Filed under FAQ …
The Cardio ION Nutritional Test
Finally something new and exciting to talk about. Well it’s not actually new but its new to New York State. There is a company in Georgia that has been in business for over 20 years doing nutritional analysis and finally they have gotten clearance to do business in New York and that’s big news because this analysis could be fundamental to figuring out what’s wrong with you.
I do a lot of blood work … its one of the most important ways to access what’s wrong with you. We doctors check your thyroid, your Vitamin D, your liver and kidney function, your cholesterol etc. … but we have never before had the option to check your health at the cellular level. Never before could we check your amino acid levels, your toxins like aluminum, cadmium, mercury, lead, your omega 3’s, omega 6’s, oxidative stress, cell membrane components etc. all in one test.
Think of it this way. Your cells, the cells that make up your body —wherein all the chemical processes that keep you alive take place— are swimming in a pool of nutrients and chemicals. The question is … are your cells swimming in Skaneateles lake or are they swimming in Onondaga lake? Now for the first time we can actually measure these chemicals.
Your doctor knows about essential amino acids. Your doctor certainly knows about vitamins. Your doctor knows about chemical processes like the Krebs cycle. We all studied these pathways and processes. What we have not done is actually measure these nutrients in your body. We can now. We know the chemical components of these pathways. We know the composition of the cell walls and the mitochondria … but we have never before been able to see if your components are the right ones and the right amount. We can now. We can compare your own unique “recipe” with the gold standard “recipe” and the great thing is that we can adjust your recipe with changes of diet and use of selected supplements tailored to your specific deficiencies to approach the gold standard and when your recipe approaches the gold standard your health improves.
It’s really like a chemistry class. There are millions of chemical reactions taking place in your body continuously. Every chemist knows it is critical to have the right amount of the right ingredients to get a good product. Just ask Mr. White in Breaking Bad. Finally your doctor can order a test that tells us if you have the right amount of the right substrates for building health in your body.
How many people with chronic fatigue, malaise, or other chronic illness have been to doctor after doctor and found nothing actionable. “It’s your genes” or “it’s depression” or “its all in your head” are common rationale for not finding the cause of your illness. What if the real cause for your illness is some deficiency? Why not measure the measurable things and find out?
There are two issues with this testing which is called Cardio-Ion test and its offered by Genova Diagnostics in California. The first issue is that it’s not a cheap test. -But neither is an MRI or a Cat Scan. The cost varies depending on your insurance and deductible etc. With no insurance the cost is around $500 dollars. As of 3/19/2019 there were only 5 doctors ordering this test in New York. As I said it’s been around for over 20 years but only available in NYS since 2018. As one of the five current doctors ordering the test in New York I am still trying to get a firm price for my patients but you don’t have to come to me or one of the other doctors. Your own doctor can sign up to order the test. There is no charge to open an account or onerous paperwork to do so it’s not that hard for your health care provider to get set up to do this test.
The second issue is that the test is so specific, so detailed, that it will take your doctor some real effort to learn how to interpret it. The 11 page report measures the standard items like total cholesterol triglycerides etc. but also measures ferritin fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, insulin, testosterone, magnesium, homocysteine coenzyme Q10, 2 different measures of your vitamin E, limiting amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, essential amino acids, neurotransmitters and precursors, urea cycle and ammonia detoxification, aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, zinc, copper, selenium, lipid peroxidase, DNA oxidative stress markers, polyunsaturated omega-3, omega-6, monounsaturated fats, saturated fats, and nutrient markers. It also measures cell-regulation markers, toxicants and detoxification and compounds related to bacterial or yeast/fungal origin. How’s that for a list!!?! So your doctor understands all these components but has never had to review them in this way so be patient with them. I was introduced to this test by Dr. Sheri Rogers and I actually pay her to help me interpret the results. Once I have done enough tests I will be qualified on my own but I have been impressed with how much information you can extract from this test. Dr. Rogers —like Dr. Gundry— believes that food, the right food, is critical to your health and they both believe that supplements are necessary to achieve the right “recipe” -(in part because we live in such a processed, inorganic world). These two experts from vastly different experiences and very different geographical locations both believe that only through lab tests can we really know the correctness of your “recipe” so to speak.
Do your own research. It’s your health and wellness after all. I think this testing will become standard practice as more and more doctors become familiar with it. The more exact science we can bring to bear on your health the better.
Until next month … get well and stay well.
The Problem With Pot
Everybody and their brother is talking about the benefits of marijuana. According to cbdatwork.com recreational marijuana will be legalized in 2019 in New York State. Canada to the North of us and Massachusetts to the East have both fully legalized marijuana so it appears just a matter of time before its legal and available in New York State. Here’s an interesting bit of trivia … What was the first country in the world to legalize marijuana? The answer is a country in South America called Uruguay.
Let’s start with the very popular CBD oil. CBD oil is a legal derivative of the hemp plant that has some of the benefits of marijuana without the high. You can get CBD oil from well established outlets like Charlotte’s Web in Colorado … they even have dosing for your pets. Or you can get CBD oil from the local gas station and many places in between. The people selling CBD oil claim that it can help or cure many ailments … from insomnia, chronic pain, dyspepsia, arthritis, and chronic fatigue to name a few. I think CBD oil can help some people some of the time so I am all for trying it instead of more toxic drugs that your doctor or healthcare provider might prescribe. Benefits may be exaggerated but the likelihood of serious adverse reaction is low so the risk benefit ratio favors giving it a try.
