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Vitamin D Shows Promise in Targeting Aging’s Biological Mechanisms, Study Finds
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/05/06/vitamin-d-aging.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola May 06, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Vitamin D may help modulate many of the 12 hallmarks of aging, which is crucial in older adults who make less vitamin D, activate less vitamin D from food, supplements and sunshine, and need more vitamin D as an effective strategy to slow aging and protect health
- Each of the 12 hallmarks of aging may be discussed independently, but most act synergistically with one or more other hallmarks. Optimal levels of vitamin D may improve genomic instability, reduce epigenetic alterations associated with disease, improve mitochondrial function, decrease cellular senescence and improve gut dysbiosis
- Measurement of DNA methylation is a more accurate measure of biological health than telomere length and is positively influenced by vitamin D optimization
- Consistent sunshine exposure is the best option to raise insufficient vitamin D levels. In northern climates, this can be challenging so you might consider near-infrared light therapy or oral vitamin D3 supplementation
A 2024 paper1 published in Nutrients by Italian scientists summarized the current knowledge of how vitamin D might modulate some of the hallmarks of aging. Vitamin D, also called calciferol, is present in some foods. However, more is produced by your body after exposure to sunlight.
In the initial stage,2 the vitamin D you get from supplements, foods, or sun exposure must undergo two changes to be activated and used. The first happens in the liver where vitamin D is converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the second happens in the kidney where it forms 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D, also called calcitriol.
Importance of Aging and Vitamin D Deficiency
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers were concerned about vitamin D deficiency. According to a 2011 paper,3 based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2006, found 41.6% of the general population had deficient serum concentrations, defined as of 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) or less. The highest rate of deficiency was seen in Blacks at 82.1% and Hispanics at 69.2%.
Using data that spanned 1998 to 2005, a 2021 paper reported that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency may range from 40% to 100%, and correcting this deficiency would be “a cost-effective intervention.”4 Yet, despite evidence to the contrary, mainstream media, such as the New York Times,5 advises readers “to get absolutely no sun this summer.”
The American Academy of Dermatology Association also recommends sunscreen on any bit of skin not covered by clothing anytime you’re outside.6 In the following discussion of how vitamin D may mitigate some of the hallmarks of aging, it’s important to note that as you age, the production of the active form of vitamin D is typically reduced by 50% due to age-related decline in renal function.7
The results of the 5th International Conference “Controversies in Vitamin D” held in September 2021 was a consensus statement by physicians on vitamin D supplementation in older individuals. The scientists agreed “Of three possible strategies to establish vitamin D sufficiency — sunshine exposure, food fortification, and supplementation — the latter seems to be the most effective and practical in the aging population.”8
What Processes Contribute to Aging?
The aging process is marked by a decline in organ function and the development of age-related illness. Researchers in the current study noted that aging is a multifactorial process characterized by 12 hallmarks:9
| Genomic instability — Increased mutation frequency in the genome | Telomere attrition — Telomere shortening leads to cellular aging and dysfunction |
| Epigenetic alterations — Changes in gene expression without DNA modification | Loss of proteostasis — Disruption in the dynamic regulation of proteins |
| Disabled macroautophagy — Impaired process of recycling cellular components | Deregulated nutrient sensing — Disruption of cellular response to nutrients impairing metabolism |
| Mitochondrial dysfunction — Impaired energy production and increased oxidative stress | Cellular senescence — Cessation of cell division |
| Stem cell exhaustion — Depletion of stem cells, impairing tissue repair and regeneration | Altered intercellular communication — Disrupted signaling, leading to inflammation and tissue dysfunction |
| Chronic inflammation — Persistent, low-grade inflammation triggering tissue damage | Dysbiosis — Imbalanced microbial communities affecting health and disease |
The featured research noted that while these manifestations can be discussed independently, they do not act as a single cause but are highly interrelated. Either independently or synergistically they lead to molecular and cellular damage. By understanding the relationships, researchers hope to identify interventions that could mitigate the processes.
Vitamin D has a significant impact on musculoskeletal structure and function, and other studies have noted the role it plays in multiple other organs and systems, including endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, neural stem cells, neurons, osteoblasts, monocytes, macrophages, and epithelial cells adipocytes. These actions have suggested that vitamin D may attenuate some pathological changes associated with the aging process.
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How Optimal Vitamin D Levels May Target the Hallmarks of Aging
Past research has identified the impact vitamin D has on aging adults, finding that older individuals have a risk of suboptimal vitamin D levels resulting from decreased synthesis and intake.10 Lower levels are associated with signs of aging, such as depression, heart disease, cancer and cognitive decline.
Research in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences characterizes aging as “a physiological progression of biomolecular damage and the accumulation of defective cellular components, which trigger and amplify the process, toward whole-body function weakening.”11 The review identified the biomolecular pathways that are the foundation of immunosenescence and inflammaging as biotargets of vitamin D.
They caution that while research has progressed, limitations still exist in being able to translate this knowledge into clinical practice. The researchers in the featured study12 identified the changes that vitamin D supplementation makes on the main hallmarks of aging and detailed those descriptions from past studies.
For example, the potential for modulating genomic instability has been evaluated in Type 2 diabetes, finding that vitamin D supplementation leads to a decrease in nitric oxide and an increase in reduced glutathione, which decreases oxidative processes overall.
A positive correlation was identified between telomere length and serum levels of 25(OH)D, which equated to a five-year difference in telomeric aging.13 An analysis of older adults found a positive association at baseline but an inconsistent relationship at later measurements. Further studies found no causal effect. Supplementation did increase telomerase activity, supporting the theory that vitamin D beneficially affects telomere wellness.
Epigenetic alterations are associated with several diseases,14 the cumulative effects of which are highly correlated with chronological age. In one study of pregnant women, vitamin D supplementation was associated with bone mass in the infant and had implications for the development of the lung, metabolic and nervous systems.
Additionally, the researchers found evidence in past studies15 that vitamin D significantly impacts mitochondrial function, including reducing oxidative stress, mitigating damage in neurodegenerative and heart diseases, and improving muscle and lung function.
The research16 also identified the impact vitamin D supplementation might have on decreasing cellular senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP is a phenomenon where senescent cells do not die but begin to secrete inflammatory cytokines, proteases and other molecules into the surrounding environment.
This can influence the behavior of nearby cells and contribute to a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The data has shown that vitamin D supplementation shows promise in reducing these effects. Researchers also identified data that showed vitamin D counteracts dysbiosis in individuals with HIV-1 infection.17
Biological Aging and DNA Methylation
As researchers in the featured study noted, the hallmarks of aging have a strong connection to each other, contributing to and exacerbating the effects of others. One of those effects is mitochondrial dysfunction and a rise in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that induces epigenetic changes through DNA methylation.18
In my interview19 with Ryan Smith, founder of TruDiagnostic, a commercial testing system that tests your biological age, he discussed the idea of DNA methylation. Every cell in your body has the same DNA but expresses it in different ways. That expression is regulated, in part, epigenetically. With differentiation, cells change their epigenetic expression to regulate the genes that are turned off and turned on.
DNA methylation silences gene transcription. At the beginning of a DNA strand is a promoter site and methylation is measured at those sites. The level of methylation correlates to the degree of actual expression of DNA. In the past, telomere length had been used to measure biological aging. However, Smith and I agree that epigenetic clocks are far superior.
The first low-risk strategy Smith recommends that lowers your biological age is vitamin D optimization. Ideally, you want to maintain a blood level of 60 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL. In the interview, Smith cited an interventional trial20 in which overweight individuals reduced their biological age by 1.85 years on average by taking 4,000 international units (IUs) of oral vitamin D each day for 16 weeks.
There were 51 participants included in that short-term study. After adjustments of multi-covariates, serum concentrations of 25(OH)D were significantly associated with a reduction in Horvath ∆Age, also called delta age. The Horvath epigenetic clock is a biomarker that measures the methylation of specific DNA sites to estimate biological age.
Supplementation Is Acceptable in Northern Climates but Sunshine Is Better
As noted in the featured study:
“Considering how much VitD is related to several chronic inflammatory diseases and how negatively low-grade chronic inflammation impacts general health, adequate VitD storage should be a priority.”21
The ideal way to optimize your vitamin D level is by getting regular sun exposure on bare skin. There are also health benefits associated with sun exposure that go far beyond vitamin D production. I highly encourage you to read the article “Benefits of Sunshine on Your Bare Skin,” in which I detail many of those benefits.
For example, sunlight can positively affect your microbiome, mitochondria and melatonin production. Yet, depending on where you live, your ability to get good sun exposure may be limited to just three to four months each year.
When you can’t get outside, your next-best choice may be red and near-infrared light therapy, which can mimic some of the benefits of natural sunlight. In my interview with Ari Whitten, author of “The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy,” we discuss how red light and near-infrared light are forms of nutrition for the body.
Photoreceptors on your mitochondria capture photons of red and near-infrared light to produce energy more efficiently. Light therapy might also help modulate gene expression, one of the hallmarks of aging.
As Ari explains, one of the biggest challenges with sun exposure is the infrequency of exposure, which tends to be more problematic than being outdoors regularly. Intermittent exposure increases your likelihood of burning and causing damage to the skin, while regular exposure ameliorates the risk and engages your innate adaptive systems explicitly designed to prevent DNA damage from UV light exposure.
Before jumping into building your red light or near-infrared light therapy box at home, I encourage you to watch the interview and read about “The Benefits of Red Light and Near-Infrared Light Therapy.” In the interview, we talk about the fallacy that more is better. That’s a hazardous assumption since you can overdo the effects of light therapy.
If you can’t get enough sun exposure and don’t have access to a red light or near-infrared light sauna, consider taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement. In “Magnesium and K2 Optimize Your Vitamin D Supplementation,” I discuss the supplements that can be taken together to boost your vitamin D absorption and activation within your body.
Long-term deficiency is known to contribute to health problems like rickets, heart disease and autoimmune diseases, but even insufficiency can contribute to depression, slow wound healing, muscle weakness, fatigue and impaired cognition. In the article hyperlinked above are clear guidelines on how to determine your vitamin D level and the approximate dosage that can get you into the optimal range of 60 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL.
- 1 Nutrients, 2024; 16 (6)
- 2 National Institutes of Health, Vitamin D para 1, 2
- 3 Nutrition Research, 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54, Abstract
- 4 Endocrine Practice, 2021; 27 (5), Introduction
- 5 The New York Times May 29, 2023
- 6 AAD, Sunscreen FAQs, When Should I Use Sunscreen?
- 7 Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, 2013; 42(2), Abstract
- 8 Springer Link, 2022; 79, Conclusions
- 9 Nutrients, 2024; 16 (6), Introduction para 2
- 10 Journal of Aging and Gerontology, 2014; 2(2)
- 11 International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023;24(5)
- 12 Nutrients, 2024;16(6) Section 4.1
- 13 Nutrients, 2024;16(6) Section 4.2
- 14 Nutrients, 2024;16(6) Section 4.3
- 15 News Medical Life Sciences, March 26, 2024 section 3 para 9
- 16 Nutrients, 2024;16(6) Section 4.6
- 17, 21 Nutrients, 2024;16(6) Section 4.10
- 18 Nutrients, 2024;16(6), Section 3 para 2
- 19 Bitchute, January 26, 2022
- 20 The Journal of Gerontology Series A, 2019;74(1)
How Your Microbiome Influences Your Dietary Recommendations
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/04/21/sugar-microbiome-endotoxin.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola April 21, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Contrary to popular belief among followers, Ray Peat, Ph.D., did not advocate for high consumption of sugar. While sugar is acceptable in moderation, refined sugar, particularly in large amounts, can be problematic due to its impact on the microbiome. There’s also a debate over the best source of carbohydrates. Fruit is traditionally favored over starch. However, starch is likely superior, provided you have a healthy gut microbiome, which most people lack
- Efficient mitochondrial function is crucial as it provides the energy needed to maintain an optimal gut environment. Poor mitochondrial function can lead to an imbalance in gut microbiota, favoring pathogenic over beneficial bacteria
- Akkermansia, a highly beneficial bacteria in your large intestine, plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health and should constitute about 10% of the gut microbiome. However, it is absent in many individuals, likely due to inadequate mitochondrial function and resultant oxygen leakage in the gut. Widespread use of antibiotics can also disrupt the microbiome by killing both beneficial and harmful bacteria, leading to a dominance of pathogenic bacteria which produce harmful endotoxins
- Collagen supports skin health, joint strength, and gut health due to its amino acid profile. Collagen should ideally comprise about 5% of your daily calorie intake. Avoid going above 10% as it can be problematic
- Investigators using a pro-metabolic (energy-enhancing) approach are currently experimenting with vitamins and an aspirin analog to target cancer metabolism by inducing apoptosis through lowering intracellular pH. Preliminary studies show promising results in stopping tumor growth and even regressing tumors
In the ever-evolving field of bioenergetic medicine, the relationship between our diet, microbiome, and overall health continues to unveil complex and intriguing connections. At the heart of this exploration is the legacy of Ray Peat, Ph.D., whose theories on sugar intake and metabolic function have sparked widespread debate and interest among researchers and health enthusiasts alike.
In this interview, repeat guest Georgi Dinkov, a bioenergetic medicine researcher and I delve into the nuanced understanding of how our microbiome influences dietary choices, particularly the contentious decision between starch and fruit as preferable sources of carbohydrates. Dinkov also reviews groundbreaking research and innovative treatments that aim to manipulate cellular energy pathways to combat cancer.
My Take on the Fruit Versus Starch Controversy
Many of Peat’s followers believe that he advocated large amounts of sugar, but that’s not the case. Sugar, or glucose more specifically, is necessary for cellular health. Refined sugar can be a problem, especially in large amounts.
The issue really boils down to your microbiome, which Peat didn’t really understand as many technical advances have been made since he was actively learning. He certainly warned about the hazards of endotoxin, but I suspect he may not have fully appreciated the power of the microbiome.
The contention within the bioenergetic medicine community is that it’s wise to avoid starch and replace it with ripe fruit. They mostly believe fruit is the ultimate carbohydrate, but I now suspect starch may be the ideal type of carb, but only if your gut microbiome is optimal.
Since most people have poor gut health they don’t do well when eating a significant amount of starch. Most also have dysfunctional mitochondria, and if you don’t have enough mitochondria, you can’t create cellular energy efficiently enough to ensure a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
Your gut contains primarily two types of gram-negative bacteria: beneficial and pathogenic. The beneficial ones include obligate anaerobes, which cannot survive in the presence of oxygen and are essential for health. They do not produce harmful endotoxins and contribute positively by producing short-chain fatty acids, like butyrate, propionate, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
Proper gut function requires energy to maintain an oxygen-free environment in the large intestine, where 99% of gut microbes reside. Insufficient energy leads to oxygen leakage, which harms obligate anaerobes while not impacting the facultative anaerobes, thereby disrupting the balance of the microbiome.
Pathogenic bacteria, or facultative anaerobes, can survive in oxygen and are harmful, as they possess endotoxins in their cell walls. Feeding these bacteria with starch can exacerbate their growth, leading to health issues.
The only carbohydrate that does not promote these bacteria is fruit juice, which some people may tolerate better than whole fruit. Polyphenols, found in high amounts in fruits but not starches, also has beneficial effects on the gut microbiome.
In short, enhancing mitochondrial energy production is crucial for maintaining a healthy gut environment. When you do that, it helps suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria and support beneficial microbial populations.
The bacterium Akkermansia is particularly beneficial and should ideally constitute about 10% of your gut microbiome. However, DNA analyses suggest about one-third of people have few to no Akkermansia at all, and I suspect this is due to insufficient energy production (low metabolism) and resulting oxygen leakage in the gut.
