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Posted by: | Posted on: February 12, 2024

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

folate folic acid

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

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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.

Posted in ADHD, Autism, CDC, Depression, DNA, Food, Mitochondria, Supplements, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: January 19, 2024

What’s the Best Predictor of Heart Disease?


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/01/18/predictors-atherosclerosis.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     January 18, 2024

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • High total cholesterol and/or elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol do not cause atherosclerosis
  • Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are associated with both atherosclerosis and insulin resistance, and insulin resistance appears to be the foundational cause of heart disease. As such, the fasting insulin test is one of the best predictors of atherosclerosis
  • Insulin resistance is primarily driven by excessive consumption of the omega-6 fat linoleic acid (LA). High LA intake is also associated with elevated levels of oxidized LDL — found in atherosclerosis plaque — further confirming this link
  • One theory is that oxidized LDL protects your body from oxidative damage by sacrificing itself. If true, it may be beneficial to have higher, rather than lower, LDL levels
  • The apoB test can also be helpful in assessing your atherosclerosis risk. As mentioned above, apoB is the primary carrier for LDL, and research over the past decade shows it’s an accurate predictor of cardiovascular risk when apoB is high and LDL is normal

Is high total cholesterol and/or elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol indicative of elevated heart disease risk? According to Dr. Paul Saladino, the answer is no. With regard to total cholesterol, as far back as 1977, with the publication of the Framingham Study,1 no correlation between heart disease and total cholesterol could be found.

Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was associated with coronary heart disease, but not high LDLs or total cholesterol. However, as noted by Saladino, low HDL is also associated with insulin resistance, and he believes this is part of the confusion.

Saladino suspects that what has been blamed on LDL (atherosclerosis) is due to insulin resistance, i.e., metabolic dysfunction. Insulin resistance/metabolic dysfunction, in turn, is primarily driven by excessive consumption of the omega-6 fat linoleic acid (LA).

High LA intake also raises your levels of oxidized LDL, which are what you find in atherosclerosis plaque. In the video above, Saladino and Dr. Nadir Ali specifically discuss the role of oxidized LDL, and why it is not a direct cause of atherosclerosis, as commonly thought.

Summary of Available LDL Tests

But before I summarize Saladino’s and Ali’s discussion, let’s take a look at the available LDL-related tests, as there’s more to LDLs than the total amount.

  • A regular LDL cholesterol blood test (LDL-C), which measures the total amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood
  • A nuclear magnetic resonance lipoprofile (NMR lipoprofile) test, which measures the size of the LDL particles (LDL-P), which is thought to be more predictive of your cardiovascular risk, even if you have low total cholesterol2
  • Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) test, which measures the level of LDLs that have been damaged by oxidation
  • The apolipoprotein B (apoB) test, which measures the number of apoB particles in your blood. ApoB is a protein involved in the metabolism of lipids and the primary carrier for LDL. This test is a good predictor of cardiovascular risk, and does so far more accurately than the standard cholesterol panel
  • Advanced lipid testing, which measures the amounts of large-buoyant LDLs (lbLDL) and small-dense LDLs (sdLDL), with the sdLDLs being associated with insulin resistance and heart disease3

High LDL Does Not Cause Atherosclerosis

When it comes to LDL cholesterol, the most important factor is the level of oxidized LDL, as oxLDLs are primarily what you find in atherosclerosis plaque.4 Unfortunately, most doctors will simply prescribe a statin drug or PCSK9 inhibitor if LDLs are high, to reduce the total LDL.

As noted by Ali in the short video above, this is a serious mistake. The primary question that needs to be asked is why is LDL oxidized in the first place, and how can you prevent that oxidation from taking place?

“Is the oxidized LDL a bad player?” Ali asks, “[or] is it there to protect us from oxidative injury? Rather than letting the important cells get oxidized, is the LDL sacrificing itself in protecting the body? Then, your whole paradigm changes …

LDL is not a bad player — it’s trying to protect us. What I need to figure out is how do I prevent this oxidative injury in the first place, and an argument that should surface is that, maybe I should have more LDL around so that oxidative injury can be … prevented, rather than having less LDL? These are the kinds of fundamental questions that science should be asking.”

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Oxidized LDL May Be a Protective Mechanism

Saladino agrees, saying that LDL “is probably a repository for oxidized phospholipids,” much like lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)). He cites research showing that the more polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) you consume — such as LA — the higher your Lp(a) and oxidized LDL.

So, your LDL may in fact have a protective rather than injurious role. It may protect you from the harmful effects of LA and other PUFAs. What this means, then, is that high oxidized LDL may be a marker of high PUFA consumption, and it’s the PUFAs, LA in particular, that are driving the atherosclerotic disease process.

The primary way to prevent atherosclerosis, then, is to radically reduce your LA intake by eliminating seed oils from your cooking, and avoiding processed foods (which are loaded with seed oils) and restaurant foods (as most are cooked in seed oils).

When it comes to measuring your oxLDL, the Boston Heart test called oxidized phospholipids on APO-B (OxPL/apoB) appears to be a better choice than the traditional oxLDL. The oxLDL tends to be inaccurate because it’s just a proxy for APO-B and the LDL number, while the OxPL/apoB test gives you a truer measure of your oxidized LDLs.

The ApoB Test

Aside from oxLDL, the apoB test can also be helpful in assessing your atherosclerosis risk. As mentioned above, apoB is the primary carrier for LDL, and research over the past decade shows it’s an accurate predictor of cardiovascular risk when apoB is high and LDL is normal. As reported by The Washington Post:5

“The standard cholesterol panel calculates the total quantity or concentration of ‘bad’ cholesterol or LDL in the blood, in milligrams per deciliter (technically, LDL-C). Because cholesterol is a fatty substance and thus not water-soluble, it must be carried around in little particles known as lipoproteins.

Testing for apoB, a protein on the outside of LDL-carrying particles, counts the number of these lipoprotein particles in the blood. In addition to LDL, it also captures other types of cholesterol such as IDL (intermediate-density lipoproteins) and VLDL (very low-density lipoproteins), which carry triglycerides.

Why is this important? As our understanding of heart disease improves, scientists are recognizing that apoB particles are more likely to become lodged in the arterial wall and cause it to thicken and eventually form atherosclerotic plaques. Thus, the total number of apoB particles matters more than the overall quantity of cholesterol that they carry.

