***L-Arginine Supplementation in Peripheral Arterial Disease***
Now...we all have our opinions of multi level marketing companies. Many of these are tied to nutritional supplements. I remember a particularly pushy woman with a company that relied heavily on L-arginine in its supplements. Understanding that L-arginine is a precursor to nitric oxide via nitric oxide synthase (nitric oxide helps to relax blood vessels), so the idea is that we can give more L-arginine and help with certain cardiovascular conditions and / or prevention. Well, insulin resistance is also a major player in this process, raising levels of a compound called ADMA, which counteracts nitric oxide. So, I explained to her that the REAL answer is lifestyle changes geared towards increasing insulin sensitivity. She really did have the background nor the interest, but she was happy to cite the credentials of the doctors that developed their products. While I hate to be right, here we see an article that shows no long term benefit to L-arginine supplementation. This just makes sense. You HAVE to fix the underlying insulin resistance--anything else is just a band-aid. And, if you care to get deeper, when nitric oxide is out of balance, it can begin to act as a pro-inflammatory molecule. The bottom line is that, in MANY cases, MLM participants without the knowledge may be doing more harm then good by pushing certain supplements.
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***Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Children***
I honestly feel that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in children is one of the most devastating things we are doing to screw up their health for a lifetime. SO MUCH occurs in the GI tract of a developing baby to determine the fate of the GI, immune, cardiovascular and neurological systems that we need to protect it and treat it like glass. Antibiotics destroy this delicate balance. One thing we don't seem to understand as a medical approach is that destruction of normal, protective flora with antibiotics actually INCREASES the risk of future infections. This study further confirms this, showing that "protective" antibiotics for urinary tract infections in children can increase the risk for antimicrobial resistance by 7.5 times! On the flip side, probiotics coupled with some pure cranberry juice (or d-mannose, the sugar in cranberry that does the work) will knock out most recurrent UTIs.
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***Bone Loss, Weight Loss, and Weight Fluctuation Predict Mortality Risk in Elderly Men and Women***
We view bone health as something that happens when we pass 60 years of age. However, this viewpoint grossly understates what bone health relates to and how early it can begin to deteriorate. Purely as a marker of Vit D status, it can give us an idea of whether we have enough Vit D decades before it may show up as something else. This study finds that women with poor bone health have a higher overall mortality rate--again reflecting that the factors that negatively affect bone negatively affect everything else. As a society, we have to start placing increased value on checking bone density in men and women beginning in our 20s.
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***In Vivo Angiogenesis Is Suppressed by Unsaturated Vitamin E, Tocotrienol***
Vitamin E continues to take undeserving hits on its reputation, but the reality is that, in almost all of these cases we are talking about only one form of Vit E, the alpha form. Mother Nature provides us with multiple forms of tocopherols, including their cousins the tocotrienols. Any good supplemental form of Vit E is going to have a mix of tochopherols. Given high levels of just one form of Vit E can actually drive down levels of other forms of Vit E. In this study, we see that tocotrienols have the ability to inhibit angiogenesis, an absolutely necessary process for tumors to create new blood vessels to feed its voracious appetite for nutrients.
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***Anthocyanins Inhibit Nuclear Factor-kappaB Activation in Monocytes and Reduce Plasma Concentrations of Pro-Inflammatory Mediators in Healthy Adults***
Don't let the long title scare you off. NF-kappa-B is the holy grail of inflammation. It is the molecule that turns on DNA to produce inflammatory chemicals like TNF-alpha and IL-8 and start the cascade of inflammation. Lower activity of NF-kappa-B and you can greatly stem inflammation. The REAL answer is to address all the factors that kick off NFKB in the first place (lower EFAs, stress, food allergies, poor nutrient intake, insulin resistance...), but Mother Nature provides many compounds that assist in the process. This particular study looks at protective compounds from bilberry and black currant and finds that they have a pretty strong ability to lower NFKB activation.
