I hope you read my recent blog on preventing Alzheimer’s disease. If you have not been trying to prevent this vexing problem now would be a good time. Like any organ, the brain depends on good circulation to get the nutrients it needs to function and renew itself.[1] Pharmaceuticals don’t do that, a fact that many doctors have recognized for decades. Many of them are now adamant about getting their patients off potentially harmful drugs with very little benefit in chronic conditions.[2] This socially-responsible movement goes against the rules, and recommendations[3] instigated by Big Pharma’s money, marketing and downright brainwashing of the public and doctors through misleading studies.[4] We would all do well to follow the advice of the famous physicist, Doctor Feynman:
“So I have just one wish for you, the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.”[5]
Hugo Rodier, MD
NYTimes analysis: US has entered “age of anxiety”
On the front page of its Style section, the New York Times (6/11, Williams, Subscription Publication) reported that while the US in the 1990s was deemed “Prozac [fluoxetine] Nation,” now the spread of anxiety has transformed the country into the “United States of Xanax [alprazolam].” According to the Times, “anxiety is starting to seem like a sociological condition, too: a shared cultural experience that feeds on alarmist CNN graphics and metastasizes through social media.” The Times added that “as depression was to the 1990s…so it seems we have entered a new Age of Anxiety.”
Poor diet, obesity and inactivity could overtake smoking in cancer death risk, researchers suggest
USA Today (6/9, O’Donnell) reports researchers suggest that “as the rate of smoking decreases, other unhealthy habits,” such as poor diet, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, and excess weight, “threaten to offset the progress in reducing cancer deaths.” The issue was discussed by researchers from the American Cancer Society at a recent meeting of the Council of Accountable Care Physicians.
Certain metals in baby teeth may be associated with risk of autism spectrum disorder, study suggests
Reuters (6/1, Larkin) reports different levels of certain metals in baby teeth are associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder, according to a study published online June 1 in Nature Communications. The study authors arrived at the findings after analyzing “baby teeth from 16 pairs of identical and fraternal twins in Sweden, with at least one sibling who had an ASD diagnosis by the time they were about 18 years old,” then also analyzing “baby teeth from 22 twin pairs who were developing normally.”
This is one of many studies pointing to neuro-toxicity being a big factor in autism. But, we need to peel back the onion a little more—it is the suboptimal ability to detoxify in these children that tips the scale:
Fetal and postnatal metal dysregulation in autism.[6]
Early-life exposure to certain phthalates may be linked to lower thyroid function in young girls, research suggests
TIME (5/31, Sifferlin) reports research published online in Environment International indicates that “early-life exposure to certain phthalates – a group of chemicals found in a wide variety of household items including shampoos, perfumes, nail polish, plastic toys, house building materials and more – is linked to lowered thyroid function in young girls.” Included in the study were 229 pregnant women and “229 children who were three years old.” TIME points out that “phthalates are thought to be endocrine disruptors—they interfere with the body’s hormones.”
Chocolate consumption may be linked to lower risk for atrial fibrillation, study suggests
The New York Times (5/23, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) “Well” blog reported that investigators “have found an association between chocolate consumption and a lowered risk for atrial fibrillation.” The findings were published in the journal Heart.
On its website, CBS News (5/24, Marcus) reports that investigators “analyzed a large Danish database of 55,502 men and women, combing through information on their dietary habits and health conditions recorded at the start of the Danish diet and cancer study.” The researchers “analyzed later health diagnoses, too, gleaned from a national patient database.”
Reuters (5/24, Seaman) reports, “Based on their diets at the beginning of the study period,” study participants “who ate one serving, about 1 ounce (28.35 grams), of chocolate per week were 17 percent less likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation by the end of the study than people who reported eating chocolate less than once a month.” Meanwhile, participants “who ate 2 to 6 ounces per week were 20 percent less likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation while those who ate more than an ounce of chocolate a day were 16 percent less likely to have the condition.”
High-fiber diet may be tied to lower risk for knee arthritis, study suggests
In “Well,” the New York Times (5/24, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports a higher-fiber diet may be tied to a lower risk for knee arthritis, according to a study published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. Researchers used data from two long-term studies and found that “as fiber intake increased, the prevalence of arthritis decreased.”
HealthDay (5/24, Gordon) reports, however, that the researchers found that those “who ate the most fiber reported reduced osteoarthritis knee pain by up to 60 percent,” but “X-rays did not show any difference in their knees compared to those who consumed less fiber.”