Antibiotics Can Worsen an Already Bad Situation
As noted by Dinkov, the high prevalence of antibiotics in our food supply also has a detrimental effect on the microbiome by indiscriminately killing off both good and bad bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria tend to rebound faster, resulting in a predominance of endotoxin-producing bacteria that destroy the intestinal barrier.
A robust intestinal barrier can prevent bacterial fragments from entering the bloodstream, whereas a compromised barrier allows these harmful fragments through while blocking beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
The overall health impact of the microbiome, therefore, significantly depends on the integrity of the intestinal barrier, and the strength and function of the intestinal barrier, in turn, is determined by the presence or absence of endotoxins.
Considering the adverse effects of antibiotics on gut health, I do not support Peat’s recommendation to use antibiotics to kill off pathogenic bacteria. It’s not an ideal solution. What you need to do is restructure your microbiome, and the most effective way to do that, I believe, is through eating foods that support Akkermansia and other beneficial bacteria, and avoid foods like linoleic acid that destroy these bacteria.
One of the reasons Akkermansia is so important is because it produces mucin, a thick, protective gel-like substance that lines various parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Mucin forms a protective barrier on the gut lining, shielding the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall from mechanical damage, chemical irritation from stomach acids and digestive enzymes, and pathogenic organisms like bacteria and viruses.
Mucin also supports the immune system by trapping potential pathogens and other foreign particles, which are then expelled from the body through the digestive process. It also contains antibodies and antimicrobial peptides that help fight off infections.
Lastly, mucin serves as a food source for other beneficial gut bacteria. This relationship is essential for digestive health, as the bacteria fed by Akkermansia aid in digestion, produce essential nutrients, and help maintain an overall balance of gut flora.
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Intestinal Motility Is Dependent on Your Metabolic Rate
As noted by Dinkov, there’s also a tight relationship between intestinal motility — the frequency and quality of bowel movements — and metabolic rate, particularly in relation to thyroid function. Historically, frequent bowel movements (nearly after every meal) were considered normal and were used as a diagnostic indicator of thyroid health.
Currently, however, the accepted norm for bowel movements has shifted to once a day or even once every two days without concern, unless constipation extends beyond a week. Ideally, you should have at least one or two bowel movements per day.
The composition of your stool can also provide insights into your hydration status and gut fermentation processes, which are indicative of the overall health of the colon and reflect your metabolic rate. Patterns in urination and bowel movements can also serve as indicators of metabolic health, with infrequent bowel movements and excessive urination suggesting a low metabolic rate.
The Importance of Collagen
Another one of Peat’s recommendations that I don’t think he stressed enough is the value of collagen (or gelatin). Collagen and gelatin are related substances, but they differ in structure and uses due to how they are processed and prepared. Gelatin, I think, is an inferior form of collagen.
They contain the same amino acids, and are known to support skin health, strengthen joints and bones, and improve digestive health. However, because collagen peptides are smaller and more bioavailable, they may be more efficiently absorbed by the body than gelatin.
About 30% of your bone is collagen, making it an essential dietary component to prevent osteoporosis (age-related bone loss). Your muscle fibers also contain loads of collagen, not to mention your tendons and ligaments, so you can’t build muscle if you don’t have enough collagen. Collagen intake can also help lower your risk of insulin resistance. As noted by Dinkov:
“Several studies have demonstrated that if you ingest collagen with a very large amount of glucose, it doesn’t trigger nearly the same insulin response because the collagen can fill in for a lot of the insulin. Some of the peptides are very similar in structure. So, it’s like you’re ingesting insulin and you don’t have to trigger your pancreas to produce as much. So, you directly improve your insulin sensitivity with every meal.”
Unfortunately, many who are following a carnivore diet fail to realize that most of the protein should be in the form of collagen, NOT red meat. An all-meat diet will only accelerate your demise, as most of the amino acids in muscle meat — methionine, histidine, tryptophan and cysteine — promote inflammation and suppress thyroid function and metabolism.1
According to Dinkov, tryptophan is also directly carcinogenic. Collagen, meanwhile, contains radically higher levels of glycine, proline, hydroxyproline and alanine, which are essential for health. Dinkov comments:
“Glycine is an actual neurotransmitter. It’s the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the spinal cord and one of the major neurotransmitters that regulates gastrointestinal motility. So, without sufficient amounts of glycine in the body, you’ll have problems with digestion even if you don’t have an inflamed gastrointestinal tract.”
Bone Broth Is an Ideal Source of Collagen
The best source of collagen is homemade bone broth, which you can whip up in four hours using a pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot. Simply place the bones in the pressure cooker, fill the pot with pure, filtered water — just enough to cover the bones — add salt and other spices to taste, then set it to cook on high for two hours if the bones are CAFO (from animals raised in a concentrated animal feeding operation), and four hours if organic and grass fed.
Organic grass fed beef bones are the best. Using bones from CAFO beef can be problematic due to potential heavy metal contamination. When cooking these bones in a pressure cooker, it’s best to limit the time to two hours to avoid introducing heavy metals into your broth.
If you’re using beef bones from grass fed organic sources, you can safely cook them for four hours. I recommend chilling the bone broth before you eat it. This will allow the fat to rise to the top so you can skim it off. While some beef fat is good, excess can be problematic.
On a side note, if you have a dog, you can carve off the loose cartilage around the joints after two hours and feed the cartilage to your pet. If you cook the bones for four hours or longer, most of the collagen will be dissolved in the broth, so there won’t be anything left to pick off. More importantly, you never want to give your dog cooked bones as they can splinter during chewing and cause great damage to the esophagus.
Another delicious way to get more collagen into your diet is to make homemade ice cream. My homemade healthy ice cream recipe done in a Ninja Creami includes one scoop of my collagen protein powder, three tablespoons of maple syrup, two egg yolks, and a cup of goat milk. It tastes almost identical to store-bought ice cream but is much healthier.
How Much Protein and Collagen Do You Need?
So, just how much collagen do you need? As noted by Dinkov, in studies conducted on rodents, researchers have discovered that adding 1% to 2% collagen to the diet can effectively mimic the life-extending effects observed from the depletion of certain amino acids such as cysteine, tryptophan and methionine.
This finding is particularly intriguing as it suggests a possible direct translation of these benefits to humans due to the metabolic nature of the intervention. When considering overall dietary protein, the consensus among nutritionists is that it should ideally comprise about 15% of your total daily calories.
Approximately one-third of this protein, or about 5%, should ideally be collagen. This recommendation is based on achieving the optimal balance for health benefits without adverse effects. It’s probably safe to increase the proportion of collagen up to 10% of total calorie intake.
A similar ratio — 5% to 30% — applies to dietary fat as well. That range is probably ideal. The remainder of your daily calories would then come from healthy carbs, mostly fresh fruits (if you can tolerate them) and fruit juice if you’re mitochondrially impaired, or starches like white rice and cooked potatoes if your metabolism is high (which is indicative of healthy mitochondrial energy production).
Amino Acids and Their Role in Fatigue
Interestingly, cheese is also high in tryptophan, significantly more than egg white. However, according to Dinkov, the casein in the cheese basically acts as a tryptophan blocker. Calcium also has tryptophan-buffering effects. He also goes on to explain how different types of amino acids interact in the body, particularly in relation to brain function and fatigue.
A key point to remember though is that most cheeses today are made with genetically modified rennet, so make sure you’re buying cheese made from raw, organic, grass fed milk and natural animal-based rennet only.
Amino acids are building blocks of proteins that have various functions in the body. Among them, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and aromatic amino acids like L-tyrosine and phenylalanine are important. BCAAs include leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The blood-brain barrier is a filter that controls what substances can enter the brain from the bloodstream.
BCAAs and aromatic amino acids such as L-tyrosine and tryptophan compete to cross this barrier, and if you consume large amounts of BCAAs alone, they outcompete L-tyrosine and tryptophan at the blood-brain barrier. This results in lower levels of L-tyrosine and tryptophan in the brain, which in turn can decrease the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Dinkov cites animal research showing that fatigue during exhaustive exercise isn’t primarily caused by a lack of energy but rather by an increase in serotonin in the brain. Administering BCAAs and L-tyrosine seemed to mitigate this type of fatigue without significantly adding calories, suggesting the importance of amino acid balance over sheer energy intake.
He also reviews some of the natural ways to influence amino acid absorption and serotonin levels, such as consuming foods rich in BCAAs, aspirin, cheese, and fruits containing salicylic acid, such as blackberries and apricots. All of these have an inhibitory effect on the absorption of inflammatory amino acids from food.
Results of a Personal Experiment
Biomolecular biologist Brad Marshall, whom I recently interviewed, argues that starches are a more ideal carb than fruit, but again, the caveat is that you must have a healthy microbiome. If you don’t, starches can pose problems.
Since my gut health is good and my metabolism high, I make 6 cups of white rice cooked in bone broth for my dog and I each day, along with an egg yolk or two. I think these three foods — bone broth, white rice and low-linoleic acid egg yolk — make for a close to optimal meal, both for humans and dogs. I also eat about half a pound of organic, grass fed cheese each day.
After eating this amount of cheese, rice and bone broth for one month, I did a SICA test to assess my bone mass and body fat percentage. I’d grown half an inch in height, gained 4 pounds in total body weight yet my body fat decreased from 8.5% to 5.3%. Basically, I gained 4 pounds of pure muscle.
The increase in height is explained by improved structural integrity of my vertebral discs. They get crushed with time, which is why you tend to shrink with age. The bone broth supplies loads of collagen, which strengthens those vertebra. An increase in connective tissue also increases intracellular water, and at the time that I did this test, my intracellular water had increased by half a liter.
Vitamins and Cancer Metabolism
Dinkov also discusses the findings of experimental studies he’s involved in, in which they’re using vitamins and pharmaceutical agents to target the metabolism of cancer cells. Vitamins studied include B1 (thiamine), B3 (niacinamide), and B7 (biotin). These vitamins were chosen based on historical studies, some nearly a century old, that connect them to cancer metabolism.
As explained by Dinkov, thiamine (B1) acts as a cofactor for pyruvate dehydrogenase, a crucial enzyme in cellular energy production. Thiamine also inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), which itself inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Thus, B1 indirectly supports energy production by keeping PDH active.
Niacinamide (B3) converts to NAD+ in your body, thereby affecting the NAD+ to NADH ratio, which is vital for metabolic processes like the functioning of another enzyme, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. NAD+ also inhibits lipolysis, reducing fat availability to cancer cells which can use fat as fuel.
Biotin (B7), meanwhile, is noted for significant effects in human studies involving neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease.
High doses of biotin (300 mg) have been observed to halt the progression of primary progressive multiple sclerosis, with the proposed mechanism being an improvement in mitochondrial function. It also appears to enhance the Krebs cycle, a key component of cellular respiration, as shown by increased carbon dioxide production in cell cultures.
A combination of all three were found to completely stop tumor growth but didn’t trigger regression. The research used the JEKO-1 cell line, which is a type of human mantle cell lymphoma.
This cell line is described as being highly malignant and fatal when transplanted into immunocompromised animals, showing a 100% mortality rate and 0% chance of tumor regression, whether through treatment or spontaneously. This indicates the aggressive nature of the tumor and the challenge it presents for therapeutic intervention.
Seeking additional treatment options, the researcher then added aspirin at a dose of approximately 1.5 grams per day, which is high but below toxic levels typically associated with treatments for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. This dosage successfully led to the full regression of tumors in three experimental mice.
After the tumors regressed, the mice were monitored for recurrence. One mouse showed signs of potential tumor recurrence, but this subsided, and after 70 days — a significantly extended period compared to the usual two-week lifespan due to the lethality of the tumors — all mice remained tumor-free.
With the success of aspirin, the focus shifted to a more potent analog, 2,6-dihydroxy benzoic acid, known for its stronger acidic properties and better lipophilicity, which can potentially lower the intracellular pH of cancer cells more effectively. This shift in pH is crucial because cancer cells typically avoid apoptosis (programmed cell death) by maintaining an alkaline internal environment. Lowering the pH is thought to trigger apoptosis.
This compound, 2,6-dihydroxy benzoic acid, which was used in the past to treat rheumatoid arthritis at doses significantly lower than those required for aspirin, showed promising results in further lowering the dose required for treatment compared to aspirin. The initial results from using this compound in conjunction with vitamins showed that tumors not only regressed but the treatment was effective at much lower doses.
So, in summary, a combination of vitamins and an aspirin analog may be a potent cancer treatment, minimizing side effects related to high doses of conventional aspirin. This shows how a combination of dietary supplements and pharmaceutical agents can target the metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer cells, specifically through the manipulation of intracellular pH to induce apoptosis.
Low PUFA Linked to Cancer Prevention
Dinkov also reviews other experimental approaches aimed at understanding and manipulating cancer cell behavior through dietary and pharmacological means. In a fascinating dietary experiment, mice were fed a fat-free diet for two weeks prior to tumor implantation attempts.
Remarkably, these mice exhibited resistance to tumor growth, suggesting that a deficiency in essential fatty acids, particularly polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), could prevent cancer formation. This finding radically challenges existing theories on the benefits of ketosis and the use of high-fat diets as a way to manage cancer.
Dinkov’s team is now working on the transition from animal models to human cancer protocols. He’s confident this will happen because the pharmacokinetics — how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes, and excretes a drug — of the involved chemicals are well-understood.
This includes the acidic analog of aspirin (2,6-dihydroxy benzoic acid), which, although less familiar, has some historical human data supporting its use. The process involves translating dosage from mice to humans based on body surface area and metabolic differences, which are generally well-documented and allow for relatively straightforward adjustments.
He also notes that in the 1950s and 1960s, they used high doses of natural desiccated thyroid for terminal cancer cases, which aligns with Otto Warburg’s theories on cancer metabolism. Warburg hypothesized that cancer growth is caused by the energy generated from glucose fermentation; hence, a pro-metabolic (energy-enhancing) approach such as what Dinkov’s team is working on, rather than an anti-metabolic (energy-reducing) therapy, might be more effective.
More Information
For more details on the topics summarized here, be sure to listen to the interview in its entirety. Also check out Georgi’s blog at haidut.me or follow him on Twitter. He also has hundreds of videos on YouTube on a plethora of topics.
WHO Cancer Agency Predicts 77% Rise in Cancers by 2050
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/04/17/rising-cancer-rates.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola April 17, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates more than 35 million new cancer cases in 2050
- This represents a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cancer cases that occurred in 2022
- WHO blamed the rising cancer rates on an aging population, along with tobacco, alcohol, obesity and exposure to air pollution
- WHO ignored the emergence of rapid-growing “turbo cancers” in people who have received one or more COVID-19 shots
- Many of these cancers are showing up in young people, many under age 30, with no family history of cancer; treatment protocols are available to help recover from post-jab injuries
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a daunting prediction of the global cancer burden. It estimates more than 35 million new cancer cases in 2050 — a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cancer cases that occurred in 2022.1
While WHO named an aging population as a key driver behind the increasing cancer burden, along with tobacco, alcohol, obesity and exposure to air pollution, what they’re ignoring is the concerning trend of turbo cancers that occur shortly after COVID-19 shots.
Cancer Cases Set to Increase Significantly by 2050
The IARC cancer burden estimates are based on the “best sources of data available in [185] countries in 2022.”2 That year, there were an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths, with WHO reporting, “About 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime, approximately 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women die from the disease.”3
About two-thirds of the new cancer cases and deaths were caused by 10 types of cancer. Lung cancer was most common, followed by female breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and stomach cancer. When broken down by sex, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed — and the leading cause of cancer death — among women. For men, it was lung cancer.
