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Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC

APRIL 2023 TABLEHOPPING ARTICLE

I have been working a lot on the cholesterol and statin issue and my Nurse Practitioners have asked where I get all my material from. It’s certainly not what they are reading in the institutions that trained them. If I still trained medical residents I would ask them about their curriculum as well but I doubt they are focusing on the metabolic state and the microbiome. Excess insulin from excess carbohydrates creates inflammation that affects everything from diabetes, cancer, heart disease and even dementia. Just like the Omega 3/6 oils that also have a major impact on your health at the cellular level , your insulin level is easily measured. According to Drs Gundry and Attia insulin is probably the best marker of both your current health and a predictor of your future health. Yet, the vast majority of healthcare providers are still practicing under guidelines that were outdated years ago.

However, once you start down the rabbit hole on youtube you encounter credible source after credible source that reviews the science and the studies and paints a very different picture than the status quo. I have already given you links to the great Dr Nadir Ali ….a cardiologist who has many videos like “Do statins prevent or cause heart disease.”

Of course Dr Aseem Malhotra, again a cardiologist and public health expert, has weighed in on this issue with his video “Too much medicine and the great statin con”…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAoTwfx1Sic&t=1303s but he also addresses the issue with big pharm in this video entitled “Evidence based medicine has been hijacked”.

Ivor Cummins the engineer and systems analyst covers the major determinants of your health including insulin resistance in this great video “Avoiding and Resolving Modern Chronic Disease”

No one does a better job talking about the dangers of the seed oils in our diet than Dr Chris Knobbe “Omega 6 Apocalypse: Do Seed Oils Cause Obesity & Chronic Disease”..they are everywhere and they are poisoning you and you can easily get the levels checked with your blood work.

However, Dr Paul Mason really shines in his videos that combine the sordid history of statin drugs with the dangers of the seed oils that are really clogging your arteries even as they are given the Heart Association’s seal of approval because they lower cholesterol. He reviews the articles that show that 70% of people admitted to hospital did not have elevated LDL (the so-called bad cholesterol).He also focused on the triglyceride / HDL ratio as being the really important measure of your lipid profile..NOT your cholesterol or your LDL! He reviews the multiple studies that show that plant sterol which looks like cholesterol are probably the real cause of hardening of the arteries. Plant sterols which are proinflammatory and cause generalized oxidation are concentrated in the seed oils you love to use in cooking, frying and salad dressings. If it’s not Olive oil or Avocado oil or MCT oil it’s not good for you. Ok there is one processed oil that is actually good for you from Zero Acre Farms. The reason this oil is healthy is because it’s fermented and that’s about as natural a process as you could ask for.

Part 1 ‘The truth about high cholesterol

Part 2 The shady truth about statins.

Part 3 Hard science on the cause of heart disease

If you watch any of the three videos just listed it will change forevermore your thoughts on saturated fats, cholesterol, statins and heart disease. If we could get your primary caregiver or your cardiologist to watch these videos it just might get them to question everything they have been saying for years. It’s difficult to look at information that challenges your beliefs but that’s how science works. I am always looking for any health care professional who is willing to discuss this on the radio show….cardiologist or otherwise. Likewise I am open to any infectious disease expert to discuss the vaccine, masking etc. Let the public hear both sides of the argument and come to their own conclusion. I’m not holding my breath.

Until next month…get well and stay well

Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
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Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC

JT BARRY MD

MARCH 2023 TABLE HOPPING

New Memory Program On The Block

Pretty much everyone agrees that heart disease and cancer are the top two killers of Americans . There is some dispute about the third leading cause of death with either dementia or doctors as number three. Don’t believe that doctors could be a leading cause of death? The study was published by Johns Hopkins in 2018. But there are many other studies that point in the same direction. So many people getting so much care mistakes inevitably will happen. Many of them revolve around medications and most of you are on multiple meds and that puts you at risk. I’m not telling you to stop your pills. I am telling you to focus on the underlying problem, not the symptoms. When your blood pressure is up you can treat the number by taking medication or you can find out what you are doing wrong that is causing your blood pressure to go up. That’s what transformed my practice of medicine over the years. A shift in focus from the symptoms to what’s really wrong and that’s your lifestyle and diet most of the time.

Today I want to focus on the other leading cause of death…dementia. Just as cancer affects every family so too has dementia and from vast experience I know that living with someone with dementia is much much more difficult than living with someone with heart disease or cancer. Dementia is usually insidious and progressive and the few FDA medications approved usually have very limited benefit. Most doctors and patients think there is really nothing that can be done. But like the guy says in the commercial…”There is always something that can be done”.

Dr Dale Bredesen, author of the book “ The End of Alzhiemers”, is a world expert in dementia. He has established a program called ReCode which is by far and away the most comprehensive program I have encountered for ANY disease process.

