July 9, 2007 Research Update
ByJames Bogash,D.C.Mesa,AZ
info@lifecarechiropractic.com
www.lifecarechiropractic.com
Probiotic bacteria reduced duration and severity of common cold.
I had a mom bring in her 1 yr old baby that had a history of reflux (meds at 3 months) and now recurrent ear infections. Figuring out what was wrong was not difficult (pretty clear cut allergy to dairy), but of issue was the multiple courses of antibiotics she had been on. Recently, she had taken her daughter to urgent care, and the physician recommended she give her daughter probiotics. A little surprising, but good nonetheless. Her pediatrician, however, told her later there was no evidence on probiotics. I told her she needs to find a pediatrician who has cracked a medical journal in the past decade. The bottom line is that these commensal bacteria are supposed to be there. The benefits of having them there are too many to mention. I firmly believe that this is the most devasting impact of innapropriate antibiotic use. Read More.
Daily Intake of Heat-Killed L. plantarum L-137 Augments Acquired Immunity in Health Adults.
The benefits of probiotics are derived not only from their living functions, but from their ability to modulate our immune system beginning from the gut. A large chunk of the control of our immune system starts in the gut (as much as 2/3 depending on who you talk to) and this then sends out the signal to the rest of our immune system. It’s one of the reasons why persons w/ celiac disease (allergy to gluten in grains) have a higher overall mortality rate if they continue to eat gluten. This activates the immune system, leading to an overall increase in systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation slows beats up our bodies, increasing the risk of chronic diseases. Read More.
Higher Plasma DHA is Associated with Reduced Progression of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Women with CAD.
There has been much controversy lately about whether coronary stenting leads to better outcomes years later or whether restonosis occurs. The current belief is that it MIGHT show a benefit. It still amazes me to what lengths we will go to avoid looking at just how effective lifestyle changes are at preventing CVD. The stenting procedure is expensive and not without it’s own set of risks. Lifestylel changes, however, are much cheaper, safety does not even come into play, and the positive effects of lifestyle changes extend beyond CVD. Read More.
Effect of DHA Rich Fish Oil in Leukocyte Function.
Just to show that effects of lifestyle changes (which would be associated with higher intakes of omega-3 fatty acids, to include DHA) have broader impacts. Read More.
Almonds Decrease Postprandial Gylcemia, Insulinemia, and Oxidative Damage in Healthy Individuals.
When discussing the health benefits of nuts, it is important to differentiate the unaltered nut (as found in most bulk food sections) vs the canned, “Plantars’ nut” type of nut. Most canned nuts have cottonseed oil added in, raising the levels of omega-6 and completely undoing the health benefits of the fats in the nuts. I recently had a patient that “tried everything” to lower her cholesterol. Reminds me of the drug commercials that make it sound like lifestyle changes are not always enough… A mere switching away from canned nuts brought her cholesterol under 200 for the first time in years. Besides the healthy fats, nuts contain a mixture of tocopherols and tocotrienols; compounds well known to protect us from oxidative damage. Read More.
The Epidemiology of Second Primary Cancers.
The issue here is twofold. First, I believe that our bodies are constantly fighting off cancerous cells. It is not until the immune surveillance is overwhelmed that cancerous tumors sneak past the immune system and begin to grow. This would indicate that the cancer that first shows up may just be one of many “hidden.” Thus, the idea that a second cancer may arise later fits in with this theory. Another issue is that chemotherapy is very damaging to the body and destroys the immune system. This would leave the body open to future cancers, especially if the needed lifestyle changes are not made. Likely a combination of the two is what occurs, as many oncologists do not even broach the idea of lifestyle changes with their patients. I have had patients see cardiologists that even go so far as to tell their patients to avoid any supplements because they don’t want it the “interfere” with the treatment. Read More.
Adolescent Milk Fat and Galactose Consumption and Testicular Germ Cell Cancers.
Almost everyone alive today has grown up under the idea that “Milk it does a body good.” Unfortunately, the research behind this is weak at best. Most people would accept that the drug companies have a tendency to market their products in a positive light that may not always be true. But, when it comes to the dairy industry, it is nothing but altruistic and the claims are never questioned. And yet the Courts recently forced the dairy industry to stop its claims of weight loss from dairy products because there is no evidence to support it. The idea that dairy is good for us is so ingrained in our culture that every public health recommendation, every school lunch program and every state medicaid program includes the recommendations for daily servings of dairy. But, so it’s not good for you–but bad? Dairy has been linked to Type 1 diabetes, increased IGF-1 levels which are linked to prostate and breast cancer and now testicular cancer at a frequency of 1 serving/day. Now THAT’S good marketing done on a poor product!!! Read More.
Low Micronutrient Intake May Accelerate the Degenerative Diseases of Aging Through Allocation of Scarce Micronutrients by Triage.
I would have to admit that through government mandating fortification of foods that we do okay on some of the basic stuff. Calcium, folic acid, vitamin C (at least enough to prevent scurvy), thiamine…. But it ends there. Our food is so processed that the redox potential of phytonutrients and many micronutrients are gone. This leaves our diet sufficient to keep us alive for a few years, but woefully prepared for a lifetime of health. So, basically, one theory purports that, in the absence of an adequate supply of micronutrients, the body will allocate these resources to functions that will keep us alive for today while NOT performing functions designed to keep the organism functioning at top capacity. Read More.
Muscadine grape products intake, diet and blood constituents of non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic subjects.
This is another example of how much a simple intervention can make a huge difference in outcomes. In 28 days of having 150 ml of grape juice per day (really not much more than a shotglass’ worth) these patients had much improvement in several markers of long term health. And this was not a pill or concentrate. A perfect example of how we can add in high nutrient-dense foods to improve our overall health. Read More.
Dangerous Deception — Hiding the Evidence of Adverse Drug Effects.
For many years, mainstream medicine has hidden behind the validity of their approach using pharmaceuticals that were based on clinical trials. The facade has come crashing down in so many ways–funding biases, canceling negative trials, not publishing negative trials, data manipulation… The list has become so extensive as to question every single trial. Is there really ANY validity to intervention trials? I personally lean towards basic physiology trials. No one has financial interests in these types of studies and bias is not as likely. Funding usually comes from government or universities w/ no goal for a positive or negative outcome. This is a very interesting article outlining the deception that occurred with the study and approval of Bayer’s drug aprotinin and how they hid negative effects from the FDA when they requested approval. Read More.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since acquiring a passion for how the body works in chiropractic school, I have continued to indulge this desire by reading some 120 peer reviewed medical journals per month. I’m always learning more about how to help people avoid chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis, obesity and cancer, and pass along this information in my blog. There are currently almost 2,000 posts cataloged on almost every health topic imaginable. Click Here for more bio information
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