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October 15, 2003 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com
Conjugated Linoleic Acid: Regulation of Adiposity and Insulin Sensitivity
CLA has gotten quite a bit of press over the past few years in regards to its ability to enhance insulin sensitivity and prevent certain types of cancer. Remember that in an ideal (read: non-commercially grown...) situation, cattle will eat grass and other greens. The fats from this diet then gets converted by beneficial bacteria in the gut to produce CLA which shows up in the meat as well as the milk of the animal. However, commercial cattle these days are fed corn and loaded with antibiotics...
nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Brown and McIntosh 133 (10): 3041
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Zinc Modulates PPARgamma Signaling and Activation of Endothelial Cells
Add zinc to the list of nutrients that has an impact on insulin resistance right next to chromium, vanadium and CLA. Considering that zinc is involved in a large number of enzymes that protect our bodies from oxidative damage, we know that a deficiency can have a wide range of negative effects.
nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Meerarani et al. 133 (10): 3058
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Supplementation of Diets with alpha-Tocopherol Reduces Serum Concentrations of other Tocopherols
I have come across this concept several times in the past and find it interesting. Basically, there are several types of tocopherols (Vit E as alpha tocopherol being the most famous) and supplementation of one without the other results in deficiencies of the other tocopherals in the bloodstream. Most high quality Vit E supplements and most multivitamins will have more than just alpha tocopherol to compensate for this phenomena. This is also another wonderful example of Mother Nature having a way of doing things that we take years to figure out why she did it that way...
nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Huang and Appel 133 (10): 3137
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Dietary Folate and Depressive Symptoms Are Associated
The authors of this study conclude that "nutrition may have a role in the prevention of depression." While the impact of nutritional status and psychological health is well established in the medical literature, it's clinical use is still a rarity. And consider this, if a patient presents to his/her PCP with symptoms consistent with depressive disorder that may have a folate deficiency as a major contributing factor and the patient is put on SSRIs, what about the long term consequences of missing a folic acid deficiency?? This list could include certain types of cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Considering the incredibly low costs of folic acid supplementation compared to all of the psychoactive drugs, might a clinician utilize folic acid as a first approach?
nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Tolmunen et al. 133 (10): 3233
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Coffee acutely modifies GI hormone secretion and glucose tolerance: glycemic effects of chlorogenic acid and caffeine
For me, coffee falls into the "everything in moderation" category (incidently, broccoli and other veggies from the brassica family are not in the moderation category--overindulge). What I do have a problem with is coffee drinkers who cannot function until their fifth gallon of coffee--these people usually have adrenal insufficiency that they are trying to override with super-physiologic doses of caffeine. For everyone else, coffee has shown to have benefits from their polyphenols.
AJCN -- Abstracts: Johnston et al. 78 (4): 728
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B vitamin status and homocysteine and methylmalonic acid in elderly
I'm a big fan of B12 supplementation in my senior patients. For something so easy, safe and inexpensive, the clinical benefits in patients is wonderful. This study adds to previous research that finds that, as we get older B vitamin status decreases and deficiencies of folic acid and B12 become common. Considering just how important these two nutrients are to so many aspects of health, all seniors should strongly consider B12 and folate supplementation.
AJCN -- Abstracts: Wolters et al. 78 (4): 765
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Head of German medicines body likens HRT to thalidomide
Need I say more? I consider the marketing engine behind the drive for HRT right up there with the "milk it does a body good" brainwashing... What is amazing is that a prescribing pattern of gigantic proportions could be instituted and propagated for literally decades with very little data available to support its use.
bmj.com Burgermeister 327 (7418): 767
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Vibrating insoles and balance control in elderly people
I must admit I was pleasantly surprised at this study. Considering that a large proportion of our proprioceptive input (our sense of "where we are" in space) comes from the soles of our feet and this input is reduced as we get older the results of this study make sense. And for such a safe intevention to improve balance can have drastic effects on the health of or elderly if we can reduce the number of falls. Couple this with other balance-building activities such as yoga and tai-chi.
The Journal : Back Issues
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Metformin Reduces CRP in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
What I find interesting about this article is not that a diabetic drug could lower CRP levels (insulin will raise CRP levels--so if you lower insulin levels you will lower CRP as well) but that the standard care, aka the Pill, will increase CRP levels!! It seems like, in so many cases, the OB/GYN answer to most female problems is to use the pill to force a "normal" cycle on the patient. Yet this sets up a physiological state that is ultimately damaging to the patient's long term health.
JCEM -- Abstracts: Morin-Papunen et al. 88 (10): 4649
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TNF-alpha Inhibits Insulin's Stimulating Effect on Glucose Uptake and Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilation
In English, TNF-alpha, an intracellular messenger that upregulates many aspects of the immune system, can increase insulin resistance. This issue, to me, is beginning to look like the chicken-and-egg problem. Does insulin resistance increase overall inflammation by increasing TNF-alpha levels, or is insulin resistance caused by underlying inflammation?? Most likely the answer lies somewhere in between.
Circulation -- Abstracts: Rask-Madsen et al. 108 (15): 1815
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