LifeCare Chiropractic

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Toxicity

DRUG METABOLISM RELATED TO INDUCTION OF CYTOCHROME – (10-01-03)

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St John’s Wort on Drug Metabolism by Induction of Cytochrome P450

Wow!! What great news!! A natural product that speeds up hepatic detoxification!! Unfortunately, the medical community does not view this with the same enthusiasm. Remember that pharmaceutical drugs are considered toxins by the body and the liver moves quickly to help eliminate them from the body. St John’s Wort helps this process along. However, by speeding up this process the levels of other drugs may be reduced in the bloodstream, reducing their efficacy. Nothing to be alarmed about–just something to be aware of.

Incidentally, the article fails to mention that every other antidepressant on the market has similar effects on hepatic detoxification….

JAMA — Abstracts: Markowitz et al. 290 (11): 1500

Read entire article here

DISORDERS AT CELLULAR LEVEL LEADS TO DOWNSTREAM DISEASES – (12-22-03)

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Imbalance of plasma membrane ion leak and pump relationship as a new aetiological basis of certain disease states

Okay–you can skip this one if you fell asleep in physiology and biochemistry. What is interesting is that we are slowly starting to see the acceptance of disorders at the cellular level leading to a wide variety of downstream disease states. Imbalances or dysfunction at the mitochondrial level can lead to such things as lowered energy production, lowered redox potential, production of toxic byproducts and even apoptosis.

Imbalance of plasma membrane ion leak and pump relationship as a new aetiological basis of certain disease states – J Intern ..

Read entire article here

CARNITINE REMOVES TOXINS FROM MITOCHONDRIA – (04-25-05)

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Cardiac carnitine leakage is promoted by cardiomyopathy

Recall that carnitine is used to shunt fatty acids into the mitochondria so the mitochondria can burn the fatty acids for energy formation.  It also functions in the reverse to remove toxins form the mitochondria.  So, lowering carnitine==potential for less energy production and mitochondrial dysfunction.  This effect would be larger in higher respiratory tissues like heart, brain, liver and skeletal muscle.

This particular study sees a link with cardiomyopathy.

Read entire article here

VISIBLE SIGNS LIKE ACNE ARE DUE TO MORE TOXINS IN THE BODY – (01-26-08)

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A low-glycemic-load diet improves symptoms in acne vulgaris patients

It still surprises me how often we go to great lengths to try to “fix” our skin from the outside. Cremes, washes, scrubs… Then there’s the antibiotic approach. Nothing like putting a 15 yr old on long term antibiotics for a skin condition that is most likely mediated by their diet.

The bottom line is that in cultures with less processed diets (more along the lines of the paleolithic / caveman diet) acne rarely exists. So there is no question that acne comes from inside. The skin is one of the routes of detoxification for the body–increase dysfunction within the GI tract and you will increase the toxic load on the system. More toxins means a harder time getting these compounds out of the body and more visible signs. i.e. acne.

Read entire article here

SIGNIFICANT HEALTH BENEFITS WITH MICROWAVING – (05-25-09)

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Polyamine Metabolism and Transforming Growth Factor-beta Signaling Are Affected in Caco-2 Cells by Differentially Cooked Broccoli Extracts

Ok…don’t let the title put you to sleep…you need to follow along here because there are some very important concepts to be learned. First, there is always concern that microwaving will destroy much of the water soluble healthy compounds in foods.

This study was interesting in that it microwaved broccoli for 0, 1 and 4 minutes and looked at how many genes were activated in a colon cancer cell model. The 1 min sample was almost 3 times more effective than the un-microwaved sample. Next, it was determined that the 4 min sample had all the sulfurophane destroyed, and yet was able to induce positive changes in the toxin metabolism of the cells it was exposed to. I’m not saying that we should all feel free to nuke our broccoli until it’s ash in the tray of the microwave, but in today’s environment where convenience is king, maybe even microwaving a healthy entree (i.e. Kashi, Amy’s) can have significant health benefits.

Read entire article here

Missing Link for Obesity: Beyond Diet and Exercise

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Everyone is aware that obesity is related to diet and exercise. It’s as simple as calories in = calories out, right? It’s amazing how many weight gurus have promoted this over the years. Too bad it’s not that simple.