In a majority of people, apoB and LDL-C track fairly closely, says Allan Sniderman, a professor of cardiology at McGill University in Montreal. But some people have a ‘normal’ amount of LDL-C, but a high concentration of apoB particles — a condition called ‘discordance,’ which means they are at greater risk.”

sdLDL — Another Helpful Predictor of Atherosclerosis

Measuring your sdLDL-C can also be helpful, as explained by Dr. Eric Berg, a chiropractor, in the video above. The small-dense type of LDLs are indicative of inflammation inside your arteries, which is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. As noted by Berg, potential causes of this inflammation include:

  • Seed oils
  • Processed foods and junk foods
  • Smoking
  • Low vitamin E
  • High glucose levels

Unfortunately, Berg lumps high-carb diets into these risk factors and recommends a ketogenic diet to avoid elevated sdLDL, but as I’ve explained in previous articles, high glucose levels are not necessarily a sign that you’re eating too many (healthy) carbs.

In summary, when you consume significantly more than 30% fat, a metabolic switch called the Randle Cycle switches from burning glucose in your mitochondria to burning fat instead. As a result, glucose backs up into your bloodstream, thereby raising your blood sugar.

Glucose is actually a cleaner and far more efficient fuel than dietary fats, provided it’s metabolized in your mitochondria and not through glycolysis. For a refresher, refer back to “Crucial Facts About Your Metabolism” and “Important Information About Low Carb, Cortisol and Glucose.”

Atherosclerosis Is a Consequence of Metabolic Dysfunction

In the video directly above, Saladino debates LDL cholesterol with Dr. Mohammed Alo, a cardiologist and personal trainer. While Alo argues for the conventional LDL-atherosclerosis connection, Saladino highlights evidence showing that it’s not LDL per se that is the cause, but rather insulin resistance in combination with high oxLDL, both of which are caused by high LA intake.

For this reason, Saladino believes one of the best assessments of your heart disease risk is a fasting insulin test, as your insulin sensitivity is such a foundational factor of your metabolic function. The OxPL/apoB test mentioned earlier would be a good complement.

If you have high fasting insulin, you are insulin resistant and hence have some degree of metabolic dysfunction (and, of course, mitochondrial dysfunction). Ideally, you want a fasting insulin level of 3 mcg/mL or less.

Most definitely, do not go by the “normal” ranges offered by labs in this case. Many will list levels as high as 24 mcg/mL as normal, when in fact that’s a clear sign of serious insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.

If you’re already eating a healthy diet, exercising, and all of your metabolic parameters look good, yet you have an insulin level of 7 or 8, the core culprit may be stress, because when cortisol goes up, insulin rises with it. Cortisol release is a rescue mechanism to ensure you don’t die from low blood sugar.

To assess whether stress is at play, keep an eye on your white blood cell count. Chronically depleted white blood cells are often a sign of chronic stress and high cortisol.

You can also get an AM cortisol test after fasting for 12 to 16 hours. You don’t want to fast longer than that because, after 16 hours of fasting, cortisol will naturally start to rise. An ideal AM cortisol range is between 15 and 17. If your fasting AM cortisol is below 15, it’s a sign you’ve become stuck in a long-term stress response.

High LA Intake Promotes Atherosclerosis

So, to summarize, Saladino argues that insulin resistance is the primary root cause for atherosclerosis — not elevated LDL or total cholesterol — and the primary driver of insulin resistance is excessive LA intake from seed oils. Lowering your LA intake is the foundational strategy to embrace.6

Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a proxy for insulin resistance, and if you have low HDL, then LDL tracks well with cardiovascular disease. But if you have normal HDL (65 to 85 mg/dL), then you typically have good insulin sensitivity and the correlation with LDL and atherosclerosis vanishes.

The Keto Trial Match Analysis7 presented in mid-December 2023 (video below) confirms this, as they found no relationship between elevated LDL levels and arthrosclerosis plaque.

Other Tests to Assess Your Metabolic Health

In addition to the tests already mentioned, other blood tests that can help you assess your metabolic health include the following. Additional information about these and other lab tests can be found in my interviews with Dr. Nasha Winters and Dr. Bryan Walsh.

• Fasting glucose — The ideal range is between 82 and 88 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), based on the available literature, while nonfasting glucose should ideally be between 82 and 130 mg/dL.

• Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), a powerful predictor of mortality, also should not be above 20 U/L. GGT is a liver enzyme involved in glutathione metabolism and the transport of amino acids and peptides.

Not only will the GGT test tell you if you have liver damage, it can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk.

GGT is highly interactive with iron. Excessive iron will tend to raise GGT, and when both your serum ferritin and GGT are high, you are at significantly increased risk of chronic health problems, because then you have a combination of free iron, which is highly toxic, and iron storage to keep that toxicity going.

Cysteinylglycine is liberated from glutathione via GGT. That, in the presence of iron or copper, initiates the Fenton reaction. That’s when you get massive oxidative stress.

• The Intermountain health risk score is a mortality risk score created based on the basic blood chemistry markers of tens of thousands of patients in a hospital setting, including complete blood count (CBC), sodium, potassium bicarbonate, mean platelet volume and other basics. Based on these markers, you end up with a 30-day, a one-year and a five-year mortality risk.

A risk score calculator is freely available on the Intermountain website, where you can also find more information about this score.8 Simply enter your variables and it will calculate your score for you.

• Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan — This test provides images of your coronary arteries. Existing calcium deposits, an early sign of coronary artery disease, will show up on these images, and can therefore reveal your risk of heart disease before other warning signs become apparent.9

For even more information about cholesterol, and why high cholesterol and/or high LDL are not risk factors for heart disease, check out the video below by Dr. Ken Berry.

Posted in Cardiovascular, Cholesterol, Ferritin, Glucose, Heart, Iron, Oils, Omega-3, Omega-6, Processed Food, Sugar, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: January 2, 2024

Vitamins A, B, C, D, E — What About Vitamin F?


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/01/01/vitamin-f.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     January 01, 2024

vitamin f

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • In the early 20th century, Casimir Funk, a Polish chemist, came up with the term “vitamine” — a compound that contains “amine,” which is Latin for nitrogen
  • After Funk discovered vitamines, nutrition scientist Elmer McCollum revealed an “accessory” substance in certain fats that was needed for rats to grow; this substance was called vitamin A, for accessory
  • McCollum and others named a nutrient vitamin B, for beriberi, while the different B vitamins were eventually numbered in the order they were discovered
  • Vitamins were then named alphabetically until vitamin E; next came vitamin K, which is necessary for blood coagulation — or koagulation, as it was written in a German journal; rather than naming it vitamin F, the K abbreviation stuck
  • Vitamin F did end up making a comeback, as it was used to name the essential fatty acids (EFAs) alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA)

Have you ever wondered what happened to vitamin F? We have vitamins A through E, and vitamin K, but vitamin F seems long forgotten. Getting to the bottom of the mystery requires digging into the history of vitamins, including how they came to be and the strategies used in naming them.