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Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
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Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC

ReCODE “is a comprehensive and personalized multi-therapeutic program for reversing symptoms of cognitive decline and optimizing brain health, using a targeted algorithm based on biochemical and genetic risk factors for cognitive decline”. This program does everything from evaluating for unsuspected sleep apnea, testing for toxins, checking for the genetic risk of dementia, measuring brain size, and routinely doing brain exercises. There is a big focus on changing the diet which is consistent with the metabolic dysfunction model of dementia. People refer to Alzhiemers as diabetes type 3 which alludes to insulin’s role in inflaming the brain and the need to lower insulin which leads to better health overall. The ReCode program is for people who have current dementia and there is a PreCode program for people who want to prevent dementia in the first place. It’s a combination of web based interactions as well as health care practitioner visits to evaluate progress.

This is not a theory. This has been put to the test. Dr Bredesen conducted a trial with 255 people with all stages of dementia..PMID: 34680464. It looks like every metabolic parameter measured was improved in the treatment group. People with really advanced dementia did not seem to be helped but the people with moderate and mild dementia had improved scores on a very common memory test. These results were statistically significant. The results weren’t off the chart so to speak but there were all in the right direction. Many drugs get FDA approval for less impressive results. The original study got positive results with a simpler and less comprehensive approach than they use now. The program evolves based on ongoing research which is another thing I like about it.

I visit a lot of websites. I have been involved in multiple interventions where some organizations try to interact with patients to achieve better health outcomes. The web site for the ReCode program blows all the others away. It’s incredibly user friendly and comprehensive in its offerings. I’ve never seen anything else like it. The web site is apollohealthco.com. When I first checked out the website, after reading his books and doing other research there were no local providers. There are now. I am one of them. I don’t need the extra work. . You would not become full patients in the practice , these visits are like going to a specialty clinic. My practice is full but I feel so strongly about this issue and this program that I felt compelled to get involved. My mother suffered from dementia and I saw first hand how her diet and lifestyle contributed to her decline. I’m not sure she would have done the program if it was available but at least now people have an option. If someone else becomes a local provider I am happy to give them the work. Check out the apollohealthco.com website for details.

Until next month…get well and stay well.

J T BARRY MD

FEBRUARY 2023 TABLE HOPPING

It’s February so I should be writing about something romantic but I’m not in the mood. Instead let me focus on your heart in a medical way. Unfortunately what I am writing about will contradict everything your cardiologist and primary care doctor are telling you. I am not alone in my opinion. Check out ANY of the references below The Weston Price Foundation does an excellent job as well reviewing this issue in very simple terms. Here’s the reference.

https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/modern-diseases/dangers-of-statin-drugs-what-you-havent-been-told-about-popular-cholesterol-lowering-medicines/?gclid=CjwKCAiA2fmdBhBpEiwA4CcHzVU_PWigYmMRP2CvvFTsKnAIo3kFl_bjiJGnPZwQX7qvWe-0ztL4xxoCG4cQAvD_BwE#gsc.tab=0

I know everyone and their sister are on statins. You have been told that somehow cholesterol is bad and that statins will prevent a heart attack. Your doctor looks at a number on a piece of paper and reaches for the prescription pad putting you on medication for life.! No discussion , no research, no debate….just take a pill. Don’t worry …everyone is on these meds and they are safe and effective. These hypotheses are not proven and the bulk of the evidence suggests that both ideas are wrong. Dr Malcom Kendrik has written multiple books on this including The Clot Thickens and The Great Cholesterol Con. Dr Sinatra on this side of the pond has written similarly in his book The Great Cholesterol Myth. If you are not into books and would rather Youtube it I offer the following…

Dr Malhotra

Dr Paul Mason

But my all time favorite is the one by Dr Ali who is a practicing interventional cardiologist. If you watch the video below you may never blindly trust your doctor again. I think that’s a good thing. Dr Ali quickly goes through the major statin trials and shows that despite significant reductions in LDL cholesterol mortality was reduced by less than one percent ! In the FOURIER trial there were more people who died in the treatment group than in the control group. How in the world does the FDA approve a drug or treatment where the group being treated has more deaths than the control group !? The same thing happened in the Pfizer mRNA vaccine trial for covid but that’s another column altogether.

Dr Nadir Ali

These are not polemic diatribes recorded by non physicians…Drs Malhotra and Ali are Board Certified Cardiologists ..that’s right heart doctors that have independently looked at the data…and come to very different opinions than the guidelines. By the way did you know that there is a group called the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists Collaboration…they are the biggest source of data for the cholesterol trials but they REFUSE to release the raw data for other doctors and scientists to independently verify their statements. Trust us there are no side effects and everyone should take statins. Did you know they were funded by the drug companies? How can you possibly trust statements from a group that is funded by the statin makers and who refuses to release the full data.

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By the way, just as they are trying to marginalize , and demonize doctors who are asking about the excess deaths since the covid vaccine came out there is now a move to sanction doctors who are spreading “misinformation” about statins.

