Posts Tagged parkinson’s disease

… I get into this discussion, however, I want to discuss the connection between fibrocystic breast disease and breast cancer. Due to conflicting research, conventional medicine does not acknowledge …

Well, I will be the first to admit that we do not know all of the answers and, in fact, the only thing we know for sure is that we don’t know anything!

There is good news though…we are learning at an alarming rate and slowly but surely putting together pieces of the puzzle of health and disease. I want to discuss one such piece of the puzzle that seems to explain why some organs lose function and could explain a key factor in the development of diabetes, heart failure and kidney failure to name a few. This process is known as…
Lipotoxicity.

The body has a nearly endless supply of storage bins for fat called “fat cells”. When we eat a meal that has more calories than we can use, it stores the excess away into little “baggy” cells called adipocytes (fat cells). Our bodies, as wondrous as they are, are outdated models for today’s modern world. They were designed under the stimulus of famine and are unable to handle the onslaught of fat and carbohydrates that define the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).

Fat, as it turns out, is the least well metabolized form of energy in the body. This means that it is very easy to overwhelm the body with too much fat. When this happens the fat finds its way into cells of the muscle, pancreas, liver, kidneys and heart and thus been closely linked to a number of common health conditions:

1. Diabetes
2. Heart failure
3. Kidney failure
4. Fatty liver
5. Unexplained fatigue

These conditions can be attributed to what scientists have described as lipotoxicity, a term used to describe cells that are so full of unwanted fat that their function is severely compromised leading to disease. When left unchecked, lipotoxicity leads to another process called “lipoapoptosis” where the cells of organs literally die through a process I call “death by fat”. In a minute, I am going to discuss why this is happening and how to fix and prevent it from occurring.

Why does this happen?
Scientists are still piecing together the variables that must happen for lipotoxicity to occur. From what I can tell, there are two main culprits…

1. A diet high in omega-6 and long-chain saturated fats.
2. A diet high in carbohydrates that causes an increase in insulin levels
3. A sedentary lifestyle

The worst cases of lipotoxicity occur in people who combine all three of these variables. With that said, it is possible to develop lipotoxicity by taking in too much fat even in the absence of the other two variables. It is much more common, however, to see lipotoxic people who are guilty of all three violations of the above mentioned variables. Let’s talk about what happens with each…

When the body was developing, carbohydrates and proteins appeared to be fairly readily available. Thus the body found little need to store energy from these sources. So, when we eat a lot of calories from carbohydrates and protein, the body has no problem burning away excess energy from these two sources. Fat, however, is a prized commodity to our “Model T” bodies. This means evolution appears to have developed plenty of tools for storing fat, but few for burning it away. Thus, fat builds up very easily. Remember, humans of the Paleolithic years were likely quite skinny, not because they wanted to be but because food just was not that easy to come by. Humans, however, were not the only skinny creatures on earth. The animals that we killed for food were likely quite lean as well. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a fat deer? Fat just was not a very abundant source of energy so the body sopped it up like a sponge when we did wander upon an animal with some fat.

Today, however, fat is everywhere and the body cannot metabolize it fast enough. In fact, we take in so much fat that our bodies cannot even store it in fat cells fast enough. Thus, it ends up entering cells such as the muscles where it causes insulin resistance, the liver where it causes fatty liver, the heart where it causes heart failure and the kidneys where it leads to kidney dysfunction. The primary way that scientists develop rats afflicted with lipotoxicity is to feed them high fat diets.

So what do carbohydrates have to do with lipotoxicity? Well, carbohydrates are directly and indirectly responsible for lipotoxicity. In fact, I would consider carbohydrates to be the great multiplier for lipotoxicity. When we eat a lot of refined carbohydrates, two things happen…

1. Carbohydrates get converted into fat, thus adding to the “lipo-load” or “fat-load” of the body
2. Carbohydrates cause insulin to be secreted which acts as a carrier for fat to enter into fat cells as well as muscle and organ cells.

That one-two punch results in a multiplication of the lipotoxicity problem. The Standard American Diet is notorious for combining carbohydrates with fat. Examples include (just to name a few):

1. Hamburger (source of fat) and hamburger bun (source of carbohydrates)
2. French fries (source of carbohydrate and fat)
3. Pizza (Crust is a source of carbohydrate while cheese and pepperoni are a source of fat)
4. Steak (source of fat) and mashed potatoes (source of carbohydrate and fat)

Now I am seeing some health experts suggesting that you combine carbohydrates with fat in order to slow the absorption of the carbohydrates (lowering the glycemic index). That is the wrong approach!

To complete what can be described as the “perfect storm of lipotoxicity” we add to the mix a lifestyle almost devoid of activity. Aerobic activity kicks up fat burning, it literally liberates fat from muscles and organs helping to clear the pumps. When we are sedentary it is very easy to buildup fat stores in fat cells as well as muscles and organs. Exercise, in any form, kicks up a process called oxidation which burns fat away.
One final note about lipotoxicity. Our society is dealing with an epidemic of fatigue. It appears that our spunk has left us and it turns out Lipotoxicity could be to blame. The mitochondria are small organelles of the cell that are responsible for powering your body. When the cells get clogged up with fat, these organelles lose their function and can no longer power your body efficiently. When you are lipotoxic, you are running on reserve systems. These systems will keep your life support running but will not let you enjoy spunk and vitality.