Lung cancer and colorectal cancer accounted for the second and third most diagnosed types and cause of most deaths among women. However, for men, prostate and colorectal cancers were second and third most common, while liver and colorectal cancer caused the second and third most cancer deaths.4
There were also disparities revealed based on human development index (HDI), a statistical tool that assesses three dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge (schooling) and a decent standard of living. According to WHO:5
“In terms of the absolute burden, high HDI countries are expected to experience the greatest absolute increase in incidence, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050 compared with 2022 estimates. Yet the proportional increase in incidence is most striking in low HDI countries (142% increase) and in medium HDI countries (99%). Likewise, cancer mortality in these countries is projected to almost double in 2050.”
What’s Driving Up Cancer Rates?
WHO blamed the projected cancer burden increase on a combination of age and environmental factors, stating:6
“The rapidly growing global cancer burden reflects both population ageing and growth, as well as changes to people’s exposure to risk factors, several of which are associated with socioeconomic development. Tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, with air pollution still a key driver of environmental risk factors.”
But it did not mention the emergence of rapid-growing cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, liver, pancreas, bile duct, brain, lung and blood — including exceedingly rare types of cancer. As noted by Canadian oncologist and cancer researcher Dr. William Makis in the Highwire interview above,7 these cancers are showing up in young people, many under age 30, with no family history of cancer.
They’re showing up in pregnant women and young children. Equally odd is the fact that most are Stage 3 or 4 by the time they’re diagnosed, with symptoms arising only days or weeks before. The cancers grow and spread so rapidly, many of these patients die before treatment can even begin. Most of them are also resistant to conventional treatment.
The phenomenon has become common enough that the term “turbo cancers” was coined to describe these rapid-growing cancers in people who have received one or more COVID jabs.
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Turbo Cancer Cases Reported Following COVID-19 Shots
In a case report described by board-certified internist and cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough and colleagues, basaloid carcinoma, a type of aggressive cancer, developed in a 56-year-old man shortly after he received an mRNA COVID-19 shot.
Early symptoms, which began just four days after the jab, were similar to those caused by Bell’s palsy, and involved head pain — but soon a tumor developed on his ear and face. According to the study:8
“We place this within the context of multiple immune impairments potentially related to the mRNA injections that would be expected to potentiate more aggressive presentation and progression of cancer. The type of malignancy we describe suggests a population risk for occurrence of a large variety of relatively common basaloid phenotype cancer cells, which may have the potential for metastatic disease.
… Since facial paralysis/pain is one of the more common adverse neurological events following mRNA injection, careful inspection of cutaneous/soft tissue should be conducted to rule out malignancy.”
This is just one example. Another case report, published in Frontiers in Medicine,9 also found a “rapid progression” of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) — a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) — following an mRNA COVID booster shot. AITL is a cancer that affects the lymph system, primarily involving T-cells, a type of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in the immune system.
“Since nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines strongly activate T follicular helper cells, it is important to explore the possible impact of approved SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines on neoplasms affecting this cell type,” the study notes.10
The cancer occurred in a 66-year-old man, mere days after he got his third Pfizer shot. Ironically, he got the shot to protect him during chemotherapy, and in eight days, the cancer just exploded and spread like wildfire.
According to Makis, that kind of progression would normally take a couple of years, or at least a few months. “Such a rapid evolution would be highly unexpected in the natural course in the disease,” according to the study.11
How Might COVID-19 Shots Trigger Cancer?
In May 2021, I interviewed Stephanie Seneff, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at MIT for over five decades, about the likely hazards of replacing the uracil in the RNA used in the COVID shots with synthetic methylpseudouridine.12 Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of RNA that are represented by the letters A, G, C and U.
This process of substituting letters in the genetic code is known as codon optimization, which is known to be problematic.
At the time, Seneff predicted the shots would cause a rise in prion diseases, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases at younger ages, blood disorders and heart failure, and one of the primary reasons for this is because they genetically manipulated the RNA in the shots with synthetic methylpseudouridine, which enhances RNA stability by inhibiting its breakdown.
But when substituting parts of the code in this way, the resulting protein can easily get misfolded, and this has been linked to a variety of chronic diseases,13 including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and heart failure.14 As explained by Makis, the pseudouridine insertion can also suppress your innate immune surveillance by dampening the activity of toll-like receptors, and one downstream effect of that is reduced cancer surveillance.
“The more mRNA shots you take, the greater the immune system damage, the greater your risk of impaired cancer surveillance and hence, the greater your risk of turbo cancer,” Makis says.
DNA Contamination Discovered in COVID Shots
In a preprint study, microbiologist Kevin McKernan — a former researcher and team leader for the MIT Human Genome project15 — and colleagues assessed the nucleic acid composition of four expired vials of the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA shots. “DNA contamination that exceeds the European Medicines Agency (EMA) 330ng/mg requirement and the FDAs 10ng/dose requirements” was found.16
So, in addition to the spike protein and mRNA in COVID-19 shots, McKernan’s team discovered simian virus 40 (SV40) promoters that, for decades, have been suspected of causing cancer in humans, including mesotheliomas, lymphomas and cancers of the brain and bone.17
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, called for an end to the use of COVID-19 mRNA shots, citing concerns about DNA fragments in the products.18 In a December 6, 2023, letter sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ladapo outlined findings showing the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes and the SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA.
While there are limits on how much DNA can be in a vaccine due to concern over DNA integration, the guidelines don’t consider lipid nanoparticles and other factors in COVID-19 shots that could enhance how much DNA can enter a cell.
“Lipid nanoparticles are an efficient vehicle for delivery of the mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccines into human cells and may therefore be an equally efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells.
The presence of SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA may also pose a unique and heightened risk of DNA integration into human cells,” according to a news release from the Florida Department of Health (DOH).19 Further, according to the Florida DOH, the FDA’s own 2007 guidance states:20
- “DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes – the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell.
- DNA integration may result in chromosomal instability.
- The Guidance for Industry discusses biodistribution of DNA vaccines and how such integration could affect unintended parts of the body including blood, heart, brain, liver, kidney, bone marrow, ovaries/testes, lung, draining lymph nodes, spleen, the site of administration and subcutis at injection site.”
How to Recover From Post-Jab Injury
If you’ve had a COVID-19 shot, there are steps you can take to repair from the assault on your system. Remember, the more mRNA shots you take, the greater the immune system damage. So, the first step is to avoid getting anymore COVID jabs. Next, if you’ve developed any unusual symptoms, seek out help from an expert.
The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) also has a treatment protocol for post-jab injuries. It’s called I-RECOVER and can be downloaded from covid19criticalcare.com.21
Dr. Pierre Kory, who cofounded the FLCCC, has transitioned to treating the vaccine injured more or less exclusively. For more information, visit DrPierreKory.com. McCullough is also investigating post-jab treatments, which you can find on PeterMcCulloughMD.com.
The World Health Council has also published lists of remedies that can help inhibit, neutralize and eliminate spike protein, which most experts agree is a primary culprit. I covered these in my 2021 article, “World Council for Health Reveals Spike Protein Detox.”
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 World Health Organization February 1, 2024
- 7 Rumble, The HighWire with Del Bigtree, Is the COVID Vaccine Causing Turbo Cancers? September 22, 2023
- 8 EXCLI Journal 2023;22:992-1011
- 9, 10 Frontiers in Medicine November 25, 2021; 8: 798095
- 11 Frontiers in Medicine November 25, 2021; 8: 798095, Discussion
- 12 International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice and Research May 10, 2021; 2(1): 402-444
- 13 Nature Medicine December 6, 2011; 17: 1536-1538
- 14 Autophagy August 2008; 4(6): 821-823
- 15 The Healthcare Channel April 2, 2024
- 16 OSF Preprints April 10, 2023
- 17 Expert Rev Respir Med October 2011; 5(5): 683-697
- 18, 19, 20 Florida Health January 3, 2024
- 21 Covid19criticalcare.com
Have You Tried Curcumin for Indigestion?
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/04/08/curcumin-indigestion.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola April 08, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- If you experience chronic heartburn, a new study indicates that taking curcumin, the biologically active polyphenolic compound found in turmeric, may offer the same protection and relief as the popularly used proton pump inhibitor (PPI) Prilosec (omeprazole)
- Despite knowing the serious side effects associated with PPIs, data show people are prescribed and are taking them at doses higher than recommended and for longer than is recommended by clinical guidelines
- PPIs may increase your risk of a gut infection, vitamin B12 deficiency, heart disease, heart attack, bone fractures and events of cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus. In just one week of use, PPIs are associated with significant impairment in attention, executive function, visual memory and working and planning functions
- Steps you can take to naturally reduce symptoms are to identify your trigger foods and eliminate them, don’t eat within four hours of going to bed, consider elevating the head of the bed if you experience nighttime symptoms and don’t wear clothing that is tight around the waist
Curcumin is the major biologically active polyphenolic compound of turmeric and the compound that gives the spice its yellow color. A 2023 study1 published in the BMJ Journal finds that curcumin has yet another health benefit — it helps improve outcomes in people with functional dyspepsia.
In the past decade, researchers have discovered several health benefits from including turmeric and curcumin in your diet. As I reported in 2021, curcumin was among the top five substances researchers had found that could help improve COVID outcomes. However, on their own, turmeric and curcumin have poor bioavailability when taken orally.
Researchers have attributed this to the body’s limited ability to absorb the compound and the body’s ability to rapidly metabolize and eliminate it.2 However, research has also demonstrated that when taken with different compounds, the bioavailability can improve and therefore may help enhance the multiple health benefits that are attributed to the compound.
For example, when taken with piperine, an alkaloid found in black pepper, the bioavailability of curcumin rises by 2,000%.3 Combining curcumin with bromelain, a protease from the pineapple stem, also “substantially increases the absorption of curcumin after oral administration.”4
Curcumin Is Potentially Effective for Functional Dysplasia
In the featured paper,5 151 people completed the study. The group was broken into four groups. They either received two 250 mg capsules of curcumin four times daily, one placebo capsule, 20 mg of Prilosec (omeprazole) and two placebo pills four times daily, or turmeric plus Prilosec.
Prilosec is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that is commonly used to treat functional dyspepsia. Functional dyspepsia6 is a type of chronic indigestion in which you experience symptoms of feeling full or bloated during and after meals, heartburn and excessive burping.
The researchers were interested in how curcumin could affect the gastrointestinal tract, so no additional compounds were included to increase bioavailability. The study was a randomized, double-blind controlled trial that engaged participants with functional dyspepsia from university hospitals in Thailand.
The main outcome measure used was the Severity of Dyspepsia Assessment (SODA) score that was measured on Days 28 and 56 to evaluate pain, non-pain and satisfaction with treatment. Secondary outcomes measured included adverse events and severe adverse events.
At the start of the study, patients in all the groups had similar clinical characteristics and scores on the SODA. When evaluating the results, the researchers found that on Days 28 and 56, the SODA scores indicated a significant reduction in symptoms for all but the placebo group.
The improvements were greater by Day 56. The researchers reported no serious adverse events occurred during the study, but acknowledged that individuals who were overweight experienced some liver function deterioration while taking curcumin.7
The researchers acknowledged several limiting factors, including the size of the study, the short intervention and the lack of long-term data. Despite these limitations, the researchers found that “The strength of the study lies in its relevance to daily clinical practice, providing additional drug options in addition to PPIs alone, without added side effects.” and “… the new findings from our study may justify considering curcumin in clinical practice.”8
What You Eat Matters to Your Heartburn
While it might seem counterintuitive, one of the most common causes of heartburn is insufficient amounts of stomach acid. Your body uses stomach acid to properly digest food, breaking it down to absorb nutrients. Without enough stomach acid, undigested food can lead to indigestion and heartburn. Undigested food can also cause bacterial overgrowth.
Yet, if you use PPIs,9 they reduce your stomach acid even further, and over time may cause the glands in the stomach that secrete acid to stop working altogether. A 2017 study10 suggested that a Mediterranean diet that focuses on fruits, healthy fats, lean meat and vegetables could be as effective as PPIs in treating acid reflux symptoms.
The study involved 184 participants and found that after six weeks those who had changed their diet had a slightly greater reduction in reflux symptoms than those who used PPI medication. The study measured symptoms of laryngopharyngeal reflux during which stomach acid affects the tissue at the back of your throat.
Each of your dietary choices can play a role in heartburn symptoms, including beverages. For occasional symptom relief, alkaline water, also tested in the study, may help neutralize the acid and offer relief. You can add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 4 ounces of orange juice and stir.
Because the reaction causes foaming, make sure the glass is only half full to avoid overflow. Another option is to add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or one-half to 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of filtered water.
However, I would underscore the importance of using alkaline water only as a temporary solution and only if reflux is caused by excess stomach acid. The bottom line is that daily consumption of water that’s either too acidic or too alkaline can upset the pH balance in your gastrointestinal tract and trigger heartburn.
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PPIs Have Serious Side Effects
PPIs are associated with several significant side effects. For example, individuals who regularly use them can develop a vitamin B12 deficiency as they reduce your body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12 from food.11 Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that’s required for red blood cell formation, DNA synthesis, and for the development of the central nervous system.12
A 2017 study13 indicates PPIs may increase your risk for a gut infection. The study engaged a total of 564,969 PPI users and controls (188,323 PPI users and 376,646 controls) and found that those who took certain heartburn drugs had an increased risk of developing C. difficile and campylobacter bacterial infections related to the suppression of stomach acid production.
Research has also found that even short-term use of PPIs can contribute to cognitive changes and long-term use is linked to dementia. One 2015 study14 suggested PPIs were associated with clinically and statistically significant impairment in attention, executive function, visual memory and working and planning functions after just one week of use.
Finally, long-term use has also been linked to chronic kidney disease, heart disease and heart attacks and increased risk of bone fractures and events of cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus.15
Despite this evidence, a 2018 Iceland nationwide drug utilization study16 demonstrated a continued increase in overall use in the previous 13 years, particularly in older adults.
The researchers noted that “Patients were increasingly treated for longer durations than recommended by clinical guidelines and mainly with higher doses.”17 A 2022 study from Spain found similar results in which the researchers observed an increase in PPI use especially in a population older than 65 years, “despite the risk of cognitive decline and falls.”18
A 2023 literature review19 identified observational studies on PPI use in individuals older than 18 across several databases from 23 countries. The data indicated that of the people using PPIs, 63%, were younger than 65 years, 56% were female and roughly two-thirds were on high doses of PPIs, 25% of which for more than a year and 28% for more than three years.
After reviewing the global data, the researchers concluded, “Given the widespread use of PPIs and increasing concern regarding long-term use, this review provides a catalyst to support more rational use, particularly with unnecessary prolonged continuation.”20
Steps to Help Naturally Reduce Symptoms
As I have written before, PPIs have serious effects on your health, so it is wise to first consider non-drug alternatives to reduce your symptoms. Since the foods you eat affect your reflux and heartburn symptoms, you can begin by identifying the foods that trigger your symptoms and eliminating them from your diet.
If you are on a PPI, it is vitally important that you seek to wean from them as soon as possible with your physician. The best H2 blocker to use would be Pepcid (famotidine) which you will gradually wean from as well.
Foods that commonly increase heartburn21 include fried and processed foods, such as fast food, pizza, and potato chips or similar fried snack foods. Other foods that commonly make the list are tomato-based sauces, citrus fruits and carbonated beverages.
After you have eliminated the foods that trigger your symptoms, there are several more steps you can take. Steer clear of clothes that are tight around your waist or middle22 since it can increase the symptoms of heartburn.
When you sit down, tight clothes squeeze your abdominal area, increasing the risk your stomach contents will push through the sphincter at the top of the stomach and you’ll experience reflux.
It’s important to remember that for many people, heartburn gets worse at night after you are lying down to go to sleep.23 It’s easier for food to back up the esophagus without the push of gravity as you’re standing.