While it’s easy to take the knowledge of water- and fat-soluble vitamins for granted, it wasn’t until 1912 that the idea of vitamins came to be, setting the stage for more in-depth studies into these important nutritional compounds.

Nutrition Discoveries Came Before Vitamins

Humans have long had intrinsic knowledge that the foods they eat are tied to their health. In 1772, the discovery of nitrogen led to experiments on the element in food, followed by the discovery of an “animal substance” called protein in 1839. National Geographic reported:1

“For decades, historian Kenneth Carpenter writes, protein was considered the sole nutrient for human health despite emerging knowledge that fruits, vegetables, and milk eased conditions like scurvy and rickets. While these afflictions were common among those with limited diets, researchers still blamed other factors, like infections, tainted food, or even sea air.”

Around this time, it was recognized that beriberi, a disease now known to be caused by a vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency, may have a dietary link. Not only were poor people more likely to suffer from it than wealthier people, but those in prison who were fed white rice often developed the condition.

In the early 20th century, Casimir Funk, a Polish chemist, soon began to conduct experiments on pigeons, which revealed that those fed white rice grew ill. Their condition was reversed, however, when they ate rice bran and yeast. He suggested a “vitamine” — a compound that contains “amine,” which is Latin for nitrogen — was missing in the white rice diet, causing the pigeons to become sick. National Geographic continued:2

“The discovery of vitamins sent a shockwave through the scientific community, suggesting that diseases might be caused by nutritional deficiencies — and cured by adequate amounts of the newly discovered compounds. ‘A monotonous diet ought to be avoided,’ Funk declared. Researchers rushed to isolate other micronutrients associated with diseases like rickets, scurvy, goiters, and more.”

Vitamins Were Named Alphabetically — Until This

After Funk discovered vitamines, nutrition scientist Elmer McCollum revealed an “accessory” substance in certain fats that was needed for rats to grow. This substance was called vitamin A, for accessory. From there, McCollum and others named Funk’s rice bran nutrient vitamin B, for beriberi, while the different B vitamins were eventually numbered in the order they were discovered. As National Geographic noted:3

“The ‘e’ used in Funk’s new term was eventually dropped after scientists recognized that not all the compounds were nitrogen-containing amines. But the custom of naming vitamins alphabetically in order of discovery continued.

Today, four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and nine water-soluble vitamins (Vitamin C and the eight B vitamins—B1 [thiamin], B2 [riboflavin], B3 [niacin], B5 [pantothenic acid], B6 [pyridoxine], B7 [biotin], B9 [folate], and B12 [cobalamin] — are considered essential to human growth and health.”

After vitamin E was discovered, Carl Peter Henrik Dam, a Danish biochemist, bucked the system with vitamin K, which is necessary for blood coagulation — or koagulation, as it was written in a German journal in which his research was published. Rather than naming it vitamin F, the K abbreviation stuck.

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Essential Fatty Acids Are Sometimes Called Vitamin F

Vitamin F did end up making a comeback, as it was used to name the essential fatty acids (EFAs) alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA).4 However, EFAs are need in substantial amounts, not trace amounts, which meant they didn’t meet the criteria to be called vitamins. For the record, Britannica defines vitamins as “any of several organic substances that are necessary in small quantities for normal health and growth in higher forms of animal life.”5

“Scientists discovered ALA and LA in the 1920s and mistook them for a vitamin they called vitamin F. The label stuck even though they were later found to be fats,” Cleveland Clinic reported.6 As explained by Nils Hoem, Ph.D., — a research scientist with Aker Biomarine, the largest krill oil company in the world — the plant-based omega-3 fats ALA and LA are both polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) that are considered essential in conventional medicine.7

However, the amount of LA that many people consume in ultraprocessed foods has increased dramatically since its discovery. History shows that our lopsided consumption of ALAs began in the early 1900s, when people were discouraged from eating natural animal fats such as butter and lard.8 This led to a significant increase — more than two-fold — in the intake of LA, largely from vegetable oils.9

LA is an 18-carbon molecule. ALA also has 18 carbons. Since your body cannot make these fats, you must get them from your diet. That said, since LA is found in nearly every food, it’s virtually impossible to become deficient in LA. In fact, most people consume far too much LA, as it’s abundant in most ultraprocessed foods.

Others, such as the omega-3s EPA and DHA, which have 20 and 22 carbons respectively, can be synthesized in your body, provided you have enough available delta-6-desaturase, an enzyme responsible for their conversion.

The problem is that there’s competitive inhibition for that enzyme, so when you have 10-fold (1,000%) more omega-6 in your system, as many people do, then the delta-6-desaturase will be used to convert the omega-6 into arachidonic acid, instead of converting the ALA into EPA.

Since processed foods are loaded with omega-6 fats, it radically skews the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio and inhibits your body’s innate ability to synthesize beneficial EPA and DHA. Again, when you have large quantities of LA in your diet, it inhibits the enzyme, delta-6 desaturase, that converts ALA into EPA and then DHA.

So, it’s important to lower your LA intake as much as possible so your body can more easily convert any plant-based omega-3, found in flax, hemp and chia seeds, into the animal-based omega-3 fats EPA and DHA.

This competition for delta-6 becomes a moot point if you reduce your LA intake to only 1% to 2% of daily calories. But most people consume 20% to 25% of their calories in the form of LA, which means they have stored up this fat in their cells.

Restricting LA intake will balance out your omega-3s naturally, but increasing your intake of animal-based omega-3s is also important, as it can essentially push the omega-6 out of your membranes.

What About Vitamins G, H, I and J?

Other compounds once held the titles of the now-defunct vitamins G, H and J, although it seems I didn’t make the cut. According to The Globe and Mail:10

“Vitamin G is an obsolete name for riboflavin (now B2). H was the original name for biotin (now B7). There is no record of a historical vitamin I. Vitamin J has been associated with either riboflavin or the non-essential substance catechol, and M is an obsolete name for folic acid (B9).

Substances formerly referred to as vitamins L (anthranilic acid), N (thioctic or alpha-lipoic acid), O (carnitine), and P (flavonoids) are other examples of nutrients that do not meet the modern definition of a vitamin.”