Just look at the basic issue. How can cholesterol be bad when it’s in breast milk? How can cholesterol be dangerous if it’s one of the 4 main fats in your brain? People born with a genetic defect that lowers their cholesterol level die prematurely. Cholesterol and its metabolic pathway are involved in many different functions in the body and blocking cholesterol has many unintended consequences downstream…too many to mention here but well covered in Dr Ai’s video.

Your doctor gets his information from the major medical journals, not from studying the trials themselves. The former chief editor of the most prestigious medical journal had this to say. Marcia Angell wrote, “ It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.”

Finally….In a study NOT controlled by the drug companies, an article from Pubmed “ Association between low density lipoprotein cholesterol and all-cause mortality: results from the NHANES 1999-2014” this study found , in Americans, that the LOWER your LDL cholesterol the greater your risk of dying from ANY cause including cancer. PMID: 34764414

Let me close by referencing Dr Duane Graveline former astronaut, aerospace medical research scientist, flight surgeon, and family doctor who wrote a book entitled Lipitor Thief of Memory about his personal experience on a statin.

This column only touches on the surface of this important issue but the references provided will take you much deeper. I know it’s going to upset some physicians…I have already had multiple patients that say that when they approached their doctors about this controversy they were met with “Who’s the doctor here?” , “ Are you putting Google against my 30 years of professional judgment?” and “I don’t have time to look at your references.” The facts are what the facts are and it’s very clear that the guidelines are controlled by big pharma. If your provider is not open to your questions and the fact that you are interested in your health and doing your own research you should get another provider. Your healthcare should be a cooperative endeavor and you have every right to ask questions and get real answers.

Until next month…get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD

JANUARY 2023 TABLEHOPPING

What’s the to do about Methylene Blue?

Rather than remonstrate and castigate you about your New Year’s Resolution or lack thereof I am writing about something completely different to begin the new year. I’m not sure how it caught my attention but multiple different sources lead me to check out Methylene Blue. This very interesting compound has been around for over one hundred years but remains medically relevant today.

Of course this is for informational use only and you would be crazy to try anything without the express agreement of your personal healthcare provider. In particular if you have a genetic condition called G6PD deficiency or are taking an antidepressant you should avoid this compound.

Methylene blue (MB) or methylthioninium chloride (quite a mouthful ..try saying that three times fast) is a dye and drug that was first discovered in 1876 by Heinrich Caro and used to stain fabrics including blue jeans. It is a powerful competitive inhibitor of monoamine oxidase activity, especially of MAO-A which is responsible for the breakdown of serotonin. Hence the warning above.

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Aside from its start as a fabric dye it quickly gained use in many l other situations. It’s used to disinfect fish tanks whilst the fish are still swimming in the tank. It is a dye used in some surgeries to differentiate tissues. It is a dye used in staining some microscope slides. It is a tricyclic phenothiazine, approved by the FDA and EMA for the treatment of methemoglobinemia and malaria. Its daughter compounds are chloroquine which is used to treat malaria and hydroxychloroquine which is used as an immunosuppressant in people with certain medical conditions like lupus. It is also used to inactivate viruses in blood products for transfusion, in the presence of UV light and has been used for this reason since 1991. Methylene blue has antiviral , antiparasitic and antibacterial activity and was previously used to treat recurrent bladder infections. Did I mention that methylene blue may be the most effective treatment for cyanide poisoning and is used along with hyperbaric oxygen for carbon dioxide poisoning. It appears to be a direct electron donor in multiple sites in the electron transport chain that the mitochondria use to make energy. Cyanide blocks one of the multiple sites and Methylene Blue overcomes that blockage. That’s how I was introduced to it…based on its effects at the cellular level at sites like cytochrome C oxidase which is further along on the electron transport chain. It appears to re-energize cells that are having trouble with these chains and there are many reasons these chains get into trouble primarily due to the processed foods in your diet and other poisons ingested knowingly or unknowingly. It has the interesting side effect of turning your urine green.

Recently Methylene Blue has been in the news as a possible med to help with covid long haul symptoms. It certainly looks like something to try that has a very low risk profile, especially at the low doses suggested for this in the literature. This drug has an interesting metabolic pattern…low doses do one thing and higher doses do the opposite ..so like in much of medicine..more is not necessarily better. For some general information check out articles like this one in the National Library of Medicine PMC3087269. Don’t just start buying this stuff off the internet without doing some real research because unless its pharmaceutical grade it may very likely contain toxic metals which are no problem when you are dying jeans or staining slides but a real problem for you.

Again ,this column is not intended as medical advice; it’s intended to open conversations about health care and different options and opinions that you are not getting elsewhere. Here’s wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year in 2023 and beyond.

JT BARRY MD

DECEMBER 2022 TABLEHOPPING

Ok, it’s holiday time and I , of course, have some suggestions for you. Not the usual eat better and get more exercise although you could use a dose of that …rather these suggestions are for holiday gift giving. Why not try something different than the usual sweater or that bundt cake. Not sure what to get the person who has everything? Problem solved with this article. Looking for something different to get this year? Read on Garth.

