Heart disease is the leading cause of death for many groups in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 reports that nearly 25% of all deaths are the result of heart disease. Coronary artery disease is the most common type, and every year 735,000 Americans suffer a heart attack. Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity. The annual cost for treating cardiovascular disease has been estimated at $351.2 billion, including direct and indirect costs.2 According to a report released by the American Heart Association3 in early 2019, 48% of all adult Americans experience some form of cardiovascular disease.4 The majority appears to be driven by the rising number who have high blood pressure. In 2016, cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of more than 840,000 in the U.S. Vitamin K2 MK-7 Form Protects Endothelial FunctionInside your heart and all blood vessels is a thin membrane of cells called the endothelium.5 These are responsible for controlling the relaxation and contraction of the vascular system; a malfunction is a significant predictor for stroke and heart attacks. Endothelial dysfunction can result from diabetes, smoking and high blood pressure. After testing, some physicians may turn to pharmacological interventions, including lipid-lowering statins and ACE inhibitors or beta blockers for blood pressure management. Another option with fewer side effects is the use of vitamin K2 MK-7. One group of researchers6 developed an animal study in which atherosclerosis was induced and mice were given a four-week treatment of vitamin K2 MK-7 at low doses. The data revealed an improvement in acetylcholine and flow-induced endothelium dependent vasodilation in the aorta and femoral arteries. The effect was measured using an MRI and was associated with an increased production of nitric oxide (NO). Higher doses did not demonstrate further improvement. The researchers found the data identified an endothelial profile activity for vitamin K2 that had not been previously described. Hogne Vik, Ph.D., NattoPharma Chief Medical Officer, commented:7
Do You Get Enough Vitamin K Each Day?Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin your body uses for several functions. Since the body stores little of it, you'll experience a rapid depletion without regular intake. Additionally, several common drugs can also reduce your levels of vitamin K. There are two main forms of vitamin K, and two common subtypes. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is found in green leafy vegetables and is best known for a role in blood clotting. Without enough of this, your blood does not clot properly, resulting in potentially life-threatening consequences. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) plays a primary role in bone and heart health. Your body can synthesize vitamin K2 in your gut using certain bacteria. There are two common subtypes. The first is menaquinone-4 (MK-4), a short chain vitamin K2 found in animal products. MK-4 has a short half-life, which makes it a poor candidate as a dietary supplement. Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) is a longer chain found in fermented foods. There are several varieties of long-chain forms of vitamin K2, but the most common is MK-7. This is the form you'll want to look for in supplements. One of the best ways to get a good source of vitamin K2 is to ferment your own vegetables using a starter culture with bacterial strains that produce K2 and the MK-7 form. MK-7 stays in the body longer, helping to prevent inflammation and reduce the risk of bone fractures as it's more effective at reaching the bone. Vitamin K2 Plays a Preventive Role in Heart DiseaseOne of the ways vitamin K2 influences bone and heart health is through the activation of proteins, such as the enzyme matrix GLA-protein, in the vascular system and osteocalcin in the bone. “GLA” stands for glutamic acid, which is responsible for binding calcium found on your arterial walls and facilitating integration into your bone. When calcium in the lining of your vessels is not removed the deposits become atherosclerosis, responsible for the hardening and narrowing of the arteries slowly blocking blood flow. This is a common trigger for heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. In the Rotterdam study, participants who had the highest amount of K2 were 52% less likely to experience severe calcification of their arteries and 57% less likely to die from heart disease in a seven- to 10-year period. The researchers also found that those who consumed 45 micrograms (mcg) of K2 everyday lived an average of seven years longer than those who consumed just 12 mcg each day. Vitamin K2 improves arterial flexibility and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. The synergistic relationship between vitamin K2, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium improves your bone and heart health. Combination of Selenium and CoQ10 Reduces Mortality RiskOptimal cell functioning depends on several factors, including the amounts of selenium and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) that are consumed. Researchers have written about the low intake of selenium in Europe and the production of CoQ10 that decreases with age. One interventional trial,8 involving selenium and CoQ10 as a dietary supplement, took place over a four-year period. Participants from a rural area in Sweden showed a reduction in cardiovascular mortality as a result of the study’s intervention. Twelve years later, the researchers sought to determine if this reduction in mortality would persist after the study was completed. After evaluating data from the original participants, they found a continued reduction in cardiovascular mortality among those who had used the selenium and CoQ10 supplements. The active treatment group experienced a mortality rate of 28.1%, while the placebo group had a mortality rate of 38.7% after 12 years. The researchers also found a significant reduction in risk in those who suffered from ischemic heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and impaired functional heart capacity. The protective action was not confined to just the interventional period; it persisted during the follow-up as well. The study leaders cautioned this small study should be used to generate hypotheses and not conclusions. The Difference Between CoQ10 and UbiquinolCoQ10 and the reduced version, ubiquinol, are popular supplements people use for heart health and mitochondrial health. The rapid growth in sales of these products suggest more people are becoming familiar with the importance of mitochondrial health. A poll also revealed CoQ10 is the number one supplement recommended by cardiologists to their patients. CoQ10 is a fat-soluble antioxidant used to mop up potentially harmful byproducts of metabolism. Heart disease appears to be rooted in mitochondrial dysfunction, which means CoQ10 plays a unique and important role. Researchers have found CoQ10 may improve recovery after bypass and heart valve surgeries and may help reduce effects from congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. CoQ10 and ubiquinol also help combat the negative effects of many drugs including antiarrhythmic drugs, statins, antibiotics, ACE inhibitors and diuretics. Ubiquinol is the reduced version of CoQ10. The conversion from CoQ10 to ubiquinol occurs thousands of times inside the mitochondria, as it flips back and forth between the two molecular forms transforming food into energy. Your body begins increasing production of ubiquinol in early childhood, but by the time you reach 30 it begins to decline. Those younger than 30 may effectively absorb CoQ10 supplements, but those who are older do better with ubiquinol because it's more readily absorbed and used. You may also improve your body's ability to convert CoQ10 to ubiquinol through sensible sun exposure and eating green leafy vegetables, which loaded with chlorophyll. Micronutrient Selenium Important for Heart HealthMicronutrients9 are used by your body in energy production, immune function, blood clotting, bone health and other processes. These dietary components are only required in small amounts, yet they are vital to well-being and disease prevention. Micronutrients cannot be produced by the body so they have to be consumed in your diet. Selenium is a micronutrient and trace element discovered nearly 200 years ago. Scientists from our time have recognized it is essential because of its potent anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-cancer activities. At the cellular level, selenium is an active element of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme responsible for converting hydrogen peroxide to water and serving as a first line of defense against harmful free radicals. Researchers have found that those with higher levels of selenium experience lower rates of cancer. The best food source is Brazil nuts, which average 70 to 90 mcg of selenium per nut. Just two or three each day meet your daily requirement. Other food sources include sardines, pastured organic eggs, wild caught salmon and sunflower seeds. While vitamin K2 MK-7, CoQ10 and selenium are all available as supplements, the nutrients are often more bioavailable when consumed from whole food. If you do choose to use a supplement, take care to use a quality product from a source you trust. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/25/nutrients-essential-for-heart-health.aspx
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Dietary fats are a crucial component of a healthy diet, but the devil’s in the details, and the type of fats you choose can make a world of difference. Replacing dangerous oils with healthy fats is one simple way to boost your health and reduce your risk of chronic disease. Sadly, the fats that promote ill health are the very ones we’ve been told are the healthiest, and vice versa. Among the absolute worst types of fat you can eat are vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower and canola oil, found in most processed foods and restaurant meals. According to the 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture report,1 “U.S. Trends in Food Availability,” consumption of saturated animal fats such as butter, lard and beef tallow fell by 27% between 1970 and 2014, while consumption of vegetable oils rose by 87%. Intake of salad and cooking oils specifically rose by a remarkable 248%. In my view, processed vegetable oils, rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), are the most dangerous dietary factor of them all, taking a greater toll on human health than high fructose corn syrup even. Not only have vegetable oils been linked to heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel disorder, and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, they’ve also been linked to cancer, especially neuroblastoma, breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer. 2 Vegetable Oils — A Hidden Cause of CancerIn a November 8, 2019, Medium article,3 Maria Cross, a nutritionist with a master of science degree, discusses the science behind vegetable oils and what makes them carcinogenic. She explains:
How Lopsided PUFA Ratios Promote CancerThe cancer connection is also reviewed in a 2016 paper,7 “Role of Diets Rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 in the Development of Cancer,” which points out that “Omega-6 and omega-3 PUFAs often compete with one another for metabolism and act in an opposing manner.” Your body metabolizes omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs into eicosanoids, which are hormone-like substances, and as a general rule, omega-3 eicosanoids are anti-inflammatory while omega-6 eicosanoids have proinflammatory effects.8 Part of the benefits of omega-3 fats is that they block the proinflammatory effects of omega-6 eicosanoids. As noted in the 2016 paper9 cited above, “several studies have demonstrated that omega-6 PUFAs induce progression in certain types of cancer,” while “omega-3 PUFAs possess a therapeutic role against certain types of cancer.” Table 1 in that paper lists eight known mechanisms by which omega-3 lowers your risk of cancer. For example, omega-3 has been shown to inhibit insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and down-regulate growth factor receptors involved in cancer. Omega-3 fats also reduce angiogenesis and cell-to-cell adhesion, improve the structure and function of cells, combat inflammation (which is a hallmark of cancer10) and induce cancer cell apoptosis (cell death).11 Table 2 in that same paper lists the pro-tumor mechanisms of omega-6 fats, which include:12
As explained in my book, “Superfuel,” co-written with James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., omega-6 also inhibits cardiolipin, an important component of the inner membrane of your mitochondria that needs to be saturated in DHA in order for it to function properly.13 Cardiolipin can be likened to a cellular alarm system that triggers apoptosis (cell death) by signaling caspase-3 when something goes wrong with the cell. If the cardiolipin is not saturated with DHA, it cannot signal caspase-3, and hence apoptosis does not occur. As a result, dysfunctional cells are allowed to continue to grow, which can turn into a cancerous cell. Vegetable Oils Promote Virtually All Chronic DiseaseCancer is by far not the only health risk associated with vegetable oils. As mentioned, they promote virtually all chronic disease by throwing your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio off kilter. But they also influence your disease risk in other ways. Importantly, vegetable oils degrade when heated, forming extremely toxic oxidation products, including cyclic aldehydes.14 Cyclic aldehydes cause oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) associated with heart disease. They also crosslink tau protein and create neurofibrillary tangles, thereby contributing to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. As explained by Dr. Cate Shanahan in her book, “Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food,”15 in order to understand how dietary fats affect your health you need to understand how fats oxidize. The omega-6 PUFAs found in vegetable oils have highly perishable bonds that react with oxygen, creating a free radical cascade that turns normal fatty acids in your body into dangerous high-energy molecules that zip around, wreaking havoc in a way similar to that of radiation. What’s more, many of the vegetable oils produced today — especially corn and soy oil — are genetically engineered and a significant source of glyphosate exposure, and glyphosate has also been linked to gut damage and other health problems. Shanahan’s book also expounds on the hazards of 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE), which forms during the processing of most vegetable oils. 4HNE is highly toxic, especially to your gut bacteria, and consumption of 4HNE has been correlated with having an obesogenic balance of gut flora. 4HNE causes cytotoxicity and DNA damage, and instigates free radical cascades that damage the mitochondrial membrane. As noted by Shanahan in our 2017 interview, featured in “Dietary Fats — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”:
Shanahan also notes that organic vegetable oil is not the answer, as 4HNE occurs even if the oil is obtained from organic crops. It’s an intrinsic byproduct of the refining and processing of the oil, no matter how healthy the oil initially was. The omega-6 found in vegetable oils also damages the endothelium (the cells lining your blood vessels), allowing LDL and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles to penetrate into the subendothelium. In other words, these oils get integrated into your cell and mitochondrial membranes, and once these membranes are impaired, it sets the stage for all sorts of health problems. They also make cell membranes less fluid, which impacts hormone transporters in the cell membrane and slows your metabolic rate, and inhibit the removal of senescent cells — aged, damaged or crippled cells that have lost the ability to reproduce and produce inflammatory cytokines that rapidly accelerate disease and aging. Vegetable oils also strip your liver of glutathione (which produces antioxidant enzymes), thereby lowering your antioxidant defenses,16 and inhibit delta-6 desaturase (delta-6), an enzyme involved in the conversion of short-chained omega-3s to longer chained omega-3s in your liver.17 Address Your Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio to Protect Your HealthMarine-based omega-3 is one of the most important fats in the human diet, as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are actually key structural elements of cells, including your brain cells, and not just simple fuel. If you don’t have enough DHA and EPA, your body’s ability to repair and maintain healthy cell structures is seriously impaired. The key that many overlook is the importance of getting the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 right. Simply adding in more omega-3 might not be sufficient if you’re not also taking steps to significantly lower your omega-6 intake, and vegetable oils are a primary source. As noted in the 2002 paper,18 “The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids”:
Since most processed foods and restaurant foods contain these oils, ridding your diet of them means ditching processed fare and restaurant meals, and cooking from scratch using healthier cooking fats. While you do need omega-6, it should be in its unprocessed form, not industrial vegetable oils. Good sources are whole, raw plant seeds and tree nuts. Healthiest Fats for CookingWhile the devil’s in the details, and the details may be complicated, the simplest way to understand what a healthy diet consists of is to think back 100 years or so and consider what food was back then, and how it was prepared. What you’re aiming for is real food — whole food that is as close to its natural state as possible. This may be particularly important when it comes to fats. Again, ditching vegetable oils and any food cooked with it can go a long way toward lowering inflammation and mitochondrial and cellular damage, which will protect you from a variety of common killers, including cancer. As for what to replace the vegetable oils with, the following are among your healthiest options: • Organic pastured pork lard -- A 2015 analysis19 of more than 1,000 raw foods ranked raw separated pork fat, also known as pork lard, as the eighth healthiest food on a list of 100.20 Valuable nutrients found in lard include vitamin D,21 omega-3 fats,22 monounsaturated fats23 (the same fats found in avocados and olive oil24), saturated fats25 and choline.26 • Coconut oil is another excellent cooking oil that is loaded with health benefits. • Olive oil -- Authentic olive oil contains healthy fatty acids that can help lower your risk of heart disease. While the standard recommendation has been to avoid using olive oil for cooking and to only use it cold, recent research27 in which 10 popular cooking oils were compared contradicts this advice, showing extra-virgin olive oil actually scored best for both oxidative stability and lack of harmful compounds produced when heated. A word of caution is warranted, however. Fake olive oil abounds,28 so it’s important to take the time to investigate your sources. Many are adulterated with cheap vegetable oils or nonhuman grade olive oils,29 which are harmful to health in a number of ways. For more information, see “Is Your Olive Oil Fake?” where I cover this topic in-depth. • Organic butter (preferably made from organic grass fed raw milk) instead of margarines and vegetable oil spreads — Butter is a healthy whole food that has received an unwarranted bad rap. • Organic ghee is even better, as you remove the milk solids that many have problems with — Ghee is pure fat with no carbs and is what I personally use. The best way to make it is to place it in a glass container in a dehydrator and don’t heat it higher than 100 degrees F. to preserve the quality. You can suck off the milk solids with a glass baster. Once you have the ghee you don’t even need to refrigerate it as it is stable at room temperature for many weeks. To round out your healthy fat intake, be sure to eat raw fats, such as those from avocados, raw nuts, raw dairy products and olive oil. Also increase your animal-based omega-3 fat intake by eating more sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring or wild-caught Alaskan salmon, or take a supplement such as krill oil. >>>>> Click Here <<<<< from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/25/effects-of-vegetable-oil-on-our-health.aspx 1 Which of the following nutrients has been shown to significantly improve insulin sensitivity in Type 2 diabetics?
2 Which of the following statements is accurate?
3 Which of the following toxic heavy metals is deposited in your body when you do high-contrast MRIs?
4 Which of the following shows promise for the prevention and treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease?
5 Which of the following statements accurately describes the primary difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?
6 Which country does Patagonia currently source its hemp from?
7 Which of the following is an underutilized yet strongly indicated treatment for diabetic neuropathy?
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/25/week-105-health-quiz.aspx In this interview, Dr. Jason Sonners discusses hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which is a tremendously beneficial and widely underutilized therapy. Sonners, a chiropractor, also has a degree in applied kinesiology,1 and has worked with HBOT for over 12 years. Even if you're not trying to treat a specific condition and are generally healthy, HBOT can have significant benefits for longevity.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy BasicsMost healthy individuals have somewhere between 96% and 98% oxygen in their hemoglobin, which means your capacity to increase your oxygen level is between 2% and 4%, were you to breathe medical-grade oxygen, for example. That's it; there's no way to raise your oxygen level beyond that. The exception is if your body is under pressure.