More recently, vitamin G has been used to stand for “green space,” which is closely linked to physical and mental health and longevity.11

Vitamin Deficiencies Are Common

Despite widespread knowledge about the importance of vitamins for human health, many people are lacking in a variety of these compounds. Even at a subclinical level, being deficient in vitamins and minerals can cause a range of symptoms, ranging from fatigue and irritability to heart palpitations and pain.12 Common vitamin deficiencies include:

1. Vitamin D — Despite its name, vitamin D is not a regular vitamin. It’s a steroid hormone that your body is designed to obtain primarily through sun exposure, not via your diet. Worldwide, about 1 billion people are deficient in vitamin D, while an estimated 50% have vitamin D insufficiency.13

Older Americans tend to have the highest levels of vitamin D deficiency. In the U.S., 61% of older adults are deficient, rising to 90% in Turkey and 96% in India.14 In 2014, however, older Americans were already so deficient in vitamin D that it was estimated that as many as 100% of them were deficient, in large part due to less time spent outdoors.15

Vitamin D is necessary not only for healthy bones but for health throughout the body. As a powerful epigenetic regulator, vitamin D influences that activity of more than 2,500 genes, and vitamin D receptors are present all over the body, including in the intestine, pancreas, prostate and immune system cells.16 As noted in a systematic review published in Frontiers in Nutrition:17

“Previous association studies reported that vitamin D deficiency is also an important risk factor for SARS-CoV-2, weak muscle strength, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, upper respiratory tract infection, certain cancers, and other disease. In turn, these complications may increase the burden of global disease. Therefore, preventing vitamin D deficiency is a very important and urgent public health issue.”

I’ve long recommended a vitamin D level of 60 to 80 ng/ml (150-200 nmol/L) for optimal health and disease prevention. A level upward of 100 ng/mL also appears safe and beneficial for certain conditions, especially cancer.

However, the only way to gauge whether you might need to supplement, and how much to take, is to get your level tested, ideally twice a year, in the early spring, after the winter, and early fall when your level is at its peak and low point. Vitamin D is best obtained via sensible sun exposure, but supplementation may be necessary for some people.

2. Vitamin K2 — Known for its role in bone and heart health, vitamin K2 is found in grass fed animal products such as meat, eggs, liver and dairy,18 as well as in fermented foods, including sauerkraut, certain cheeses and the fermented soy food natto — items that many Americans do not consume enough of.

Vitamin K2, menaquinone, which is synthesized by intestinal bacteria, works synergistically with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D to build strong, healthy bone. Vitamin K2 directs calcium to your bones and prevents it from being deposited in your soft tissues, organs and joint spaces. Vitamin K2 also activates the protein hormone osteocalcin, produced by osteoblasts, which is needed to bind calcium into the matrix of your bone.

3. Vitamin B12 — A water-soluble vitamin also known as cobalamin, vitamin B12 plays a role in numerous biochemical reactions and neurological functions in your body, including DNA synthesis.19 Your body can’t make vitamin B12 on its own, so it must be obtained via your diet or supplementation.

It’s been suggested that nearly two-fifths of Americans may have lower than ideal B12 levels, with 9% deficient and 16% below 185 pmol/L, which is considered marginally deficient.20 While vegetarians and vegans are susceptible since B12 is derived from animal products, even meat eaters may be deficient, as problems with absorption are common.

4. Vitamin A — An estimated 51% of adults are not consuming enough vitamin A,21 increasing their risk of degenerative diseases like macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the U.S.22

Vitamin A is a group of nutrients that falls into two different categories: retinoids found in animal foods and carotenoids found in plant foods. The two are chemically different and provide different health benefits, but both are necessary for optimal health. Plant foods high in beta-carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe and mangoes.23 Animal foods rich in vitamin A include liver, egg yolks and grass fed butter.

If you think you may be missing out on important vitamins in your diet, the best way to boost your intake is via organic, whole foods. If you’re not eating right, a high-quality multivitamin may help fill in any gaps, with research suggesting they may improve biomarkers of nutrition compared to placebo.24,25

When choosing a multivitamin, be sure to look for a manufacturer that has checks and balances in place to ensure the quality of the product. And remember, since multivitamins contain both water- and fat-soluble vitamins, it’s generally recommended to take half your daily dose in the morning, with breakfast, and the other half with your main meal.

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Oils, Omega-3, Omega-6, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 30, 2023

Top Supplements for Mitochondria Function


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/28/mitochondria-supplements.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     December 28, 2023

mitochondria supplements

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Mitochondria are the structures inside your cells that produce about 90% of the energy generated in your body
  • Mitochondria are key to health and disease prevention; without mitochondrial health, your well-being and longevity may suffer
  • Supplements you can use strategically to support your mitochondria include vitamin K2, glycine, coQ10, B vitamins and niacinamide, and PQQ
  • Eating right, timing your meals and exercising are additional strategies to support mitochondrial health

Mitochondria, are the structures inside of your cells that produce about 90% of the energy generated in your body.1 This energy is necessary for cellular regeneration and detoxification, as well as muscle contraction and each biochemical cascade that occurs. In short, your cells require energy to function, and healthy mitochondria are critical to that energy supply.

Mitochondria also play an important role in apoptosis, or programmed cell death, ensuring that malfunctioning cells die and are cleared from your system. In short, mitochondria are key to health and disease prevention. Without mitochondrial health, your well-being and longevity may suffer.

6 Supplements to Support Your Mitochondrial Health

There are many strategies to optimize mitochondrial function. Eating right, timing your meals and exercising are among them. However, there are also supplements you can use strategically to support your mitochondria. Top options include the following.

1. Vitamin K2

There are two types of vitamin K: phylloquinone, or vitamin K1; and menaquinones, or vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is derived from green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli and cabbage, and is best known for the role it plays in blood clotting.

Vitamin K2 is better known for its role in bone and heart health, and is found in grass fed animal products such as meat, eggs, liver and dairy, as well as in fermented foods, including sauerkraut, certain cheeses and the fermented soy food natto.

Vitamin K2, a fat-soluble vitamin, also has antioxidant effects and is neuroprotective. In one study, researchers even revealed vitamin K2 modulates mitochondrial dysfunction caused by neurotoxins.2 They exposed SH-SY5Y cells, which serve as a model for neurodegenerative disorders, to 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a neurotoxic compound used to destroy neurons in the brain.

They then treated the cells with vitamin K2, which led to multiple improvements. While 6-OHDA induced abnormal mitochondrial changes, vitamin K2 significantly suppressed the negative changes.

Vitamin K2 also inhibited the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promoted mitophagy, which is the removal of damaged mitochondria via autophagy — an essential function to maintain cellular health. Writing in the journal Nutrients, the scientists explained:3

“… [V]itamin K2 can reduces mitochondrial damage, and … this effect is related to the participation of vitamin K2 in the regulation of the mitochondrial quality-control loop, through the maintenance of the mitochondrial quality-control system, and repair mitochondrial dysfunction, thereby alleviating neuronal cell death mediated by mitochondrial damage.”