Don’t eat in the three to four hours before going to sleep at night and if you’re still having trouble, try elevating the head of your bed approximately 6 inches. Don’t simply sleep on extra pillows as that adds an extra strain to your neck and shoulders.
The angle of the pillows can also increase pressure on the abdomen, depending on the position. Instead, consider blocks sold specifically for elevating the bed, which stabilizes it, so it doesn’t move at night.
Ginger has long been known to have a gastroprotective effect. Add two to three quarter-size slices of fresh ginger root to 2 cups of hot water and let it steep for several minutes. Drink it approximately 20 minutes before eating your meal. If heartburn seems to plague you at night, try a cup of chamomile tea about an hour before going to sleep.24
- 1, 5 BMJ, 2023; doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2022-112231
- 2, 3 Foods, 2017;6(10)
- 4 Metabolism Open, 2020; 100066
- 6 Cleveland Clinic, Functional Dyspepsia
- 7 MedicalXpress, September 12th, 2023
- 8 BMJ, 2023; doi: 10.1136/bmjebm-2022-112231 75% DTP
- 9 Cleveland Clinic, Hypochlorhydria, What Causes bullet 3 30% DTP
- 10 Journal of the American Medical Association Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, 2017;143(10)
- 11, 12 National Institutes of Health, Vitamin B12
- 13 British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2017; doi: 10.1111/bcp.13205
- 14 Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy, 2015; 7
- 15 US Pharmacist, 2017; 42 (7)
- 16, 17 Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, 2018; 11
- 18 BMC Public Health, 2022; 22(818)
- 19, 20 European Journal of Pharmacology, 2023;79(9)
- 21 Johns Hopkins Medicine, GERD Diet: Foods That Help With Acid Reflux
- 22 Everyday Roots, 15 Natural Remedies for Heartburn and Severe Acid Reflux #10
- 23 Everyday Roots, 15 Natural Remedies for Heartburn and Severe Acid Reflux #4
- 24 Everyday Roots, 15 Natural Remedies for Heartburn and Severe Acid Reflux #15
Goodbye Google
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/03/20/boycott-google.aspx
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola March 20, 2024
Goopocalypse Now from Goopocalypse Now! on Vimeo.
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- In early April 2020, Mercola.com purposely blocked Google from indexing our articles and breaking news blog posts
- I encourage you to search every site’s privacy policy page to see if they use Google Analytics or Google Ad programs, and if they do, encourage them to stop
- Nearly every non-major website is using Google’s “free” analytics program, as well as their advertising platforms. Alas, those services are not actually free. Ultimately, YOU pay for them with your personal data, as that is the product Google sells. Collectively, all of these sites are stealing an enormous amount of your private information
- Google’s powers pose several threats to society. First of all, it’s a surveillance agency with significant yet hidden surveillance powers. It’s also a censoring agency with the ability to restrict or block access to websites across the internet, thus deciding what people can and cannot see
- Google also has the power to manipulate public opinion through search rankings and other means, and the shifts in thinking produced are both rapid and enormous
In early April 2020, Mercola.com became one of the first websites to purposely block Google from indexing our articles and breaking news blog posts. Most of you are well aware that I’ve had concerns about the surveillance capitalists, spearheaded by Google, for a number of years.
September 2017, I discussed Google’s partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and how their depression assessment quiz was in fact a drug promotion scam sponsored by the drug manufacturer Eli Lilly. No matter how you answered the questions, you were a candidate for antidepressants.
Video Link
Since then, Google and other tech companies have only gotten deeper and wider access to people’s personal medical information, and Google’s selling of this data to third parties can have real-world consequences. Higher insurance premiums or denial of employment are but two obvious examples.
Google Blocked From Interacting With Mercola.com
Most of you know that in the summer of 2019, Google removed us from coming up in any keyword search unless our name was also typed into the query. While we still received substantial traffic from people who looked very hard to find Mercola articles through Google, we finally decided to block Google from crawling or indexing any of my articles or breaking news blogs. We also stopped using the Google Analytics program in 2018.
So, everything related to Google has been removed from this site, and I hope other sites will follow suit. I encourage you to search every site’s privacy policy page to see if they use Google Analytics or Google Ad programs, and if they do, encourage them to stop.
We can be successful without the surveillance monopolies, and businesses and individuals need to unite to do everything we can to stop their dangerous privacy theft and data mining.
How You Pay for Companies’ Use of ‘Free’ Analytics
A majority of websites are using Google’s “free” analytics program, as well as their advertising platforms. Alas, those services are not actually free. Ultimately, YOU pay for them with your personal data, as that is the product Google turns around and sells to third parties. Collectively, all of these sites are stealing an enormous amount of your private information.
Google and its data-siphoning tentacles reach deep into your everyday life, collecting data on every move you make and conversation you have, whether online or in the real world.
Even if you disable location tracking on your phone, Google has ways to determine your whereabouts by tracking the addresses of nearby cellular towers that your phone connects to instead. This is one of the reasons I strongly encourage you to ditch all Android phones and use an iPhone that has better privacy policies.
I discussed this in my 2018 article, “Google — One of the Largest Monopolies in the World.” That article also includes a list of examples of the type of data collected by Google, whether you’re aware of it or not.
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Our ‘Cognitive Liberties’ Are at Stake
As detailed in “Will Google’s Social Credit System Determine Your Future?” there are now proposals suggesting all this data, in combination with artificial intelligence-enabled analytics systems could be used for “predictive policing” as illustrated in the 2002 movie “Minority Report,” where suspected perpetrators are arrested before a crime is actually committed.
In the 2018 TED Talk above,1 legal scholar and bioethicist Nita Farahany discusses the potential ramifications of mind-reading technology, warning that such technology could easily lead to “a society where people are arrested for merely thinking about committing a crime.”
Mind you, Google claimed to have the ability to read your thoughts an entire decade ago. In 2010, Google CEO Eric Schmidt boasted, “We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.”2
Fast-forward 10 years, and Google’s mind-reading capabilities have exponentially grown and been perfected to the point that their AI can predict the exact moment when a teenager is feeling insecure, lonely or vulnerable, so that an advertisement for an image-boosting product can be placed in front of them on the screen in that moment.
This and many other terrifying capabilities are detailed in the book, “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,” written by social psychologist and Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff. The video below features an interview I did with her about this topic.
In her TED Talk, Farahany also discusses the dangers of a world in which “private interests sell our brain data.” She believes we, as a global community, need laws protecting our rights to cognitive liberty; laws that protect our freedom of thought and self-determination.
Say Goodbye to Google
Over the years, I’ve grown exceedingly concerned about Google’s exponential data mining efforts and infiltration into every conceivable area of our everyday lives, from health care and fitness to education and finance.
The influence of Google is so vast yet so hidden, most people simply have no idea just how controlled they actually are. Most of us would vehemently deny that something as simple as Google search results can manipulate us into thinking a certain way about a topic, yet research clearly shows that this kind of subliminal influence is profoundly powerful.
Download Interview Transcript | Video Link
Robert Epstein, Ph.D., who has spent the last decade of his professional career exposing Google’s manipulative and deceptive practices as a senior research psychologist for the American Institute of Behavioral Research and Technology, has also demonstrated how easily Google can shift our political and societal landscape.
Without Google, the technocrats’ dream of a One World Government would likely never happen, as it relies on social engineering and artificial intelligence. Google is a frontrunner and expert in both, and has the ability to control entire populations. As noted by Epstein in the interview above, Google poses three unique threats to society:
• They’re a surveillance agency with significant yet hidden surveillance powers — Google Search, Google Wallet, Google Docs, Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube — all are surveillance platforms and from Google’s perspective, the value of these platforms are their ability to glean very precise data about you as an individual. Most of these platforms offer free services for the simple reason that YOU are the product being sold to third parties.
• They’re a censoring agency with the ability to restrict or block access to websites across the internet, thus deciding what people can and cannot see. While Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act makes free speech possible for everyone, it also allows Google and other online platforms to filter out and censor whatever they want.
The most crushing problem with this kind of internet censorship is that you don’t know what you don’t know. If a certain type of information is removed from search, and you don’t know it should exist somewhere, you’ll never go looking for it. And, when searching for information online, how would you know that certain websites or pages have been removed from the search results in the first place? The answer is, you don’t.
For example, Google has been investing in DNA repositories for quite a long time, and are adding DNA information to our profiles. According to Epstein, Google has taken over the national DNA repository, but articles about that — which he has cited in his own writings — have all vanished.
• They have the power to manipulate public opinion through search rankings and other means, and the shifts in thinking produced are both rapid and enormous. For example, Epstein has demonstrated that Google has the ability to shift voting preferences among undecided voters by a whopping 48% to 63%, and the power to determine 25% of global elections. What’s more, this manipulation is entirely undetectable and untraceable.
The Many Reasons to Ditch Google
As a user, there are many reasons to de-Google your life, including the following:
| Privacy concerns — Google’s services, including search, email, and maps, collect vast amounts of personal data, which can include browsing history, location data, and more. This collection is integral to their business model, which focuses on targeted advertising. Other privacy concerns include the following:
• Tracking of your whereabouts 24/7 — In 2022, four attorneys general sued Google for its deceptive practices in collecting location data, as they continue to track location data even after users disable location tracking. By tracking your Google calendar entries, combined with your location data, Google also knows what events you’ve attended, when, and for how long. • Your built-in webcam on your phone, tablet, laptop or computer can also be accessed by various apps. • A lifetime of photographic evidence — Twenty years ago, photos were a private matter, reminisced over in photo albums and displayed around the home. Today, people’s lives are on public display online, and Google captures it all. When combined with facial recognition software and other technological identification applications, including metadata detailing the time and place of each snap, your photos are a treasure trove of private information. • A lifetime of communications — Google also has every single Gmail email you’ve ever sent, received and deleted. • Censoring your email — Google can also censor your email, and we have evidence that this is happening. While about 50% of our subscribers are using Gmail accounts, the delivery rate for Gmail accounts is HALF of all the email providers like ProtonMail — far lower than any other email service. So, if you are using Gmail to receive our newsletter please change immediately. If you’re using Gmail, understand that they’re censoring your inbox, and you might not even realize it. • Deleted files and information — You probably delete files and information every now and then for the sake of safety, right? You might decide to delete that list of passwords from your phone, for example, in case you lose it or it gets hacked. Well, Google still has all of that information. |
| Market dominance and monopolistic behavior — Google’s dominant position in search, video hosting (via YouTube), and mobile operating systems (via Android) stifles competition, potentially leading to less innovation and choice for consumers. |
| Data security — Although Google claims to have strong security measures, no service is immune to data breaches or security flaws. Considering the vast amount of personal data collected by Google, a data breach could be potentially devastating. |
| Echo chamber and filter bubble effects — Google’s personalized search and news results can create a “filter bubble,” where users are more likely to see information that aligns with their past behavior, potentially limiting exposure to differing viewpoints and leading to an echo chamber effect. |
| Dependence and data lock-in — Relying heavily on Google’s ecosystem can lead to a form of lock-in, where moving to other services becomes difficult due to the vast amounts of data and integration within Google’s services. To avoid this, diversify your service providers. |
| The coming social credit system — The ability to surveil and track every conceivable metric, censor and block access to information, and the ability to manipulate opinions also makes Google an invaluable resource for the planned social credit system, and the more information they have on you, the easier they can manipulate you. |
Here’s How You Can Say Goodbye to Google Today
If you are at all concerned about Google’s data theft practices, then it’s time you stop using Google services. Sure, Google has convenience covered, but it’s not enough to overshadow its many evils.
If you’re ready to protect your privacy and break free from the manipulation of internet monopolies, here are some basic steps you can take. Also, be sure to share these tips with your family and friends.
| Swap out your browser — Uninstall Google Chrome and use Brave or Opera instead. Everything you do on Chrome is surveilled, including keystrokes and every webpage you’ve ever visited. Brave is a great alternative that takes privacy seriously. |
| Switch your search engine — Stop using Google search engines or any extension of Google, such as Bing or Yahoo, both of which draw search results from Google. Instead, use a default search engine that offers privacy, such as Presearch, Startpage, DuckDuckGo, Qwant and many others. |
| Use a secure email — Close your Gmail account and switch to a secure email service like ProtonMail. If you have children, don’t transfer their student Google account into a personal account once they’re out of school. |
| Switch to a secure document sharing service — Ditch Google Docs and use another alternative such as Zoho Office, Etherpad, CryptPad, OnlyOffice or Nuclino, all of which are recommended by NordVPN.3 |
| Delete all Google apps from your phone and purge Google hardware. Better yet, get a de-Googled phone. Several companies now offer them, including Above Phone. |
| Avoid websites that use Google Analytics — To do that, you’ll need to check the website’s privacy policy and search for “Google.” Websites are required to disclose if they use a third-party surveillance tool. If they use Google Analytics, ask them to switch! |
| Use a secure messaging system — To keep your private communications private, use a messaging tool that provides end-to-end encryption, such as Signal. |
| Use a virtual private network (VPN) such as NordVPN or Strong VPN — This is a must if you seek to preserve your online privacy. |
| Don’t use Google Home devices in your house or apartment — These devices record everything that occurs in your home, both speech and sounds such as brushing your teeth and boiling water, even when they appear to be inactive, and send that information back to Google. The same goes for Google’s home thermostat Nest and Amazon’s Alexa. |
| Don’t use an Android cellphone, as it’s owned by Google. |
| Ditch Siri, which draws all its answers from Google. |
| Don’t use Fitbit, as it was recently purchased by Google and will provide them with all your physiological information and activity levels, in addition to everything else that Google already has on you. |
Grip Strength Is a Reliable Biomarker of Biological Age
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/03/15/grip-strength-biological-age-biomarker.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola March 15, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Grip strength appears to be well correlated with epigenetic clocks used to estimate biological age based on DNA methylation patterns. Researchers concluded that age acceleration in men and women is associated with loss of strength over time
- Chronological age is the number of months or years that you have existed on Earth, while biological age describes the age at which your cells are functioning. As your cells grow older, they’re more susceptible to a variety of age-related diseases, many of which are in the top 10 leading causes of death
- There are similar associations between grip strength and endurance, balance, mobility, immune system function, heart health, cognitive function, an increase in psychiatric conditions and dementia
- Hand grip strength is measured with a dynamometer, which you can purchase or use at your local gym. Take three measurements following the instructions and average the measurements to find your grip strength
- While important, grip strength is an indicator of overall strength, so just improving hand strength doesn’t improve health or longevity. I highly encourage you to consider KAATSU, which is a specialized form of blood flow restriction training
Research1 published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle demonstrated once again that grip strength is a reliable biomarker of your biological age. In case you were not aware, your biological age can be a different number than your chronological age.
Biological Age, Health Span and Legal Implications
Chronological age is the number of years you have existed on Earth, while biological age describes the age at which your cells are functioning. For some people, these numbers are the same, and for others, they are vastly different. If you throw another measurement into the mix, your health span is the amount of time in life you are free from age-related disease.
Your health span is intimately related to your biological age. This means as your body’s cells decline in function, they’re more susceptible to a variety of age-related diseases, many of which are in the top 10 leading causes of death recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.2 These conditions include heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and chronic liver disease.
Researchers believe that biological age is a combination of genetics, lifestyle choices, nutrition and comorbidities.3 You have control over two factors — lifestyle and nutrition — which together influence comorbidities. In other words, you have control over a vast majority of the factors that impact your biological age, and therefore your longevity.
When you consider the world around you, a lot has changed in the last five years. Bioethicists at Harvard University4 question if the distinction between biological and chronological age is significant, should that support a legal age change? While this is a question for another time, you can see how taking control of your health today may hold many benefits later in life, no matter what time in life you begin making changes.
The featured study indicates that grip strength is a reliable biomarker of your biological age, which would indicate that measuring your grip strength can help doctors predict your probability of developing chronic disease or all-cause mortality. One writer ponders5 about the growing number of individuals in their 20s and 30s who are no longer biologically young.