Your Body Needs All the Oxygen It Can GetSonners, who has a lot of experience with functional medicine and nutrition, views oxygen primarily as a nutrient.
Conditions That Can Benefit From HBOTConsidering the importance of oxygen, there's a long list of conditions for which HBOT is recommended. Insurance will pay for some, but not anywhere near all of them. While HBOT can be used to help speed healing of any inflammatory condition, in the U.S., there are only 14 conditions for which insurance will pay, whereas there are up to 100 approved indications for HBOT internationally.
From my perspective, it's medically reprehensible and inexcusable for a doctor to not treat patients with diabetic neuropathy, infections in the distal extremities or peripheral vascular disease with HBOT, as it will in most cases prevent the need for amputation. That the U.S. limits the use of HBOT to a last resort for only a few hard-to-treat conditions is truly unfortunate, as there's a wide range of other conditions for which HBOT can be beneficial. This includes:
HBOT Improves Mitochondrial Function"If the idea is that we need to control inflammation, if we need to improve the rate of healing, if we need to improve mitochondrial function — all of these are going to be very solid indications of people who would respond very positively to hyperbaric treatment," Sonners says. One of the reasons I'm fascinated by HBOT is because of its ability to improve mitochondrial function. As noted by Sonners, longer term hyperbaric exposures will result in larger mitochondria and a greater density of mitochondria.
HBOT Boosts Stem Cell ProductionHBOT also activates stem cell production. Conventional stem cell therapy can cost $10,000 to $20,000 and isn't covered by insurance. HBOT costs far less, may be covered by insurance (depending on your condition), is completely safe and has a whole host of other beneficial effects as well. Even if you decide to get stem cell therapy, using HBOT before and after can significantly improve your end results, as the hyperbaric oxygen will help optimize your internal environment to make it more conducive to the newly injected stem cells. Sonners suggests 10 to 20 hours of HBOT before your stem cell treatment, as that's when your body will start upregulating its own stem cells. If you're extracting the stem cells from your own body, you will now also have much higher amounts. After the stem cell injection, Sonners suggests doing 20 to 40 hours of HBOT to make sure the new stem cells will thrive. Difference Between HBOT and EWOTOn a side note, there's a similar therapy that many people confuse with HBOT. EWOT is an acronym for "exercise with oxygen therapy," which usually involves using an oxygen concentrator and a large oxygen-filled bag that you then breathe from while exercising. While EWOT certainly has its benefits, it's not interchangeable with HBOT. They're really very distinct therapies and accomplish different things. For starters, while EWOT is an active process, hyperbaric oxygen is a passive process. With hyperbaric oxygen, you're typically sitting or lying down and simply breathing normally. "Especially in some patient populations, you can't even express the level of exercise you would need to in order to gain some of those benefits. That's one difference," Sonners says. The primary difference, however, is that with EWOT, you're basically increasing demand through exercise, and then you're increasing supply through the oxygen concentrator. However, you're still relying on your red blood cell oxygen-carrying capacity.
So, to recap, your red blood cells (if you are healthy) are typically already saturated with oxygen at 98% to 99%, and breathing pure oxygen at normal pressures will not significantly change that. But if you breathe oxygen under pressure, it will diffuse into your cellular fluids and provide a greater delivery of oxygen to your tissues, especially if they have compromised microcirculation. Soft Versus Hard Shell ChambersThere are two primary types of HBOT chambers: hard shell and soft shell. Hard-shell versions are available in two types — the kind you find in hospitals and the kind you typically find in private clinics or can purchase for home use. • Hard shell 100% oxygen hospital chambers are capable of the highest pressures, which in some cases can be important, especially in cases of nonhealing wounds. In this kind of chamber, the pressurization is done with 100% oxygen. While oxygen is not really flammable, it's an accelerant, so you have to be very careful not to create sparks. You're wearing cotton scrubs and you can't bring anything inside the chamber. • Hard chambers are the next step down. Instead of filling the whole hard chamber with oxygen, air is used to create pressure, and then oxygen is being piped in separately for you to breathe. In this type of chamber, you can wear whatever clothing you want as you don't have the same safety concerns. You can even bring certain electronics into the chamber. In many situations, this is an ideal choice, as the safety is higher while the effectiveness of the treatment is identical, especially for most internal issues. These types of chambers are often found in private clinics. • Soft chambers are limited in terms of the pressure you can achieve. "In the U.S., you're only allowed to go to 1.3 atmospheres (ATA), which is about a relative 9 feet underwater. It's considered mild HBOT. It's about 4 to 4.25 pounds of force per square inch (psi)," Sonners says. Still, it will allow you to absorb quite a bit more oxygen than you could normally, so it still offers very meaningful benefits. You may need to use it more frequently, and for longer duration though. While treatments involving hard shell chambers with 100% oxygen are quite costly, typically running around $2,000 per treatment (which may or may not be covered by insurance), hard and soft chambers found in private clinics are much more affordable, typically ranging between $90 to $180 per session. While this may still sound like a lot, it could well turn out to be one of your less expensive options in the long run.
HBOT Treatment SuggestionsTypically, you'd want to start out getting about 10 hours of treatment at a local facility to see if and how your condition responds. If you're trying to address trauma, an injury or a condition that has a beginning and end, then whatever benefits you get from the therapy, you will keep as you heal. Progressive and degenerative conditions, on the other hand, and/or if you're using it for longevity purposes, treatment will need to be ongoing for long periods of time. This is a case in which you may want to consider buying your own chamber.
Unfortunately, it can be tricky finding a local HBOT facility. Usually, online search results tend to focus on hospitals, and hospitals will not provide you with HBOT unless you have one of the 14 approved indications.
One alternative is to contact either the International Hyperbaric Association2 (IHA) or Hyperbaric Medical International3 (HMI). These are the two organizations focused on educating the public on the use of HBOT in the U.S., especially for indications that aren't FDA-approved.
If you're in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, you can visit one of Sonner's clinics — New Jersey HBOT Center, or HBOT PA. You can also learn more on HBOTusa.com, which is Sonner's primary education website. There you can find a list of treated conditions, research, the benefits of HBOT in athletics, testimonials and much more. Sonners has also written a book, "Under Pressure: How One Unexpected Tool Is Revolutionizing Health," which you can preorder here. >>>>> Click Here <<<<< from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/24/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-benefits.aspx Dr. Mercola Interviews the Experts This article is part of a weekly series in which Dr. Mercola interviews various experts on a variety of health issues. To see more expert interviews, click here. Dawson Church, who has done a lot of work on the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and brought a level of scientific legitimacy to the value of this powerful tool, recently published a new book with the self-explanatory title, "Mind to Matter: The Astonishing Science of How Your Brain Creates Material Reality."
Heart Coherence Allows Synchronistic Events to OccurThe term Dawson uses in his book is "synchronicity." And it was a series of synchronicities that led to the writing of this book.
An interesting anecdote on synchronicity described in Dawson's book was how he managed to find a set of keys he lost while snorkeling in Hawaii. He retells the story:
Being in the FlowThis synchronous mind Dawson is talking about is the same as what athletes experience as "being in the flow" or "being in the zone." Using electroencephalography (EEG), researchers have shown that when an athlete is in the flow, their brainwaves are in phase. On the other hand, if you look at the EEG of someone who is angry or frustrated or processing a negative emotion, you find their brain waves are not in step.
The book also discusses research showing how our brainwaves affect our biology. Delta frequencies, for example, have been shown to trigger cellular regeneration. Up until a few years ago, we didn't have the equipment to measure really slow delta waves below one cycle per second. Now, there's research showing that telomere regeneration is sparked by ultraslow brainwaves at 0.19 cycles per second. How do you generate delta brainwaves? Certain types of meditation will get you there. Doing EFT will also generate delta frequencies. Certain theta frequencies, meanwhile, stimulate stem cell production. According to Dawson, the Schumann frequency of 7.8 hertz is a special frequency generated through meditation that is associated with a number of beneficial changes in your body. This is also why many integrative cancer specialists are now stressing the importance of lowering stress and incorporating meditation in their cancer treatment programs. A Cancer StoryA woman named Beth Misner is writing a book about her cancer experience, and how she drove her cancer into remission using nothing but energy medicine. In March 2017, she was diagnosed with a 5-centimeter (2-inch) tumor in her right breast. The lymph nodes under her right armpit were also inflamed and full of cancerous cells — a sign that the cancer had spread into her limbic system. They also discovered three areas of concern on her right lung. Her doctor at MD Anderson in Houston (a famous cancer clinic) wanted to initiate radiation right away, but Misner decided to wait. She eventually decided to address her cancer on the level of energy. She contacted Dawson for advice and suggestions. Dawson recounts what happened next:
A very important side note here is that you have to make a choice, and it's not necessarily an easy one. If you have chemo and/or radiation, energy work will not be effective, as the treatments are simply too toxic. Metabolic cancer therapies such as cyclical ketosis and fasting, on the other hand, can be very beneficial.
