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THIOL ANTIOXIDANTS PLAY CRUCIAL ROLE IN ESTROGEN DEFICIENCY BONE LOSS – (10-01-03)

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A crucial role for thiol antioxidants in estrogen-deficiency bone loss

Osteoporosis is, in reality, a disease of lifestyle. Somewhere along the line we managed to convince the masses that it was all about calcium, and that milk was the answer. Well, it ain’t so easy (not to mention the fact that the countries with the highest intakes of dairy have the highest incidence of osteoporosis…). Here we see that heavy duty antioxidants such as glutathione plays a role in protecting bone, and that supplementation (albeit in a rat..) with NAC or vitamin C help regenerate glutathione and protect bone.

JCI — Abstracts: Lean et al. 112 (6): 915

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MECHANISM UNDERLYING OXIDATIVE STRESS – 05-01-05)

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Mechanism underlying oxidative stress-mediated lipotoxicity

In a nutshell, the researchers in this study found that elevated triglycerides (as would be found in insulin resistance) get sucked up into the macrophages (a type of white blood cells), and once there, started to destroy the mitochondria of the cell resulting in cell death.  The death of a macrophage in the bloodstream can lead to the production of foam cells and subsequent plague in the arteries.

Interestingly, vit C, NAC and resveratrol protected the macrophages from this death.  So, to extrapolate into a living, breathing human, antioxidants protect the cells that produce plaquing in the arteries, resulting in less plaque.

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NAC HELPS TO PREDICT THE KIDNEYS IN THE EVENT OF A BAD REACTION – (05-08-05)

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N-Acetylcysteine for the Prevention of Contrast-induced Nephropathy

Remember that NAC exerts one of its main actions by increasing the amount of available glutathione, and that glutathione is one of the body’s more potent antioxidant molecules as well as a major participant in detoxification.

This was a review and meta-analysis of several studies, with the consensus being that NAC helps to predict the kidneys in the event of a bad reaction to dyes used in diagnostic imaging.  The problem is that it needs to be administered 12 hours prior to the testing.  It would be nice to see if oral dosages would be as effective as IV.

In the meantime, probably a good idea to pop some NAC if you’re having any imaging done that requires contrast medium.

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PRETERM BIRTH MAY BE AVOIDED WITH THIS SIMPLE NUTRIENT

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There is nothing good to be said about preterm birth.  It is stressful on the newborn, stressful on the parents and stressful on the healthcare system.  Preterm infants will forever have elevated risks of certain conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  Because of this, anything that can be done to avoid a preterm birth is of the utmost importance.

The absolute most important aspect is to improve your health BEFORE conception.  That means normalizing your menstrual cycle, maintaining an ideal body weight and pulling back from a prediabetic lifestyle.  Above all, avoid infertility treatments until you have tried everyting else.  Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) greatly increase the risk of preterm birth, so it is essential to become pregnant through lifestyle changes.  All too often, fertility “specialists” will take thousands of dollars from patients and yet never mentioned a single factor about diet, stress management, exercise and environmental chemical exposure.  If the “specialist” you go to wants your money but doesn’t address these aspects, run like heck.

After this factor, maternal infections can induce preterm labor.  Anything we can do to reduce this risk factor is a good thing.  This means maintaining good bacterial flora (i.e. probiotics) in the vaginal vault to reduce the risk of infection.  Antioxidants like Vit C and E (use a mixed tocopherols product) can lower the risk of pre-eclampsia.  And this study supports the use of the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) to lower the risk of preterm labor if an infection does occur.

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