LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

asthma

Start Early to Protect Your New Baby From Allergies

by

Ask any allergy-suffering adult how much allergies suck and you’ll likely get an earful.  Sneezing, watery eyes, sinus headaches, itchy eyes…it’s enough to make life miserable.  When you combine this with asthma, curling up in the back of a dark cave seems greatly appealing.

Certainly anything you can do to protect this same scenario from playing out in your children would be welcome.  Luckily, this is not purely up to chance and genetics.

It may be largely up to probiotics.

This is not going to be the first time I have touted the extreme benefits of a healthy bacterial flora on many aspects of health.  Conversely, destruction of normal bacterial flora in a newborn, infant or toddler can wreak havoc to their immune system for decades to come, if not for the rest of his or her life.  It is that critical.

This particular study looks at the use of Lactobacillus reuteri from pregnancy (in the moms) through one year (in the infants) on the development of IgE mediated allergy against ovalbumin (egg whites), birch tree and cat.  Basically, the supplementation calmed down the immune response to all of these allergens for at least 2 years.

Don’t wait for your pediatrician to keep up with the medical literature and make these types of recommendations.  In general, pediatricians are far more likely to vaccinate (contributes to allergies and asthma via a Th2 cytokine shift, in case you were wondering…) and give antibiotics for viral infections than they are to recommend probiotics.  The closest I have heard is the recommendation to use a product like Florastor, which will absolutely NOT restore the normal bacterial flora in the gut after taking antibiotics.

If you have (or are expecting) a little one, the time to be proactive at protecting the delicate balance of his or her immune system is NOW.  The use of medications later may never allow that balance to be regained.  The only thing that may come close is the use of sublingual immunotherapy, but more on this in a future post.

Based on the mounting evidence, if your child’s pediatrician does not recommend or at least discuss probiotics with you, should you find a new one?

 

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses – (07-16-04)

by

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses, including T helper 1 and T helper 2 responses, in mice

In English, this article basically re-affirms how important the prenatal and natal periods are in determining the long term health of the child. Sources of BPA are all around us (see http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm) and our risk of exposure are high.

According to this study (which was done on mice), BPA really messes with the immune system–up – regulating BOTH TH1 and TH2 immune response (TH1 upregulation = autoimmune diseases, TH2 = allergies/asthma) although the TH1 response was greater. With chronic diseases (like asthma, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS, etc…) being such as issue in the health of our nation today, anything we can do to lower the risk is important, and it needs to start in pregnancy.

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A up-regulates immune responses, including T helper 1 and T helper 2 responses, in mice – Immunology –

Read entire article here

FISH OILS AND ANTIOXIDANTS INFLUENCE HAYFEVER IN ADULTS – (11-13-03)

by

Influence of the dietary fatty acids and antioxidants on hay fever in adults

Higher intakes of EPA (usually associated with healthy fats such as fish oil and olive oil) showed a protective effect against development of hay fever. This is not a surprising finding; however, dietary approaches are rarely addressed in modifying risk for atopic diseases and asthma. Surprisingly, higher intakes of beta carotene showed an increased risk. Using some guesswork, I can apply two possible scenarios here.

First, this study used a dietary recall by the study participants to evaluate intakes. This can be misleading and there may have been other factors that were contributory other than the beta carotene. Second, higher intakes of one type of nutrient without balancing among the nutrient’s “cousins” (such as too much Vit E without taking in gamma tocopherol will lower levels of gamma tocopherol) can lead to problems. This second idea may be the most reasonable hypothesis.

The influence of the dietary intake of fatty acids and antioxidants on hay fever in adults – Allergy, Vol 58, Issue 12, pp. 1..

Read entire article here

MUSHROOM DERIVED PROTEIN MAY CAUSE FOOD ALLERGIC REACTIONS – (11-30-03)

by

Mushroom-derived protein inhibits development of food-allergic reactions in mice

I realize the title to this one is a little daunting, but the concepts are very important. The rates of atopic disorders and asthma are climbing, for reasons covered many times in past Research Updates (vaccines, sterile lifestyle, killing off probiotics…). While prevention of these conditions is important, it is nice to know we are finding ways to “fix” the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines. This mouse study finds that an extract of mushroom has the potential to shift away from the Th2 dominant profile of atopic/asthmatic patients. Zinc is another nutrient that plays a key role in this important balance.

Oral administration of an edible-mushroom-derived protein inhibits the development of food-allergic reactions in mice – Clin ..

Read entire article here

VACCINATION NOT NECESSARILY EQUALS IMMUNITY – (08-04-03)

by

Association of Varicella Vaccine Failure w/ Asthma, Steroid Use, Age at Vaccination, and MMR

Just another little thing to think about when it comes to blindly following the status quo when it comes to immunization. I just had a patient yesterday whose four year old got chicken pox. She exclaimed that he was vaccinated!! She now knows from firsthand experience that vaccination does not necessarily equal immunity. However, her son now has a natural immunity to chicken pox and will no longer have to worry when he’s an adult.

Pediatrics — Abstracts: Verstraeten et al. 112 (2): e98

Read entire article here

USE OF CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION TO TREAT ASTHMA – (10-13-04)

by

Chronic asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation

I came across this one in my musings and thought it was interesting. This is one of those issues that is pushed by some DCs but the evidence is not all there yet.

This study found a 34% reduction in patient rated severity in their asthmatic symptoms–not something to be discounted lightly. My opinion? I think that there are patients whose asthma is mediated by the nervous system and will respond favorably to manipulation. And, since the safety of CMT is very, very high compared to the medications used to treat asthma, there is no disadvantage to attempting a trial period. However, I would also include a diet free of processed foods and refined carbs as well (which is probably why I won’t be invited to a clinical trial of a single modality any time soon…).

Entrez PubMed –

Read entire article here

EFFECTS OF VACCINATION AFTER 14 YEARS OF AGE – (09-01-03)

by

Effect of neonatal BCG vaccination on atopy and asthma at 7 to 14 years

This study builds on the previous, but there is a very important point not to miss here.

This study showed effect AS FAR AS 14 YEARS AFTER THE VACCINATION!! I cannot begin to express how frustrated I get when researchers and clinicians look for immediate reactions (within a few days) and say the vaccine does not cause problems. We are missing the most potentially harmful cause of vaccinations–increased atopic diseases such as allergies and asthma. We have traded childhood diseases for lifelong chronic disease.

Geez–the drug companies have got to love this one–mandated vaccinations that they make money on only to have the children develop chronic conditions that will require a lifetime of medications!! That would be the equivalent of performing adjustments in my office that would permanently damage the patient so they would need to come in again and again for the rest of their lives!! And the initial treatments were mandated by the government!!! What a racket, huh?

Entrez-PubMed

Read entire article here