How to Get Into a Coherent Flow StateSo, how do you get into a coherent state of flow? Lifelong meditators can do it effortlessly, showing that it's a matter of training. Through experimentation, Dawson developed a program he calls EcoMeditation that combines HeartMath's quick coherence technique with tapping and mindfulness. Dawson cites research showing that EFT can cause a 37 percent drop in cortisol in just one week. And, when cortisol goes down, DHEA goes up, because they make the same two precursors. It also improves many beneficial enzymes. For example, in one week, baseline immunoglobulin levels rose by 113 percent, basically more than doubling immune-functioning markers. It also decreases sympathetic nervous system activation.
Dawson defines meditation as the ability to sustain an alpha state for 15 seconds or more. EcoMeditation can get you into a coherent brain state in about four minutes.
Seven Steps to Awakened MindYou can find a series of guided meditations by Church on InsightTimer.com, including entraining yourself with synchronicity and affirming inner peace. There are seven steps to Dawson's EcoMeditation formula.1 For best results, set aside 20 to 30 minutes for this practice each day. Studies suggest half an hour of meditation daily produces noticeable changes in about a month or two, but even as little as 10 minutes a day can produce shifts in about 10 days. 1. First, tap each of the EFT acupressure points (see diagram), while holding the intention that you are calm and peaceful. While tapping, say to yourself (out loud or silently), "I release any and all blocks to inner peace. I release all tension in my body. I release anything in my past, present or future that stands between me and inner peace." Source: EFTuniverse.com, 7 Steps of EcoMeditation 2. Next, relax your tongue on the floor of your mouth. This relaxes the hypoglossal nerve that runs from your tongue into the vagal nerve, which tells your vagal nerve that you aren't under threat. As a result, your whole body starts to relax. 3. Now, picture a large empty space behind your eyes. Simply doing this will put you into an alpha state. 4. Do the HeartMath quick coherence technique, which involves slowing your breathing to six seconds per in-breath and six seconds per out-breath (five breaths per minute). 5. Next, visualize your physical heart, and imagine breathing in and out of your heart. This will put you into a deep state of heart coherence. 6. With each out-breath, imagine a beam of love flowing out from your heart toward a person or place that you love. Hold this image for several breaths. Simply doing this will generate delta, theta and even gamma brainwaves. Gamma is the wave of happiness and integration.
7. Lastly, bring the beam of love back into your heart and visualize it flowing into any part of your body that is uncomfortable or in pain. To end the meditation, take three deep six-second breaths, then return your attention to the room and open your eyes. When to Meditate for Optimal Results, and What To Do When Stress StrikesDawson recommends doing your meditation first thing in the morning, and to complement it with EFT during the day whenever stress might rear its ugly head.
Meditation Alters Your Brain StructureAccording to Dawson, doing this meditation every day, your baseline levels of cortisol and immunoglobulin will begin to improve. Certain feel-good hormones will also increase. Once you get used to feeling good, that then becomes your new normal. This has to do with the neuroplasticity of your brain. Dawson explains:
One stunning story showing just how significantly you can change your brain through meditation is recounted in Chapter 1 of Dawson's book. Graham Phillips, a TV reporter, decided to try an eight-week meditation program given by Monash University. He was a skeptic, and wanted to test it out for himself.
Healing Can Be LearnedResearch shows that when you expose cells to a frequency of 7.81 hertz, DNA replication becomes far more efficient. Importantly, certain frequencies stimulate the reproduction of stem cells, while other frequencies cause the stem cells to migrate and adhere where needed. To use stem cells for healing, those are the three things required: replication, migration and adhesion, and all three can be triggered through meditation. "In the book, I have a list of the conditions that are treated successfully with energy healing," Dawson says.
Mind to MatterTo learn more, I highly recommend picking up a copy of "Mind to Matter: The Astonishing Science of How Your Brain Creates Material Reality." In it, Dawson lists 30 lifestyle practices that can make a big difference in your physical and psychological health. You can also find more information — including a free EFT mini-manual and Dawson's published research — on his website, DawsonChurch.com.
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/24/meditation-alters-your-brain-structure.aspx It wasn’t long ago that growing hemp in the U.S. could land you in jail on felony charges. But after decades of criminalization, hemp is once again legal thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, and the eco-friendly outdoor apparel and gear company, Patagonia, isn’t wasting any time in perfecting it its hemp-based clothing line. The featured film, “Misunderstood: A Brief History of Hemp in the U.S.,” produced by Patagonia Films, shows the history of hemp in America, including why and how it was demonized for so many years. The film also highlights hemp’s various uses, including as a hearty textile that’s three times more durable than cotton.1 Patagonia has been using legally sourced hemp fiber in its clothing since 1997, blending it with other fibers such as recycled polyester, organic cotton or spandex. Its hemp is currently sourced from China, a country Patagonia says has been subsidizing hemp for generations.2 Hemp and its use dates back to the birth of America, but in China it dates back even further, where it’s said to have been used to make the world’s first rope around 2800 B.C. Hemp was also used for cigarette papers, Bible pages and military uniforms. Today, China grows nearly half the world’s legal hemp. The majority of it is exported as a textile fiber,3 including to companies like Patagonia, which are in the business of making sustainable clothing with little-to-no environmental impact. A Mindful Way to Clothe YourselfLike any other plant, hemp has its limitations, but compared to other plants it has some properties that stand out, said Elizabeth Pilon-Smits, professor of biology at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in the film. Hemp is valued for much more than its durability. When used for clothing, hemp is lightweight, absorbent and resistant to UV rays and mold, making it the perfect material for outdoor apparel. It has antimicrobial properties, too. As a crop, hemp grows strong and fast. It requires little water and no pesticides. In about four to five months, hemp can grow taller than a person. Cultivating hemp is also good for the environment due to its ability to remediate the soil. Hemp can remove toxic chemicals and heavy metals from the soil in just one season, making it an effective plant for environmental cleanup, and to restore degraded land. This was proven true when scientists used hemp in the 1990s to clean the soil following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Scientists later confirmed this use when hemp was shown to successfully extract heavy metals from the soil, including lead, cadmium and nickel.4 Shishir Goenka, founder of Fusion Clothing Company, which uses hemp for clothing, told the India Economic Times:5
Hemp and its many uses are nothing new. The plant was used in the U.S. dating back to the 18th century, when America’s Founding Fathers cultivated hemp for industrial use. George Washington is said to have grown more than 100 hemp plants at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. It was so valuable that at one point, the Farm Bureau required all farmers to grow at least a quarter of an acre of hemp, according to the featured film. Hemp: The Miracle PlantIn the 18th century, hemp was viewed as an important cash crop. People migrating from Europe to America traveled on ships with sails made of hemp. It was used for rope by navies around the world, and as a thick durable linen ideal for clothing and packaging heavy materials. Additionally, hemp seed oil was used in soaps, paints and varnishes. If hemp has all these incredible uses, you might be wondering why it was banned in the U.S. for so many decades? The explanation has something to do with the fact that hemp looks nearly identical to its close cousin, cannabis. But don’t get the two confused because, unlike cannabis, hemp contains less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When asked in the film how hemp is different from marijuana, Alli La Pierre, a material developer for Patagonia, explained:
Hemp activist Craig Lee of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association explained it perfectly in the featured film when he said that while hemp and cannabis are close cousins, the difference between them is like that between popcorn and sweetcorn. The War on Cannabis and HempThe war on cannabis is well detailed in the documentary, “The Marijuana Revolution.” The film shows how marijuana was once regarded as a harmful and addictive drug used mainly among black jazz musicians and Mexican migrant workers. Despite its controversial reputation, cannabis (similar to hemp) has a variety of benefits including medicinal properties that can be used to treat insomnia, menstrual cramps, nausea, muscle spasms and depression. Modern research has only expanded on these health benefits, now recognizing marijuana as an effective treatment for cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome, as well as a host of other diseases. However, the concept of cannabis as a medicine quickly began to fade when people started using the plant as a recreational drug in the 20th century. Those frightened of marijuana began to demonize it, using provocative terms like "devil weed" and "drug addicted zombies" to deter people from smoking it. Harry J. Anslinger, a former railroad cop and prohibition agent, was one of the first powerful voices to come out against the plant. He used fear mongering and racism to sway public opinion on cannabis, targeting minorities including African-Americans, Hispanics and Filipinos. Anslinger described the average marijuana user as being a minority entertainer who relied on the drug to create "[s]atanic music, jazz and swing." He said the plant caused "white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others." US