This is a good study, but, it still reflects the reductionist attitude most researchers have. If they were to be more integrative they would realize that such a diet improves, prevents and even treats most health problems that afflict us:
Greater Frequency of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Is Associated With Lower Prevalence of Peripheral Artery Disease .[7]
Throw in a little CHONDROITIN. It is as effective for arthritis as the expensive, much touted, and harmful Celebrex.[8] Too bad that so many patients and doctors have not tried because they believed the misinformation planted in the media by Big Pharma. Also, look into PROLOTHERAPY, the injection of natural sugars and B vitamins into an affected joint, like the knee.[9] But, if you are into prevention get off red meat.[10] It makes arthritis worse.[11]
VITAMIN D GOT SEXY
It raises the levels of sex hormones in men. Do you need any boring comments on this?
SUGAR IS THE PROBLEM, NOT HEALTHY FATS
Articles and studies on this are reaching a “saturation” point. We demonized fats instigated by Big Pharma who wanted to promote their Statin drugs[12] in collusion with the sugar industry .[13] As you know these drugs’ efficiency are routinely questioned. So far there is irrefutable proof that they are not beneficial in people over 65.[14]
“Associations between added sugars and increased cardiovascular disease risk factors among US children are present at levels far below current consumption levels. Strong evidence supports the association of added sugars with increased cardiovascular disease risk in children through increased energy intake, increased adiposity, and dyslipidemia. The committee found that it is reasonable to recommend that children consume ≤25 g (100 cal or ≈6 teaspoons) of added sugars per day and to avoid added sugars for children <2 years of age. Although added sugars most likely can be safely consumed in low amounts as part of a healthy diet, few children achieve such levels, making this an important public health target.”[15]
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage and Vascular Function, Not So Sweet After All.[16]
“Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are some of the most commonly consumed beverages around the world. Sweeteners used in these beverages include sucrose, fruit juices, and high fructose corn syrup. Increased consumption of these beverages has been causally linked to obesity, diabetes mellitus/metabolic syndrome, hypertension, gout, and cardiovascular disease. On the basis of a comparative risk analysis model, Micha et al concluded that, in 2012 in the United States, ≈45% of 702 308 deaths attributed to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes mellitus were associated with consumption of 10 dietary factors, with consumption of SSB accounting for 7.4% of cardiometabolic deaths. The consumption of SSB accounted for 10.8% of deaths from coronary heart disease and 14.8% of type 2 diabetes mellitus–related deaths.”
The root of the problem is Insulin Resistance,[17] or the Inflammation, Oxidation and Toxicity of cell membranes of our body and of the Mitochondria.
- “Association between midlife vascular risk factors and estimated brain amyloid deposition,” JAMA 2017;317:1443-1450 & “Insulin Resistance Predicts Cognitive Decline: An 11-Year Follow-up of a Nationally Representative Adult Population Sample,” Diabetes Care 2017 Jun; 40 (6): 751-758 ↑
- “Deprescribing: a narrative review of the evidence and practical recommendations for recognizing opportunities and taking action,” Eur J Intern Med. 2017;38:3-11 ↑
- Breaking the Rules for Better Care,” JAMA. 2017;317(21):2161-2162↑
- “Half of US physicians receive industry payments, study finds,” BMJ 2017;357:j2170↑
- “Surely you are joking, Mr. Feynman,” W.W. Norton, 1985↑
- J. Nature Communications Epub June 1st 2017 ↑
- J. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2017;37:1234-1240 ↑
- “Chondroitin sulfate seems as effective for knee osteoarthritis as widely used celecoxib,”
BMJ 2017;357:j2515 ↑ - “Qualitative Assessment of Patients Receiving Prolotherapy for Knee Osteoarthritis in a Multimethod Study,” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. December 2016, 22(12): 983-989↑
- “Red meat: another inconvenient truth,” BMJ 2017;357:j2278↑
- http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foods-and-arthritis ↑
- “What if Fat Doesn’t Make you Fat” New York Times Magazine July 7th 2002 ↑
- https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html ↑
- Effect of statin treatment vs usual care on primary cardiovascular prevention among older adults The ALLHAT-LLT randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med 2017; DOI:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017. ↑
- Added Sugars and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Children: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association,” J. Circulation. 2017;135:e1017-e1034 ↑
- J. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2017;37:1020-1021 ↑
- Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption on Microvascular and Macrovascular Function in a Healthy Population, J. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2017;37:1250-1260 ↑
