July19, 2001 Research Update

James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiropractic.com
www.lifecarechiropractic.com

Effects of Oral Steroidal Contraception and Insulin Resistance

Consider a treatment that is considered benign by many women and doctors such as the birth control pill. This has been taken to the extent that some have even suggested that women need not have periods anymore; they can be eradicated through the use of BCPs. Remember that any time you play with the major hormones in a woman's (or man's) body, you are playing with a dance that Mother Nature created and we do not fully understand. The fact that BCP contributes to insulin resistance has been known for some time now, but it is nice to see the topic pop up now again in the medical literature. Many women are given BCP for "control" of ovarian cysts; polycystic ovary disease has a strong link to increased insulin resistance. Does this sound like it should be the therapy of choice? JCEM -- Abstracts: Perseghin et al. 86 (7): 3188 http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/7/3188

Insulin: Evidence for an Anti-inflammatory Effect?

Just when you think you know everything there is to know about the horrible effects of insulin we are reminded that nothing Mother Nature makes is inherently "good" or "bad", but that balance is the key. This article points out that insulin has a potent anti-inflammatory effect. JCEM -- Abstracts: Dandona et al. 86 (7): 3257 http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/7/3257

Walnut consumption and plasma fatty acids and lipoproteins

So many times nuts get a bad rap because of their fat content, and yet most nuts are high in monounsaturated fats. This type of fat in many types of nuts has consistently shown the ability to lower lipid levels and reduce risk of heart disease. Any patient that has concerns about high lipid levels should consider nuts as a part of their diet plan to bring those levels under control. AJCN -- Abstracts: Almario et al. 74 (1): 72 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/1/72

Glycemic and insulinemic responses to regular and fermented milk

Gee, yet another reason to avoid dairy? Do we really need another? The high allergenicity, presence of hormones and pesticides and antibiotics are not enough? Now we find that milk has a glycemic index close to that of white bread. When the milk is fermented, such as in yogurt, the glycemic index lowers dramatically. This would put milk into the category as refined sugars and should be avoided in anyone concerned about insulin resistance or diabetes. AJCN -- Abstracts: Östman et al. 74 (1): 96 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/1/96

Prevention of type 2 diabetes

This is a nice review of a research study that showed that lifestyle changes can have a major impact in lowering risk of diabetes. The interesting note to this is that the authors used impaired glucose tolerance as a marker for risk of diabetes. The ironic thing about this is that impaired glucose tolerance is virtually unheard of in mainstream medicine, and yet lab values idenifying insulin resistance can yield very clinically important information. And with this information lifestyle changes can be implemented to lower risk of diabetes. bmj.com Narayan et al. 323 (7304): 63 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7304/63

Inflammatory bowel disease and laterality: is left handedness a risk?

This is kind of an FYI article. I have no theories as to why being left handed make increase risk of inflammatory bowel disease. And it really wouldn't matter because this would definately be a risk factor that you could not change. Gut -- Abstracts: Morris et al. 49 (2): 199 http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/49/2/199

Tamoxifen may mean that later tumours are more aggressive

Let me understand here. We give tamoxifen to patients who have had breast cancer to prevent future recurrences. But, it turns out that, if that same patient on tamoxifen gets cancer in the other breast, that form of cancer will be much more aggressive. Too many times in medicine we try to manipulate hormones in the human body when we do not even truly know the whole picture. The outcomes for this can be dangerous with side effects worse than what we were trying to prevent in the first place. J Natl Cancer Inst -- Abstracts: Li et al. 93 (13): 1008 http://jnci.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/13/1008

Psychological state and level of activity of extrinsic gut innervation

This article suggests a link between psychological health and the function of the GI tract. While this is no big shocker, it does remind us once again that true wellness also includes our psychological and emotional well being. Many times we focus on the obvious stuff like diet and exercise and forget about the rest of wellness. As an aside, exercise does have a major impact on overall mood and emotional health... Gut -- Abstracts: Emmanuel et al. 49 (2): 209 http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/49/2/209

Biofeedback and improved gut transit and autonomic innervation

Ditto. Gut -- Abstracts: Emmanuel and Kamm 49 (2): 214 http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/49/2/214