Now medical marijuana has been legal for over a year now in New York State and it looks like recreational marijuana is on the horizon. I believe that marijuana is much safer than cigarette smoking and I believe marijuana is far safer than alcohol but that doesn’t mean is completely safe. All of the above, cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol and much more should be restricted from children. Most adults won’t be seriously harmed by pot. They might have issues with lack of motivation and concentration but there doesn’t appear to be a significant risk of lung disease, cancer, etc. with recreational use. Marijuana is touted as a treatment for chronic pain and insomnia, and the supposition is that people taking marijuana can and will take less sleeping pills and narcotics. Unfortunately, the literature and my personal experience as a Medical Marijuana Prescriber have not found that to be the case. Hey, even if it doesn’t cut down other med use, if it improves the quality of your life it’s a reasonable option to try. It’s no panacea but it’s also not opening up Pandora’s box.
However, one type of patient should probably avoid marijuana —medical or otherwise— those with a pre-existing mental illness … like depression, paranoia and schizophrenia. Research done by Alex Berenson has looked into the use of marijuana by people that are mentally ill. As you may be aware the THC content of marijuana has jumped from the historical norm of 2-3 % to over 20% from the modern cultivars. This increased potency can take a toll on patients with underlying serious mental illnesses. A January 2018 paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that people using cannabis in 2001 were almost 3 times as likely to use opioids 3 years later even after adjusting for other potential risks. Furthermore, studies have shown that people with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent under the influence of marijuana. Quoting Alex Berenson directly “Teenagers who smoke marijuana regularly are about three times as likely to develop schizophrenia, the most devastating psychotic disorder.” And, after an exhaustive review, the National Academy of Medicine found in 2017 that “cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk.” There’s a lot more info about the connection between pot and mental illness elaborated in Berenson’s new book Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence.
Now I am not into fear mongering but I am also not into the overhyping that accompanies any new drug or treatment. I guess that makes me a goldilocks guy … the middle road seems safest to me. Again, I don’t think marijuana is a cure all but it’s also not the work of the antichrist. -Caution should be used in patients with psychiatric issues.
Until next month … get well and stay well.
Protein shakes and Paleo Diets
Protein shakes and paleo diets are all the rage right now but I’ve got to ring a cautionary note (if I may) regarding the excess protein in most Americans diets. My argument against excessive protein will be made both epidemiologically and scientifically. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with protein but when it’s mostly animal-based protein vs. plant-based protein it’s more inflammatory and when I say more inflammatory I’m referring primarily but not exclusively to Insulin-like growth factor-1. IGF-1, like insulin itself, is designed to inflame you and induce growth. Unfortunately for most of us the growth is in belly fat and cancer and diabetes and this is not the right direction for your health.
You need protein. Protein is an essential building block of nutrition. Unfortunately when you eat more protein than your body needs it gets converted into sugar and then into fat. There is no significant way to store protein as energy. Your body stores energy as glycogen … a quick storage form and fat … the long term storage form of energy. This is simple biochemistry. You need fat in your diet. -Your brain is 60% composed of fat. How can cholesterol be evil and the cause of death dismemberment and destruction if we make cholesterol every day and people with a genetic deficiency where they can’t make cholesterol don’t live long. So you need protein and you need fat in your diet but too much of either is not a good thing.
Many people are starting to understand that the high carb diet recommended by the American Heart Association is dead wrong and in their effort to decrease the carbs they turn to protein (i.e. the paleo diet) which is low carb and high protein. You can lose weight on this diet, no problem, because you have eliminated sugar and thereby lowered Insulin which is the key to weight loss. So you can lose weight on a high protein diet but it may not be healthy for you in the long run. Too much protein can lead to weight gain, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
Science wise, we have discovered mTOR … which is mammalian target of Rapamycin. This protein kinase is the ultimate controller of growth and destruction at the cellular level. High mTOR is important when you are a child and promotes growth but when mTOR is high in adults it promotes cancer etc. Excessive protein in the diet can stimulate mTOR. This excess protein is typically animal based which is high in methionine, an amino acid which directly stimulates mTOR. There is speculation that caloric restriction which has been shown to prolong longevity probably does so because of the restriction in methionine.
Let’s look at an epidemiologic study on protein in the diet. In 2016, researchers reviewed protein intakes of more than 131,000 women and men from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. After tracking their diets for up to 32 years, the authors found that a higher intake of red meat, especially processed versions (sausage, bacon, hot dogs, salami), was linked to a modestly higher risk of death, while a higher protein intake from plant foods carried a lower risk. This is a large study done for a long time in a population we are familiar with so it has to be taken seriously.
Broadly there are multiple reasons that more than a little red meat is bad for you.
#1 There is an increased cancer risk … primarily of colon and rectal cancer but also in premenopausal breast cancer. I am not a vegetarian but that group has a 40% reduction in cancer compared with us omnivores. Processing or cooking meat produces compounds known to be carcinogenic including heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
#2 Meat consumption increases risk of heart disease and diabetes. As third world countries adopt a western diet … meaning more processed food and more meat… their risk of heart disease and diabetes increases.
#3 Eating meat increases risk of obesity. Cultures around the world with the greatest meat intake also have higher rates of obesity and this gets back to the fact that excess protein is turned into sugar and then into fat in the body.
#4 Meat represents the highest risk for foodborne illness. Sure romaine lettuce has taken a beating recently but it pales in risk compared to salmonella etc.
#5 Meat eaters have more atherosclerosis and this has an effect on their sexual performance and vegetarians have been shown to have better sperm quantity and quality. Maybe the hormones in the meat affect your sex life as well.
#6 It is estimated that 60 percent of all antibiotics sold in America make it into our livestock and this poses risks to all of us in terms of antibiotic resistant organisms etc.