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2. Glycine

Glycine is a nonessential amino acid, as your body can manufacture some on its own. However, most of us do not make enough glycine to maximize its health benefits, which include increased longevity and protection against age-related disease.4

While it’s long been suggested that age-related mutations in mitochondrial DNA are responsible for making mitochondria less efficient as you get older, Japanese researchers suggested epigenetic changes may, instead, be the key players.5

Further, they were able to restore gene regulation in aging mitochondria to a more youthful state using glycine.6 According to the study, “Treatment of elderly fibroblasts with glycine effectively prevented the expression of these aging phenotypes.”7

Collagen — the most abundant protein in your body8 — is made mostly of glycine. It’s also a precursor to glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that declines with age. However, inducing autophagy and mimicking methionine restriction9 may be behind glycine’s antiaging effects. Even intermittently restricting methionine leads to benefits like improved glucose homeostasis, reduced obesity and protection against fatty liver.10

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine also looked into supplementation with a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), two glutathione precursors known as GlyNAC when taken together.

They had previously shown that young mice deficient in glutathione had mitochondrial dysfunction, and supplementing with GlyNAC in older mice not only improved glutathione deficiency but also mitochondrial impairment, oxidative stress and insulin resistance.11

Additional research they conducted in HIV patients,12 and found GlyNAC supplementation improved “deficits associated with premature aging” in this population.13 This included improvements to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, genotoxicity, strength and cognition.14

A subsequent pilot trial in older humans found similar results, with GlyNAC supplementation for 24 weeks correcting glutathione deficiency and improving multiple measures of health, including mitochondrial dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, cognition, strength and more.15

3. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

CoQ10, a fat-soluble antioxidant, is found in nearly every cell in your body but concentrates in the mitochondria, where it’s involved in energy production.16 As a cofactor in the electron-transport chain, CQ10’s primary action involves the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which your cells need for life, repair and regeneration.

Many conditions, including heart disease, appear to be rooted in mitochondrial dysfunction.17 Cardiac muscle cells have about 5,000 mitochondria per cell,18 where CoQ10 concentrates. For further comparison, mitochondria make up about 35% of the volume of cardiac tissue and only 3% to 8% of the volume of skeletal muscle tissue.19

While CoQ10 doesn’t stimulate the growth of new mitochondria, it’s essential to its metabolic function.20 Further, according to researchers with Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K.:21

“Secondary deficiencies of CoQ10 typically occur in the mitochondrial myopathies, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, chronic kidney disease, liver disease and critical illness. Depletion of CoQ10 in these disorders may compromise cellular antioxidant status and result in impaired mitochondrial function and cellular energy supply, resulting in, for example, heart failure.”

Ubiquinol is the reduced version of CoQ10. Young people are able to use CoQ10 supplements quite well, but older people do better with ubiquinol, as it’s more readily absorbed. You can get some CoQ10 from food as well. Food sources include wild-caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, eggs and organ meats.22

You may also be able to improve your body’s conversion of CoQ10 to ubiquinol by eating lots of green leafy vegetables, which are loaded with chlorophyll, in combination with sun exposure.23,24

If you’re taking a statin drug you must also take at least 100 to 200 mg of ubiquinol or CoQ10 per day, or more. Supplementation is also appropriate for those with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), chronic fatigue and autism. Ideally, split the dose up so you’re taking it two or three times a day, rather than taking it all at once, as this will result in higher blood levels.

4. Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ)

PQQ is a vitamin-like substance and cousin to CoQ10, which helps with mitochondrial biogenesis. The greater number of mitochondria you have, the more energy your cells are able to produce, and the better they function overall. So, having sufficient amounts of PQQ encourages the proliferation of mitochondria.

In a study on mice, supplementing with PQQ modulated both the quantity and function of mitochondria.25 Animal and human studies using doses between 10 and 20 milligrams (mg) of PQQ show significant improvement in mental processing and memory.26 The best results are obtained when you take PQQ in combination with CoQ10.

PQQ has also been shown to protect against the development of alpha-synuclein, a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease, and beta-amyloid, associated with Alzheimer’s. Other research suggests “daily supplementation with 20 mg PQQ optimizes mitochondrial biogenesis in human subjects.”27

5. B Vitamins

B vitamins are also needed for optimal mitochondrial functioning. According to natural medicine physician Dr. Frank Shallenberger:28

“B vitamins are absolutely critical for mitochondrial function — especially niacin, riboflavin and folate. Orally speaking, with niacin, I typically start them at 100 to 200 milligrams a day [but] you can go up to 2,000 mg easy on some patients. I use a B complex because I like to balance it out, but I’m focusing primarily on niacin, folate and riboflavin.”

Riboflavin deficiency may also be involved in mitochondrial dysfunction that could trigger central nervous system disorders, including potentially migraines. According to research published in Frontiers in Neurology, “Riboflavin ameliorates oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation and glutamate excitotoxicity, all of which take part in the pathogenesis of PD [Parkinson’s disease], migraine headache and other neurological disorders.”29

People with migraines have been shown to have higher levels of mitochondrial dysfunction, and at least two polymorphisms in mitochondrial DNA have been shown to heighten migraine susceptibility.30 Riboflavin may help relieve this mitochondrial dysfunction. Foods rich in riboflavin include spinach, beet greens, crimini and portabella mushrooms, pastured eggs, asparagus, grass fed beef liver and beef tenderloin.

6. Niacinamide

Niacinamide, also known as nicotinamide, is a form of niacin (vitamin B3) that plays a vital role in energy metabolism. It’s essential for the mitochondrial electron transport chain to function. Without it, your mitochondria cannot make energy.

Niacinamide is so important because it is a precursor for NAD+, which is involved in the conversion of food to energy, maintaining DNA integrity and ensuring proper cell function. NAD+ is also a primary fuel for sirtuins, longevity proteins that become depleted with age.

Niacinamide at a dose of 50 milligrams three times per day will provide the fuel for the rate limiting enzyme for NAD+, NAMPT. Niacinamide also has potent antiobesity effects, can help prevent neurodegeneration and heart failure, and reverse leaky gut.

Niacinamide may also help prevent neurodegeneration by allowing for higher energy levels through energy metabolism in the mitochondria. “There are many studies, going back decades, demonstrating that a drop in NAD+ levels, and thus of NAD/NADH, is a common feature of virtually all neurodegenerative diseases,” writes bioenergetic researcher Georgi Dinkov.31

I recommend getting niacinamide in powder form because the lowest available dose in most supplements is 500 mg, and that will decrease NAD+ due to negative feedback on NAMPT, which is the opposite of what you’re looking for. Niacinamide will only cost you about 25 cents a month if you get it as a powder. Typically, one-sixty-fourth of a teaspoon of niacinamide powder is about 50 mg.