He writes that over the last eight years, a variety of studies have shown that the number of people with serious chronic diseases is growing, alongside a rising infertility rate, rising rate of mental illnesses in young women, and a roughly 70% decline in male testosterone since the 1970s.
He concludes that it is “obvious just how much the quality of human life has declined in just 1-2 decades.”6 Yet, information from the featured study and many others demonstrate that simple lifestyle changes can produce significant results.
Grip Strength Is a Reliable Biomarker for Biological Age
The researchers identified a growing body of evidence that has linked muscular weakness to a host of age-related health outcomes.7 Many researchers have looked at low grip strength as a biomarker of aging. This research team sought to identify the pathways that connect grip strength to negative health consequences by looking at DNA methylation (DNAm) age acceleration.
The researchers used data from the 2006 to 2008 data collection in the Health and Retirement Study in which there were eight to 10 years of follow-up. The researchers looked at longitudinal modeling that examined a potential association between the change in grip strength and DNAm age acceleration.
The data estimated age acceleration using DunedinPoAm, PhenoAge and GrimAge clocks, which are three epigenetic clocks used to estimate biological age based on DNAm patterns.8
At the conclusion of the study, the researchers wrote that there was “a robust and independent cross-sectional association between NGS (normalized grip strength) and DNAm age acceleration for men using the DunedinPoAm, PhenoAge and GrimAge clocks and for women using the DunedinPoAm and GrimAge clocks.”9
Based on the data, the researchers concluded that there is “some initial evidence of age acceleration among men and women with lower NGS and loss of strength over time.”10 They suggest that more research is needed to understand the extent to which DNAm age is associated with grip strength and chronic disease.
This data seeks to explain what other researchers have documented, that grip strength provides evidence of your overall strength and upper limb function, as well as information about bone mineral density, nutrition, cognition, sleep and quality of life.11
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Relationship Between Strength and Overall Health
Other researchers have also identified a similar relationship with grip strength, overall health and specific health conditions. According to geriatric medicine specialist Ardeshir Hashmi from the Cleveland Clinic, “Grip strength naturally begins to decline around age 50, and maybe even earlier. People who maintain their grip strength age more slowly. They stay healthier longer and are stronger throughout their bodies.”12
The consensus is that the stronger your grip strength, the better your health and the lower your grip strength the poorer your health. However, there is no consensus on the exact low and high measurements, and they are different based on your chronological age, weight and other factors.13
It’s estimated that grip strength is an indication of general muscle strength, which is crucial for endurance, balance and mobility. The association between hand grip strength and the strength of your immune system was the focus of a 2022 study14 that concluded measuring hand strength allows for “preliminary predictions on the current level of immunity and inflammation in the body.”
Data has also found that hand grip strength is correlated with heart health and can help predict cardiovascular problems alongside family history, blood pressure and other indicators.15 Low grip strength increases the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and a stronger grip is associated with increased functional independence.16 Grip strength can also affect your stability and increase the risk of accidents when you can’t catch yourself from falling.
Several studies have also found an association between a weaker grip, a reduction in cognitive functioning, an increase in the risk of psychiatric conditions and an increase in dementia.17 A large study published in 2022 associated poor hand grip strength in midlife with cognitive decline roughly 10 years later.18
The study19 published in JAMA Neurology used data from the U.K. Biobank Cohort Study. The researchers concluded that hand grip strength is associated with neurocognitive brain health. They believe this adds to a growing body of research indicating that increasing muscle strength in middle-aged adults may help maintain neurocognitive brain health as you age.
Another 2022 study20 published in BMC Medicine analyzed cross-sectional and longitudinal data from over 40,000 participants. The number in the cohort varied depending on the measurement being analyzed.
The researchers looked at the association between grip strength, behavioral outcomes and brain structure, finding an association between grip strength and increased gray matter volume in regional areas of the brain, as well as several measures of cognition and mental health.
How to Measure Hand Grip Strength
I have known of the correlation between grip strength and longevity for some time now, but was surprised that the instrument to measure it is inexpensive, So, I purchased one for $25 on Amazon and was delighted that my grip strength was off the charts at 129 pounds. I sincerely believe it is largely due to hanging for 90 seconds to two minutes twice a day for the last few years, a practice that I encourage nearly anyone to consider to increase their grip strength.
Researchers in the featured study used a Smedley spring-type hand dynamometer to measure grip strength.21 Grip strength measures muscle strength exerted in your hand and forearm muscles. A dynamometer is typically the tool that’s used to measure grip strength but not what’s used to improve your grip strength.
The measurement is typically given in kilograms or pounds. A digital hand dynamometer is the easiest and most reliable way of measuring your hand strength. Owning a hand dynamometer helps you keep track of your grip strength over time. To use a dynamometer be sure to follow the instructions that come with the device. Generally:22
- The grip handle should be positioned to fit your hand
- Bend your elbow at a 90-degree angle
- Apply maximum effort to squeeze the dynamometer
- Repeat a total of three times and average the three results
A 2018 study23 used data from 1,232 participants aged 18 to 85 years to extract normative reference values for hand grip strength in that age range. The researchers established ranges based on gender and dominant or non-dominant hands.
The cohort was broken into five-year age ranges and an overall range was established for each group as well as identifying those in the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles. Examples of the measurement ranges in the dominant hand include:
| Years | Pounds |
|---|---|
| Men | |
| 18-24 | 103.6 +/- 17.9 |
| 35-39 | 103.8 +/- 26.2 |
| 50-54 | 97.0 +/- 22.7 |
| 60-64 | 84.7 +/- 22.7 |
| 70-74 | 76.5 +/- 19.8 |
| Women | |
| 18-24 | 61.9 +/- 15.7 |
| 35-39 | 64.4 +/- 13.7 |
| 50-54 | 62.2 +/- 13.9 |
| 60-64 | 52.0 +/- 14.3 |
| 70-74 | 47.4 +/- 11.2 |
Pay Close Attention to Overall Strength
As the lead researcher of the featured study, Mark D. Peterson said, “Grip strength is a proxy indicator of overall muscle strength, meaning that it is highly correlated to other measures of strength. Thus, simply increasing grip strength would not render any changes to health or longevity.”24
While grip strength is just an indicator of your overall strength, you still may want to spend some time improving your grip strength to make everyday tasks easier. Hashmi recommends25 using a racquetball or squash ball as a squeeze ball.
He notes that the size and the material of the ball are important so that you have the right resistance. A tennis ball is too large and may cause an injury while exercising. Other options can include resistance bands and grip and squeeze handles that come in different sizes and levels of resistance. He recommends using a low resistance and working your way up to higher strengths.
While you might think that traditional weightlifting is the only way to build muscle, there are several other options. If you’ve never done any strength training, it may help to begin with resistance bands that come in a variety of different strengths. These allow you to build muscle while you learn the correct form to reduce your risk of injury.
As you get stronger, I highly encourage you to consider my favorite way of strength training — KAATSU, also known as blood flow restriction training. It can help radically improve muscle growth and strength without risking injury. This makes an ideal for people who have never done strength training and for the elderly.
Strength training is vital to prevent age-related muscle loss that leads to frailty and premature death. KAATSU is not only effective in building muscle, even when you’re older, but it also generates some highly beneficial metabolic byproducts, including insulin growth factor 1, growth hormones and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
You can learn more about the benefits of KAATSU in “How to Optimize Health and Strength — Even if You’re Over 60,” which features my interview with Dr. Marcos de Andrade, a research physician and CEO of BIOHAXS. We met at Dave Asprey’s Biohacking Conference in June 2023, where we ended up arm wrestling. De Andrade was 38 years old and an extreme fitness buff, and I was 69. But I still beat him. So, age doesn’t have to be a determining factor or excuse for poor fitness.
- 1 Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, November 9, 2022
- 2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Leading Causes of Death
- 3 Translational Oncology, 2022; 15(1) Bullet 3
- 4 Center for Bioethics, April 1, 2021
- 5, 6 Haidut, February 27, 2024 (Archived)
- 7 Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, November 9, 2022, Sentence 1 and background last sentence
- 8 Haidut, February 27, 2024, last para (Archived)
- 9 Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, November 9, 2022, Results; Conclusion for next para
- 10 Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, November 9, 2022, Conclusion
- 11 Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2019; 14
- 12 Cleveland Clinic, March 13, 2023, para 5
- 13 Cleveland Clinic, March 13, 2023, Subhead 1 para 2; Muscle strength para 1
- 14 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022; 19(20) quote is from last sentence abstract
- 15 British Heart Foundation, March 14, 2018
- 16 Joan Pagano, November 7, 2023
- 17 BMC Medicine, 2022;20(286) 5% down the page, Background para 1
- 18 Harvard Health Publishing, September 1, 2022 top of para 1
- 19 JAMA Neurology, 2022; 5(6) Abstract/Concl and Relevance
- 20 BMC Medicine, 2022;20(286) 45% down the page, Discussion, para 1 GMV=grey matter volume – abbreviations at the end of the article
- 21 Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, November 9, 2022, Methods/Exposures/Grip Strength para 1 15-30% Down the page
- 22 Cathe, How Strong Is Your Grip? Para 7
- 23 Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2018;48(9) Pop up appendix A 80% down the page
- 24 Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 17, 2023
- 25 Cleveland Clinic, March 13, 2023, Hand exercises 60% down the page
Niacin Was, Is, and Always will be Essential to Life and the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Just for Starters
Reproduced from original OMNS article (OrthoMolecular News Service):
http://orthomolecular.org/
Subscribe to the free Orthomolecular Newsletter: http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html
Go to the OMNS Archive: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, March 9, 2024
By W. Todd Penberthy, Stephen McConnel, Robert G. Smith, Thomas Levy, Michael Passwater, and Richard Cheng
OMNS (Mar 9, 2024) Approximately 100 years ago, the niacin deficiency disease pellagra, was at its peak in the southern United States of America. Over 120,000 people would die between 1900 to 1920 due to a deficiency of the yet to be discovered niacin molecule. [1]
Then, in the 1940s after the discovery of niacin, the government made it a law that flour and rice had to be fortified to prevent pellagra, deaths, mental health issues, and overcrowding in insane asylums. [2]
This ultimately has saved countless lives ever since the mandatory fortification of niacin, and one also wonders whether it may have played a bigger role in creating a more peaceful world, no longer engaged in World Wars. [3]
Pellagra was by far the worst nutritional disaster in the history of the US, and this history speaks volumes to the sensitivity of the human body machine to niacin deficiency.
Nobody disputes that niacin fortification was one of the biggest advances in the US history of public health and this niacin fortification continues to rescue countless people even today in 2024 from excessive consumption of processed food.
So why is there now news questioning whether niacin fortification may suddenly be causing cardiovascular disease? [4,5]
Well, it gets your attention so you can watch inserted advertisements, but it started from a just published study from Stanley Hazen’s group at Cleveland Clinic. [6]
The study involves the measurement of plasma metabolites that correlate with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
They identified two excreted metabolites (2PY and 4PY) as associated with MACE. Like most metabolites, they are excreted by the body for a reason.
These two plasma metabolites are produced after NAD is broken down (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; Vitamin B3 is taken to make NAD). This is shown in their manuscript.
However, the authors chose to label 2PY and 4PY as “niacin-associated” metabolites when in in fact these are “NAD-associated” metabolites. 2PY and 4PY are breakdown products of NAD, not niacin at all! This is clearly shown directly in figure 1 and in the last figure of their own manuscript.
Until the publication by the Cleveland Clinic, these metabolites, 2PY and 4PY, had never been associated with negative MACE or any negative outcomes. Nephrology journals have attempted to determine if these could be true uremic toxins.
However, Niacin was shown in a VA analysis of over 3.2 million, across an eight-year period, to actually reduce mortality by 11%. [7] This had an incredibly valid, P value, and analysis of all the nephrology journals related to niacin, shows a clear benefit.
Niacin has anti-protein and uric properties, improves GFR, and some studies have shown improvements in parathyroid status and FGF 23. [8] In fact, these metabolites appear to be associated with improvements in production, fibrosis, and inflammation. This contradicts what the authors claim in the Cleveland Clinic publication.
The Cleveland Clinic study did make interesting basic research observations suggesting that 2PY/4PY may have atherogenic properties. [6] However, this is an active area of research. Just last year a study evaluated 2PY in kidney disease models and actually concluded the opposite, stating that “NAD+ metabolites, such as N-Me-2PY, are not uremic toxins but are potential therapeutic agents that have anti-fibrotic effects in chronic kidney disease.” [9] Note, that these authors referred to 2PY as a “NAD+ metabolites,” which is a much more accurate description than “niacin-metabolites.”
Previously, there was a lot of focus on 2PY and 4PY in the nephrology community, given that high-dose nicotinamide was being used with great clinical success for the treatment of clinical kidney disease. [10] In these studies, it was observed that 2PY is a potent inhibitor of PARP1, which effectively helps prevent excessive depletion of NAD.
Niacin is different from the other NAD precursors (nicotinamide, NMN, nicotinamide riboside)
In fact, niacin is distinctly different from the other NAD precursors, such as nicotinamide, tryptophan, NMN, and nicotinamide riboside).
Niacin is distinguished as the only NAD precursor that consistently corrects dyslipidemia, favorably adjusting cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, LDL, ApoB, and Lp(a) levels in an unparalleled manner, and it has repeatedly reduced cardiovascular disease events in randomized clinical trials. [7]
Much of the uniqueness of niacin is due to the fact that it activates a separate and distinct pathway that none of the other NAD precursors activate. This is the GPR109 receptor-mediated flush-associated pathway. [11,12]
The researchers in this latest NAD-metabolite publication even took their erroneous association one grandiose step further by suggesting that an increase in niacin fortification initiated in ~1974 is what likely led to increases in MACE.
The suggestion that niacin may cause cardiovascular disease is the final straw in a string of errors, and this mistake could have potentially deadly consequences for patients.
There was no experimental niacin supplementation performed or any measures of NAD levels within the MACE population of the study. In other words, the study did not establish a direct connection with niacin at all.
Furthermore, the researchers found an association between the worst quartile of MACE patients and soluble VCAM1, which is known to be associated with atherogenesis and inflammation. They also found that the normally excreted metabolite 2PY can cause an increase in VCAM1. As a result, they concluded that niacin may be increasing VCAM1.
However, the complete opposite is true for niacin and VCAM1. It has been known for over a decade that niacin dramatically reduces VCAM1 and this has been shown in 6 independent studies. [13-18] This in direct contradiction with Dr. Hazen’s conclusions. Again, niacin administration was not even tested in this study.
Additionally, niacin decreases LpPLA2, MPO, hsCRP, ADMA, etc. An FDA indication statement: “Niacin can be used in combination with a bile acid binding agent to slow progression or regress atherosclerosis in patients with a history of CAD and hyperlipidemia.”
Plain old niacin (immediate-release niacin) is predominantly excreted through the kidneys, so these two metabolites under scrutiny do not stay in the bloodstream for any significant amount of time. Properly dosed, these metabolites are not present in the circulation for more than three or four hours a day. The authors failed to establish causality, which is the primary message here. They are putting patients at risk and confusing doctors who still use niacin.
I (SM) question whether the authors have any substantial clinical experience with niacin. I highly doubt it. If most of their day is spent doing procedures in the clinic, it is very unlikely that they have devoted any time to niacin therapy or any complex metabolic management that can be considered preventative.
Furthermore, opinions are just that, opinions. The people who have valid opinions have been using niacin for years, such as Dr. William Castelli, Dr. John Guyton, Dr. Capuzzi, and the list goes on. These are actual niacin experts. Why have they not been questioned? Why has the major media ignored any counterpoint to the Cleveland Clinic position?