We probably need half the protein we have been told we need. The old rule is 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of ideal body weight. So a 170 pound man weighs 77 kilogram and that means 70 grams of protein in the diet. The new understanding of protein metabolism says we need only one half that amount. If you are going to eat meat your daily portion should be smaller than a deck of cards.
Whey protein is made from dairy source and still as IGF-1 in it and is therefore not the best protein source. Pea proteins are better but still may be inflammatory for lectin reasons. Horses, the Great Apes and Elephants never touch animal protein and look how well muscled they are. I recommend if you really want to have a protein shake that you try hemp seed, flaxseed and spirulina as good sources of non inflammatory protein.
Until next month … get well … stay well.
Holiday Gift Suggestions
Instead of harping on your usual holiday behavior of stuffing your face with whatever you want and using the excuse … ”its the holidays!,” I have decided to give you some gift suggestions that will improve the health of anyone you get the gifts for.
Let’s start with some reading material for those few of you and your friends that still read books. Of course there are YouTube versions of all these authors for those of you who have given up on reading. For me there is nothing like the print version that I can dog ear, markup and review again but I know the idea of a buying a physical book is fading like the memory of most 90 year olds.
First is a magnificent book on vaccines by Dr. Suzanne Humphries entitled Dissolving Illusions. I too thought that vaccines had saved more lives than any medication but after reading this book, and others, I now have a different view and so will you! Dr. Humphries was a practicing nephrologist (kidney specialist) when she started to investigate why her very sick patients were being given flu shots routinely when hospitalized and that changed her life forever. The book is not about her … the book is about the science and history of vaccination.
Second is another book by a nephrologist but this one focuses on diet. Dr. Jason Fung wrote Intermittent Fasting after watching one too many diabetic patients end up on dialysis after pill after pill did nothing to affect their disease progression. Other longevity specialists call it time limited eating but the basic idea is there is nothing easier or more straightforward than fasting to improve your health. Gluten issues? Try fasting. Money issues? Try fasting. Food allergies? Try fasting. Limited food choices? Try fasting. Fasting has been used for thousands of years to lose weight and improve your health. Dr. Fung lays out the when, where and whys in a very straightforward and simple manner. This book is not just for diabetics either. Anyone who has an interest in improving their health, their immune system, their mitochondria, etc. will benefit from this book.
Two other books I highly recommend are Dr. Thomas Levy’s Death by Calcium where he lays out the real cause of osteoporosis and details how dangerous calcium supplementation (other than through diet) may actually be. This book is not about his opinions … it is a scientific exploration of the actual effects of calcium in your body. If calcium supplements are as good for you as your health professional urges … why are drugs that block their effect so beneficial in dealing with hypertension and heart disease? The final book I recommend is by the great Dr. Robert Lustig who wrote The Hacking of the American Mind which lays out exactly why so many of us are addicted and depressed. It’s a fabulous read which will leave you very worried about the current health situation and future generations as well. We are doomed if we keep going down our current path but he lays out simple easy steps to reverse course.
For those of you less erudite let me recommend that instead of another sweater you consider a gift certificate this year … not to Dicks or Destiny … not that there’s anything wrong with that but what about a gift certificate for a massage for someone who works out all the time. A certificate for an hypnosis or acupuncture session for the person you love that still smokes or is in chronic pain. -That may be the gift that keeps on giving!
Finally, give the gift of time and yourself … spend some time volunteering … spend some time in the nursing home … spend some time with your wife … your kids … your aunt Em. Take someone you care about but don’t see that often to a show. Check out the great Desantis at the Palace show Sunday December 9th. Fabulous orchestra, great venue, local singing talent, holiday tunes and fresh popcorn. -How can you go wrong with that?!
Until next month … get well … stay well. Merry Christmas and God bless us every one!
Butter Is Back Baby
I am not controversial by nature or training but I can’t run from a fight either. It pains me greatly when I read that the American Heart Association still, to this day, in spite of all the published and well researched information is still telling people to avoid saturated fats. Despite a mountain of evidence their recommendations about diet have not changed and they still recommend corn oil and canola oil. Forget “I cant believe its not butter.” I cant believe an organization entrusted with your health would continue to give out terrible advice … advice not based on science or research.
If I am going to take on the AHA I have to come correct as we say in the hood. First I would tell you to check out YouTube videos by Nina Teicholz who has written extensively about this and her book The Big Fat Surprise is quite the read. I am not going to talk about my 30 years experience as a primary care doctor. I am not going to give my my opinion, I am not going to bring you my personal research. -I am going to share with you the obvious research that your own doctor should know … research that has been widely published and widely reported but ignored because it departs from the party line. Fat bad … clogs the arteries … carbs good … get most of your calories from that source. -Saturated fats very bad avoid at all cost. All of this is wrong. Let’s start with the basic fact that saturated fat is found aplenty in breast milk and we know how toxic that substance is!
The largest and latest study to look at high carb versus high fat diet called the PURE study demonstrated that high carb diets were bad for your health and high fat diets were good for your health. Another study PREVIMED also showed that high fat diets like the Mediterranean diet were much healthier than the standard high carb American diet. But those two individual studies are not enough to convince you so lets tally a little more evidence with 5 separate studies.
Let’s start with Hooper L, et al. Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease – Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 2015. The Cochrane Database is considered one of the finest independent panels to review medical issues. This study involved 15 randomized controlled trials with over 59,000 participants. The conclusion was that “People who reduced their saturated fat intake were just as likely to die, or get heart attacks or strokes, compared to those who ate more saturated fat”.
Next up is a study by De Souza RJ, et al. entitled Intake of saturated and trans unsaturated fatty acids and risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies – BMJ, 2015. The British Medical Journal is not some obscure publication. The data included 73 studies, with 90,500–339,000 participants for each endpoint. Their conclusion: People who consumed more saturated fat were not more likely to experience heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or death from any cause, compared to those who ate less saturated fat.