In next week’s column I will talk about how to prevent and reverse lipotoxicity. If you are anxious to get started with reversing your lipotoxicity today, I will give you a hint…re-read the three variables that lead to lipotoxicity and do the opposite. Next week I will tell you about diet, lifestyle and supplements to reverse thus debilitating process that is responsible for so much disease and death in our society.

1. Coca Cola conspiracy – caffeine, sodium, diuretic effect creates thirst
2. Food industry
3. Fish Oil – omega 3 & 6, omega 3
4. Alzheimer’s disease
5. Autism spectrum disorder
6. Detox
7. Water contamination
8. Sodium benzonate and leukemia
9. Refluxing bile
10. Parkinson’s disease
11. Dairy products – casein protein
12. Tetanus
13. Raw foods and sensitivities
14. Sunblocks
15. Protein bars & casein
16. Lyme disease
17. 5 hour energy drink
18. No interest in food

Some health experts claim that nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past and supplementation is unnecessary in today’s day and age…they are dangerously mistaken!

In fact nutrient deficiencies are quite common, and such deficiencies are the direct cause of many health problems that result in hospitalization and even death.

One such nutritional deficiency is potassium and in today’s article, we will talk about the benefits of potassium supplementation as well as the daily potassium requirements for optimal health. Published research shows that potassium deficiency can be a direct or indirect cause of many health problems, including:

• Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart beat)
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue and muscle weakness
• Constipation

Benefits of Potassium

Potassium can be an important part of any supplement program. Studies have shown that potassium supplementation can result in significant decreases in blood pressure, improvements in constipation, decreases in cardiac arrhythmias, and improvement in fatigue and muscle weakness.

Daily Potassium Requirements

The majority of your potassium should come from your diet; supplementation should be used as a means of optimizing your dietary potassium intake. I recommend reading the article on the Benefits of Potassium for a discussion of dietary potassium from the perspective of our evolutionary history. Although the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of potassium is 4.7 grams (4700 mg), our Paleolithic ancestors consumed between 10-15 grams per day from fruits and vegetables!

For most healthy people, taking up to 1,000-2,000 mg of potassium daily in supplement form should be very safe (depending on diet). If you are on medications, such as loop diuretics or ACE Inhibitors, or suffer with heart or kidney disease, check with a health care provider prior to supplementing with potassium.

The Potassium Supplement That I Recommend

K+2 Potassium is a high potency potassium formula that provides 300 mg of potassium per capsule. In addition to providing 300 mg of potassium per capsule, this formula provides two impressive forms of potassium…

Potassium glycinate is a chelated form of potassium that mimics food sourced potassium in absorption and utilization.

Potassium bicarbonate provides a source of bicarbonate, which helps to alkalinize the body. This advanced combination makes this one of the most potent and powerful potassium supplements on the market. This form would be especially good for people who have bone loss and/or those who eat a high meat diet.

As an alternative, Potassium Amino Acid Complex by Your Prescription for Health is an inexpensive and high-quality form of chelated potassium. Each tablet provides 99 mg of potassium in a form that mimics potassium found in food. Potassium chelate by Your Prescription for Health is considered the most cost-effective form of potassium. The only negative to this potassium supplement is it is limited to 99 mg per tablet.

Summary:

As I mentioned in the article, Benefits of Potassium, we are designed to consume far more than the ridiculously low amounts suggested by the RDA. So if you are a healthy person, with normal kidney function and currently not taking any medications for blood pressure or heart problems, eat as much potassium as you can from fruit and vegetable sources. If you have difficulty getting large quantities of fruits and vegetables, try 4-6 capsules of K+2 Potassium by Designs for Health.

Dr. Mark Hyman
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Osteoporosis is a disease where bones become fragile and more likely to break. It is important to understand that bones are not lifeless structures, but instead are complex living tissue.

Just like our skin, bones are constantly broken down and built back up with new, healthy, pliable bone. Two cells involved in bone maintenance are osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The osteoblasts are the “bone builders.” In contrast, the osteoclasts are the cells responsible for the breakdown of old, brittle bone. The ratio of these two types of bone cells must be in balance to maintain strong and healthy bones.

Due to the Standard American Lifestyle your bones break down faster than new bones can be formed. In women, bone deterioration accelerates after menopause due to the fact that the ovaries stop producing estrogen, a hormone that protects against bone loss.

Your blood is a tightly controlled system that requires biochemical finesse in order to make an optimal environment for your cells and organs to function. Blood pH is of critical importance, if your blood gets even slightly acidic then the critical enzymes would not function and death would occur. In order to maintain proper pH the body utilizes minerals to act as a buffering system. So how does your blood get acidic? The answer is food and stress. When you eat lots of animal protein, refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, white rice and sugar these things add acid to your body.