Plain old grocery store available niacin still has the best outcomes for cardiovascular disease, even after nearly 90 niacin-inclusive trials attempting to improve.
The historical fact is that high-dose (≥500mg) niacin therapy has been proven to correct dyslipidemia and reduce cardiovascular disease in many independent randomized clinical trials since 1955. [7]
When niacin is assessed on its own in clinical trials, the results are that it clearly reduces the risk for strokes, acute coronary syndrome (any sudden reduced blood flow to the heart) and the likelihood for revascularization procedures, niacin clearly provides tremendous benefits in the context of cardiovascular disease. [19]
After more than 87 clinical trials using niacin, The Coronary Drug Project (CDP; 1975-) remains perhaps the only study that has ever evaluated the use of plain old grocery store-available immediate release niacin on its own compared to a placebo. [19-21]
The Coronary Drug Project (CDP; 1975-) used plain old grocery store available immediate release niacin (3g/d) daily for 5-6 years (Niacin, n=616 v Clofibrate, n=637 v placebo, n=1,587). [7]
Population was individuals with a prior myocardial infarction
11% reduction in total mortality at 15y, even after cessation of treatment at 6y
27% reduction in subsequent myocardial infarctions
25% reduction in cerebrovascular events (strokes)
This long-term benefit is remarkable and may be in part due to long-term epigenetic mechanisms of action involving niacin-NAD-Sirtuin pathways.
Most studies since the CDP have evaluated treatment groups that have either used modified forms of niacin (extended release, sustained release, other) or combinations (niacin with statins/laropiprant/other). Most of these studies compared these alternative niacin forms/combinations to statins.
In the HATS trial, niacin plus simvastatin reduced major clinical events (death, myocardial infarction, stroke or revascularization) by 90% compared to placebo (P = 0.03). [22]
For more rigorous and comprehensive explanations of niacin trials (mechanisms & meta-analysis), please see the amazing video presentations by biomedical scientist/statistician Nicolas Verhoeven, which dispel many of the misinterpretation/misinformation about niacin and clearly present in great detail the undeniable remarkably positive proven benefits of niacin in cardiovascular disease. [23-25]
You may wonder, how can there be 87 niacin-inclusive clinical trials and counting. This is because niacin remains the gold standard of cardiovascular disease dyslipidemia research.
Still plain old immediate release niacin persists as the best form of niacin, producing unbeaten positive outcomes in clinical trials with the Coronary Drug Project in spite of numerous attempts to control the flush response.
The Many Forms of Niacin: Failed Attempts to Improve
Many attempts have been made to reduce the flush by developing timed-release forms of niacin, such as extended-release niacin (ER-niacin/Niaspan) or sustained-release niacin (SR-niacin), or by adding pharmaceuticals that can inhibit the flush. These approaches did reduce the flush, but did they improve outcomes compared to common immediate-release niacin (IR-niacin)? Or could it be that the flush is actually beneficial?
While these approaches did reduce the flush response, the outcomes were never as positive as plain old IR-niacin in the CDP study (1g, 3x/d). Moreover, their safety profiles were not as good as IR-niacin. [26]
In fact, the real concerns with niacin come from its inability to be removed from the body, rather than from the flush itself. The flush may be shocking to someone who is not familiar with it, and individuals should never be given niacin without being warned about what to expect. However, with the awareness of what to expect comes comfort and unparalleled good health.
It is very clear that the flush response is desirable and has therapeutic benefits. When a flush inhibitor (laropiprant) was combined with niacin in an attempt to increase compliance in niacin-naive patients in the HPS-THRIVE trials (n>25,000), it actually prevented the positive outcome. Any basic scientist understands that this is clear evidence that the flush is desirable.
Laropiprant is a medication that was withdrawn worldwide based on recommendations from the European regulator. Despite this, niacin was still conveniently blamed. More details on this 2014 controversy tarnishing the reputation of niacin are described in my (WTP) previous OMNS piece. [8]
Other examples of the flush being therapeutic include dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera), which is one of the most popular oral therapeutics for treating multiple sclerosis, and beta alanine, which is clinically proven to increase muscle performance. Both work by activating the same flush pathway (GPR109A activation) as niacin. However, neither of these are NAD precursors, and so dimethyl fumarate is likely inferior and Tecfidera is more expensive, while beta alanine is a precursor to vitamin B5, so it has additional benefits that have yet to be fully characterized and understood.
The data on immediate-release (standard grocery store) niacin remains an unparalleled success in the history of cardiovascular disease trial outcomes. [7,27,28]
There is no question about the benefits of plain immediate-release niacin (IRN). While extended-release niacin (ERN/Niaspan) from 1955-1998 may have drawbacks, it is therapeutically beneficial. Sustained-release niacin (SR) clearly has potential hepatic toxicity. Frankly, nearly any molecule would be toxic if it was released for more than 12-20 hours during the day, compared to the time frame of less than an hour for IRN-niacin.
Niacin vs Statins
Simple inexpensive immediate release niacin works on its own demonstrably reducing carotid intima thickness, while statins have repeatedly failed to achieve this endpoint. [7]
Niacin raises HDL more than any pharmaceutical, while lowering triglycerides, excessive cholesterol, LDL, Lp(a), ApoB, and VLDL. Statins do not achieve any of these endpoints as well and statins in fact raise Lp(a), which is actually a bad thing as Lp(a) happens to be one of the most important lipid markers of all.
Statins are well known to increase the risk for myopathy by depleting coenzyme Q (an essential part of mitochondrial respiration) [29], to increase the risk for diabetes [30], and to cause memory loss in some individuals. [31]
Statins increase Lp(a) by as much as 30% to raise the risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) [32,33]. Statin patients with statin elevated Lp(a) is known to increase progression of calcific aortic stenosis. [34] Multiple studies have proven no benefit for statins for this indication. Niacin lowers Lp(a) to reduce MACE risk and are known to reduce carotid intimal calcifications (CIMT), while have failed to demonstrate benefits for CIMT.
Statins are known to increase the risk for new onset diabetes and the FDA has put this on their warning labels. [35,36] Statins increase the risk for hemorrhagic stroke [37],
By contrast 1g per day ER-niacin high dose niacin is actually proven to increase muscle strength [38], to reduce the most common cause of death among diabetics (heart disease; [39]), and to prevent dementia [40].
Statin clinical research has also been plagued by statistical deception as investigators make use of relative risks instead of absolute risks to make results appear more impressive and likely than they truly are. [41]
Immediate release inexpensive niacin has been used at high doses for over 70 years to correct dyslipidemia without any serious safety concerns. It costs pennies a day and continues to remain unbeaten in this regard. [26]
The Niacin Discoveries March on…
Shortly after the discovery of high dose niacin therapy for correcting elevated cholesterol in 1955, Dr. Abram Hoffer evaluated the use of high dose niacin to address schizophrenia. [42,43] He had previously been involved in determining how much niacin should be used for fortifications to Native American reservations in western Canada. After being put in charge of a mental asylum in Saskatchewan, he explored the use of high doses for schizophrenic patients. Ultimately, over several decades he would treat thousands of schizophrenic patients with great success and his legacy lives on with well-informed practicing integrative psychiatrists. [43,44]
Given the ongoing daily mass shootings in America, one wonders if we should honestly be increasing our fortification of niacin.
Niacin is the only B vitamin known to reverse chronic kidney disease by stages. [8]
We are still discovering many new uses for niacin. Four years ago it was discovered that “Niacin Cures Mitochondrial Myopathy” in a Finnish study as described a Cell Metabolism publication. [38]
One of us (WTP) personally knows of an individual that eliminated 8 years of trigeminal neuralgia after taking high dose niacin for 2 weeks. This condition is commonly called “the suicide disease” for its horrific pain. Niacin can be amazing for all things neurological.
This has now been proven in literally hundreds of basic research publications. [45,46] In this regard, basic research tends to always be 10 years ahead of what is known in clinical research due to the ethical and financial limitations of clinical research. Since the return on investment is the driving force behind most clinical research, clinical research is mostly limited to evaluating patentable xenobiotic molecules. Immediate-release niacin is not a patentable/profitable naturally occurring molecule.
Niacin is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for glioblastoma and under consideration for addressing demyelinating diseases by Dr. V. Wee Yong, Professor and Canada Research Chair of Neuroimmunology at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Oncology at The University of Calgary. [47,48]
His unbiased screening for small molecules led to the discovery and experimental proof that niacin is clearly extremely useful in the contexts of both cancer and demyelinating disease. With over 320 peer-reviewed publications and counting, his research is now being translated into clinical trials for the evaluation of niacin for treating glioblastoma.
Niacin has been repeatedly proven to reduce fatty liver in many studies and it is currently in clinical trials for treating Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. [16,38,49] This stands in contrast to the common misconception that niacin exerts liver toxicity, which was a problem observed only with the previously patented sustained-release form of niacin, but not the immediate release form of niacin that is commonly available in most grocery stores.
High-dose niacin is linked to increased longevity and improved health, improved metabolic homeostasis, and antioxidant defense. [50-53]
How does niacin do so much?
Well for starters the NAD that is made from niacin is required for over 400 gene functions, which is a far greater number of genetic functions than any other vitamin. [54] Accordingly, high-dose niacin can restore good health by restoring gene function for many individuals.
Secondly, there is the flush pathway, which inherently exerts dramatic physiological effects even in the skin and brain capillaries. When combined, the benefits of niacin are too numerous to categorize and amazingly, it is completely safe. [26,55]
Again, the “niacin-associated” metabolites, 2PY and 4PY, are in fact NAD-associated excreted metabolites and they are not niacin-associated metabolites since they are not breakdown products of niacin.
Yes NAD, the hottest supplement in the past 10 years. This is shown right in their figures within the manuscript. Hardly any scientist is respecting the conclusion of their study, but unfortunately the story line is getting out.
Metabolomics technology without an appreciation of history and thorough thought, has no practical value or far worse in this case, when the conclusion is wrong. Tragically for patients, the media has taken this and ran with it, generating much misinformation disparaging a fortification that clearly saves countless lives as shown in figure 1 and despite high doses of niacin continually proven in RCTs to reduce cardiovascular disease. Every dyslipidemia cardiovascular disease scientist knows niacin remains the gold standard in their basic research for positive outcomes.
Meanwhile, Physician’s Weekly reports on the latest JAMA publication describing lower all-cause mortality in patients with higher dietary niacin intake. [56,57] This is not even patients that are taking supplements, but at least this study considered the documented niacin intake within the population of patients with NAFLD. The latest study could not even consider the niacin intake for the MACE patients.
Getting benefits from niacin can be very individualized.
Some individuals are quite sensitive to the flush from niacin, while others do not experience the flush at all. The niacin flush is always completely safe, but it can be shocking for those uninformed. Many learn to love the flush, myself (WTP) included. I know of one individual with multiple sclerosis (MS) who struggles to get a more pronounced flush response because he walks best when he experiences the flush. Moreover, clinical trials have now proven that high doses of niacin (750-1000mg) increase muscle strength, which is expected to be beneficial in the treatment of MS. [38]
There have been instances where physicians have told patients to take niacin, but did not inform them of the flush, causing panic when they experienced flushing, resulting in spiked blood pressure and falls. [58] It is important to get to know the flush on your own, starting with just 50-100mg and gradually increasing the dosage to as much as 2g at a time, typically.
One of us (RZC) includes high dose niacin (500-2,000 mg daily) as part of his integrative protocol for many chronic diseases especially for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, and cancer for hundreds if not thousands of patients. He has seen significant improvement and even reversal of these diseases.
Clearly the parent molecule, nicotinic acid/niacin, has virtually, no deleterious effects. Like any medication, there are contraindications. However, it has been found to not cause diabetes or exacerbate insulin resistance, with the caveat that it needs to be dosed properly as it was before the introduction of niacin.
Taking niacin during a fasting state, as a single bolus once a day, can pose problems. These problems are all reversed when niacin is taken at mealtime. This also enables divided doses, which are easier to administer, and simplify and facilitate compliance for the patient. Smaller doses at mealtime, enable 2, 3, or 4 doses a day. The FDA still maintains an indication for the original niacin, up to 6 g per day. Very few providers are aware of this today, as most of the success of niacin was between 1955 and 1998.
It is common to build up a tolerance to higher doses of niacin. A lack of flush response is generally considered a sign of poor health. Schizophrenics on average do not flush as much or at all in response to niacin, but they often recover their ability to flush simultaneously with recovery from schizophrenia. This has led to theories about fatty acid deficiencies in schizophrenia. [59,60] In any case, niacin is completely safe and has been used by informed physicians for over 70 years and counting. [55]
In general, our suggestion is to strive for experiencing one, two, or three flushes a day with immediate release niacin (not timed, not sustained, not extended release).
This involves personal titration typically starting with 100mg for a first-time user to get to know how you respond. The range is typically 500mg-2g as an endpoint, with 500mg being the most common historically.
I (WTP) have personally taken over 1g daily for 20 years, with as much as 2g taken 3x a day more recently and always have a perfect lipid profile.
The higher doses exert a greater activity in correcting lipodystrophy and an increasing variety of yet-to-be discovered indications. [61]
It is always best to not only do niacin monotherapy but rather to always include absorbable magnesium/minerals (never the oxide form), vitamin D, zinc, and more orthomolecular or integrative basic treatments such as 500mg thiamine and 50mg vitamin B6 (pyridoxyl-5-phosphate), bowel tolerance vitamin C when indicated, etc…
Finally, sometimes elimination is the most important thing of all to solve a health issue. Eliminations may involve allergens, excessive sugar, excessive alcohol, drugs, or other toxins.
In closing, do not be scared by curious fleeting news stories. Instead, learn from history and never forget it.
Niacin is not going anywhere. It is required for life itself and higher doses are clearly safe and long-since proven to prevent cardiovascular disease just for starters.”
References
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Child Injured in COVID Jab Trial Is Ignored
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/02/19/covid-vaccine-trial-injuries-ignored.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola February 19, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Maddie de Garay signed up to participate in Pfizer’s COVID-19 clinical trial for 12- to 15-year-olds in early 2021. Within 12 hours of her second dose, she suffered a severe systemic adverse reaction that left her wheelchair-bound and on a feeding tube
- Maddie’s severe adverse reactions have been ignored by Pfizer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She’s received no help from any of them, financial or medical, and Pfizer even went so far as to lie about her status, describing it as “functional abdominal pain” in a report to the FDA
- One government official who isn’t turning a blind eye to the devastating effects of the COVID shots is Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. In a January 3, 2024, press release, Ladapo is calling for an end to the use of COVID-19 mRNA shots, citing concerns about DNA fragments in the products
- According to the FDA’s guidance on DNA in vaccines, “DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes — the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell,” and “may result in chromosomal instability”
- The FDA has not provided any evidence that DNA integration assessments have been conducted to address the health risks listed in its own guidance on DNA in vaccines, published in 2007. Consequently, the mRNA shots are “not appropriate for use in human beings,” Ladapo says
When Stephanie de Garay allowed her three children to sign up for Pfizer’s COVID-19 clinical trial for 12- to 15-year-olds, she assumed the worst that could happen was anaphylactic shock — and in that case, they’d be treated with an EpiPen and be fine. From her daughter’s perspective, the trial was a way to keep up with a close friend who had already signed up for it.
It also didn’t hurt that the trial offered monetary compensation of $119 per visit.1 This is what prompted all three of de Garay’s children to sign up for the COVID-19 shot trial, which changed the life of de Garay’s daughter Maddie. A healthy 12-year-old girl prior to the trial, Maddie loved to dance, play soccer and spend time with her friends.