Next up is a study by Siri-Tarino PW, et al. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease – American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010. The studies included a total of 347,747 participants, who were followed for 5–23 years. Conclusion: This study did not find any association between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease.
Then we have the much published Dr Chowdhury R, et al. Association of dietary, circulating, and supplement fatty acids with coronary risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Annals of Internal Medicine Journal, 2014. The Annals is also another mainstream medical publication. The study included 49 observational studies with more than 550,000 participants, as well as 27 randomized controlled trials with more than 100,000 participants. Conclusion: People with higher saturated fat intake were not at an increased risk of heart disease or sudden death.
Finally, we have Schwab U, et al. Effect of the amount and type of dietary fat on risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer: a systematic review – Food and Nutrition Research, 2014. Participants included both people who were healthy and those with risk factors. This review included 607 studies; randomized controlled trials, prospective cohort studies and nested case-control studies. Results: Consuming saturated fat was not linked with an increased risk of heart disease or an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
What does this all mean to you? The very simple take away message is that butter and olive oil, avocado and coconut oil are very good for you and corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and all the other processed oils etc. are bad for you. Since they are not saturated they are MORE liable to be oxidized than the saturated fats … and oxidation is bad for you. It’s not about your cholesterol level it’s about how oxidized your cholesterol is and that is controlled by your diet. The second take home message is that any oil in any frier in any restaurant is bad for you because the chemicals that are created when you heat these oils are super bad for you but that’s another article right there. Google it in the meantime.
It’s time again to challenge your health care provider … what are their recommendations about saturated fats? … are they following the party line? That’s easy but it’s wrong. What evidence do they have besides the unsupportable recommendations of the AHA? Look into who funds the AHA if you want to see why they haven’t updated their recommendations. Do your own research. … Its your health after all and what’s more important than your health? Sure there is some crazy stuff on the internet but its a powerful tool and available to everyone. It’s way past time to just trust your doctor. Partner with your health care provider to focus on your wellness. … Look past your illness and regain your wellness … more on this topic next month.
Until then … get well … stay well.
SEPTEMBER 2018 TABLEHOPPING ARTICLE
Failure…biggest loser… double failure if you want to be technically accurate. I don’t think I brag about my successes ( maybe I just haven’t had that many ) but I am not afraid to share my failures. If you are looking for some hard core medical advice …skip this column..this is an article about my recent experiences. I share them for one reason , if you get to know me better you may actually start to trust my advice . I take some alternative views to dairy, vaccines, statins, and in general our medication oriented practice of medicine. . Of course I don’t really want you to trust me…I want to serve as an instigation into your own research. Its your health, it’s your life…don’t you want to make informed choices? Well here’s two recent examples of my personal failure . Know me better and perhaps believe me more when I write about something medical I have researched.
Failure #1.
I practice brazilian jiu jitsu and of course recommend it as great exercise, great mental discipline and fun. I work out at Inner circle BJJ in solvay with a great group. I did karate for years but when this style became available there was nothing else for me. I have taken classes for years but being a beginner in this sport is really not easy and it takes a while to really start to get good at it…at least for me. Once the dojo moved closer to me my attendance and therefore my understanding improved. BJJ has been described as wrestling and chess mixed together. I have no illusions , I am a 60 year old blue belt ….most other people would have long ago quit or have gotten better and received their black belt. Well, I was buoyed by a recent win at a tournament in New Jersey and signed up for the Worlds Masters BJJ tournament in Las Vegas . A weekend in Vegas is never a bad deal but i was way too nervous to enjoy anything at all until after my competition. The long and short of it is I lost in my first bout. Specifically I started a standing guillotine choke ..we transitioned to the ground with my opponent in a better position. It took me a while to slowly reverse and come out on top but I got caught in a triangle choke. I had to tap out. Now you could say, I spent a lot of time and money and energy doing this sport for years and years and we come all the way out to Vegas for me to lose so quickly. Thats not me. Sure I was pissed about losing especially in front of my wife but how long can you pick at that sore before moving on. I went back to the dojo where Professor Walt had already seen my video and we started working on my deficiencies..and there remain plenty but I am just starting now as a blue belt to conceptualize the positions and then of course to use the right move and the right timing . I guess I didn’t take that loss too personally because I get beat all the time by my teammates …It’s just that most of them are half my age and I hoped going up against some other 60 year old guy would be easier.
Not so , it turns out. My sweet Debbie tried to console me…..”Look honey, how many men are there out there that are doing this kind of stuff…and how many are doing it at your age..you should be proud.” I couldn’t hear her because I was muttering loser city, loserooni, loser , failure, loser. But after all it’s Vegas and we were soon distracted.
That’s failure number one. Much time and effort went into this endeavor only to result in failure. Doesn’t faze me. I will learn from my failure.
Failure #2 is another insight into where I am coming from. Again, if you know me a little you might be that much more motivated to instead of just reading my recommendations.. to actually take action…. look into the sources I reference repeatedly. Drs Gundry, Attia, McDougal, Patrick, Mercola, Sinatra etc. Will my sharing my failures translate into you taking me more seriously or less?