When you eat vegetables and low-sugar fruits you neutralize some of that acid. The problem is you need 5 times as much alkaline food to neutralize 1 part of acid food. Stress also will cause excessive acid to form in the body. So what does this have to do with your bones?

The bones are your body’s mineral bank account. If you aren’t giving it plenty of those green leafy vegetables then your body will have to choose, between death or osteoporosis. In this case, your body becomes like Robin Hood, it steals from the mineral rich bones and gives to the mineral poor blood and organs.

To maintain bone health we should make sure that the bones have all of the necessary mineral building blocks. These building blocks feed the osteoblasts so as to keep new and healthy bone developing over your life. A readily absorbed bone mineral formula such as Osteo Plus will accomplish this. I would also suggest an additional 2,000-4,000 iu of vitamin D during the Spring and Summer and 4,000-6,000 iu during the winter months.

On top of this, adding a green drink full of concentrated green vegetables and superfoods will help keep your body alkaline by providing phytochemicals and organic minerals that neutralize acid.

To treat osteoporosis the standard procedure has been to take drugs such as Fosamax to inhibit bone deterioration and to increase intake of calcium. In the short term this approach may provide benefit to bone strength and fracture risk. There is concern, however,  of the long term ramifications of such an approach. This approach may result in poor quality bone and thus could lead to increased risk of fractures years later. To avoid this, our goal is to increase bone formation and normalize bone deterioration.

We suggest that calcium, magnesium, boron, proteins, and other trace minerals be taken to help increase bone formation. The average diet consists of 600 mg of calcium so most people should only supplement with another 600-800 mg of calcium daily. There are many different types of calcium available, however not all of them are efficient forms. Calcium carbonate, found in Oscal, Tums, and their popular little brother Viactive, is considered the worst form of calcium. This form does not absorb due to its buffering effect in the stomach. Calcium carbonate needs an acidic environment of the stomach in order to dissolve.

Some good forms of calcium are calcium citrate, calcium citrate-malate, calcium MCHA, and calcium lactate. We suggest that magnesium be taken in a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium. Daily, 2,000-5,000 units of Vitamin D can be taken.

An intake of 3-6 mg of boron a day is recommended.

Vitamin K stimulates new bone growth. Vitamin K1 can be obtained by eating vegetables, however, this form has not been effective at improving bone density.  Vitamin K2, produced through fermentation of K1, increases bone growth and normalizes bone deterioration.

Trace minerals can be found in many good bone-mineral formulas.

All these suggested supplements are primarily the elemental building blocks of bone formation. The body needs a stimulus for the bone formation. This stimulus is in the form of weight bearing and resistance exercise. Walking is just not enough because it does not put enough stress on the bones, the best exercise is weight lifting. In order to promote bone growth you will need to stress the bones that are in need of growth. In other words, you can’t rely on a bicep curl to make the hip bone stronger. Placing weight on the shoulders and doing squats may be a better option.

If you suffer from osteoporosis, you may need to do this under the supervision of a physical therapist. You may also want to purchase a weighted vest to wear while walking. This may help add more stress to the bones to stimulate their growth. If you suffer from osteoporosis, you may want to purchase walking poles, which are ski poles that have been built for walking. This helps to stabilize your gait and increase the number of calories you burn. Be sure to check with your doctor.

If you have weak bones, such as with osteopenia or osteoporosis, here are the suggestions for building healthy bones:

1. Progena’s OsteoPlus – This is a comprehensive bone mineral formula that provides you with the calcium, magnesium, boron and other trace minerals in their best absorbed and utilized forms. 4 tablets daily taken in two divided doses.

2. Vitamin D - Vitamin D helps the body absorb and utilize the minerals. We suggest 1 capsule daily in addition to the vitamin D in your multi and bone mineral formula. We shoot for 2,000 – 5,000 IU on a daily basis, especially during the winter months.

4. Vitamin K – 15 – 45 mg daily. Vitamin K supplements is especially important in those that do not eat a lot of green leafy vegetables. If you have mildly unhealthy bones you may want to use Super K by Life Extension Foundation. If you have moderate to severely compromised bone health, you may want to try Ultra K2 (1 cap three times daily).

What to do to prevent bone loss:

1. OsteoPlus – 2 tabs in A.M. 2 tab in P.M.
2. Vitamin D 2,000 IU – 1 Softgel in the A.M.
3. Doctor’s for Nutrition Greens First – 1 scoop once or twice daily

Standard Program for Mildly unhealthy bones  (Osteopenia/Mild Osteoporosis):

1. OsteoPlus – 2 tabs in A.M. 2 tab in P.M.
2. Vitamin D and K with Iodine – 1 capsule in the A.M.
3. Doctor’s for Nutrition Greens First – 1 scoop once or twice daily

Aggressive program for moderate to severely unhealthy bones:

1. Bone Guard Forte by Perque – 3 tabs in A.M. 2 tabs in P.M.
2. Vitamin D 5,000 iu – 1 capsule in the A.M
3. Complementary Prescriotions Ultra K2 – 1 capsule three times daily
4. Doctor’s for Nutrition Greens First – 1 scoop once or twice daily

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