LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

all cause mortality

CAN A SUPPLEMENT MAKE THIS MUCH DIFFERENCE IN DYING?

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I really hate to beat a dead horse, but this article really surprised me just a little.  Cardiovascular disease remains the #1 cause of death here in the US.  It is heavily lifestyle mediated and can be avoided in almost all cases with the right choices.  But can a single, simple action play a massive role?

Vitamin D is not a vitamin.  It is a hormone.  As I’ve mentioned, vitamins act as cofactors to enzymes to help get work done.  This is important, but it does not actually control what our cells are doing.  A hormone, however, actually works its way down to the DNA in the nucleus of our cells and change the way a cell behaves.  This can be a very powerful action.

Receptors for vitamin D have been found on most of the cells in our bodies.  This means that, contrary to the beliefs as early as a decade ago that vitamin D’s actions were limited to bone only, vitamin D plays a role in most actions in our bodies.  The bottom line is that a deficiency can wreak havoc throughout our body.

One of the conditions that vitamin D has been shown in the research to have a protective response is for heart disease.  At this point, supplementation is a no brainer.  After seeing this study, if you’re not taking vitamin D, then it’s because you’re fully paid up on your life insurance premiums.

Why are these results so striking?  This particular study looked at almost 11,000 patients in Kansas and broke them up into normal (>30 ng / ml) or deficient (<30 ng / ml), keeping in mind that optimal is 60-100 ng / ml.  (FYI–the average vitamin D level was 24 — i.e. deficient)

  1. Only 29.7% were in the normal range (NOT even optimal!)
  2. 70.3% were deficient
  3. Deficiency was associated with hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and diabetes
  4. Deficiency was a strong predictor of all-cause death (almost 3 X the risk of dying from anything)
  5. On the other hand, taking vitamin D supplementation lead to a 61% lower risk of dying

61% lower risk of dying.  Go back and read that several more times.  Take some notes.  Mold it in clay in your living room.

It is not common, and by NO means do I advocate a single supplement or lifestyle change rather than a comprehensive lifestyle overhaul, to see any one thing make this much of a striking difference.  But clearly, in this large study, vitamin D supplementation did.

In our office, this means STARTING at 2,000 IU / day.  Practically not a day goes by that some patient does not come in with bone density problems or low serum levels that are told to take vitamin D by some other physician, but that recommendation is almost always at or below 1,000 IU / day.  It is just not enough.

WHY NOT ALL FIBER IS CREATED THE SAME

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As devastating as it is for human health, few I have come across truly understand the difference between a whole grain or refined carbohydrate.  The typical answer include white sugars and flours.  The real answer is far more expansive. 

The whole grain contains the germ (the bulk of the protective nutrients), endosperm (the calories) and the bran (the fiber).  To extend shelf life and increase palatability to the oblivious American public, the germ and bran is lopped off and we’re left with the endosperm–the calories minus some 90% of the phytonutrients that where present in the whole grain.  The result is a devastating calorie rich/phytonutrient poor staple consumed by the vast majority of Americans.  So “enriched wheat flour,” “sugar” and “high fructose corn syrup” all fall into this category.

 In comes the fiber story.  There is no doubt that fiber, both soluble (able to be digested by the bacteria in our guts to beneficial compounds) and insoluble (“roughage”-not digestible at all) are good for our gut.  This study just expands on this, finding that fiber’s benefits extend to lowering pretty much every other cause of death.

But do not fall into the opposite end of the processed grains spectrum.  Many products like fiber supplements and many of the big name breakfast cereals (Quaker, Post, Kellogg’s, etc…) contain only the bran.  This leaves out the heavy phytonutrient content of the germ that is also devoid in the refined carbs like enriched wheat flour.

I have no doubt that the benefits of whole grains and dietary fiber are derived not merely from the fiber content, but rather the entire blend of the grain, nut, fruit, vegetable or bean.  Remember this next time you read an ingredient label.  “Fiber” does NOT appear on the ingredient label of a whole grain.

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/12/1061

OBESITY AND CANCER, REVISITED…

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I know.  I know.  Eat your fruits and veggies.  Exercise.  While we all kind of agree that this MAY lower our risk of cancer, just how much seems to get glazed over.  After all, Grandpa Joe smoked and drank Jim Bean until he died in a brothel accident at 106.  So just how much of an impact does a good lifestyle have on cancer rates?

Something important to consider.  The weight of cancer prevention seems to be towards quitting smoking.  This is, of course, a no-brainer.  But, as this article mentions, 80% of the population are never or former smokers, this recommendation falls on the deaf ears of the bulk of the population who are already following this recommendation.

This particular study looked at adherence to an ideal body composition, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption on cancer rates, heart disease fatality rates and all-cause mortality (risk of dying from anything).  Those with the highest adherence had a 42% lower risk of all cause mortality, 48% lower risk of dying of heart related causes (58% for women!!!!) and a 30% lower risk of dying of cancer.

These are general lifestyle recommendations.  General.  As in very simple to accomplish.  I could expand on the specifics in a hundred ways to make them more effective.

The bottom line is that NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, is a powerful as lifestyle changes in lowering your risk of dying from anything.  The strength of this message seems to continually be drowned out by “this for a cure” and “that for a cure” and prevention promotions sponsored by Coke (Basha’s Heart Smart T-shirts proudly promote Coke).

As a society we need to put our collective feet down and stop funding these organizations that promote a “cure” while shoving prevention with simple lifestyle changes to the fine print.  Only THEN will they wake up and realize that this is what their individual charters