Well, failure #2 involves a recent climbing trip in the North Cascade range in the state of Washington. It was climbing with the Haswell boys again. Another long weekend…another peak attempt. We have a great history of what were for me in many senses of the words breathtaking escapades…You have to be in very good shape to take on a Haswell hike and you can be guaranteed to be brought to your physical limit and don’t get me going about facing my fear of heights. We attempted Prophets peak…not a 14,000 or 13,000 foot peak like we have focused on in the past…so the lower elevation should have made the climb easier but the complication was the greater than 5000 foot elevation gain to do in one day. This is one day after the 10 mile hike up 1600 foot elevation with full packs on to base camp. This area isn’t like your local parks with well marked trails …the guidebook says …go uphill after the stream…there is no path just find your own path of least resistance. Ok ..sounds kind of zen like but in actuality it’s going straight up a 30 degree slope covered in huge fallen trees and scrubby brush….3000 feet of this to get to a class 4 pitch ( my translation..no technical equipment needed but if you miss a foot or hand hold you could get badly hurt or die. ) After this , a talus field of stone for a thousand more feet..again…straight up. I made it 4000 feet up this 5000 footer and just couldn’t keep going. . ..I gassed. I bonked. I could go no further . Five hours of continuous climbing in the Haswell manner (non-stop) and I was done. I had been soaked in sweat for hours and had probably done more elevation than on any other trip but I was still over 1000 feet from the summit. The Haswell boys pressed on to the greater glory and summiteed a peak reportedly rarely done . I waited on the mountain side below and we retraced our steps back to camp. We started at 730 am and got back to camp at 730 pm…They summited. I did not. They succeeded I failed. Failure again. For the second time in a month. I thought my conditioning was pretty good but it obviously wasn’t Haswell quality. If I cant talk myself out of another grueling trip next year I am going to really work on my conditioning. I am not usually the limiting factor in our climbs but I sure was this time.
As I sat there in the meadow , waiting for them to climb down to me after peaking I was cursing Pete for leaving me the smoked cheese instead of the cheddar..who does that ! As I waited shivering a little from dehydration, I looked out across the valley at a vista of peak after peak with glaciers …old growth forests and clouds just above..wildflowers and wild little blueberry bushes with berries all around me Yes, this is failure but look where I am.! Agian how many other people are even doing this. I guess the sporting slogan is “you’re still in the game” .
So you know I preach about you addressing your diet and exercise,sleep and stress in my medical pulpit in my office, on the radio show and in these articles. Hopefully this article gave you a glimpse that I practice what I preach. Its your health, it’s your healthcare dont sit back and be passive. Take control of your health by focusing on diet and exercise, sleep and stress…make a plan with your doctor / life coach /trainer and meet frequently enough to monitor your progress and achieve your goals. You have to be proactive. Your doctor is adept at managing illness ..that’s how we were trained…you must manage your wellness….and this you know begins with your diet. Your health is tremendously affected by your diet. You all know that but you ignore it until the illness sets in and you focus on that. Focus on more salad and less processed food and turn your health around. Don’t look for improved health from any pill…look to your dinner plate.
Until next month…. get well stay well
To Be Or Not To Be Telomeres Are The Question
My friend Stan wanted me to write more about collagen but I need to get back to even more basic science. The science of DNA ? the strands of life. Most of us have 23 pairs of chromosomes which contain all the details about the care and building of the human body. If your DNA gets screwed up ? you are screwed up. Mutations in DNA are one way that cancer forms in the body. On way to assess the health of your DNA is to assess the health of the system that maintains the DNA integrity. At the end of each strand of DNA is an endcap called the Telomere. telo = end ? meros = part ? telomere = end part of DNA.
These short nucleotide sequences (TTAGG for you purists) maintain DNA health. Think of it like the aglet, that little wrapper at the end of the shoestring that keeps it from unraveling.
This is no idle speculation. A nobel prize has been won by Professor Elizabeth Blackburn PhD. Her work has conclusively shown that there is a relationship between telomere length and health ? telomeres shortness is associate with just about all major disease of aging. The shorter your telomere the more disease. Of course this Nobel prize winner runs a commercial lab that will measure your telomeres ? hence your ?DNA age? not your apparent/ chronological age. You may be 50 years old but have the ?DNA age? of a 40 year old or a 60 year old. Wouldn?t you like to know your DNA age? Well there are multiple companies that offer this testing but you can?t get the tests done in New York State ? that would sound fishy but there are a large number of well quantified tests that New York State does not allow including biome testing etc. Forgive me, nitpickers ? of course New York State will allow it ONCE you fulfill all the regulatory hurdles. Do they appear to have more regulatory hurdles than any other state in the union? Lets just say that there are multiple companies that can offer this testing but not currently in this state.
So besides the Nobel Prize winner, who has a financial interest in this field so may not be impartial. Who else is confirming this science? Well, Professor Richard Cathorn writing in the Lancet in 2003 involving a small study of 143 people age greater than 60 years followed for 15 years. Shorter telomeres equal shorter survival. Also Dr. Rodrigo Calderon M.D. PhD wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine 2009 that Telomere dysfunction seems to underlie the development of a range of human genetic degenerative aging diseases and cancer In a study sponsored by the American Heart Association and published in 2008 they had 780 patients followed up for 4.4 years. Patients with shorter telomeres had twice a risk of death as patients with longer telomeres.
Another study done in Sweden on 175 swedish twins showed that the twin with the shorter telomeres had a 2.8 times greater risk of death. So short telomeres bad and long telomeres good. Telomeres shorten with age naturally in a slow predictable pattern. What else can shorten and lengthen telomeres?
I know you Americans, you don?t want the details ? you just want to know if there is a pill you can take to lengthen your telomeres and thereby lengthen your life. Well there just might be ? but follow me through the risk factors first.
Shorter telomeres are associated with earlier death and stressors including PTSD, stress employment and work schedule childhood institution or trauma depression pessimism phobic anxiety and hostility, poor sleep quality and sleep apnea, low physical activity, smoking cigarettes, migraines, all types of heart disease, including hypertension, MI, atherosclerosis, aneurysm, carotid artery disease and stroke.