First let me recommend Dr Sheri Rogers monthly newsletter from Prestige Publishing. It’s a health newsletter like no other. Give yourself or a friend a very different perspective on your health. You can get it delivered electronically and it’s very affordable. Want to go a little deeper ? Is it time to reorient that brother of yours? There are three books that will change your mind about everything you thought you knew about vaccines and all of them are convincing reads. Dr Susan Humphries Dissolving Illusions, The Virus and the Vaccine by Deborah Bookchin and Jim Shumacher and Turtles All The Way Down which is edited by O’toole and Holland. Sure this is a controversial topic but what are the holidays for if not for controversy. This would be an especially good read for the medical person in your life.

What to get for the exerciser in your life who has everything? How about blood flow restriction bands which allow you to get the most out of a workout. You don’t need to get the original Kaatsu bands but don’t get the cheapest ones either. My buddy Amazon will kit you up with a lot of choices.

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For the person in your life who loves their dog more than they love you I recommend an Advent calendar meant for dogs. I know it sounds funny but it’s filled with dog treats and dog toys. I saw it at Costo and it will definitely be a winner and get you on Fido or Rex’s good side. The pets don’t even have to be catholic. While you are at Costo get some of their winter socks…these are the most comfortable socks I have ever put on my feet and if you don’t find them when you go it’s because I bought them all. Makes a good stocking stuffer. Make sure you look for the winter ones because they have all kinds of socks but the winter ones are the winners.

Of course the best gift you can give some people is the gift of time together. Stop by Aunt whatsername and sit a spell. Take Uncle whoseitnow for a walk by the canal. Get those old tapes from years ago converted into a format you can watch with the family. Then sit and watch with them. Making memories while watching memories …then go for that walk. Don’t forget the real reason for the season. It’s about Faith and Family and you don’t need a shopping list for either of those!

Until next month….get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD

NOVEMBER 2022 TABLEHOPPING

MISSION NOT IMPOSSIBLE

I am on a mission. A mission to drag you and your medical provider into the 22 Century. There are simple, inexpensive blood tests you should have done that are not getting ordered routinely and they are much more important than your blood type , your cholesterol , your blood glucose etc. The two tests are your insulin level, done fasting, and your omega 3:6 ratio.

Although vital for life, excess insulin is linked to pretty much every inflammatory process in your body from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer to dementia. Those of you who follow Dr Peter Atia know that he believes this is the most important blood test you can do to assess your current health and it’s the best marker to predict your future health. Dr Gundry believes the same thing. Your insulin level will be abnormal years and years before your blood sugar or HAIC ( a marker of diabetic control) levels are abnormal. It’s a simple blood draw and when combined with your blood sugar you can calculate your insulin resistance. The lower your insulin and the lower your insulin resistance the better your health. I do this test all the time on my patients and I never get blowback from the insurance companies .Tell your doctor to use the codes for insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome.

Just as important in my metabolic book is the Omega 3:6 ratio. To grossly oversimplify the Omega 3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA are key ingredients to every cell membrane in the body. The Standard American DIet is so low in these essential fatty acids that we have to supplement if we want to get sufficient levels in our bodies. Anthropologists have speculated that it may be that Homo Sapiens beat out Neadethals because we lived mostly in coastal areas, ate more fish which contain abundant EPA and DHA and therefore grew bigger brains and outcompeted the Neanderthals. I wasn’t there so it’s only a theory but it seems plausible and attests to the importance of these nutrients in the brain and the body. Here is a general reference about the vital role these fatty acids play in our body. PMID=22332096. Just type that number into your search bar and the article will pop up.

So, these essential fatty acids play a critical role in cell membrane function and involve every cell in your body and luckily can be measured by the lab and impacted by our diets and supplementation. Historically , we are supposed to have a one to one ratio of the healthy anti inflammatory omega 3’s to the inflammatory omega 6’s. Omega 6 fats are found in fried food and in almost all the seed oils like canola, corn, sunflower etc. You need both omega 3 and omega 6 but just like a good cake recipe there is the proper ratio for these fatty acids. So ideally we should have a 1:1 ratio but with the modern American diet which is low in Omega 3 and high in Omega 6 many people have a 10:1 ratio or a 20:1 ratio. This altered ratio is a disaster for the function of the cell membranes and therefore for your health. Two proponents of measuring Omega 3 / 6 ratios are Dr Chris Knobbe and Dr Paul Mason both of whom have great Youtube videos on this issue. Dr William Harris is probably the world expert on Omega 3 and he focuses on just the Omega 3 level. Best health outcomes are with an Omega 3 level above 8. Worse health outcomes are with an Omega 3 level of less than 4. In between is a work in progress.

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One of my functions at my office is to work with my Nurse Practitioners to help them understand these fundamental metrics of your health as these are still not really covered in their schooling nor is it really covered in medical school. I have shared with them articles that detail the importance of Omega 3’s and the right ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. This article focuses on the Omega 3 levels and risk for heart disease. The lower the Omega 3 level the higher the risk for heart disease. PMID =20551373.