She suffered a severe systemic adverse reaction to her second dose of the shot and struggled through 11 ER visits and four hospital admissions in the year and a half that followed. Injuries from the shot have left her unable to walk or eat — she receives her nutrition via a feeding tube — and suffering from constant pain, vision problems, tinnitus, allergic reactions and lack of neck control.2
As though the physical trauma weren’t enough, Maddie and her family were continually dismissed by the medical professionals put in place to help, ignored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and denied the care needed. Instead, the family was told Maddie’s problems were psychological, and she underwent cognitive-behavioral therapy, to no avail, as one might expect.
Broken Trust
In the January 21, 2024, “Full Measure” report above, investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson reviews Maddie’s case. Maddie received her second dose January 20, 2021. Within 12 hours, frightful symptoms set in. Electric shocks were shooting up her spine and it felt like her heart was being “ripped out.”
She suffered chest and abdominal pains. Her toes and fingers turned white and ice cold. In short order, she lost feeling in her legs and could no longer walk. She started passing out and lost her swallow reflex. Despite what happened to Maddie, Pfizer announced the children’s trial had been a success, and that their COVID shot had a “favorable safety profile.”
According to de Garay, Pfizer and U.S. regulators refused to acknowledge that Maddie had been injured by the shot. They also failed to properly record her injuries in an apparent effort to downplay the severity of them. For example, in an April 2021 disclosure to the FDA, Pfizer described Maddie’s side effects as “functional abdominal pain,”3 even though she was wheelchair bound and couldn’t even swallow food.
Maddie has now been diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) — a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the myelin sheaths around nerve cells. Maddie has not received any help — financial or medical — from Pfizer, the FDA or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When asked what her daughter’s ordeal has taught her, de Garay says it has opened her eyes. She used to trust government officials, doctors and hospitals, but “What I thought they were is not what they are,” she says.
Indeed, if anything, Maddie’s story should serve as a warning to all. It shows just how callous the vaccine industry and its protectors are. You are the guinea pig, and if something goes wrong, you’re on your own. You won’t even get an apology, let alone any actual aid.
Pfizer Classified Severe Reactions as ‘Not Related’ to Shots
The FDA and Pfizer tried to hide the COVID-19 shot clinical trial data for 75 years, but the FDA was eventually ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to release trial documents on a much faster schedule. As part of the court order, 80,000 pages of documents related to the FDA’s approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots were released June 1, 2022.4
Among those documents were case report forms (CRFs) revealing that deaths and severe adverse events took place during Phase 3 trials, most of which were classified as “not related” to the shot.5
Examples include a woman in her early 50s who died from a heart attack five days after she’d received the second dose of Pfizer’s experimental COVID-19 shot. Her death was listed as “not related” to the shots. The death of a teenage girl who suffered deep vein thrombosis two months after her second dose was also deemed “not related.” As reported by independent journalist Michael Nevradakis, for Children’s Health Defense:6
“The many serious adverse events — and several deaths — recorded during the Phase 3 trials are also apparent in a separate, massive document exceeding 2,500 pages, cataloging such adverse events.
This document lists a wide range of adverse events suffered by trial participants classified as toxicity level 4 — the highest and most serious such level.
However, not one of the level 4 (most severe) adverse events listed in this particular document is classified as being related to the vaccination … Similarly, only a small number of toxicity level 3 adverse events were indicated as having been ‘related’ to vaccination.”
Download this Article Before it Disappears
The FDA Ignored Maddie’s Case
Just as it ignored the many red flags in Pfizer’s clinical trial data, the FDA also ignored Maddie’s case, even when attorneys got involved. In August 2021, the de Garays reached out to ICAN’s legal team; ICAN’s Aaron Siri now represents them. According to Siri:7
“What happened to Maddie is not only the story of an injury to a child, which is heartbreaking in and of itself. But Maddie was in a clinical trial that only had 1,000 children in the age bracket of 12 to 15 years old that got the COVID-19 vaccine.
When she suffered that reaction, there should have been every medical expert at Cincinnati and at the FDA that should have descended to study what happened to Maddie, because if that could happen to one in 1,000 children, the repercussions could be really devastating, especially for an infection that doesn’t harm children anywhere near that rate.”
After ICAN’s team got Maddie’s medical records and reviewed them, they believe the causal connection to Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot is extraordinarily strong. In October 2021, they sent a letter to the FDA, including all of Maddie’s medical records and highlighting how Pfizer downplayed the condition in their disclosure, describing Pfizer’s move as “at best dishonest. To regulators, it should be criminal.”8
In February 2022, the FDA finally responded, incredulously by saying to file a VAERS report or send a letter to CISA, the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project, which is run by Dr. Kathryn Edwards, who sits on the data safety monitoring board for Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot trials. In other words, they did nothing.9
Maddie’s story is ongoing and, sadly, is only one of many cases of people being seriously injured or killed by COVID-19 shots and not being taken seriously — or outright discredited — by health care providers and health officials. However, there is hope, and it comes in the form of protecting your right to informed consent and the freedom to make your own medical choices. As Siri put it:10
“The hope is that we make sure that we always have the choice to say no. As long as we can say no, that is the safeguard. That is the stopgap to all of this bad conduct. It’s not going to protect those who don’t know better to say no in certain situations, but it will protect those who do …
Freedom of speech, the ability to have individual liberties. That is what will save us … The ability to become educated, to have access to information and to make informed decisions … the ability to say no about something, or a medical procedure, that we don’t want to have on our bodies or our children’s bodies.”
Florida Surgeon General Calls for Halt to COVID Shots
One government official who isn’t turning a blind eye to the devastating effects of the COVID shots is Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. Early on in the pandemic, he published articles criticizing lockdown measures and calling for the adoption of early treatment.11
In March 2022, he recommended against COVID-19 shots for healthy children,12 making Florida the first state to break with official CDC guidance.
In February 2023, he issued an official health alert13 warning that the COVID mRNA shots were associated with a “substantial increase” in reports of adverse events in Florida, and that fall, he again broke off from the official policy by urging people under 65 to avoid further boosters.14
Now, in a January 3, 2024, press release, Ladapo is calling for an end to the use of COVID-19 mRNA shots, citing concerns about DNA fragments in the products.15
In a December 6, 2023, letter sent to the FDA and CDC, Ladapo outlined findings showing the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes and simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter/enhancer DNA in the COVID shots. As noted in the Florida Health January 3 press release:16
“Lipid nanoparticles are an efficient vehicle for delivery of the mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccines into human cells and may therefore be an equally efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells. The presence of SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA may also pose a unique and heightened risk of DNA integration into human cells.”
The presence of SV40 promoter and other DNA fragments was first reported17 by microbiologist Kevin McKernan in early April 2023. McKernan is a former researcher and team leader for the MIT Human Genome project. I wrote about these findings in “Monkey Virus DNA Found in COVID-19 Shots,” posted at the end of May 2023.
According to McKernan, “Multiple assays support DNA contamination that exceeds the European Medicines Agency (EMA) 330ng/mg requirement and the FDAs 10ng/dose requirements.” The FDA ought to be well aware of the potential hazards posed by this DNA contamination, considering its own guidance on DNA in vaccines, published in 2007, states that:18
- “DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes — the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell.
- DNA integration may result in chromosomal instability.
- The Guidance for Industry discusses biodistribution of DNA vaccines and how such integration could affect unintended parts of the body including blood, heart, brain, liver, kidney, bone marrow, ovaries/testes, lung, draining lymph nodes, spleen, the site of administration and subcutis at injection site.”
FDA Didn’t Perform DNA Integration Assessments
The FDA responded to Ladapo’s letter December 14, 2023, but provided no evidence indicating that DNA integration assessments had been conducted on mRNA COVID-19 shots to address the risks listed in its own guidance document.
As a result, Ladapo is now calling for a halt in their use:19
“The FDA’s response does not provide data or evidence that the DNA integration assessments they recommended themselves have been performed.
Instead, they pointed to genotoxicity studies — which are inadequate assessments for DNA integration risk. In addition, they obfuscated the difference between the SV40 promoter/enhancer and SV40 proteins, two elements that are distinct.
DNA integration poses a unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients.
If the risks of DNA integration have not been assessed for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, these vaccines are not appropriate for use in human beings … It is my hope that, in regard to COVID-19, the FDA will one day seriously consider its regulatory responsibility to protect human health, including the integrity of the human genome.”
As noted by board-certified internist and cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough, Ladapo is hardly alone in this. Tens of thousands of medical professionals and scientists around the world want to see the COVID shots withdrawn from the market:20
“The Florida State Surgeon General’s announcement today is a milestone as more government officials join a chorus calling for recall of COVID-19 vaccines including myself (US Senate, multiple State Senates, EU Parliament, UK Parliament), 17,000 physicians representing the Global COVID-19 Summit, Australian scientists, the World Council for Health, and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.”
Resources for Those Injured by the COVID Jab
Based on data from across the world, it’s beyond clear that the COVID shots are the most dangerous drugs ever deployed. In addition to the contamination problem, recent research also shows that flaws in the codon optimization process is causing the shots to produce off-target proteins with unknown health effects and risks.
If you already got one or more COVID jabs and are now reconsidering, you’d be wise to avoid all vaccines from here on, as you need to end the assault on your body. Even if you haven’t experienced any obvious side effects, your health may still be impacted long-term, so don’t take any more shots.
If you’re suffering from side effects, your first order of business is to eliminate the spike protein — and/or any aberrant off-target protein — that your body is producing. Two remedies shown to bind to and facilitate the removal of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. I don’t know if these drugs will work on off-target proteins and nanolipid accumulation as well, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to try.
The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has developed a post-vaccine treatment protocol called I-RECOVER. Since the protocol is continuously updated as more data become available, your best bet is to download the latest version straight from the FLCCC website at covid19criticalcare.com.21
For additional suggestions, check out the World Health Council’s spike protein detox guide,22 which focuses on natural substances like herbs, supplements and teas. Sauna therapy can also help eliminate toxic and misfolded proteins by stimulating autophagy.
- 1 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 5:56
- 2 Life Funder, Help Maddie de Garay get essential medical care
- 3 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 1:04
- 4 Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, February 7, 2022
- 5, 6 Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, June 21, 2022
- 7 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 1:18
- 8 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 1:22
- 9 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 1:31
- 10 The Highwire, Rigged: Maddie’s Story August 13, 2022, 1:34
- 11 Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, January 3, 2024
- 12 Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, March 8, 2022
- 13 Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, February 17, 2023
- 14 Politico September 13, 2023
- 15, 16, 19 Florida Health January 3, 2024
- 17 OSF Preprints April 10, 2023
- 18 FDA Guidance for Industry, Considerations for Plasmid DNA Vaccines for Infectious Disease Indications
- 20 Courageous Discourse January 4, 2024
- 21 Covid19criticalcare.com
- 22 World Council for Health Spike Protein Detox Guide November 30, 2021
Why You Should Only Take Folate and Never Folic Acid
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/02/12/folate-folic-acid.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola February 12, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- It’s extremely rare to get too much folate from foods, but it is possible to get too much folic acid, the synthetic version of folate found in supplements and fortified foods
- In pregnant mice, high levels of folic acid harmed brain development in offspring, and low levels of vitamin B12 made the damage worse
- The combination of low vitamin B12, which often occurs in people eating vegan or vegetarian diets, along with high folic acid, could be increasing neurodevelopment disorders in children
- Due to prenatal supplements and fortified foods, many people have abnormally high levels of folic acid
- Studies looking into the effects of folic acid on autism development are conflicting, with some showing a protective effect, but a growing body of evidence points to potential harms when consumed in excess
The terms folate and folic acid are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same. Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate, or vitamin B9. While folate is found naturally in foods like leafy greens, folic acid is found in supplement form as well as in fortified foods, such as cereal and bread.
It’s extremely rare to get too much folate from foods, but it is possible to get too much folic acid,1 with potentially significant adverse effects. In pregnant mice, high levels of folic acid harmed brain development in offspring, and low levels of vitamin B12 made the damage worse.
The combination of low vitamin B12, which often occurs in people eating vegan or vegetarian diets, along with high folic acid “could potentially be driving neurodevelopment problems among children in the U.S.,” independent journalist Nina Teicholz tweeted.2
Folic Acid Food Fortification May Have a Dark Side
In the 1990s, U.S. health officials recommended that women who may become pregnant should take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily to reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects. However, since the neural tube closes early on during pregnancy — about 28 days after conception — some women may miss the vulnerable period during which folate is critical.
“For folate to be effective, it must be taken in the first few weeks after conception, often before a woman knows she is pregnant,” explains the Harvard School of Public Health.3 This is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration started folic acid fortification in foods in 1998.4 It’s now required that folic acid be added to enriched breads, flour, cornmeal, pastas, rice and other foods made with cereal grains.5
According to the CDC, neural tube defects have decreased since the beginning of folic acid fortification, such that “about 1,300 babies are born each year without a neural tube defect who might otherwise have had a neural tube defect.”6 But while neural tube defects have declined, other health conditions — namely neurodevelopmental disorders — have risen.
“There’s no doubt the introduction of folic acid diet fortification has been beneficial, substantially lowering the incidence of neural tube defects,” Ralph Green, UC Davis professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, said in a news release. “However, too much folic acid may have detrimental impacts on brain development, and that’s something we need to sort out.”7
Davis and colleagues conducted a study that found excess folic acid is associated with neurodevelopmental risks, especially in concert with vitamin B12 deficiency8 — a significant concern as folic acid intake has grown.
Many People Have Abnormally High Levels of Folic Acid
“The food industry has been adding folic acid to breakfast cereals, snack foods, and vitamins, and that has likely increased intake above recommended guidelines,” Green said. “The safe upper limit for folate is 1,000 micrograms per day. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data showed that a substantial percentage of women’s diets were above that limit.”9
Many women consume folic acid not only in fortified foods but also in prenatal vitamins. The study, published in Communications Biology, noted, “[T]otal folate intake, largely in the form of FA [folic acid], has risen substantially as have blood folate levels in populations, with a considerable proportion persistently exhibiting extreme supraphysiological concentrations in their blood, as well as increases in unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) in those taking supplements.”10
Meanwhile, both too little and too much folic acid during pregnancy may influence neurodevelopment in offspring, previous research has found, by modulating prenatal neurogenesis.11 High amounts of supplemental folic acid — 1,000 μg per day or more — during pregnancy have also been linked with impairments in neurocognitive development in 4- to 5-year-old children.12
Other research revealed that daily folic acid doses of more than 5,000 μg led to reduced psychomotor development in children compared to children whose mothers took lower doses of 400 to 1,000 μg.13,14
Download this Article Before it Disappears
Neurodevelopmental Disorders Skyrocketed Since Folic Acid Fortification
As folic acid in foods increased, so, too, have neurodevelopmental disorders. “Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that in recent decades several neurodevelopmental disorders have seen considerable rises in prevalence, chief amongst them autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but also attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy,” according to the Communications Biology study.15
CDC data show that 1 in 36 U.S. children has autism16 — up from 1 in 10,000 in the 1970s.17 The rapid rise suggests environmental factors are involved. “One environmental exposure that has increased substantially over recent decades is intake of the B vitamin folate in the synthesized, oxidized form of folic acid,” the researchers wrote.18
While studies looking into the effects of folic acid on autism development are conflicting, with some showing a protective effect, a growing body of evidence points to potential harms when consumed in excess. The scientists explained:19
“Some of the latest research in this area using data from the Boston Birth Cohort uncovered a positive association between maternal plasma folate levels and autism risk. Autism incidence was greatest in children born to mothers with the highest maternal plasma folate levels, exceeding the cutoff suggested by the WHO (>45.3 nmol/L).
Moreover, subsequent work showed that children with cord blood levels of unmetabolized FA (UMFA) in the highest, versus lowest quartile, had a greater risk for developing ASD.