Government Shuts Down HempIn 1963, the U.S. government funded the propaganda film "Reefer Madness," which warned that using marijuana just once could turn you into a drug-addicted zombie. The authorities also changed the plant's name and began using the Spanish word "marijuana" in an effort to give it a negative connotation associated with Mexican migrant workers and other minorities. Shortly thereafter, the sale and use of cannabis in the U.S. was made illegal through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The legislation grouped hemp with cannabis, making hemp sales heavily taxed. The financial strain caused many hemp businesses to close and the hemp industry further declined.6 The rise of other industries, including cotton, wood pulp and plastic, also contributed to this decline. World War II brought with it a brief boost for hemp, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraging U.S. farmers to grow the plant and the government offering subsidies for hemp cultivation. About 1 million acres of hemp were planted in the U.S. during that time, and the stiff fiber was used to make parachutes, uniforms, tarps and other products useful to the war industry. "After the war ended, the government quietly shut down all the hemp processing plants and the industry faded away again," the Hemp Industry Association noted.7 The final nail in the coffin came with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which grouped hemp and marijuana together as Schedule 1 substances, a classification reserved for drugs with "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical use." Three years later the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was formed to enforce the newly created drug schedules, and the fight against marijuana and hemp use began. The Slow Progress Toward Hemp Legalization in the USIn 2013, Colorado legalized industrial hemp farming for commercial and research purposes, provided the farmers verified the THC levels and paid for a permit. In 2014, the Farm Bill also included a section that allowed hemp cultivation for select research and pilot programs, and dozens of states introduced pro-hemp legislation to follow. By 2017, nearly 26,000 acres of hemp were being grown in 19 states.8 Still, in a major waste of taxpayer dollars, the DEA would target hemp farmers. Ministry of Hemp noted that prior to the 2018 legalization:9
Now that hemp has been legalized, it removes restrictions for crop insurance, banking and other barriers to farmers looking for a profitable crop. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spearheaded the bill, believes hemp could replace tobacco as a new cash crop, stating:10
The CBD Oil CrazeWhile hemp’s popularity as a fiber or textile is expected to rise, it’s most common use currently in the U.S. is cannabidiol (CBD) oil. CBD oil can be made from either marijuana or hemp, and it offers a host of health benefits. The strongest research suggests that CBD oil may be effective for treating epilepsy, as it’s shown to reduce seizures, and in some cases, stop them altogether. CBD oil may also help with anxiety, insomnia, inflammation and chronic pain.11 From the moment hemp was legalized in the Farm Bill, CBD products seemed to have hit store shelves across the U.S. almost overnight. Today, CBD products can be found in a wide variety of retailers, ranging from health and wellness retailers to grocery stores12 and even apparel and accessories retailers. The CBD oil market is projected to rise from $591 million globally in 2018 to $22 billion worldwide by 2022.13 Given that Patagonia has been using hemp since 1997, it’s no surprise that its hemp-based clothing line is an impressive one. Patagonia’s hemp collection includes items for men and women such as tanks, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, jackets, overalls and even ballcaps — all made, at least in part, from hemp. One of the coolest parts about hemp clothing is that it’s completely biodegradable, notes the film. In other words, you can throw hemp clothing into your compost pile or even your backyard and it will biodegrade back into the earth. That said, hemp’s ability to uptake heavy metals would make me think twice about using hemp clothing in compost destined to be used in an organic garden. For a peek inside the hemp production process, check out these impressive photos Patagonia had photographer Lloyd Belcher take of one of their supply chain sources in China. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/23/patagonia-hemp-clothing.aspx Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS) is a medical condition that causes carbohydrates you consume to be fermented into alcohol in your gut. Also known as gut fermentation syndrome, this condition essentially makes you intoxicated, or drunk, without drinking any alcohol. Your gut turns into a veritable brewery, creating many of the symptoms associated with heavy drinking or a hangover. Many of those affected have been arrested for driving while intoxicated and found to have alcohol blood levels far higher than the legal limit, although they had not had even one drink. Such was the case of a 46-year-old man who is the subject of a case report in BMJ Open Gastroenterology, which suggests ABS may be more common than previously thought.1 ABS Is Difficult to Diagnose, Medical Staff Often Dismiss ItThe man in the case study was previously healthy until he received antibiotic therapy for a traumatic thumb injury. One week later, he started experiencing personality changes, including episodes of depression, brain fog and aggressive behavior.2 His primary care physician evaluated this uncharacteristic behavior and sent him to a psychiatrist, who prescribed medications. Eventually, he was arrested because police officers believed he was driving while intoxicated; his blood alcohol level was 200 mg/dL. At this level, a person will typically appear drunk and may be severely visually impaired. Vomiting, incontinence and symptoms of alcohol intoxication can also occur at a blood alcohol level starting at 200 mg/dL.3 Both the medical personnel and the police refused to believe that the man had not consumed alcohol, and this is a common theme in cases of ABS. After seeing multiple doctors, both brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and another type of yeast (Saccharomyces boulardii) were detected in the man's stool, and a diagnosis of ABS was made by monitoring his blood alcohol level following a meal of carbohydrates. Treatment with antifungal drugs and a prescription for a carbohydrate-free diet were given, which worked to relieve the symptoms for a few weeks. Intermittent flare ups then began again, including one so severe it landed the man in the hospital due to a fall that caused intracranial bleeding. Even then, the case study noted, "the medical staff refused to believe that he did not drink alcohol despite his persistent denials."4 It wasn't until reading an online support group that the man contacted the researchers of the BMJ case study, who put him on a different antifungal therapy and, after its completion, started him on a probiotic that helped to restore his gut flora. According to the BMJ:5
Antibiotic Therapy May Have Triggered ABSIn this case study, the researchers believe the triggering event was the man's antibiotic therapy, which altered his microbiome allowing for the fungus to thrive. Along with stating that ABS is likely an underdiagnosed condition, the researchers noted, "We believe that our patient's symptoms were triggered by exposure to antibiotics, which resulted in a change in his gastrointestinal microbiome allowing fungal overgrowth."6 This may be the first time antibiotics have been linked to the disease, although other research that compared patients with ABS to a group of healthy controls found that those with ABS reported using antibiotics for a longer time.7 According to one review, antibiotics use, along with a diet high in processed foods, could be to blame:8
The use of probiotics to treat ABS is also an area that deserves further study, and it's possible that fecal transplants could offer a successful treatment. In the featured study, the researchers started out with a single-strain probiotic supplement in order to competitively inhibit fungal growth, and then switched to a multistrain probiotic after six weeks, in order to support a diverse microbiome. Because this condition may occur more often than realized, the researchers suggested that anyone who has elevated blood alcohol levels or a positive Breathalyzer but denies alcohol ingestion should be investigated for ABS. Further, they noted that symptoms such as changes in mood, delirium and brain fog may occur early on, even before symptoms of alcohol inebriation develop.9 In 2015, a New York woman who was charged with a DUI after a Breathalyzer showed she had a blood alcohol level more than four times higher than the legal limit had the case dismissed after a court heard evidence that she suffers from ABS.10 Is ABS Responsible for Rising Cases of NAFLD?In another ABS case, a 27-year-old man in China with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was found to have extremely high blood alcohol levels of about 400mg/L after consuming a high-carbohydrate (but alcohol-free) diet.11 In this case, it wasn't fungus that was driving the disease but bacteria known as Klebsiella pneumoniae. The finding came after researchers compared samples of the man's feces with that from people with NAFLD as well as a healthy control group. The man had higher levels of K. pneumoniae in his feces than the other groups; at the height of his ABS symptoms, nearly 19% of the bacteria in his feces was K. pneumoniae, which is 900 times higher than normal.12 Further, strains of K. pneumoniae that could generate high amounts of alcohol were isolated from the man and were found to be higher in those with NAFLD compared to the healthy controls. In patients with NAFLD, 60% had high-alcohol producing strains of K. pneumoniae, compared with just 6% of the control group. When mice were fed the high-alcohol producing bacteria, they also developed signs of liver damage.13 "These results suggest that at least in some cases of NAFLD an alteration in the gut microbiome drives the condition due to excess endogenous alcohol production," the researchers concluded.14 ABS Is More Common in People With NAFLDPeople with ABS are more likely to suffer from additional health conditions, including diabetes, chronic intestinal obstruction or liver dysfunction, such as NAFLD and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries,15 characterized by a buildup of excess fat in your liver that is not