This article discusses a correlation between the Omega 3 level and Telomere length. Telomeres are found at the ends of your chromosomes and the longer the telomere the longer your life expectancy. Higher Omega 3 levels are associated with longer Telomere length. PMID= 35189049. This article correlates Omega 3 levels with brain MRI scans showing inflammatory changes. The higher the Omega 3 levels the less inflammation of the brain. Inflammation equals dementia. PMID = .22371413.

Finally here is an article that evaluates the Omega 3 levels in 42,400 patients. The higher the Omega 3 the lower the all cause mortality. That’s all cause mortality and it’s pretty impressive. PMID=33888689.

So, work with your provider to get these labs ordered. You can follow your Omega 3 level, you can follow your Omega 3:6 ratio and you can follow your insulin and insulin resistance. These are vital signs for your metabolic status. These are not expensive labs and I use them over and over to measure whether patients are working on their diets. It’s not just about measuring your weight.

Ok, I have told you that Omega 3 is good and high insulin levels are bad. Let me translate that for you. Lower your carbohydrates to lower your insulin. To improve your Omega 3:6 ratio stop using most commercial salad dressings and cut down the fried food. As importantly, to improve your Omega 3 level, get more fish and nuts in your diet. However, if you want to get your Omega 3 level really in the right range you need to supplement with fish oil , krill oil or my favorite….Carlson’s Lab Cod Liver Oil in Glass with Lemon Flavor. This is not your grandma’s cod liver oil. This is really quite palatable and will greatly improve your Omega 3 level and your Omega 3:6 ratio. Try it for yourself and see. Get your numbers measured. Take action and remeasure.

This isn’t just about improving numbers on a piece of paper. I am convinced that if you lower your insulin level and raise your Omega 3 level you will feel better. Why not see for yourself?

Until next month….get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD

OCTOBER 2022 TABLEHOPPING

I wrote about sodium several months ago but because I continue to see a low salt diet mentioned in every consult note I get from other doctors and even in my own literature we give out to patients I am compelled to bring even more evidence that limiting your salt intake is not the most important component to improve your health. I happen to think that if you take diuretics to lower your blood pressure or if you sweat a lot via activity or sauna that you should replace your lost electrolytes. That’s not very controversial. Luckily, you can have the major electrolytes measured anytime you want. Unluckily , the measurement reflects plasma levels of the electrolytes not the true total body amount but it’s better than nothing.

I reviewed three articles that point out that low-sodium intakes are not associated with lower blood pressure . The first study was the Framingham Offspring study. Framingham is the longest and largest longitudinal study ever done in America …….Their conclusion from following 2362 adults aged 30-64 was

“Sodium intake was not associated with CVD risk within the range of intakes generally consumed by these participants. In contrast, higher intakes of both potassium and magnesium were inversely associated with risk of CVD.” See the details here.

https://academic.oup.com/cdn/article/4/Supplement_2/1476/5845928

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The next nail in the sodium is bad for you coffin comes from this study PMID: 33314019 “Effects of low sodium diet vs. high sodium diet on blood pressure reading aldosterone catecholamines cholesterol triglyceride” In this study the differences in blood pressure between the groups were minuscule, not tiny, miniscule. Their exact number was ,in white participants, sodium reduction resulted in mean arterial pressure reduction of 0.4 mL of Mercury and 4 mm of mercury in people with hypertension. So if your blood pressure is 200/100 and you adopt a low sodium diet you will now have 196/98. Is that going to prevent a stroke or heart attack? As the authors conclude there is “weak evidence indicates these effects may be a little greater and black and Asian people”. They further point out that the effect of sodium reduction on potential side effects or among the lipids were more consistent than the effect on blood pressure.”
Translation = the negative side effects were more consistent than the benefits. Yes, there are dangers to a low sodium diet see August 2022 Tablehopping for that run through.

Next up is a study called INTERSALT…an International study of electrolyte excretion in blood pressure results for 24 hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion. Type PMID: 3416162 into your browser to be brought directly to the study.

In this large study body mass index and heavy alcohol intake has a strong significant independent relationship with blood pressure in individual subjects The INTERSALT group studied 10,079 men and women aged 20 to 60 from 52 centers around the world. The results are a bit dense “Sodium excretion ranged from 0.2 mmol/24 h (Yanomamo Indians, Brazil) to 242 mmol/24 h (north China). In individual subjects (within centres) it was significantly related to blood pressure. Four centres found very low sodium excretion, low blood pressure, and little or no upward slope of blood pressure with age. Across the other 48 centres sodium was significantly related to the slope of blood pressure with age but not to median blood pressure or prevalence of high blood pressure. Potassium excretion was negatively correlated with blood pressure in individual subjects after adjustment for confounding variables. Across centres there was no consistent association. Bottom line is the last line…across centres there was no consistent association between salt excretion and blood pressure. Salt excretion is a measure of salt intake. Different slants in this study have been used by both sides of the argument and if that’s possible that means the argument for salt restriction cant be that compelling.

