

The Gut and Brain Connection

Conclusion

Inflammation can start in the gut, lead to leaky gut syndrome and break down the blood/brain barrier. The end result is that inflammation develops in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease and dementia can occur. The sooner the physician starts with treatment, the faster the recovery is. When the patient has reached the end stage, it is difficult to turn the inflammatory process around. Fortunately there are effective ways to get the inflammation under control with intravenous glutathione in the beginning and subsequent treatment with lipidated curcumin, omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin D3. A permanent switch to a Mediterranean diet is important as well to keep inflammation under control.

Lifestyle and nutrition choices are important for prevention

A few years back this mainstream medicine considered this type of approach as “quackery”; now it is the latest information from research into the brain/gut connection. The right lifestyle and nutrition choices can do a lot on a preventative basis. Once disease has taken root, treatment may still be possible, but once it is at a later stage a full cure is unlikely.

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Jun
27
2015

Want Some Arsenic In Your Chicken?

By | Cancer, Health, Nutrition, toxins

In January the news came out that the FDA had allowed a cancer-causing arsenic compound to be used as a growth stimulator in broiler chickens. This news story reported that about 70% of US chickens were affected by this method.

A subsidiary of Pfizer produced the arsenic-containing drug, Roxarsone. This is an organic arsenic compound that gets accumulated in the liver of chickens. It is also known by the name of “3-nitro”. The full chemical name is 3-Nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid.

The FDA came up with a question and answer section on their website. The FDA stated the following:

“FDA announced that Alpharma, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, will voluntarily suspend sale of the animal drug 3-Nitro® (Roxarsone) in response to a new FDA study of 100 broiler chickens that detected inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen, at higher levels in the livers of chickens treated with the drug 3-Nitro® (Roxarsone) than in untreated chickens. FDA officials stress that the levels of inorganic arsenic detected were very low and that continuing to eat chicken as 3-Nitro® is suspended from the market does not pose a health risk.”

The website explains further that the drug was approved to treat coccidiosis, an infection that can affect the gut of chickens. It should be pointed out that this parasite occurs more often in the crowded conditions of concentrated animal feeding operations. The FDA statement goes on to say that “3-Nitro® is also approved for weight gain, feed efficiency and improved pigmentation in chickens”. What this means is that the farmer has to spend less money of feed and the chickens still gain considerable weight. They also look pretty from the outside with nicely pigmented feathers, but as the reporter noted in the beginning of this blog the meat “tastes weird, stringy, just…funny”.

When you read the fine print of the FDA website, it reveals that originally it allowed 3-Nitro® to be marketed in 1944 based on negative toxicity studies on rodents. The drug was approved again in 2009 for combination use with other drugs for suppression of coccidiosis. As 3-nitro is an organic arsenic compound and organic arsenic has been found to be non-toxic, they assumed that it was safe to allow this feed supplement for chickens. It turns out that with more sensitive newer testing methods scientists from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) found that organic arsenic compound can be metabolized in the chicken into cancer-causing inorganic arsenic compounds.

Now the FDA logic comes into play: it is called the “Delaney Clause for new animal drugs”. You can read about this in the FDA link about questions and answers. Essentially what this says it that the FDA cannot allow a drug to be approved, if an animal comes down with cancer. But it is legal to use a drug as long as it does not kill the animal or the FDA does not detect the drug in any food from the animal.

The new experiments showed that the liver and kidney inorganic arsenic levels were higher than the levels in the muscles. The muscle tissue levels of inorganic arsenic could not reliably be determined with the methods developed for liver analysis. But total arsenic compound tests were successful and were substantially lower in muscle than liver or kidney tissues.

The FDA concluded from this that continuing to eat chicken meat from chickens treated with 3-Nitro® does “not pose a health risk”.

Messing with our food

To me this is just one example of how the agro industry, Big Pharma and the FDA are co-operating in messing with our food. The envelope is being pushed to the point where administrative language is used to dispel any common sense that might shed a little bit of doubt on the legality of what’s happening in front of our eyes. There are a few points that I would like to raise in this regard.

1. A small amount of a carcinogenic substance in chicken meat is still a poisonous substance. Instead of having 35,660 cases of liver cancer and 61,560 kidney cancer per year in humans you may reduce the amount by 5,000 to 10,000 cases per year. But it is simply not acceptable to put a known cancer producing substance into human food. The reason liver and kidneys are affected more by carcinogens in chickens or in humans is because the liver and the kidneys are the detoxification organs that try to remove the carcinogen from the body and in the process store them in these organs.

2. There should not be a difference between lives saved in the US and lives saved abroad. Just because Big Pharma wants to continue to make a profit with this cancer producing chemical they are allowed by the FDA to continue to ship 3-Nitro® to chicken farms in other countries around the world. As long as this is the case, the meat that comes back to the US from China should be labeled as having been “exposed to a cancer producing substance”. You simply cannot have it both ways; if you export it, it should be labeled when it comes back, and the warning should be made to trade partners about carcinogenic properties.

3. Antibiotics have been used to stimulate growth in animals destined for slaughter. However, this practice has led to superbugs that can attack consumers. One way around this is to use non-antibiotic substances to prevent infections among herds of animals. The practice of using growth hormone-like substances, antibiotics or heavy metals should be abandoned.

The solution is organic food for now

At this point you do not have many options left. You can become a hobby farmer and raise your own chickens, pigs and grow your own vegetables and lettuce. But very few of us are having this option!

Your next option is to only buy organic food. That is what I have been choosing to do more and more for the past 5 years, strictly so for the last 3 years. I find organic food tastes the way my grandmother used to cook. When I compare regular chicken with organic chicken, there is a huge difference in taste.

My hope is that standard farming techniques will change in the future when more people choose organic food and the market forces farmers to pay attention to the wish of the consumers. At that point it may be safe to switch back to regular food. But as long as I read horror stories like the one above, I will protect myself by sticking to the organic alternative.

Want Some Arsenic In Your Chicken?

Want Some Arsenic In Your Chicken?

Conclusion

The story about inorganic, cancer-producing arsenic being allowed into our food since 1944 is only the tip of the iceberg. We have been reassured that growth hormone-like substances would be safe when in reality they cause autoimmune diseases. We know that antibiotics and heavy metals that are used to stimulate growth in animals can cause problems for the consumer: superbugs that are a side effect of antibiotics can cause serious infections in humans; heavy metals that we eat together with the meat of farm animals can poison our metabolism and cause toxic reactions. None of this should be allowed, but it is part of “standard farm practices”. All I can say at this point: protect yourself by eating organic foods.