LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

DNA

IS MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION THE ROOT CAUSE OF CHRONIC DISEASES? – (05-23-05)

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Mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease

Regular readers of the Updates will know that I feel that mitochondrial dysfunction is the root of all chronic disease evil.  Remember that, in the process of generating energy for our bodies to function in the form of ATP, free radicals are produced that have the potential to cause severe damage to all types of tissues that they come in contact with.  The body and Mother Nature have hundreds of compounds that help us quench these free radicals and prevent damage.

But, with today’s’ lifestyles of poor protective compounds from foods, pro inflammatory diets and toxin/heavy metal exposure every time we turn around, the likelihood that the mitochondria cannot keep up is high.  These free radicals can damage the DNA of the mitochondria and, since the mitochondria don’t have very good repair mechanism, the mitochondria can no longer function and dies.  This process, occurring over time, can kill the mitochondria and the energy that the cell needs to survive.

Free Radical Biology and Medicine

A PARADIGM OF GENOME STABILITY – (09-17-07)

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Circadian tempo: A paradigm for genome stability?

Wow!! What a concept. Our body’s ability to repair damaged DNA does not occur evenly throughout the day, but seems to be at its peak at the time of day when the DNA is most likely to be exposed to higher levels of DNA damage.

So, if this holds true, then what about patients that have problems sleeping, work night shifts or are stressed? Might this be another mechanism by which these conditions lead to cancer?

Read entire article here

ARE YOU AWARE OF MASSIVE TOXIC LOAD WE ARE EXPOSE TO ? – (02-11-08)

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Maternal Nutrient Supplementation Counteracts Bisphenol A induced DNA Hypomethylation in Early Development

The average person may not be quite aware of the massive toxic load we are all exposed to on a daily basis (for a good scare, visit, (www.EWG.org). While we cannot eliminate our exposure, we can become cognizant and reduce our exposure as well as use diet and supplementation to mitigate the effects of this toxin exposure. In this mouse study, it was determined that Bisphenol A, a compound routinely found in plastics, damaged DNA. However, this damaged was avoided by folic acid supplementation.

 So, the best combined effect would be to reduce exposure while taking a good quality prenatal with adequate levels of folic acid.

Read entire article here

MULTIVITAMIN USE AND TELOMERE LENGTH IN WOMEN – (03-08-10)

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Multivitamin use and telomere length in women

Remember that telomeres are like the fuse on the end of a cell’s DNA–the longer the telomere, the longer that cell can continue to divide and be healthy. And remember that mainstream medicine has been telling us that we don’t need to take multivitamins because we would just be urinating out most of it. Well–I’d rather urinate out unneeded nutrients and have longer telomeres.

Read entire article here

ARE YOUR MIGRAINES AND SEIZURES CAUSING BRAIN DAMAGE?

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ARE YOUR MIGRAINES AND SEIZURES CAUSING BRAIN DAMAGE?  We’ve known the answer to this question for some time now.  This study looks more in depth at the damage that seizures and migraines (YES–migraines ARE seizures) cause to the brain.  The ictal periods (the time during an “event”) produce high levels of oxidative damage to the proteins, fats and DNA and this damage may leave a patient prone to further events.

The problem is that this phenomenon is NEVER addressed by neurologists–from their standpoint if a patient is not having an event they are cured.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  The damage that begins during an event starts a cascade that needs to be addressed with higher levels of targeted antioxidants and a neuroprotective lifestyle (stress management, exercise, low calorie / high phytonutrient diet).  Without this approach, the brain continues to suffer.

Read entire article here

CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT MAY SHORTEN LIFESPAN

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CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT MAY SHORTEN LIFESPAN.  I’ve mentioned telomeres in previous posts.  These are almost like the fuses on the ends of our cell’s DNA.  The longer they are the longer that cell can divide.  Many lifestyle aspects can protect (fish oils) or shorten (stress) the telomeres and essentially accelerate aging.

This article looks at the length of the telomeres in adult who had experience childhood maltreatment (physical, emotional, nutritional) and found that they had shortened telomeres.  As the father of a 4 yr old, it breaks my heart to think of any child who has more to worry about than not getting that item in the checkout line of Target.

TELOMERIC AGING IN PATIENTS WITH HEART DISEASE

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Healthy fats the fountain of youth?  Telomeres are the little tags of DNA at the end of our chromosomes.  The longer the telomere, the longer that cell can live.  Shorten the telomere and the cell will die faster.

Recent study found that the higher the blood levels of EPA/DHA (the essential fatty acids found in fish) the longer the telomere and the slower it got shortened.  Essentially the fountain of youth.  Increase your intake through supplementation, wild game, omega-3 eggs, flax, fatty vegetarian fish (the carnivores like mahi, ahi and halibut have higher levels of mercury), nuts, seeds, avacodos.  Oh..and remember the USDA food pyramid that brainwashed all of us to avoid fat for several decades?  Scrap it…