Finally , from the Cochrane Review , a respected independent reviewer of the medical literature…..after collating all available data they concluded…..”Despite collating more event data than previous systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials, there is insufficient power to confirm clinically important effects of dietary advice and salt substitution on cardiovascular mortality in normotensive or hypertensive populations.”

If you want to lower your blood pressure, the science says lose weight and stop drinking heavily, add more potassium and magnesium to your diet and cut the carbs and you will have better health and a lower risk for heart disease and stroke. The easiest intervention is to get “lite” salt or “lo-salt” which replaces some of the sodium with potassium . The addition of the potassium is much more important than taking the sodium away. Of course check with your doctor blah blah….but don’t feel so guilty putting that salt on the corn on the cob.

Until next month …get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD

SEPTEMBER 2022 OF TABLE HOPPING

There are a lot of ways to measure your health. Your blood pressure, your heart rate, your blood sugar etc are all metrics of health which you can track easily. There is another marker …heart rate variability which also gives you important information about your overall health. Your heart rate is easy to measure…just feel for your pulse and count the number of beats in 60 seconds and you have the heart rate. Heart rate variability is different. It requires a device like an EKG machine, or an Oura Ring or Whoop to measure it accurately.

There are technically a number of different ways to measure HRV but it’s easiest to use a device like the Oara ring , Whoop or any modern device that measures heart rate should be able to give you a Heart Rate Variability measure.

Typically, high heart rate variability is a good thing. Think of it this way….two people can have the same heart rate …lets pick 60 beats per minute ….but one has a frisky heart and one has a dull plodding heart….the frisky/ healthy heart beats just a little early sometimes and a little late at other times all the while maintaining the 60 beats per minute overall. The dull plodding / less healthy heart keeps a steady beat..never early …never late. You would think that being regular would be a good thing for the heart….but a healthier heart is a more variable heart.

As expected, things that improve your overall health improve your heart rate variability and you can use this measure as an independent analysis of your health on an ongoing basis. So, better sleep, more exercise, better diet , and less stress all improve heart rate variability. Heart rate varies more in some people than in others and there is day to day variation so it’s very popular to use night time readings to get a more reproducible and trackable number.

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So heart rate variability reflects overall health. Although affected by diet, exercise, sleep, alcohol etc, the main determinant of the heart rate variability is the balance between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic system is known as the fight or flight reaction and the parasympathetic system is known as the rest and digest reaction. The sympathetic system uses adrenaline to increase the heart rate and the parasympathetic system uses acetylcholine to decrease heart rate and the balance determines both heart rate and heart rate variability.

We are supposed to live in harmony with nature with a balance between the two symptoms but most of us are out of balance with too much sympathetic tone. You can try to restore this balance with exercise ,yoga, deep breathing exercises (see Wim Hof ) sauna, meditation , and cold immersion. Interestingly enough, heavy exercise lowers heart rate variability before it ultimately raises heart rate variability.

Since the vast majority of people have too much sympathetic tone and not enough parasympathetic tone….too stressed out and not enough relaxed we focus on the most basic tools to balance the two which are breathing exercises. Slow, controlled nasal breathing is a great technique to balance the two sides and improve your heart rate variability. So you can immediately improve your health by using simple breathing exercises…what could be easier than that.

Of course this is America so creative people have come up with various devices to help us….Heartmap.com has an interesting combination of a device and smartphone app that helps you increase your parasympathetic tone via controlled breath exercises… There is an interesting device that claims it uses vibration you can’t really feel to improve your heart rate variability. Have not tried it yet but it’s available at https://apolloneuro.com/.

Don’t you find it fascinating that we are measuring a heart derived number to tell us about our autonomic nervous system? Isn’t it great that we can affect our different systems with simple interventions ? The interplay between the systems never ceases to fascinate me. HRV is just one more measure you can easily and safely use to access and improve your health. Until next month…get well and stay well.

JT BARRY MD

JULY 2022 TABLEHOPPING ARTICLE

Magnesium is the stuff of life. I guess you can say that about all the elements really because without them it would be a different universe but Magnesium in particular holds a special place in the heart of modern nutritionists and health care providers because of its protean effects on the body human. Magnesium deficiency is serious but underdiagnosed because the most severe consequences…ie death, are rarely blamed on an electrolyte abnormality.

The same researchers that say magnesium deficiency is rarely apparent clinically will also admit that 75% of Americans are not getting enough from their diet. It would be great to get all the Magnesium you need from your diet but studies have shown this is unlikely .America’s foremost expert on magnesium if not the world expert on magnesium is Dr Thomas Levy who’s also been extensively on vitamin C and on Calcium the former being beneficial and the latter not so much.

Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC

Magnesium is easy to measure in the blood but unfortunately the vast majority of magnesium is not in the blood it’s in the cells and in the mitochondria. You can have a normal serum magnesium level and still have magnesium depletion. Experts say you really should check the red blood cell magnesium level to get a more accurate number but even that doesn’t reflect the true magnesium level. There is only one place to get a cellular magnesium level tested in America and unfortunately New York state does not allow that testing. For reasons that continue to baffle me, New York state does not allow a lot of major laboratories to do business in New York. These companies are attempting to provide Health insights that are not available from companies currently practicing in New York state. I have written repeatedly to the Department of Health questioning the policy and asking them to remove these hindrances and allow me to order tests from certified Labs that are important to my patients but so far the Silence has been deafening. I guess they are busy with other issues but you would think at least a bug off letter and response would be appropriate.

Many patients are on diuretics for their blood pressure and many others are on proton pump inhibitors for indigestion and many patients are on both. These medications are chief causes of hypomagnesemia. Low magnesium can have protean manifestations including weakness, poor sleep, numbness, nausea, muscle twitching or cramps, and even personality changes. Eventually when the magnesium level gets low enough you get irregular heartbeats and finally cardiac arrest.

Why is this element so important? Magnesium is the second most abundant cation, that is, positively charged ions, inside the cells of the body after potassium. It’s an essential cofactor for hundreds of critical enzymes and is known to be involved in roughly 80% of all known metabolic functions in the body. Not impressed yet ? It has been found to be critical for the metabolism of ADP which is one of the energy generating systems in each cell. It’s also required for protein DNA and RNA synthesis as well as for the synthesis of fatty acids and the conversion of vitamin D into its active form in the body. Magnesium may also play a critical role in the production of glutathione, the most important and most concentrated antioxidant inside the cells. inside the cell magnesium works to keep sodium and calcium levels lower and potassium levels higher. At the cellular level calcium is dangerous…when cells die they usually due so because they are flooded with calcium. Excess calcium intake has been associated with higher all-cause mortality. Magnesium is an intracellular calcium channel blocker and you recognize the term because so many blood pressure meds are calcium channel blockers. So magnesium , a natural substance, does the same thing those prescription drugs do.

Studies have shown that deaths from all causes jump 40% in subjects with the serum magnesium below 0.73 millimoles per liter which is found in about 25% of the population. As Dr Levy points out, randomized double-blind clinical trials have shown that magnesium supplementation is an effective treatment for metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, higher dietary intake of magnesium was associated with reduced cardiovascular mortality in a large Japanese study and a similar result was seen in the Hawaiian study with a 30-year follow-up. A study was able to demonstrate that increasing dietary magnesium intake was significantly associated with reduced risk of heart failure and stroke diabetes and all-cause mortality.

Likewise magnesium plays an important role in both increasing and sustaining higher free plasma testosterone levels. Testosterone also increases cortisol levels and Vitamin D also appears to have an independent linear linear association with free testosterone.

Now there are many different forms of magnesium supplements. The only one I don’t recommend is Magnesium Oxide because it’s so poorly absorbed. Liposomal magnesium probably has the best absorption but you have other options including magnesium citrate which also helps with insomnia and constipation. Magnesium sulfate also called epsom salts is great for baths and you can absorb magnesium through your

skin that way. Magnesium taurate is easier on the bowels and the taurine is important for eye health. Magnesium gluconate is also very well absorbed and also has properties that chelates heavy metals like calcium iron and copper. Magnesium chloride has anti infective properties. Magnesium glycinate is well absorbed and the glycine is a component of glutathione which is also used in synthesis of collagen and creatine. Magnesium threonate is best at crossing the blood brain barrier. If you are trying to use magnesium to lower your blood pressure your best bet is the liposomal magnesium. Liposomal means the magnesium is inside a fat globule which greatly increases its absorption.

Obviously I think Magnesium is very important but, of course, you should do nothing without checking with your healthcare provider. Unless your level is high (which, I can tell you from reviewing thousands of samples, is very rare) you should consider trying some supplement and see how you feel and how it affects your health. This is especially important if you are taking a water pill (diuretic) for your blood pressure which many people do and if you are one of those people who treat your indigestion with drugs like prilosec, aciphex, protonix etc. Many people whom I have recommended Magnesium supplementation to have reported feeling better in many different ways. Why not give it a try and see for yourself. There’s that N of 1 experiment I keep referring to. Until next month…..get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD

JUNE 2022 TABLEHOPPING

PEMF

Recently , because several different patients have been urging me to investigate it, I have gotten into energy medicine. Unfortunately , there is little information in the conventional medicine world that deals with anything but how to treat problems with pills because ..that’s where the money is. Nonetheless, there is real science there and if it can help patients we should be familiar with the topic. The Hindus around 4000 BC used magnetized stones called lodestones to treat illness. The Chinese around 2000 BC had protocols for using lodestones on acupuncture points. Cleopatra was said to have worn magnetic jewelry (lodestones)to prevent aging. Hippocrates , in Greece, was known to use magnets for pain . More recently, the Russians have been using electric devices for decades to promote healing and health.

Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLCOne of the earliest scientific accounts of using magnets is found in the book De Magnete,written in 1600 by William Gilbert, the personal physician of the English Queen. This natural philosopher used “lode stones” to treat a variety of health problems of ordinary British citizens and even the Queen of England. Contemporary magnet therapy began in Japan immediately after World War II by introducing both magnetic and electromagnetic fields in clinical practice. This modality quickly moved to Europe, first in Romania and the former Soviet Union. During the period of 1960–1985, nearly all European countries designed and manufactured their own magnetic therapeutic systems which utilized various waveshapes. In fact , the first book on magnet therapy, written by Todorov, was published in Bulgaria in 1982 summarizing the experience of utilizing magnetic fields for treatment of 2,700 patients having 33 different pathologies.

It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Americans Drs. Andrew Bassett and Arthur Pilla created a noninvasive PEMF device that succeeded in healing a non-union fracture..The 1980s also saw the introduction of the first FDA-approved PEMF system, intended for use as a bone stimulator to treat nonunion fractures. The seminal book “Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life” was published in 1986 by Dr. Robert Becker and Gary Selden. This book is important because it was one of the first descriptions of the body as an electromagnetic apparatus and therefore very susceptible to magnetic field therapies Since then thousands of studies using many different devices have shown that electromagnetic fields can have a profound effect on cellular health and as we and fond of saying cellular and mitochondrial health IS health.

Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC
Preventive Medicine Associates, PLLC

For a long list of scientific articles about the benefits of emf fields you can check out DrPawluk.com. Dr William Pawluk is an American physician who probably has the most experience with emf generators of all kinds. For those of you skeptical about how emf fields can affect the body you need only look at your iphone. Your iphones battery can be recharged by putting it on a mat that emits an emf field. So too can your body’s batteries be recharged by placing it on a mat that emits the appropriate frequencies, intensities and waveform. We know that emf fields in our environment have the potential to harm us. Why would you doubt that emf fields therefore have the potential to heal us.

Need more? Of course you do …let’s get down to basic science. As taken directly from Dr Pawluks website…..All matter is made up of moving particles. Forces exist in space around these moving particles. These forces are magnetic fields. By definition force is an interaction that changes the motion of an object. An electric field is the force field created by the flow of electricity caused by attraction and repulsion of electric charges. A magnetic field is a force field created as a consequence of the flow of electricity. Electric fields and magnetic fields always exist together. One cannot exist without the other. An electromagnetic field, then, is the combination of an electric field and a magnetic field. Our bodies are fundamentally electric. When a person goes into cardiac arrest, for example, a defibrillator is used to apply electric energy to the heart so that they can re-establish a normal rhythm. So, the electricity flowing through our bodies creates electromagnetic fields. External magnetic fields and the bodies native electromagnetic fields interact in proportion to the strength of the fields. Because of these interactions a magnetic field passing through the body will have an effect on the cellular level. Electric and magnetic fields control our chemistry by changing and influencing the motion of charged particles. This movement stimulates a vast array of chemical and electrical actions and tissues helping them rebalance or heal themselves where necessary. Additionally this increased motion of ions and electrolytes help cells increase surveillance energy by as much as 500%.Magnetic fields affect the charge of the cell membranes, rebalancing it so that the membrane channels can open up. These channels are like the doors and windows of a house, by opening them oxygen and nutrients are better able to enter the cell and carbon dioxide and waste are more easily eliminated from the cell. This helps to balance and restore optimum cell function. Electromagnetic fields affect the charge of the cell membrane. This is the basis for a magnetic field therapy, perfecting and improving basic cellular function in order to combat a variety of health conditions and when possible prevent cellular damage from happening in the first place. Still skeptical? Here’s an article about the benefits of emf therapy from our own SUNY Upstate Medical University.

A PULSING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD PROMOTES THE DIFFERENTIATION OF OSTEOBLASTS (MC3T3) AT LOW CELL DENSITY IN VITRO. *Button, C; +**Spadaro, JA; **Margulies, B S; **Allen, M J; **Wang, Y; **Damron, T A; *Dept. of Neuroscience and Physiology, **Department of Orthopedic Surgery, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Believing in this technology I bought a PEMF machine for my patients to use in the office. My plan is to measure patients phase angle and their arterial flexibility and see if it changes before and after a treatment. I will also be offering it to my patients with acute and chronic pain to see if it helps. It’s not covered by insurance so your doctor will have nothing to do with it. But, there are PEMF machines available in Syracuse to use but you have to do the internet legwork on your own. If I found the guy in Liverpool you can too.

PEMF is not a cure all. But, if you have chronic pain or feel low energy why not give this very safe modality a try? PEMF is not recommended for use in infants under 2 weeks, pregnant women and patients with implantable devices like pacemakers, defibrillators and pain stimulators. This is by no means new technology but it’s new to me and I am eager to check out its potential. Until next month….get well and stay well

JT BARRY MD