I also recommend taking one aspirin tablet daily. Aspirin plays a role in mitochondria function32 and also has other health benefits. Importantly, it helps increase the oxidation of glucose as fuel for your body while inhibiting the oxidation of fatty acids, specifically linoleic acid. Dinkov adds:33

“Since aspirin is known to modulate autophagy (raise it when it is abnormally low and lower it when it is abnormally high) and niacinamide is a very effective NAD precursor, it is reasonable to try them in combination that should be synergistic when it comes to protecting the brain (and the entire organism) from diseases and even aging.”

What Else Works to Boost Mitochondrial Function?

There are a number of strategies you can use to optimize your mitochondrial health and function. A foundational dietary strategy is to eat the right fuel, focusing on an ancestral diet and avoiding highly processed foods. Processed food diets prevent your body from efficiently burning fat as its primary fuel. Once you focus on whole foods and become an efficient fat burner, you automatically minimize the oxidative stress placed on your mitochondria.

Meal timing is another important factor. One of the worst things you can do to your mitochondria on a regular basis is eating shortly before going to bed. Ideally, eat your last meal of the day at least three hours before bedtime.

By supplying your body with food at a time when your body needs it the least (since you’re sleeping), excessive amounts of free radicals end up being formed, which then spill out and damage mitochondrial DNA. Excess carbohydrates, in particular, result in a backup of electrons that causes the production of superoxide.

Exercise is also useful, as it upregulates genes like PGC-1 alpha and nuclear gene factors like Nrf2. These genes help your mitochondria become more efficient. Mitochondria are also vulnerable to emotional stress and environmental toxins, like heavy metals. Regular use of a near-infrared sauna may offer help for both detoxification and stress relief.

As an added benefit, 95% of melatonin is produced in your mitochondria in response to near-infrared light. Melatonin is an antioxidant that helps mop up ROS that damage your mitochondria. So, by getting plenty of near-infrared exposure, either from a near-infrared sauna or sun exposure during the day, your mitochondria will be bathed in melatonin, thereby reducing oxidative stress.34,35

Posted in Mitochondria, Supplements, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 23, 2023

Vitamin C Doubles Effectiveness of Chemotherapy and Radiation


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/21/vitamin-c-improves-effectiveness-chemo-radiation.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     December 21, 2023

vitamin c improves effectiveness chemo radiation

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Vitamin C is selectively toxic to cancer cells, especially when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. Administering it with chemo and radiation also significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments
  • Vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis and fasting prior to administering chemo radically improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy
  • For general health, an important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is “feast and famine cycling.” The real magic happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again

Each day, more than 1,600 people prematurely die from cancer in the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 20,000 succumb to cancer on a daily basis. For a time, the war on cancer initially waged by Richard Nixon in the ’60s, and the promise of targeted cancer drugs, gave hope.

Alas, they’ve all failed to live up to expectations, and have done nothing to improve cancer death rates. Globally, $91 billion was spent on cancer treatments in 2013. In 2014, no cancer drug was approved costing less than $100,000 for a course of treatment.

Yet, despite their exorbitant price tags, they offer little in terms of survival. Tarceva, for example, increases the median survival for pancreatic cancer patients by a mere 10 days. Meanwhile, there are inexpensive, non-patentable therapies available that could be truly game changing.

One such therapy is high-dose vitamin C. Another is nutritional ketosis — and oncologists in Turkey have presented evidence showing the combination of these two strategies have the ability to “turbo charge” conventional chemo protocols, making them incredibly effective, and far safer to boot.

Vitamin C Improves Effectiveness of Chemo and Radiation

Research has shown vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. The mechanism behind vitamin C’s ability to selectively target cancer cells has to do with the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which is ultimately what kills the cancer cells.1

Normal tissues remain unharmed by the high levels of hydrogen peroxide generated because healthy cells have several ways to remove it, thereby preventing buildup to toxic levels.2

One of the primary pathways of removal is the enzyme catalase, and cells with reduced catalase activity — such as cancer cells — are more prone to die from excess reactive oxygen species and secondary free radicals when exposed to high amounts of vitamin C.3,4,5

Research6 also shows high-dose vitamin C administration in combination with chemotherapy and radiation significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments. Cancer cells have unstable iron particles (also known as redox active iron molecules), which makes them more vulnerable to oxidative damage caused by high-dose vitamin C.

When redox active iron reacts with vitamin C, hydrogen peroxide and associated free radicals are generated, which damage the cancer cells’ DNA and weaken them, thereby making them more vulnerable to the effects of chemo and radiation. As noted by one of the study’s co-authors, Garry Buettner, Ph.D.:7

“This paper reveals a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that is based on their own production of oxidizing agents that allows us to utilize existing redox active compounds, like vitamin C, to sensitize cancer cells to radiation [therapy] and chemotherapy.”

Vitamin C Doubles Survival Rate of Brain Cancer Patients Treated With Radiation

To evaluate the safety of vitamin C, 11 patients with glioblastoma (a highly malignant and aggressive type of brain cancer) received high-dose vitamin C IV treatments three times a week for two months while undergoing radiation therapy, followed by two weekly infusions for another seven months. As reported by Time Magazine:8

“[S]o far, half of the people in the study were alive nearly two years later. The average survival for the disease is generally around a year.

In a separate study designed to get an early sense of the vitamin’s effectiveness, the researchers also tested the high-dose vitamin C in a group of 14 people with non-small cell lung cancer.

So far, 93 percent of the people receiving the vitamin C infusions are responding to chemotherapy and radiation, compared to 40 percent who usually do.

In an encouraging finding, more than 30 percent of the people getting the vitamin C also showed signs of their tumors shrinking. Usually, only 15 percent to 19 percent of people receiving chemo and radiation see their tumors get smaller.”

In the second phase of the trial, the researchers will investigate vitamin C’s effects on patients with stage 4 lung cancer and other aggressive cancers.

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Other Ways Vitamin C Benefits Cancer Patients

Aside from the mechanisms already mentioned, vitamin C also benefits cancer by lowering inflammation.9,10

As a general rule, chronic inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and research shows IV vitamin C treatment lowers pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein, and that these improvements correlate with a reduction in tumor size.

It also lowers the risk of metastasis. A study done by scientists at the Riordan Clinic (the successor to Linus Pauling and his work on vitamin C) noted a positive response in 75% of patients.

Other research11,12 done by scientists at the Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York found high doses of vitamin C help kill and eliminate colorectal cancer cells with certain genetic mutations. Other studies13 have shown high-dose vitamin C can help slow the growth of prostate, pancreatic, liver and colon cancer cells.

