October 8, 2001 Research Update

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

Alteration of DNA methylation in gastrointestinal carcinogenesis

I know this sounds a little technical, but the take home message is that alterations in the body's ability to methylate DNA may lead to cancer. Methylation helps to protect DNA from damage. Slow methylation can come from a variety of sources, with dietary alterations and genetic sluggishness at the top of the list. Combine the two and it's not a pretty picture. Folic acid and Vit B12 are some of the most important players in this game. Making sure you eat lots of whole grains and fresh fruit will provide high levels of these nutrients. However, in patients with genetic sluggishness, high doses of folic acid may be needed in supplement form. Synergy : Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 16 (9), 960-968 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/jgh/2001/16/9/abstract_jgh2554.asp?journal=jgh&issueid=7227&artid=132380&cid=jgh.2001.9&ftype=abstracts

Evaluation of GI function from expired CO2 after oral C-putrescine

Putrescine?? Doesn't sound too pleasant, does it? This substance is a result of the degradation of animal proteins in the GI tract. This study uses the idea that healthy cells of the intestine can break down putrescine and we can check for the by products of this breakdown. Even more important is the question that, if the cells lining the GI tract are not healthy the putrescine doesn't get broken down and actually can begin to rot (hence the name...). A strong digestive system is also very, very important in braking this stuff down. Synergy : Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 16 (9), 986-990 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/jgh/2001/16/9/abstract_jgh2566.asp?journal=jgh&issueid=7227&artid=132383&cid=jgh.2001.9&ftype=abstracts

Dietary Protein and Weight Reduction

It's so nice to know that the American Heart Association is so current and up to date with dietary recommendations. All sarcasm aside at how slow the AHA is to adopt any position that may be considered new or different, this article really does highlight some of the dangers of a high protein diet. Circulation -- Abstracts: St. Jeor et al. 104 (15): 1869 http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/15/1869

Fat distribution in associated w/ alterations of the HPA axis activity

More and more the importance of our adrenal glands in many systemic diseases is coming to light. An adrenocortical stress profile is so incredibly easy and yields potentially important information in obesity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, fatigue...this list goes on. The information obtained can many times then be treated nutritionally with certain vitamins and glandulars as well as avoidance of caffeine and refined carbs. Synergy : Clinical Endocrinology 55 (4), 447-454 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/cen/2001/55/4/abstract_cen1384.asp?journal=cen&issueid=7294&artid=133404&cid=cen.2001.10&ftype=abstracts

Evaluation of HPA axis in fibromyalgia

This article suggests that in patients with fibromyalgia, adressing adrenal function can be very important. This would also hold true for all patients with fatigue, regardless of cause. Synergy : Clinical Endocrinology 55 (4), 455-459 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/Journals/content/abstracts/cen/2001/55/4/abstract_cen1373.asp?journal=cen&issueid=7294&artid=133388&cid=cen.2001.10&ftype=abstracts

Starch-Based Glove Powder Promotes Intra-Abdominal Tumor Growth

Need I say more? Make sure that you ask your surgeon what kind of gloves he or she uses and insist that they use non-starch gloves. The best alternative, of course, would be to avoid surgery altogether...

Br J Surg 2001;88:1258-1263 Starch-based surgical glove powder appears to promote postoperative intra-abdominal adhesion formation and tumor cell adhesion and growth, according to animal study results reported in the British Journal of Surgery for September. "Despite the evidence in support of starch-induced complications, a considerable number of general surgeons continue to wear starch-powdered gloves," Dr. J. Jeekel and colleagues from University Hospital Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, note in their paper. The researchers performed laparotomy on female rats and exposed the uterine horns to powder from surgical gloves, pure starch or no powder. Either minimal or severe trauma to the peritoneal surface was inflicted in a standardized manner. Exposure to glove powder led to significantly more adhesion formation after minimal peritoneal trauma compared with no exposure, as did exposure to pure starch (p < 0.001), Dr. Jeekel's group found. This was true even in the presence of severe peritoneal trauma. Tumor load at the uterine horns was significantly increased after exposure to glove powder or pure starch compared with no exposure (p < 0.001). "As good powder-free alternatives are available, there is no longer any justification for the use of powdered gloves during intraabdominal surgery," Dr. Jeekel and colleagues conclude.

NVIC Says IOM Report Confirms 1999 FDA/EPA Order for Mercury-Free

If just seems interesting that chiropractors have been warning about the dangers of vaccines for decades and been called heretics, unscientific and worse for this belief. And yet, as time progresses, we see more and more stuff arising about the dangers of the mass-immunization practice here in the US. How could anyone ever have considered mercury as safe to use at any level? The whole concept to me seems unfathomable. Now we see much backpeddling on the part of the governement agencies--thimerisol is safe, but we still need to spend millions getting rid of it. See any dichotomy here???

The nation's oldest and largest vaccine safety advocacy organization, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), today called the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report evaluating whether mercury preservatives in vaccines have caused developmental delays in children a "confirmation" that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were justified in ordering drug companies to take mercury out of childhood vaccines in 1999. Although the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded there is not enough evidence to prove or disprove the hypothesis that mercury-containing vaccines have caused children to develop learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism, the IOM Committee found enough evidence that mercury can damage the human brain to recommend that mercury preservatives be removed from all vaccines and over-the-counter consumer products."This IOM report confirms the obvious: mercury is bad for you and we shouldn't be injecting our babies with it. Even though there have been too few controlled studies to confirm the relationship between mercury-containing vaccines and various kinds of brain dysfunction, the bottom line is that drug companies should have come up with a non-toxic way to preserve the stability of vaccines a long time ago. Now we need a comprehensive analysis of the potential toxicity of all other vaccine additives, starting with aluminum," said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of NVIC.NVIC has recently joined with SAFEMINDS, founded in 2000 by parents who believe their children were harmed by mercury in vaccines, in calling for the removal of all mercury-containing childhood vaccines from the market in the United States and for doctors to warn pregnant women that the flu vaccine contains mercury.