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics as it applies to weight management assumes that calories in equals calories out.  Basically, to lose weight, you need to take in less calories than you burn through daily living and exercise.  Pretty simple. Get a chart and a calculator and weight loss is guaranteed. Yeah right. How many of you have been there and done that?

The are many reasons why this just doesn’t work with body weight. First is the role of hormones. Hormones, such as insulin, leptin, resisten, thyroid and adiponectin play a massive role in weight regulation. These hormones are under complex regulation from signals in our environment.

Taking in too little low quality calories? The thyroid goes into hibernation mode. Think Slimfast or just cutting calories from a processed diet.

Is your gut stressed out from poor quality diet, drugs that block acid or emotional stress? This sends signals to the bone which in turn regulates body fat.

Sound complicated? It is. And yet another reason why a weight loss program needs to identify all facets of lifestyle and not merely calories in vs calories out. It is also why merely joining a gym (and actually going..) does not always lead to weight loss.

We have known for some time that chemicals in our environment contribute to altered body composition. Just some examples:

  1. Bisphenol A (BPA) is well documented to contribute to diabetes and weight gain
  2. Flame retardants play a role in obesity
  3. Flame retardants negatively affect thyroid function

This particular article through yet another wrench in the works of ideal weight. It is a wonderful review of what we are terming “obesogens” — chemical messengers in our environment that disturb our maintenance of a healthy weight and adds to the list of chemicals given above. Given what we now know of these chemicals’ influence, identification, avoidance and detoxification are  requirement for a program designed to achieve an ideal body composition. Anything less is not enough.

And given that the New Year with the New Year’s resolutions are upon us (of course–that’s only if you have given up on them yet), the beginning of the year is a great time to do a detox program. Regardless of how healthy we live, we are still exposed to a very large number of toxins that can contribute to ill health and weight gain. A simple, annual detox program seems to me to be a smart approach to combating this problem. Call the office for details if you’re interested.

AVOID THIS IN PREGNANCY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD

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We used to believe that the placenta filtered out most of what mom was exposed to and kept the developing baby safe.  We’re starting to realize just how incredibly far from the truth this really was.

For me, the first slap upside the head was the 10 Americans’ Study done by Environmental Working Group (EWG.org).  They found an average of 200+ chemicals in the cord blood of newborns, meaning that these toxins had passed into the baby and the baby was exposed in the womb.  The long term results of some of these exposures may be impossible to quantify.

However, this particular study is able to quantify at least one aspect of exposure to BPA in the womb.  Some scary aspects to this study:

  • 97% of the pregnant moms had BPA detected in their urine
  • Each 10 fold increase in BPA levels worsened anxiety and behavior scores in 3 yr old girls

For years, the FDA stated that BPA was safe for use in food products.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation still does not acknowledge that BPA may contribute to breast cancer (I call them “slow learners…”).  In the past few years, however, the FDA has changed its stance and have begrudgingly agreed that BPA is toxic in a variety of ways, but that it is not too ubiquitous in our products and our lives to do anything about it.  So much for your tax dollars at work.

So what can potentially pregnant (and, quite frankly, all of us) do to lower exposure to BPA?  These items produce some of the highest levels of exposure and shoudl be avoided as much as possible:

  • plastic water bottles / polycarbonate plastics
  • canned goods (the liner is frequently made with BPA)
  • thermal credit card receipts

 

 

IS YOUR COUCH MAKING YOU FAT?

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Of course sitting on your couch can be making you fat if you are spending too much time on it watching Simpsons or General Hospital reruns. But it may be doing it in a way you don’t expect.

At some point, the powers that be or the manufacturers or the government or the toxic chemical companies decided that seemingly everything we come in contact with is at risk of spontaneously combusting. Maybe years ago everything actually was bursting into flames and the media just kept it quiet.

Either way, there are lots and lots of compounds put into your bedding, mattress, clothing, drapes and yes–your couch–to act as flame retardants. These compounds are well known to contribute to thyroid problems, infertility and cancer. 

This article suggests that many of the flame retardants are derivatives of the notorious bisphenol A (BPA) and can affect estrogen receptors and lead to obesity. As if we didn’t have enough in society contributing to our collective weight problems.

The bottom line is to toss your furniture or replace the padding as it becomes worn, consider a periodic detoxification program and do your best to be aware of other areas of exposure you can reduce or eliminate.