Human studies also show IV vitamin C can help improve symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatment, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, loss of appetite and overall quality of life.

While the above studies and most protocols use IV vitamin C, there is compelling research and anecdotal clinical evidence to support the use of liposomal vitamin C. It may be nearly as effective, or even more effective, than IV vitamin C.

It certainly is far easier and less expensive to administer. I personally think liposomal C should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet and travel kit, as high doses (such as 2 to 5 grams every hour) can obliterate most infections.

Vitamin C and Nutritional Ketosis Is a Winning Combination

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While the featured research is certainly on the right track, an oncology center in Turkey has taken it a step further, showing that vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy to such a degree that a minimal dose can be used to treat even the most aggressive and advanced cancers.

I interviewed Dr. Abdul Kadir Slocum from the ChemoThermia Oncology Center in Turkey about this research. If you missed it, you’d be well advised to watch it now, because this metabolically supported therapy is truly groundbreaking, offering hope where previously there was none.

In summary, metabolically supported chemotherapy involves applying chemotherapy with a variety of interventions to support its effectiveness. This includes the use of high-dose vitamin C, a ketogenic diet, hyperthermia, glycolytic inhibitors and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, just to name a few.

All oncology patients at the center are put on a ketogenic diet, which creates metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

Then, prior to administering the chemo, the patient will do a minimum 14-hour fast (Slocum recommends fasting as long as possible, but a minimum of 14 hours is required), which further increases the metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

At this point, the patients will typically have a blood glucose level around 80 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). They then apply glycolytic inhibitors to inhibit the glycolysis pathway in the cancer cells, which creates a terrific amount of metabolic stress, as the cancer cells are already starved of glucose.

Insulin is then applied to lower the blood glucose levels to around 50 or 60 mg/dL, inducing mild hypoglycemia. At that point, when the cancer cells are maximally stressed and weakened, the chemotherapy drug is applied. An added boon of this metabolic approach is that a far lower dose of chemotherapy can be effectively used, thereby lowering the risk of side effects.

In the days following chemotherapy, hyperthermia and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is applied, plus a daily infusion of glycolytic inhibitor therapies with high-dose vitamin C (50 grams) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

Metabolically Supported Chemotherapy Successfully Treats Aggressive Cancers

Two years ago, Slocum’s oncology team published its first paper,14 reporting complete response for stage 3 rectal cancer. The standard of care for rectal cancer and the only curative option has been surgery or chemo-radiotherapy followed by surgery. In this case, they used metabolically supported chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hyperthermia. No surgery was necessary.

Their second paper,15 published in January 2016, was a case series of 33 patients with stage 3 and 4 pancreatic cancer — one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers known. Eighty-one percent of these patients had stage 4 disease when the treatment began, and many of them also had large scale liver metastasis. The typical life expectancy of someone with stage 4 pancreatic cancer is six to 10 months. Most die within weeks or months once they have large-scale liver metastasis.

The center treated them with a standard conventional protocol using chemotherapy applied in a metabolically supported fashion (which included the ketogenic diet, fasting prior to chemo administration, high-dose vitamin C, plus hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, supplements and glycolysis inhibitors).

The expected median survival time for the conventional chemotherapy protocol alone is between six and 11 months, depending on the drug used. But when given in combination with these other metabolic supports, the median survival time shot up to 20 months, and over 50% of the patients are still alive today!

Nutritional Ketosis Appears To Be a Key Component of Successful Cancer Treatment

Maintaining nutritional ketosis and fasting for a minimum of 14 hours before the chemotherapy treatment appears to be key for the overwhelming success rate achieved by ChemoThermia Oncology Center. A number of other researchers have verified the remarkable ability of a ketogenic diet to prevent and suppress cancer, and when you combine that with fasting and high-dose vitamin C, you end up creating a very hostile environment for cancer cells.

My book, “Fat for Fuel” — which has been peer-reviewed by over two dozen medical and scientific experts — details how to implement nutritional ketosis for optimal health and disease prevention. Besides the information presented in “Fat for Fuel,” you’ll also find many collaborative supports, including a nine-hour-long free video series that we hope to launch in early May.

Credentialed nutrition professional Miriam Kalamian is also developing a certification course to go along with it through the American College of Nutrition.

This certification will teach any qualified clinician — primarily certified clinical nutritionists but also physicians — how to practically implement nutritional ketosis. Eventually, I expect there will be a virtual army of clinicians available to assist patients with this kind of protocol. Hopefully, at that point we’ll finally start making a dent in cancer statistics.

An important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is “feast and famine cycling.” Meaning, you don’t actually want to stay in ketosis indefinitely. The real magic actually happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, you’ll want to increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again.

ChemoThermia Oncology Center uses this kind of cycling as well, although under far stricter conditions. When you’re dealing with late-stage cancer, you cannot break your ketosis that frequently. However, on the days patients receive chemotherapy, which is once every two or three weeks, they’re allowed to eat as many carbohydrates as they want.

Posted in Cancer, Radiation, Vitamins | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 21, 2023

Vitamin C, B1 and Hydrocortisone Dramatically Reduce Mortality From Sepsis


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/20/vitamin-c-b1-hydrocortisone-sepsis-mortality.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     December 20, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Sepsis is caused by an aggressive, out-of-control immune response to an infection in the bloodstream. Each year, an estimated 1 million Americans get sepsis and up to half of them die
  • Giving patients IV vitamin C with hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1) for two days reduced mortality nearly five-fold, from 40% to 8.5%
  • Lab testing shows that while neither vitamin C or hydrocortisone alone can prevent cell death following exposure to toxins produced by bacteria, when given in combination, the concoction does protect the cells

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published April 5, 2017.

Sepsis1 is a progressive disease process caused by an aggressive, dysfunctional immune response to an infection in the bloodstream. It starts with symptoms of infection that can progress to septic shock.

Unless treated — and the earlier the better — sepsis can result in extremely low blood pressure that is unresponsive to fluid replacement, weakening of the heart, and multiple-organ failure. Sepsis is a common hospital-acquired infection,2,3 but common illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, strep throat or kidney infection can also turn septic, as can localized infections caused by bacteria, fungi or viruses.

The condition becomes particularly problematic and deadly if the infection involves methicillin-resistant or vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA or VRSA) bacteria. Each year, an estimated 1 million Americans get sepsis4 and up to half of them die.5,6 Treatment can be a challenge, and is becoming even more so as drug-resistant infections become more prevalent.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, sepsis is the most expensive condition being treated in U.S. hospitals, costing more than $20 billion in 20117 and $24 billion in 2014.8 The good news is a critical care physician just may have found a way to save tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year using two readily available vitamins and a steroid.