What is associated with longer telomeres? Younger age female gender, increased paternal age of birth, increased physical activity, smaller waist circumference, normal BMI, Mediterranean diet, dietary fiber calorie restriction, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin C, glutathione, and hormones. Dr. Dean Ornish has a diet based program to reverse heart disease. Studies show that his program could increase telomerase, as well as meditation, and TA 65 activation supplement.
So exercise and supplements and a righteous diet have been associated repeatedly with longer telomeres and longer telomeres are associated with better health. Sounds like from the above list you could work on multiple risk factors that impact your telomere health.
If you have been reading carefully you should be asking ? what?s this about TA 65 activation supplement? Well there is a well known enzyme that works to promote telomere health/length. Telomerase is a natural enzyme that helps to extend telomeres, it was discovered in 1985. When telomerase is activated it adds DNA bases at the end of the chromosomes and allow cells to live longer and revert to a more useful phenotype. Super bonus round ? it preferentially extends short telomeres which are the most dangerous. It is active throughout embryogenesis but then stops of birth.
Turns out there is a Chinese herb ( isn?t there always?) that has been shown repeatedly to increase telomerase activity and has been shown in both mice and humans reliably to lengthen telomeres while you take the supplement. What we don?t know ? and it?s a big what ? is if this ? natural? lengthener really translates into important clinical results like living longer or less cancer or better overall health etc. It?s very intriguing but way too early to take action with some supplement until you have done everything else you can do ? Mediterranean diet, exercise, better sleep, stress reduction, quit smoking, normalize body weight, etc. I will get a lot more excited about this when I can actually order the test ? make some changes ? or have my patients make changes and repeat the test to assess whether the intervention made a difference. .
Soon hopefully you can get a Four pack of tests that will assess your health better than the many tests your current doctor is doing.
1. Gut biome
2. Telomere length
3. Insulin
4. Antioxidant scan
The first two are held hostage to bureaucracy for now. The third any doctor can do and the fourth test is available if you ask around.
Unfortunately if you take this list to your current doctor they will look at you like you are a mental patient (and I think we are all mental patients) and mock you for falling for some internet chat site pseudo science. However if you had the time to sit and talk about any one of these issues they would eventually COMPLETELY agree that each one is important. Even a doctor who hasn?t opened a medical journal in 5 years must have heard something about the important work being done on understanding the bugs in our guts and how they may control our weight, our mood, our immune system etc.
Your doctor may know nothing of telomeres but a two minute search of the internet will bring them up to speed. Every doctor alive knows about Insulin but most don?t look at it as a marker for inflammation but that is also something they can relate to once they start to look closer at the inflammatory processes in the body ? and finally everybody talks about antioxidants. Turns out there is a machine that can reliably measure one of them (and they travel in packs like wolves). There is a cheap machine your doctor can lease / buy that will allow him to scan you and give you insight into this one antioxidant but suggests your overall antioxidant status. The problem is the scan is not covered by insurance and most doctors stop right there thank you very much.
I am not looking for business ? certainly not your business, but it pains me that this scan is not more readily available. The science is very solid and the tech is simple and reliable. So, If you are interested I will scan you for a $10 donation to Wanderers Rest Pet Rescue, Hope for the Bereaved, Helping Hounds, Clearpath for Vets, or Father Champlin?s Guardian Angels. Call 410-0651 and we can make it happen. It?s no additional charge. Its not an office call ? its a quick scan, say hello and comment on the scan and off you go.
I think it?s an interesting and exciting time to be a healthcare provider. The focus on longevity is interesting and once we can measure your telomeres we will have one more tool to assist you in your efforts to maintain and improve your health.
Until next month ? get well ? stay well.
June 2018 Tablehopping
JOINT JUICE ANYONE?
For once I am writing about something non controversial…or at least less controversial than arguing about statin drugs, proton pump inhibitors, calcium supplements, dairy and vaccines. This months article is about a supplement that could help you look and feel younger but presents no danger of overdose ..that product is collagen.
Collagen comes from the greek word for glue…kolia…There are twenty eight different types of collagen and this protein is found throughout the body in the bones, skin, teeth , joints and blood vessels… most of this is type one collagen, type two is in the cartilage…type three is the mesh around your intestines etc….type four is found in your respiratory tract….and type five collagen is found in hair and cell surfaces.
Now the problem with collagen is that we lose it over time. Starting as young as 20 you start to lose collagen as you age. You can supplement with collagen and maybe offset some of this natural loss. We get collagen from chicken, bone marrow, fish skin,the hides of animals, etc..Remember you need the vitamin c to use collagen properly so if you are going to supplement with collagen you should be taking vitamin c as well. Also you need acid in your stomach so if you are taking a ppi…like nexium or prilosec …which you know i think you should not be taking chronically …if you are taking this class of drug the collagen will not be absorbed. Collagen needs to be taken on an empty stomach for best absorption.
Collagen is rebuilt on a constant basis in your body .Collagen is broken down into fragments which contact collagen production cells and stimulates production of more collagen. Starting in your twenties the stimulation of production slows down. This low collagen production may affect skin and joints…the collagen supplements serve not to replace the collagen in your body but to stimulate collagen production. Collagen has a typical amino acid protein configuration which is hydrolyzed in processing which makes the protein fragments shorter and easier to digest.
What is collagen supplementation good for? Well it’s clearly good for your skin…biopsy proven research has shown that collagen supplementation improves markers of aging in the skin. There have been lots of independent studies looking at this and the results show consistent improvement in skin parameters.