related to heavy alcohol use. NAFLD can progress to NASH, a more severe form of the condition that involves inflammation of the liver and liver cell damage in addition to the buildup of fat.16 People with NASH may go on to develop fibrosis, or scarring, of the liver, as well as cirrhosis of the liver, which in turn is linked to an increased risk of liver cancer (rates of liver cancer have been increasing over the last two decades).17,18 NAFLD often has no symptoms, although it may cause fatigue, jaundice, swelling in the legs and abdomen, mental confusion and more. In the early stages, NAFLD may be reversed by careful attention to diet and exercise, and choline intake may also play a significant role. Dietary Strategies Are ImportantWith NAFLD, the fatty liver occurs in the absence of significant alcohol consumption, and is driven instead by excess sugar. In cases of NAFLD, you need to eliminate processed fructose and other added sugars from your diet, which is also recommended for those with ABS. Fructose affects your liver in ways that are very similar to alcohol. Unlike glucose, which can be used by virtually every cell in your body, fructose can only be metabolized by your liver, as your liver is the only organ that has the transporter for it. Since all fructose gets shuttled to your liver, if you consume high amounts of it, fructose ends up taxing and damaging your liver in the same way alcohol and other toxins do. The way your liver metabolizes fructose is also very similar to that of alcohol,19 as both serve as substrates for converting carbohydrates into fat, which promotes insulin resistance, dyslipidemia (abnormal fat levels in the bloodstream) and fatty liver. Fructose also undergoes the Maillard reaction with proteins, leading to the formation of superoxide free radicals that can result in liver inflammation similar to acetaldehyde, an intermediary metabolite of ethanol. Reducing carbs to 50 grams for every 1,000 calories and increasing your intake of healthy fats is a powerful way to support your liver health and could likely benefit ABS as well, especially when combined with probiotics. As noted in one review:20
While it's still unclear why some people develop ABS, it's associated with metabolic disturbances such as diabetes and obesity, and those affected "often report a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diet."21 As mentioned, antibiotics use may also be a triggering factor, adding one more reason why their judicious use is important. In another case study, a 45-year-old man with obesity and diabetes developed ABS symptoms, including vomiting, slurred speech, hallucinations and loss of consciousness after meals following treatment with two course of antibiotics for a deviated nasal septum and dental procedure. He was treated with an antifungal agent but also "responded dramatically" to a no-carbohydrate diet.22 If you or a loved one may be struggling with ABS, getting a correct diagnosis is crucial for recovery, as it's often mistaken for alcohol consumption, leading to social and legal problems that can affect jobs, relationships and more. Further, even after ABS symptoms have resolved, the long-term exposure to ethanol can lead to addiction and alcohol cravings, leading to drinking,23 which is why getting holistic help is crucial. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/23/auto-brewery-syndrome.aspx Providing your body with optimal hydration in the form of pure water is one of the simplest steps you can take to improve your health. It’s such a powerful tool that research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests 3 million fewer people in the U.S. would develop degenerative diseases if they improved hydration throughout life.1 It makes sense, since your body is made up mostly of water. At birth, body weight is 75% water, dropping to 55% in the elderly.2 Keeping an optimal balance between water intake and output is essential for survival, which is why if you become dehydrated, your body will activate a number of hormonal and neuroregulatory mechanisms to save your life. Among them, you’ll begin to feel thirsty, reminding you to drink some water, while your kidneys hold onto water, so your urine output decreases.3 Researchers looked into the effects of long term subclinical hypohydration, or chronically losing more water than you take in, in mice and humans, finding evidence that even subtle changes in hydration levels led to “profound” effects on long-term health, and stating, “[W]e provide evidence from mouse and human studies that maintaining optimal hydration throughout a person’s lifetime provides protection from the development of age-dependent chronic disorders.”4 Restricted Water Intake Shortens Lifespan in MiceFor the first part of the study, mice had their water mildly restricted for a lifetime. While they easily adapted to the slightly lower water intake and showed no signs of distress, further testing revealed a state of chronic mild dehydration. Compared to mice with optimal hydration, the water restricted mice had a shortened lifespan and metabolic changes that led to increased food intake and energy expenditure. During the first 12 to 14 months of life, the study also found that the water restricted mice had increased low-grade inflammation and coagulation, which could accelerate aging and act as indicators of age-related degenerative disease. By 14 months, the water restricted mice had faster declines in motor coordination.5 Further, the researchers noted:6
Not Enough Water Leads to Accelerated Aging and DegenerationIn the second part of the study, researchers analyzed data from 15,792 adults, using serum sodium concentration as a measure of hydration status and lifelong hydration. Participants whose serum sodium concentration was close to the upper end of normal had increased levels of risk factors for age-related morbidity and mortality. Further, a strong association was found between serum sodium concentration in middle age and markers of coagulation and inflammation and the development of age-dependent degenerative diseases. Like mice, humans with less-than-optimal hydration status had increased inflammation and other factors associated with degenerative diseases, including cognitive impairment, dementia, heart failure and chronic lung disease. High blood pressure and diabetes were also associated with hydration status.7 According to the study:8
Proper Hydration Could Spare Millions From DiseaseMaintaining optimal hydration status during your life could lead to significant health benefits, but it’s difficult to define a set hydration level for everyone, since fluid needs vary according to activity levels, nutrition, health status and environment. However, the featured study suggested “a clear threshold of 141.5 mmol/L for serum sodium concentration,” above which the risk of age-related diseases goes way up.9 If everyone in the U.S. with sodium concentrations above this level were to decrease them by drinking more water, reaching the 140 to 141.5 mmol/L range, 3 million cases of related diseases could be spared. The researchers noted impressive benefits from improved hydration on a population-wide scale. Specifically:10
Mental and Physical Health Risks of DehydrationYour body needs water for blood circulation, metabolism, regulation of body temperature and waste removal. If you’re dehydrated, even mildly, your mood and cognitive function may suffer. In a study of 25 women, those who suffered from 1.36% dehydration experienced worsened mood, irritability, headaches and lower concentration and perceived tasks to be more difficult.11 A 2013 study in which 20 healthy women in their mid-20s were deprived of all beverages for 24 hours also showed the mental repercussions of too little water. While no clinical abnormalities were observed in the biological parameters (urine, blood and saliva), thirst and heart rate did increase and urine output was drastically reduced (and became darker). As for mood effects, the authors noted, "The significant effects of [fluid deprivation] on mood included decreased alertness and increased sleepiness, fatigue and confusion.”12 This may be one reason why, in another study, dehydrated drivers were found to make twice the amount of errors during a two-hour drive compared to hydrated drivers.13 The No. 1 risk factor for kidney stones is also not drinking enough water, and there is research showing that high fluid intake is linked to a lower risk of certain types of cancer, such as bladder and colorectal.14 Even the risk of fatal coronary heart disease has been linked to water intake, with women who drank five or more glasses of water per day reducing their risk by 41% compared to women who drank less. Men, meanwhile, reduced their risk by 54%.15,16 Other symptoms of mild and severe dehydration include:17
Are You Drinking Enough Water?Both children and adults often fail to drink enough water,18 and it’s estimated that 20% to 30% of older adults are dehydrated,19 often due to water deprivation and the fact that people naturally have a lower volume of water in their body as they get older.20 How much water is optimal varies depending on your age, health status, activity levels and more, but you might have heard the advice to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (known as the 8x8 rule). This is not necessarily the best amount for everyone, as there is no one-size-fits-all water quota for humans. In fact, in a review published in the American Journal of Physiology, Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, New Hampshire, could find no scientific basis for the 8x8 rule, which is more aptly described as a myth.21 Toby Mündel, senior lecturer at the School of Sport and Exercise, Massey University, New Zealand,22 recommends another method for monitoring your hydration levels: keeping track of your body weight. First thing in the morning when you get out of bed, weigh yourself for three mornings in a row, then calculate the average of your weights. This is your normal baseline weight, and you should stay within 1% of that if you’re adequately hydrated (assuming other factors haven’t influenced your weight). Simply using thirst as a guide to how much water you need to drink is another way to help ensure your individual needs are met on a daily basis. Optimal Hydration May Protect Your HealthYou can also use the color of your urine as a guide. If it is a deep, dark yellow then you are likely not drinking enough water. A pale straw color or light yellow is typically indicative of adequate hydration. If your urine is scant or if you haven't urinated in many hours, that too is an indication that you're not drinking enough. What is clear is that your body depends on a precise fluid balance to stay optimally healthy, and even slight changes in this balance can affect your physical and mental health. Even if you are only skimping on water slightly, it could be leading to accelerated aging or increasing the risk of degenerative disease, if the featured study is confirmed. That doesn’t mean you need to stress over the proper amounts of water or force yourself to drink large quantities. Just be conscious of replenishing your body with pure water regularly, and definitely take a large drink if you’re feeling thirsty. Keep in mind that during strenuous physical activity, in hot climates and on long airplane flights,23 you may need more water than normal, so plan to keep your (reusable) water bottle handy. Further, if you can’t remember the last time you’ve drank a glass of water, especially if you ordinarily reach for soda, energy drinks or fruit juice instead, make a point to switch your fluid of choice to pure water, and enjoy the health gains that follow. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/22/optimal-hydration-could-prevent-degenerative-disease.aspx Conventional medicine still has Type 2 diabetes misidentified as a blood sugar problem. In reality, the condition is rooted in insulin resistance and faulty leptin signaling, caused by chronically elevated insulin and leptin levels. In other words, it’s a diet-derived condition that can be reversed using a cyclical ketogenic diet and fasting. This is why the medical community’s approach to Type 2 diabetes treatment, which typically involves the administration of insulin, is fatally flawed and professionally irresponsible. Treating Type 2 diabetes with insulin is actually one of the worst things you can do, as it simply accelerates dying from the disease. Type 1 diabetics, on the other hand, do require a steady supply of insulin for their survival, as their bodies produce little or no insulin at all. Previously called juvenile diabetes, there are actually more adults with Type 1 diabetes than there are children with the condition, with an estimated 1 million to 1.5 million Type 1 diabetics in the U.S. alone. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys your pancreatic cells that produce insulin, which is why it’s also referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. Tragically, as prices of insulin have skyrocketed, many Type 1 diabetics are now risking their lives by rationing their insulin use.1 Skyrocketing Costs Force Type 1 Diabetics to Risk Their LivesIn a recent article,2 The Washington Post tells the story of Alec Raeshawn Smith, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2015, just shy of his 24th birthday. Two years later, his health insurance coverage under his mother’s policy expired, leaving him with two expensive options: Get his own insurance, which would cost about $450 per month with a $7,000 deductible, or pay for his diabetic supplies out of pocket. The Washington Post continues:
Price Gouging Insulin Should Be a CrimeAs noted in the featured article,3 the three researchers (Frederick Banting, Charles Best and James Collip4) who in 1921 discovered insulin — thereby transforming diabetic treatment and offering hope for a more or less normal life for Type 1 diabetics, who were previously doomed to die young — sold their patent to the University of Toronto for $1 each. According to historian Michael Bliss,5 these researchers were trying to provide a great humanitarian gift to the world. In the hands of drug companies, however, insulin has become a guaranteed profit center totally isolated from the inventors’ benevolent intentions for the use of their discovery. The price of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013,6,7 and has doubled again since.8 At present, the three dominant makers of insulin, Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk — which control 96% of the insulin market9 — all sell their insulin for approximately the same prices, and have raised them in lockstep, raising suspicions of price fixing.10 Drug makers also continue fine-tuning their formulas to prevent low blood sugar episodes, and while that’s good, it also ensures the drug patents don’t expire, preventing generics from being introduced.11
Price Hikes Threaten Insulin-Dependent Americans’ LivesThe Washington Post13 cites IBM Watson Health data showing Sanofi’s Lantus brand went from $35 per vial when introduced in 2001 to about $270 today, and Novolog, by Novo Nordisk, which started out at $40 per vial when released in 2001, now sells for around $289. According to a 2016 JAMA study,14,15 the nondiscounted price for Lantus in the U.S. in 2015 was as high as $372.75, and the discounted price $186.38. Meanwhile, that same drug sold for $67 in Canada, $60.90 in Germany and $46.60 in France. Even more telling is a 2018 study16 showing the estimated cost of manufacturing a 12-month supply of analog insulin is between $78 and $133 per patient, and $48 to $71 per patient per year for biosimilars. Why are patients having to pay as much as $24,000 a year for insulin that costs less than $133 to manufacture? In response to growing outcry and lawsuits over insulin prices, Eli Lilly introduced Lispro, a less expensive generic version of its insulin Humalog, in May 2019.17,18 Lispro is said to sell at about half of the list price of Humalog. According to a company statement,19 “The people who are most likely to benefit from Insulin Lispro Injection are Medicare Part D beneficiaries, people with high-deductible health plans and the uninsured who use Humalog.” Lack of Competition, Payment Incentives Drive PricesWhy the dramatic increase in insulin prices? A November 2018 congressional caucus report,20,21 “Insulin: A Lifesaving Drug Too Often Out of Reach,” sought to identify the reasons behind these literally life threatening price hikes. As noted in this report:22
While 1 in 4 patients gambles with their lives by rationing their insulin supplies by what they can afford,23 others have taken to illegally importing insulin from other countries where prices are more reasonable. The Washington Post24 recounts testimony from one father who told senators a 90-day supply of insulin for his son costs $1,489.46 through insurance with a high deductible. He’s resorted to buying insulin from a Canadian pharmacy, from which he can get the same amount of insulin for $350 including shipping. According to the article, while this is technically illegal, “the Food and Drug Administration generally doesn’t prosecute individuals if it’s a short-term supply for personal use.”25 Many others have turned to GoFundMe to raise donations for their insulin purchases. Why Rationing Your Insulin Is a Dangerous GambleFor Type 1 diabetics, whose bodies can’t make insulin, getting a steady supply is crucial for their health. Taking lower doses, or skipping doses, can be immediately life threatening and in the long term can result in even more costly health problems. As noted in the featured article:26
While not an ideal solution, The Washington Post points out an alternative solution: older versions of insulins, available at Walmart for approximately $25 per vial. While there’s some evidence showing these older formulas, which came out in the 1980s, are more likely to trigger dangerously low blood sugar and are typically thought to be safer for Type 2 diabetics than Type 1 diabetics, the doctors interviewed by The Washington Post agree it’s better than nothing. Similarly, in the information sheet, “Diabetes Meds on a Budget,”27 Beverly Thomassian, a registered nurse and president of Diabetes Education Services, points out:
Insulin Makers SuedAs mentioned, the surprisingly similar price hikes by all three makers of insulin have raised suspicions that the companies are in collusion. It wouldn’t be the first time. In February 2010, Mexico fined Eli Lilly and three Mexican drug companies $1.7 million each for colluding to eliminate competition by agreeing to take turns in placing winning bids for insulin, thereby artificially raising prices.29 In January 2017, a class action lawsuit30 was filed against Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in Massachusetts federal court, claiming the companies are in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.31 The New York Times reported:32
In October 2018, the attorney general of Minnesota, Lori Swanson, also filed a lawsuit against the three insulin makers, charging them with deceptive and misleading price increases.33 As reported by The Hill:34
Biohackers Make Their Own InsulinAside from rationing, extended fasting, insulin sharing, using expired insulin, setting up GoFundMe campaigns or illegally importing insulin from other countries, some Type 1 diabetics are taking insulin production into their own hands. In a recent Elemental Medium article,35 Dana Smith talks about the Open Insulin Project, “a biohacker collective that is trying to produce the lifesaving drug and provide it to people with diabetes for free, or close to it.” She writes:
The Open Insulin ProjectTo produce insulin, the group uses yeast rather than E. coli. A French biochemist named Yann Huon de Kermadec joined the Open Insulin Project about a year-and-a-half ago. He took charge of the manufacturing process and obtained the appropriate insulin gene, which is then inserted into the DNA of the yeast, thereby producing a small amount of insulin protein. They’ve not yet been able to extract high-enough amounts to move on to the purification stage, so at present they’re still working on increasing the yield. “If they succeed, they will go through the final steps of purifying and testing the protein. Once they’re confident that what they’ve produced really is pure insulin, Di Franco will serve as the group’s first guinea pig,” Smith writes. According to Open Insulin, 10 liters of yeast culture are enough to make insulin for 10,000 individuals, with a startup cost as low as $1 per person. Indeed, as noted earlier, insulin manufacturing is pretty darn inexpensive — at most around $133 per person per year for an analog, and as low as $48 per person per year for a biosimilar. Once a well-working insulin has been developed, the group hopes to make the recipe open-source, allowing hospitals and other patient groups make it for themselves. Thompson told Smith:
Di Franco adds, “Economically, I think it’s much better to do it in this decentralized way. A very small investment from each patient could fulfill the patient’s needs and make insulin very close to free for everyone who needs it with this kind of technology.” As you’d expect, others are less than excited about such a prospect, not because it would create much-needed competition, but because of safety concerns. For example, Dr. Eric Topol, chair of innovative medicine and executive vice president at the Scripps Research Institute, told Smith:
Millions of Americans Get Their Medications Outside the USAt present, there are no easy solutions for insulin-dependent diabetics. What’s clear is that it shouldn’t cost thousands of dollars a month for an essential drug required to keep these people alive. If you’re in this boat, consider talking to your doctor about the possibility of using the older biosynthetics, Humulin R and N, or Novolin R and N, available for about $25 at Walmart. It may not be ideal (you can read about some of the concerns in this Insulin In Nation article36) but it’s probably still better than nothing. Even better, however, especially for Type 1 diabetics, is getting your insulin from overseas — or even just next door, north or south of the U.S. border. Research published in 2015 shows that 952,000 Californians cross into Mexico every year for lower-priced health care, including prescription drugs.37 From the northern border, a random survey of Americans showed that 8% of respondents or someone they knew had imported their medications from Canada. In numbers, that adds up to 19 million individuals — with estimates that the numbers are probably much higher — crossing into Canada just to be able to afford medications they may very well not be able to live without.38 But is this legal? And if it is, how do you do it? And if you’re not near the southern or northern U.S. borders, is there anywhere else to go? According to the FDA:
The FDA does make exceptions for certain medications under specific situations, but even so, the amounts can’t be for more than a three-month supply. That said, Kaiser Health Network39 reports that personal use purchases for drugs not considered a risk by the FDA — such as insulin — in 90-day supplies are not being prosecuted. And just how much are Americans saving by crossing the border? Kaiser Health gave an example of a woman vacationing in Canada who visited a local pharmacy for an emergency insulin refill for her daughter: The pack of insulin pens, which cost $700 in the U.S., was a mere $65. The same box costs $73 in Germany; $57 in Israel; $51 in Greece; $61 in Rome and $40 in Taiwan. It’s no wonder millions of Americans are getting prescriptions by mail order overseas! Yet, even though they’re not prosecuting people for it, the FDA is clamping down on mail orders by going after them at international mail facilities. According to online journalism group Tarbell,40 the FDA intercepted 10,731 prescription drug packages in 2017; by May 2018, they’d confiscated 19,318. Their goal is to intercept 100,000 a year. So, what can you as a consumer do, if you can’t afford the outrageous — bordering on criminal — pricing and you’re not brave enough to test the system and try to take a vacation out of the country or order by mail? One way to begin could be to study the FDA’s personal importation guidelines to see if there is some way you can qualify for an exception so you can get your insulin from out of the country legally. Guidelines for Insulin-Dependent DiabeticsAlso remember that your lifestyle will have an impact on your blood sugar control. Ways to help manage your glucose levels include the following. Just be sure to consult your physician before making any drastic changes to your lifestyle habits and dietary plan, to avoid wild blood sugar fluctuations.
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/22/insulin-price-gouging.aspx As your "second brain," the state of your gut has been shown to play an important role in your neurological health. Importantly, studies have shown probiotics (beneficial bacteria) can help decrease pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including amyloid plaques and tangles.1 One of the most impressive of these studies2 was published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience in 2016. Sixty elderly patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's received either a placebo or a probiotic milk product containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus fermentum for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of the study, participants underwent a standardized cognitive assessment and a highly sensitive c-reactive protein test, which is a powerful marker of inflammation. As reported by neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter:3
Your Gut and Brain Are LinkedSince then, several other studies have been published, showing probiotics can help improve cognitive function and ward off dementia, including Alzheimer's. While this may seem all too simple to be true, it makes perfect sense when you consider the deep connections that exist between your gut and your brain. As explained by Harvard Health:4
Probiotic Prevents Amyloid-Beta-Induced DysfunctionAccording to a 2017 study5 in Scientific Reports, the Bifidobacterium breve strain A1 may be of particular use in Alzheimer's treatment. Using Alzheimer's disease model mice, the researchers were able to confirm that daily oral administration of B. breve A1 reduced the cognitive dysfunction normally induced by amyloid beta. According to the authors:
One of the mechanisms behind these protective effects was found to be suppression of amyloid-beta-induced changes in gene expression in the hippocampus. In short, the bacterium had an ameliorating effect on amyloid-beta toxicity. Interestingly, B. breve A1 did not actually alter the composition of the animals' gut microbiota to any significant degree; rather, many of the benefits appear to be related to significantly raised blood levels of acetate, a byproduct of fermentation by gut bacteria. As explained by the authors:6
When looking at SCFA levels in the animals' blood, the mice treated with B. breve A1 had significantly higher levels of acetate, but not propionate or butyrate, compared to controls. Other microbiota-derived SCFAs may also play a role, however. A 2019 study7 found that rats given both probiotics and prebiotics performed significantly better on spatial memory tests, and this improvement was attributed to increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Butyrate — a SCFA produced when gut bacteria ferment fiber — activates the secretion of BDNF. According to the authors, the improvement also correlated with "decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and better electrophysiological outcomes in the hippocampi." This led them to conclude that "the results indicated that the progression of cognitive impairment is indeed affected by changes in microbiota induced by probiotics and prebiotics." Probiotics Have Preventive and Therapeutic Potential for ADThe 2018 paper,8 "Probiotics for Preventing Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease," points out that probiotics can inhibit the progression of neurodegeneration by:
Inflammation and oxidative stress modulation are primarily accomplished through the gut microbiota's effects on your gut-brain axis, which in addition to your central nervous system (CNS) and enteric nervous system (ENS) also includes your autonomic nervous system, neuroendocrine system and immune system.13 These in turn are connected to various pathways involved in the regulation of immune function and metabolic homeostasis. These pathways include your vagus nerve and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal pathway. According to "Probiotics for Preventing Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease:"14
The researchers speculate that gut microbiome alterations allowing for the colonization of pathogens that increase gut permeability can perturb the gut-brain axis, thereby raising your risk of Alzheimer's. They cite research15 in which Enterobacteria infection was found to exacerbate the progression of Alzheimer's as an example of this theory. Immune Activation and Systemic Inflammation in ADMany studies have suggested immune activation and low grade systemic and intestinal inflammation are important factors in Alzheimer's, which can help explain why probiotics appear so beneficial. As noted in a 2018 publication:16
The authors speculate that the increase in immune activation and inflammation seen in Alzheimer's patients may be due to changes in microbiota that tends to occur with age. They also note that "the role of probiotics in preventing dementia seems promising" and that further studies should be done to further tease out the exact mechanisms by which probiotics protect against neurodegeneration. Alzheimer's Prevention and Treatment Beyond ProbioticsWhile optimizing your gut microbiome is an important part of Alzheimer's prevention and treatment, it needs to be part of a more comprehensive plan. Dr. Dale Bredesen, director of neurodegenerative disease research at the UCLA School of Medicine, discusses treatment alternatives in his book, "The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline." Bredesen has identified dozens of variables that can have a significant influence on Alzheimer's, and developed a treatment program based on those findings, called ReCODE. In 2014, Bredesen published a paper detailing how leveraging 36 healthy lifestyle parameters reversed Alzheimer's in 9 of 10 patients. This included the use of exercise, ketogenic diet, optimizing vitamin D and other hormones, increasing sleep, meditation, detoxification and eliminating gluten and processed food. You can download Bredesen's full-text case paper online, which details his program.17 You can also find helpful guidance in my previous article, “Top Environmental Risk Factors for Dementia Identified.” As the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease continues to climb, it’s important to realize that this disease is primarily driven by preventable lifestyle factors, and that conventional drug treatments are ineffective — or worse. As noted in a December 2018 article18 by Perlmutter, the largest class of medications prescribed for Alzheimer’s, called cholinesterase inhibitors, which break down acetylcholine, have actually been shown19 to accelerate cognitive decline! This, clearly, is the last thing you want, which means making lifestyle changes are all the more important, and the earlier you make them, the better. As for how to nourish your gut microbiome, your best bet is to make your own fermented vegetables, which will provide plenty of beneficial bacteria for a fraction of the cost of a supplement. Instructions and helpful tips can be found in “Tips for Fermenting at Home.” from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/11/21/probiotics-for-dementia.aspx |
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