Similarly, a Swedish study testing association of 62 maternal blood biomarkers during early pregnancy with later ASD diagnosis identified total folate as having the highest odds ratio at 1.7. These results are supported by epidemiological investigations from the Rochester Epidemiological Project in Rochester, MN and earlier CDC data.”
Even Moderately High Folic Acid May Harm Brain Development
For the study, researchers investigated folic acid intake in mice on brain development in their offspring, specifically the cerebral cortex, which plays a role in cognitive and emotional functions, as well as psychiatric disorders. One group of mice was fed normal levels of folic acid and B12, while four other groups were fed diets including:20
- High folic acid
- Low vitamin B12
- High folic acid and low vitamin B12
- High folinic acid, a natural folate
While the natural folate led to no changes to the developing mouse brains, changes in neural development occurred with exposure to high levels of folic acid. The most pronounced abnormalities occurred in those given high folic acid low vitamin B12. Study author Konstantinos Zarbalis, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, explained:21
“These different dietary conditions appear to influence the way neurons arise in the developing brain. With high levels of folic acid or B12 deficiency, there was a change in neural development.
Cortical neurons that usually emerge during a later stage of brain development were produced over a longer period of time and required a longer period to settle in and assume their proper position in the developing brain. In addition, both high folic acid and B12 deficiency appear to cause many neurons to develop fewer interconnections.”
The team found that “even moderately excessive amounts” of folic acid had a detrimental effect on prenatal cortical development, which was made worse by vitamin B12 deficiency.22
The Folate Cycle Depends on Vitamin B12
The findings highlight the complex interplay that occurs between various nutrients in your body, and why proper balance is so critical to optimal health. This is particularly true for folic acid and vitamin B12. According to the Communications Biology study:23
“The folate cycle is critically dependent on the availability of the essential micronutrient, vitamin B12 (B12), which is a required cofactor for the methionine synthase reaction in which homocysteine is converted to methionine through transfer of a methyl group from N-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (CH3-THF). B12 is needed for this reaction to enable folate cycle progression and regeneration of tetrahydrofolate (THF) from CH3-THF.
In the absence of B12, folate becomes functionally trapped in the form of CH3-THF. This suggests that the effects of FA excess, which paradoxically may decrease functional folate availability, can be further exacerbated by B12 deficiency, as studies on cognitive performance of older adults have suggested.”
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is necessary for your body to make red blood cells as well as for proper nerve function and DNA synthesis. Without adequate levels, a number of physical symptoms, ranging from numbness to fatigue, can occur. Mental health can also suffer significantly, as vitamin B12 plays an important role in neurological function.
It’s been shown, for instance, that people with depression and high B12 levels have better responses to treatment,24 while up to 30% of patients hospitalized for depression may be B12 deficient.25
The only reliable and absorbable sources of vitamin B12 are animal products, which is why vegans or strict vegetarians who abstain from animal products and do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12 will often become deficient and may face increased risks of neuropsychiatric and neurological problems as a result.26
As Teicholz tweeted, “In many countries, pregnant women for decades have been told to take folic acid to prevent neural tube defects in their babies. Yet folic acid also added to refined grains (which we eat a LOT of) … sending folic acid levels [up]. Low B12 occurs with vegan/vegetarian diets,” which could be responsible for increasing neurodevelopmental disorders among U.S. children.27
Where to Find Natural Folate
While too much synthetic folic acid in fortified processed foods and supplements may be problematic, your body needs natural folate in your diet for optimal mitochondrial function,28 protein metabolism and breaking down homocysteine, which can be harmful in high amounts.29
The best way to increase your levels of this important micronutrient is to eat foods rich in natural folate, which include asparagus, avocados, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and spinach. Meanwhile, vitamin B12-rich foods include grass fed beef liver, wild rainbow trout and wild sockeye salmon. If you suspect you may be deficient, weekly B12 shots or a high-dose, daily supplement may be necessary.
- 1, 3, 5, 29 Harvard School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source, Folate (Folic Acid) — Vitamin B9
- 2, 27 X, Nina Teicholz January 7, 2024
- 4, 6 U.S. CDC, Folic Acid Fortification and Supplementation
- 7, 9, 20, 21 UC Davis Health January 4, 2024
- 8 Communications Biology volume 6, Article number: 1133 (2023)
- 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 23 Communications Biology volume 6, Article number: 1133 (2023), Intro
- 11 Communications Biology volume 6, Article number: 1133 (2023), Abstract
- 13 JAMA Pediatr. 2014 Nov;168(11):e142611. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.2611. Epub 2014 Nov 3
- 16 MMWR Surveillance Summaries / March 24, 2023 / 72(2);1–14
- 19, 22 Communications Biology volume 6, Article number: 1133 (2023), Discussion
- 24 Open Neurol J. 2013; 7: 44–48
- 25 Compr Psychiatry. 1997 Nov-Dec;38(6):305-14
- 26 Neurosciences (Riyadh). 2017 Jul;22(3):228-232
- 28 BitChute February 17, 2022
You’ve Been Genetically Hijacked to Produce Pfizer’s Pfrankenstein Proteins
Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/02/06/pfizer-pfrankenstein-proteins.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola February 06, 2024
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 shots instruct cells to produce additional “off-target” proteins that could pose significant health risks
- The finding was revealed by a team of U.K. researchers, who found a “glitch” occurred due to the way the COVID-19 shots were genetically modified
- According to the study, off-target cellular immune responses occur in 25% to 33% of those who have received Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot
- The “Pfrankenstein” proteins could potentially lead to health problems, including autoimmune conditions or endocrine disruption
- Pfizer’s Pfrankenstein proteins should have been detected and reduced or eliminated long before mRNA COVID-19 shots were given to millions of people
The toxic spike protein produced in your body if you receive a COVID-19 shot is not the only health concern to be aware of. Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 shots also instruct cells to produce additional “off-target” proteins that could pose significant health risks.
The finding was revealed by a team of U.K. researchers1 who found a “glitch” occurred due to the way the COVID-19 shots were genetically modified. As a result, unwanted proteins are produced, with unknown effects — a phenomenon that should have been detected long before the experimental shots were given to millions of people.
Modified mRNA in COVID-19 Shots Is ‘Prone to Reading Errors’
Ribosomes decode mRNA in cells, but about 8% of the time those in COVID-19 shots may misread the coded instructions, Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., a former medical scientist with the University of Adelaide and former reporter for ABC News in Australia, explains:2
“The researchers say that ribosomes, which are responsible for decoding the mRNA in cells, can slip and misread the coded instructions about 8% of the time — known as ‘ribosomal frameshifting.’ They say the ‘glitch’ has to do with how the mRNA in the vaccine has been genetically modified.
Unlike naturally-occurring mRNA, the mRNA that exists in the vaccines has had a ‘uridine’ base replaced with a ‘N1-methyl pseudouridine’ (to stabilize it) and unfortunately, has made it prone to reading errors.”
In May 2021, I interviewed Stephanie Seneff, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at MIT for over five decades, about the likely hazards of replacing the uracil in the RNA used in the COVID shots with synthetic methylpseudouridine.3 This process of substituting letters in the genetic code is known as codon optimization, which is known to be problematic.
At the time, Seneff predicted the shots would cause a rise in prion, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases and, at younger ages, blood disorders and heart failure. One of the primary reasons for this is because they genetically manipulated the RNA in the shots with synthetic methylpseudouridine, which enhances RNA stability by inhibiting its breakdown.
Now, researchers at Cambridge University and the Universities of Kent, Oxford and Liverpool, have discovered4 that the use of methylpseudouridine results in a high rate of ribosomal “frameshifting,” which causes your cells to produce off-target proteins with unknown effects. In an interview with Demasi, research scientist David Wiseman explained the concerning findings:5
“They found the Pfizer vaccine can cause your cells to make proteins that they are not supposed to make — you end up with what I call ‘Pfrankenstein proteins.’ … Imagine the following three-letter English words ABE DAN TEA TON ERA TWO — the letters are like the code on the mRNA. Now instead of starting to read the sentence at the letter ‘A’ of the first word, you frameshift to the next letter — the letter ‘B.’
That means that all the other letters are shifted to the left and it will give you a new sentence with three-letter words BED ANT EAT ONE RAT etcetera. So, the new words have a completely different meaning from the original words. This is what happened in the body of some people vaccinated with Pfizer’s product. New unwanted ‘off-target’ proteins were produced, that actually led to an ‘off-target’ immune response.”
Your Body Is Being Hijacked to Produce ‘Pfrankenstein’ Proteins
According to the study, off-target cellular immune responses occur in 25% to 33% of those who have received Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot. “It means their lymphocytes had seen the proteins before — their immune system had already been primed from a prior exposure, presumably after that person had received the mRNA vaccine,” Wiseman said.6
The study authors stated there were no adverse outcomes related to the “frameshifted products,” and the media has similarly downplayed any risk of harm. However, molecular virologist David Speicher Ph.D., told Trial Site News reporter Sonia Elijah:7
“Whenever our cells create an abundance of unintended proteins or prevent production of appropriate proteins it could lead to an unintended immune response with a huge potential to cause harm.”
Wiseman was also clear in his explanation that the “Pfrankenstein” proteins could potentially lead to health problems, including autoimmune conditions or endocrine disruption. He told Demasi:8
“What you have to realize is that your body is being hijacked, not just to produce spike protein, but also to produce other, what I call, ‘Pfrankenstein’ proteins that are completely uncharacterized. We don’t know what they are, what they do, for how long they’re made or how long they last in the body, and we have no idea what their toxicity is.
From the Nature paper however, we do know that these unwanted proteins elicit immune reactions in the body.
… These researchers showed that frameshifting could create chimeric proteins. Basically, as the ribosome reads the code for the spike protein, it may slip in the middle of reading the code. So, the first half is spike protein, and the second half is a Pfrankenstein protein.
Now, just imagine one half can still attach to the ACE2 receptor on cells but on the other end, you’ve got this Pfrankenstein protein dangling outside of the cells. Your immune system is going to destroy the cell because it looks foreign, and now you’ve got something that looks like an autoimmune condition.
Or you could have a protein that turns out to be not necessarily identical, but sufficiently similar to another protein in our body like a hormone and it ends up mimicking the hormone’s activity and disturbing your endocrine system.”
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Reading Errors Could Be Reduced — So Why Weren’t They?
While claiming that frameshifted products weren’t harmful, the Nature study authors stated it was important for future mRNA technologies to reduce ribosome frameshifting events. They suggested that they could identify the garbled sites or sequences and alter the mRNA sequence to reduce such effects in the future.9
But as Wiseman pointed out, this should have been done already. “This work should’ve been done by the vaccine manufacturers and by the regulators before the product was authorized and given to billions of people. They’ve asked people to take a vaccine, and put it into children and they have no clue what is happening inside the body.”10
Further, the study authors are basing their assessment that there’s no risk posed by these ‘Pfrankenstein proteins’ on just 21 people. Wiseman continued to Demasi:11
“The authors wrote, ‘… there is no evidence that frameshifted products in humans generated from BNT162b2 vaccination are associated with adverse outcomes.’ But they only looked at 21 people who received Pfizer’s vaccine, so you cannot call that a serious safety study by any stretch of the imagination.
And how did they select these people? The volunteers were part of another government funded study and had not reported undue effects from vaccination. Since they did not study subjects who had reported adverse vaccine effects, the selection of participants was probably biased.
… What they’re trying to say now is that there have been no problems identified in 21 people, but in the future there may be problems, so we should just keep studying it. Are you kidding me? What they’re saying is that ‘we will inject you first and ask safety questions later.’ It’s not good enough.”
It’s worth noting that two of the researchers on the team have a pending patent application for mRNA technology,12 so they certainly have reason to downplay the problem and propose all we need to do is a bit of tweaking and all will be well moving forward.
Is Foreign DNA Integrating Into Human Cells?
Along with Pfizer’s Pfrankenstein proteins, there’s potential that DNA integration from COVID-19 shots could pose a risk to the human genome. Tucker Carlson spoke with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who has called for an end to the use of COVID-19 mRNA shots, citing concerns about DNA fragments in the products.13
“Could foreign DNA enter your cells through the mRNA COVID vax and change your DNA — and humanity itself — forever? Sounds nutty. It’s not,” Carlson tweeted. “Absolutely that could happen,” says Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the surgeon general of Florida.14 In a December 6, 2023, letter sent to the U.S. FDA and CDC, Ladapo outlined findings showing the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes and simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter/enhancer DNA.
While there are limits on how much DNA can be in a vaccine due to concern over DNA integration, the guidelines don’t consider lipid nanoparticles and other factors in COVID-19 shots that could enhance how much DNA can enter a cell.
“Lipid nanoparticles are an efficient vehicle for delivery of the mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccines into human cells and may therefore be an equally efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells. The presence of SV40 promoter/enhancer DNA may also pose a unique and heightened risk of DNA integration into human cells,” according to a news release from the Florida Department of Health (DOH).15
In a 2023 preprint study, microbiologist Kevin McKernan — a former researcher and team leader for the MIT Human Genome project16 — and colleagues assessed the nucleic acid composition of four expired vials of the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA shots. “DNA contamination that exceeds the European Medicines Agency (EMA) 330ng/mg requirement and the FDAs 10ng/dose requirements” was found.17
So, in addition to the spike protein and mRNA in COVID-19 shots, McKernan’s team discovered SV40 promoters that, for decades, have been suspected of causing cancer in humans.18 Further, according to the Florida DOH, the FDA’s own 2007 guidance states:19
- “DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes – the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell.
- DNA integration may result in chromosomal instability.
- The Guidance for Industry discusses biodistribution of DNA vaccines and how such integration could affect unintended parts of the body including blood, heart, brain, liver, kidney, bone marrow, ovaries/testes, lung, draining lymph nodes, spleen, the site of administration and subcutis at injection site.”
The FDA responded to Ladapo’s letter December 14, 2023, but provided no evidence that appropriate DNA integration assessments had been conducted. Ladapo called for a halt in their use as a result.20 “It starts at crazy but it ends at somewhere else that someone could be just so nonchalant and, frankly, willy-nilly, with something as precious and as sacred as our human DNA,” Ladapo told Carlson.21
Help for Those Suffering From COVID-19 Shot Injuries
If you’re suffering from side effects of a COVID-19 shot, your first order of business is to eliminate the spike protein — and/or any aberrant off-target protein — that your body is producing. Two remedies shown to bind to and facilitate the removal of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. It’s unknown whether these drugs will work on off-target proteins as well, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to try.
The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has developed a post-vaccine treatment protocol called I-RECOVER. The protocol is continuously updated as more data become available, so your best bet is to download the latest version straight from the FLCCC website at covid19criticalcare.com.22
The World Council for Health (WCH), a worldwide coalition of health-focused organizations and civil society groups, has also released a spike protein detox guide,23 which provides straightforward steps you can take to potentially lessen the effects of toxic spike protein that may be helpful. Another option is sauna therapy, which can also help eliminate toxic and misfolded proteins by stimulating autophagy.24
- 1, 4 Nature volume 625, pages 189–194 (2024)
- 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 Maryanne Demasi Reports January 16, 2024
- 3 International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice and Research May 10, 2021; 2(1): 402-444
- 7, 12 Trial Site News December 7, 2023
- 9 Nature volume 625, pages 189–194 (2024), Main
- 13, 15, 19, 20 Florida Health January 3, 2024
- 14 Tucker Carlson January 15, 2024
- 16 The Healthcare Channel May 19, 2023
- 17 OSF Preprints April 10, 2023
- 18 Expert Rev Respir Med October 2011; 5(5): 683-697
- 21 Tucker Carlson January 15, 2024, 6:30
- 22 Covid19criticalcare.com
- 23 World Council for Health, Spike Protein Detox Guide
- 24 Journal of Applied Physiology January 5, 2021