But that’s not all…multiple studies show that collagen …specifically type 2 collagen that’s found in cartilage tissues has been shown to decrease the pain of arthritis especially in the knees and in one recent study appearing in the international journal of medical sciences, “f our out of five osteoarthritis sufferers who took a daily 40 mg oral dose of undenatured type-ii collagen (“uc-ii”) experienced less pain, and their pain dropped by an averag e of 26%.”
Even as far back as 2006 a study done in athletes came to this conclusion. “ This was the first clinical trial of 24-weeks duration to show improvement of joint pain in athletes who were treated with the dietary supplement collagen hydrolysate. The results of this study have implications for the use of collagen hydrolysate to support joint health and possibly reduce the risk of joint deterioration in a high-risk group. Despite the study’s size and limitations, the results suggest that athletes consuming collagen hydrolysate can reduce parameters (such as pain) that have a negative impact on athletic performance.”
Collagen is also important for your gut health…It contains lots of glycine and glutamine ..similar to levels find in bone broth. Both of these proteins support the good bugs in your gut.
The only downside to collagen supplementation is that depending on the source the supplement may contain too much calcium but this is something a routine blood test can check out for you.
So, if you want to improve your skin try collagen types 1 and 3 which are usually found together. If you want to ease your joints you want collagen type 2. The nice thing about this supplement is you should notice the benefit within a month. Why not give it a try and see for yourself.
Until next month…get well …stay well
J T Barry MD
February 2018 Tablehopping
Flu For You?
Its February and thats VaIentines day and I should be writing about your love life but I have done that plenty of times in the past and it’s time for another issue altogether. It’s a little late in the season but knowledge comes to me when it comes and when it comes to me it comes to you… after I have done my due diligence. I’m hoping to do an article that’s not controversial someday but every time I read a new book or review a medical issue I feel compelled to write about it . This time I take on the flu shot. Everyone should get a flu shot is what we are told. Children from six months and older should get the shot. Pregnant women should get the shot. Grampa especially needs the shot. The flu shot is safe and effective.
Well, that’s the party line but I am crashing the party. Yes I know many of you think I am off my meds. Just some crazy fringe doctor who has lost his way. I have said we take way too many pills including statins. I have written that milk is really not good for you at all. I have recommended a crazy diet that eliminates sugar and wheat and dairy to lower your inflammation. Now I tell you that the flu shot should be avoided. Thats right… The flu shot is neither effective nor safe and the data comes right from the Supreme Court, the Centers for Disease Control and major publications including the prestigious Cochrane Review. Thats right not the musings of this crackpot physician who is oppositional , straight facts, facts from the major literature that you can easily snopes or fact check on the Internet.
Let’s start with the safety issue first.. The Supreme Court has ruled in 2011 that vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe.” Ask your doctor as he is draws up the solution from the vial… is this safe? If it is why does the Supreme Court say its unavoidably unsafe.. That should start an interesting conversation and you will probably be labeled a kook just for asking that question. Depending on the manufacturer and the specific vaccine the vaccine can contain mercury, formaldehyde, aluminum, polysorbate 80, cell lines from aborted fetuses, tissue from hamsters, dog kidneys, monkeys, peanut oil adjuvants and much more. I will have more to say on mercury and aluminum in other writings but everyone in power says thimerosal is safe and does not cause autism etc. Why then does the FDA say there is no safe dose of mercury exposure?. Why then have the manufacturer’s made such efforts to get the thimerosal out of the vaccines?
Adverse reaction to the flu is one of the leading causes for payout from the Vaccine Injury compensation Program. This program was established when the Supreme Court said vaccines are unavoidably unsafe and you can’t sue the pharmaceutical companies but you can appeal to this court if you feel you have been injured. Over 3.5 billion dollars has been awarded by this court.. and flu vaccine awards are among the top listed. So how are they safe. We know that one particular flu shot lead to cases of narco lepsy. Who would have predicted or expected that ! Flu shots are given to pregnant women even though they are labeled pregnancy category B or C. (meaning no real testing has been done on pregnant women) The CDC itself reported that there has been an increased risk of miscarriage with certain flu shots. One uncommon but well known risk of the flu shot is Guillain Barre which is an ascending paralysis ! Hows that for safe !
Let’s turn now to the efficacy side of safe and efficacious. The Flu shot is indicated per the CDC for all kids 6 months of age or older , all adults, pregnant women and seniors. There has never been an efficacy study in pregnant women. The Cochrane Review is an independent board tasked with independently reviewing published research on medical issues. They concluded that there was no evidence that flu vaccine protected any children between 6 months and 23 months. CDC says do it but this independent panel , looking at published studies, says its not effective. The CDC says the elderly are most in need of the flu vaccine due to their underlying chronic illnesses etc. The Cochrane Review says there a review of 75 research studies over 40 years said due to the poor quality of the available evidence any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of influenza vaccine for people over 65 years of age are suspect. Furthermore influenza vaccines have a modest effect in reducing influenza symptoms and working days lost. There is no evidence that they affect complications, such as pneumonia, or transmission.
Furthermore from the Lancet volume 7 issue 10 october 2007 “Recent excess mortality studies were unable to confirm a decline in influenza-related mortality since 1980, even as vaccination coverage increased from 15% to 65%. The remaining evidence base is currently insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the mortality benefit, if any, that elderly people derive from the vaccination programme.” We went from vaccination very few people to vaccinating most people and there was no evidence of less deaths !
Finally again referencing the Cochrane Review …”Vaccination of healthy adults only reduce risk of influenza by 6% and only reduce the number of missed work days by less than one day. Universal immunization of healthy adults was not supported by the results of this review”.
So…. maybe not so safe… maybe not so efficacious.. why the big push to immunize everyone ? Well the lady doctor who took over the CDC’s vaccine Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH. went to work for Merck ( one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world) when she left government service. Immediately after working for the CDC. Since then she has cashed in Merck stock valued at approximately 2 million dollars and still has more stock with a cash value of almost 2 million dollars.
