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August 20, 2001 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com
Evidence That Daycare Protects Against Diabetes Is Still Equivocal
I have a theory on why this works. We know that daycare exposure is believed to protect against development of asthma and atopic disease by a healthy stimulation of Th1 immunity and balance of Th2 immunity. It is not unreasonable to assume that, when nature takes its course and an infant gets an infection, that the resultant reaction of the immune system will be more balanced than that of an artificial stimulation such as with vaccines. And to those stay at home moms...exposure to healthy flora as well as avoidance of antibiotics would most likely have the same effect. Dia Care -- Abstracts: Kaila and Taback 24 (8): 1353 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/8/1353
Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women
I just thought I'd put this one up. This does fall into the "how much did we pay for this?" category, but the number of the women in the study (69,017) is huge, and the larger a study, the better the results can extrapolate to the general population. Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n15/abs/ioi00754.html
Tea and Heart Disease
This is an editorial that covers some of the metabolism that is involved with quercetin; don't chew gum while trying to comprehend it. What this article does point out is that there are several factors that effect the bioavailability of the bioflavonoid quercetin. GI flora is important in activating the compound. And sex of the study participants also plays a major role, with women being able to produce a much higher bioavailabilty of the compound than men. Remember this the next time you see an article titled "natural substance X protects/doesn't protect against disease Y." Nature is not so simple. Tea and Coronary Heart Disease: the Flavonoid Quercetin Is More Bioavailable From Rutin in Women Than in Men http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n15/ffull/ilt0813-8.html
Systemic Markers of Inflammation and Serum beta-Carotene Levels
This is an interesting article that shows that, as inflammation in the body rises, levels of beta-carotene fall. It is very possible that the levels fall as a result of trying to put out the metabolic fires that inflammation can cause. This adds more weight to the idea that, in nature, many substances are found and act together. Remember that beta-carotene is only one of hundreds of carotenoids, and these are all found in various combinations in nature. In may be that, as levels of one carotenoid drop with inflammation, other carotenoids help fill in the gap created. Relationship Between Systemic Markers of Inflammation and Serum beta-Carotene Levels http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n15/abs/ioi01017.html
Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Dysfunction in Chronic Fatigue
It is wonderful to see an article address this aspect of fatigue, whether related to CFS or not. Slowing down of the adrenal cortex, most commonly as a result of the nutrient deprived, high stress Western lifestyle, can lead to fatigue. Adrenal function tests are well accepted and easy to do. Salivary analysis of the free hormones (remember that the "free" ones are the form of hormones that do the work...typical bloodwork looks for the bound hormones, which are non-functional) can give a very good picture of the health of the adrenal cortex. Most studies look for levels of dhea and cortisol. Treatment for hypocortisolism in this study looks to low dose hydrocortisone. However, natural treatments to balance out cortisol levels are also quite common and effective. JCEM -- Abstracts: Cleare et al. 86 (8): 3545 http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/8/3545
Insulin Resistance as a Predictor of Age-Related Diseases
Need I say more? With almost any chronic disease patient, whether it's diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc... insulin resistance always needs to be addressed. I believe it is one of the key metabolic defects that occurs that ultimately results in a disease process. Exercise, education about whole grains vs refined carbs, monounsaturated fats and specific nutrients like CLA, alpha lipoic acid, chromium and vanadium are all components to managing insulin sensitivity. JCEM -- Abstracts: Facchini et al. 86 (8): 3574 http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/8/3574
Weight Loss Increases Adipose-Derived Anti-Inflammatory Adiponectin
Two things here. First, keep your ears open for adiponectin. It is a newly identified protein that may play a key role in hormone modulation of obesity and inflammation. Second, we see the tangled web that is woven in health and disease. As we gain adipose tissue, levels of adiponectin are reduced and inflammation may rise, leading to many other disease states. Once the dominoes of bad health begin to fall, the pieces are set in motion. On the other hand, on the road back to health, once these factors start working in our favor, many aspects of biochemistry fall back into place. JCEM -- Abstracts: Yang et al. 86 (8): 3815 http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/8/3815
Low-Fat, Flaxseed-Supplemented Diet and Prostate Cancer
This is a very interesting article that looked at flaxseed as a potential adjunct for prostate cancer treatment in the future. Flaxseed may have several potential routes by which this occurs. First, compounds in flaxseed have been known to inhibit aromatase ,the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen in fat cells. Since altered estrogen metabolsim in males (yes, estrogen!) has been linked with prostatitis, I don't see it as a far stretch to believe that altered estrogen breakdown could also lead to cancer (we already know this occurs in the breast). Second, flaxseed is high in lignans and has some phytoestrogenic effects. So it is possible that the lignans in flax are hogging up the estrogen receptor sites and not allowing more harmful estrogens from binding.
Urology 2001;58:47-52 A low-fat diet supplemented with flaxseed appears to reduce the growth of prostate cancer cells, according to the results of a small pilot study. Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues studied 25 patients with prostate cancer who were about to undergo a prostatectomy. The patients were placed on a diet in which only 20% of total kilocalories came from fat. In addition, patients received 30 g/day of ground flaxseed, according to the report in the July issue of Urology. Over an average of 34 days, the subjects experienced a significant decrease in mean total testosterone, free androgen index and serum cholesterol. When the investigators looked at the prostates after prostatectomy, they found that prostate cancer cells were dividing much less rapidly and were self-destructing much more quickly in the treatment subjects compared with matched controls, Dr. Demark-Wahnefried said. The researchers are unsure which part of the diet produced this cancer-fighting effect. However, Dr. Demark-Wahnefried said that in cell-culture studies in which prostate cancer cells were exposed to the lignins from flaxseed, they found significant decreases in cell growth. "It looks like these lignins may be responsible for the results we saw," she added. "If there is a synergistic effect [with] the low-fat diet portion of the diet, it is unknown at this time."