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***Dietary Isoflavones May Protect against Prostate Cancer in Japanese Men***
There are no shortage of websites out there touting that soy is killing us all, causing infertility, breast cancer, thyroid cancer and mineral deficiencies. The research just doesn't match all this fear. While allergy is a concern, I feel it's more from overdosing infants with soy-based formulas then anything else. Here we have yet another study finding positive health benefits of soy, with men with the highest levels of isoflavones in the blood having a whopping 58% decreased risk of prostate cancer in Japanese men when compared to men with the lowest. Now, there are other things to consider here. Not only is the intake of soy products important, but we have to have the right type of bacterial flora in the gut to convert the isoflavones in soy to their more potent counterparts--the aglycone form. So antibiotic use could drastically alter the protective effect of soy on risk of prostate cancer. So...next time your PCP gives you that antibiotic prescription for a viral infection, ask how this is going to alter your risk of prostate cancer by destruction of normal flora.
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***Childhood sun exposure influences risk of multiple sclerosis in monozygotic twins***
We unquestionably need a re-evalution of the public health guidance to avoid sun exposure at all costs. It's created a major issue w/ widespread Vit D deficiency and subsequent risk of chronic disease. In this study, they compared twins (fraternal) who were determined to have more sun exposure as a child. The higher sun exposed child could have up to a 75% less risk for developing MS compared to their sibling. We have seen similar amazing differences in rates of breast cancer as well. It's time to either change our policy on sun exposure are move towards supplementing real doses of Vit D (minimum 2,000 IU / day).
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***Soft Drink Consumption and Risk of Developing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and the Metabolic Syndrome***
While the results of this study should be no surprise, many were surprised that diet soda was also a risk factor. This whole artificial sweetener deal is really starting to upset me. We KNOW it messes with the appetite. It is also present in a huge number of products and has been for several years. Yet we are only seeing increases in diabetes and obesity. Wouldn't common sense tell you, if nothing else did, that switching to diet everything isn't working?
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***TNF-alpha suppresses the expression of clock genes by interfering with E-box mediated transciption***
In case you're confused by this title, don't worry--so am I. But the take home message from this mouse study is that TNF-alpha, a cytokine that produces inflammation in the body, interferes with the body's sleep wake cycle, produces fatigue. Fatigue is a very common complaint for patients presenting to their PCP. Unfortunately, the evaluation of fatigue in the typical doctors' office does not extend beyond looking for anemia and checking the thyroid. Yet, these two problems don't scrape the surface of what creates fatigue. Adrenal issues need to be looked at, and, as we see in this study, inflammation is a major player as well.
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***The role of skeletal muscle insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of the Metabolic Syndrome***
Metabolic syndrome is unquestionably the health scourge of our time. However, unlike the Plague in Europe, we don't seem quite aware yet that something is happening. Until the medical community wakes up and learns to identify and manage insulin resistance, this scourge will continue. This study adds further understanding to MetS by looking at what happens to the muscles and liver in patients with insulin resistance fed a high carbohydrate diet. It also explains why patients with elevated triglycerides and lowered HDL do NOT have a cholesterol problem!! I can't tell you how frustrating it is to have a patient with severe insulin resistance be told by their PCP to cut back on saturated fat!! So, normally, if someone ingests carbs, the level of glycogen storage in the muscles will increase. However, in patients with insulin resistance, we don't see this--instead we see a drastic reduction in glycogen synthesis. Worse yet, instead we see the liver increase its production of triglycerides and reduce production of HDL. Bad combo. This really does add some heavy understanding to my approach to patients with IR. There needs to be a consistent, strong focus on increasing muscle mass and glycogen storage. Dr. Alan Sears' PACE program is a program that I personally recommend for this approach from an exercise standpoint.
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James Bogash, DC and Amy Strock, DC
1830 S. Alma School Rd, Bldg 7, Ste 135, Mesa, AZ 85210
(Alma School Road, just south of the Superstition Freeway/Highway 60)
Chiropractic Health Care for Chandler, Mesa and Tempe Arizona
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