Well, I will still give you a flu shot if you ask but I won’t offer it up as safe and effective anymore and I probably should apologize for the glib way I gave out shots in the past. What can I say except I have kept an open mind and am continuing the process of self improvement and there is obviously more progress needed.
Until next month… get well ….stay well
Dr Joe Barry
January 2018 Tablehopping
START THE YEAR MILK FREE
As I have been studying diet and nutrition over these last months I have encountered multiple controversies….How much protein should you eat?…How many carbs are good for you? How many and what types of supplements should you take? What constitutes the right amount of protein versus carbs or fats for your diet? The one thing that unfortunately has become clear..the one thing that the disparate experts can agree on is that we are taking in too much dairy. I say unfortunately because dairy is big business in central new york and I really don’t want to spearhead this message. I am not by nature a controversy guy. I am not by nature a guy that needs attention except from my wife. But the message about dairy is so clear and compelling I must bring this to your attention. To not bring this to your attention would be wrong.
Remember now that I am a regular primary care doctor…I am not a chiropractor. I am not a naturopath. I am not a complimentary doctor. I don’t operate at the fringes of medicine. But I do have time to do basic nutritional research and as your doctor will admit we got precious little exposure to nutrition in medical school. Unfortunately this is still true today. I know I am not going to make any friends with this information but you have to know what I know.
Milk can be a lifesaving source of nutrition if you are malnourished. Milk is packed with minerals and proteins and good fats . That doesn’t change the fact that cows milk is for baby cows. Let me quote Dr Frank Oski former Director of Pediatrics of Johns Hopkins University..”There is no reason to drink cows milk at anytime in your life. It is designed for calves not humans and we should all stop drinking it today”. Dr T Colin Campbell from Cornell University…Dr Gundry, Dr John Mcdougall, Dr Breseden, Dr Klepper, Dr Gregor….these are all big names in the nutrition field…they disagree on many nutritional points …but all of them believe we should stop dairy.
First….cow’s milk is not human breast milk…it contains lots of proteins…too many proteins designed to make a baby cow grow…these same proteins cause inflammatory responses in the body that contribute to type one diabetes, arthritis, a host of bowel problems etc. That’s right…giving babies cow milk can cause an inflammatory response that causes type one diabetes. Why believe me? What do the “real ‘ experts say? “Early exposure of infants to cow’s milk protein may be an important factor in the initiation of the beta cell destructive process in some individuals.” and “The avoidance of cow’s milk protein for the first several months of life may reduce the later development of IDDM or delay its onset in susceptible people.” (The American Academy of Pediatrics Work Group on Cow’s Milk Protein and Diabetes Mellitus – 1994).
Second is that there is a lot in cow’s milk besides water ,minerals, protein and fat. Milk contains a lot of pus ( that’s white cells )…hundreds of thousands o f pus cells per milliliter of milk. Also in milk are bacterial cells, traces of pesticides, contaminants like blood and feces, antibiotics, and hormones..lots of hormones. These are not removed by pasteurization.
Third it’s the presence of these hormones that accelerate growth ..they are designed to accelerate growth in calves….they are not designed for humans…and may accelerate the growth of cancer. There has been a strong link between milk consumption and prostate cancer And this could be related to either all the estrogen in the milk ( which may account for the feminization of America) or the presence of Insulin LIke Growth Factor. Some people feel ILGF is a major promoter of cancer growth. You know I believe insulin is an anti longevity agent. The more insulin in your blood the less healthy you are. The more insulin in your body the fatter you are. The more insulin in your body the more likely that cancer is promoted. So why would you drink milk if it contains some insulin like protein?
Fourth is that milk absolutely does not make strong bones. When the dairy industry started advertising that “milk makes strong bones” the Federal Trade Commission asked the USDA to review the facts and they found that milk does NOT make strong bones…furthermore the independent panel found that milk might contribute to heart disease, no improvement in sports performance, possible prostate cancer link, multiple gastric issues etc. The countries in the world with the highest milk production have the highest fracture rates.
Fifth is the issue of Bovine Leukemia Virus and Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus…that’s right cow AIDS …Remember mad cow disease? The USDA found in 2007 that 80% of herds had the BLV infection and antibodies to the infection were routinely found in the milk. Some cows had both infections at the same time. How can drinking milk from a sick cow be good for you.
So there are a host of reasons to avoid milk and there are plenty of alternatives. Almond milk, and coconut milk to name two…avoid soy milk..it’s too proceeded and contains too much estrogen. My advice is to avoid all milks altogether. “What do I put on my cereal ? “ I am often asked….my answer is simple…avoid cereal as well…It’s all processed sugar….all of it. You have heard me say many times if you really want to get healthy skip breakfast altogether. It is absolutely NOT the most important meal of the day.
Taking soda machines out of the schools was a good idea…the next step is removing milk as well. It’s not good for kids either. Water, precious clean water that you take for granted should be your fluid of choice.
Well, I want to discourage Americans from drinking milk but I don’t want to hurt the dairy industry. Of course I have an answer to this problem…export the milk to other countries. Milk might be completely unnecessary in America where we have a cornucopia of nutritional choices but would be a lifesaver in developing countries where diarrhea and malnourishment are very serious health concerns. Exporting the milk would help the Dairy Industry, would help the trade deficit, and would benefit the health of the malnourished worldwide. Maybe we start with North Korea….wouldn’t that be great if we could break the North Korean crisis with humanitarian aid in the form of milk? Someone tweet President Trump ! That’s how I roll ..win win..win.. Until next month….get well …stay well – Joseph Barry MD.