Vitamin C and Thiamine — An Inexpensive Cure for Sepsis

Vitamin C is well-known for its ability to prevent and treat infectious diseases. Previous research has shown it effectively lowers pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein.9,10 Influenza,11 encephalitis and measles12 have all been successfully treated with high-dose vitamin C.

Studies have even shown vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells by generating hydrogen peroxide when administered intravenously (IV) in high doses. It also has a number of heart and cardiovascular benefits.

The anti-infective power of vitamin C has now been demonstrated yet again by Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in East Virginia. Last January, when faced with yet another deathly ill patient, Marik decided to try a combination of intravenous (IV) vitamin C with hydrocortisone as a last-ditch effort to save the woman’s life.13

He’d recently read a colleague’s paper on vitamin C, and he knew vitamin C acts like the steroid hydrocortisone, so on a hunch, he administered the two together. It worked. While everyone expected her to die, the woman made a remarkable overnight recovery. As reported by NBC4i News:14

“The staff couldn’t believe it, so they tried it again and again — with the same results. They added a third element, thiamine, to the IV treatment as well. Today, they have used the treatment on about 150 patients and they say the result is the same …

A researcher at Old Dominion University, John Catravas, Ph.D., … did an independent lab study that confirms the treatment’s effectiveness.”

Interestingly, Marik used a relatively small amount of vitamin C — only 1.5 grams IV. Most natural medicine physicians tend to use 25 grams or more when giving IV vitamin C, more than 20 times the dose used here. One can only wonder how much more effective a larger dose would be.

It’s All About the Right Combination of Ingredients

For the first two or three patients, only vitamin C and hydrocortisone were used. Marik then decided to add thiamine for a number of reasons. Importantly, it’s required for metabolism of some of the metabolites of vitamin C.

Research has also shown many patients with sepsis are vitamin deficient, and when thiamine is given, it reduces mortality. Septic shock patients who receive thiamine have also been shown to have a reduced risk of renal failure.

Marik’s retrospective before-after clinical study,15,16 published in the journal Chest, showed that giving patients IV vitamin C with hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1) for two days reduced mortality nearly five-fold, from 40% to 8.5%.

Of the 50 patients treated, only four died — and none of them actually died from sepsis. They died from their underlying disease.

Interestingly, further lab testing found that while neither vitamin C nor hydrocortisone alone are able to prevent cell death following exposure to toxins produced by bacteria, when given in combination, the concoction does protect the cells. Turns out Marik’s hunch had been a truly inspired one.

Other research has also shown thiamine reduces mortality from sepsis and helps protect against renal failure, which is why Marik decided to add it to his mixture.

The treatment has now become part of the hospital’s standard of care for sepsis, and will hopefully become standard of care for sepsis elsewhere as well. As noted by Marik, sepsis kills about 1,000 people each day in the U.S. — that’s like having three jumbo jets crash each day.

Sepsis kills more than breast cancer, colon cancer and AIDS combined, and here’s a treatment that is not only profoundly effective, but also has no side effects and is inexpensive, readily available and simple to administer. Patients and doctors really have nothing to lose by trying it.

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Potential Contraindication

While more research is needed to validate the findings, vitamin C and thiamine (vitamin B1) administration is so safe there’s really no need to avoid it. It certainly isn’t going to make the situation worse — unless you happen to be glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient (a genetic disorder).17

G6PD is an enzyme your red blood cells need to maintain membrane integrity. High-dose IV vitamin C is a strong pro-oxidant, and giving a pro-oxidant to a G6PD-deficient individual can cause their red blood cells to rupture, which could have disastrous consequences.

Fortunately, G6PC deficiency is relatively uncommon, and can be tested for. People of Mediterranean and African descent are at greater risk of being G6PC deficient. Worldwide, G6PD deficiency is thought to affect 400 million individuals, and in the U.S., an estimated 1 in 10 African American males have it.18

Anecdotal Evidence Suggests Near-Infrared Light May Protect Against Kidney Failure

On a side note, your risk of kidney failure — which is a very common outcome of sepsis — may be reduced or prevented by shining a near-infrared light on the area. I know, that sounds too amazing to be true, but according to Michael Hamblin, Ph.D., a photodynamic therapy researcher, the anecdotal evidence for this is quite strong.

“Kidney failure is the third leading cause of death. These are old folks who are dying from kidney failure. You can’t really give them transplants because they’re elderly. You put a near-infrared LED array where their kidneys are and it seems to work like a dream. [But] it’s hardly been studied at all,” Hamblin said.

Again, the worst that could happen is nothing, as red and near-infrared light (630 to 830 nanometer range) is quite safe.

Other Health Benefits of Thiamine

Thiamine or vitamin B1,19 found in pork, dark leafy greens, wheat germ, green peas, lentils and nuts,20 is perhaps best known for its role in cellular production of energy and supporting normal neuronal activity. However, it also has a wide range of other health benefits.21 According to the Mayo Clinic, studies confirm thiamine can be helpful for a long list of diseases and disorders, including:22

  • Metabolic and mitochondrial disorders23
  • Blood clots and clogged arteries24
  • Cerebellar ataxia (movement disorder caused by neurological damage)25
  • Coma26
  • Kidney dysfunction27

Research28 published in 2013 also found thiamine supplementation can improve cardiac function in those with heart failure. Overall, patients with heart failure tend to be deficient in thiamine, as well as other micronutrients. Thiamine deficiency has also been linked to delirium,29 thyroid fatigue and Hashimoto’s (a thyroid autoimmune disorder).30 These and other health effects may help explain why thiamine works so well (in conjunction with vitamin C and hydrocortisone) for sepsis.

For general health purposes, adult men and women need about 1.2 and 1.1 milligrams (mg) of thiamine respectively each day. Also be aware that thiamine conversion is dependent on having sufficient amounts of sulfur. Good sources of dietary sulfur include organic pastured eggs, legumes, garlic, onion, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, kale and wheat germ.

Moreover, all B vitamins, including thiamine, are produced within your gut31 provided you have a healthy gut microbiome. So, eating real food, ideally organic, along with fermented foods will provide your microbiome with important fiber and beneficial bacteria to help optimize your internal vitamin B production.

To Avoid Sepsis, Understand the Cause

With sepsis affecting more than a million Americans each year, how can you avoid becoming a statistic? First, be aware that ANY infection can lead to sepsis. While it’s typically associated with hospital-acquired infections, nearly half of all cases are in fact the result of an infection acquired outside a hospital setting.32

Part of what makes it so deadly is that people typically do not suspect it, and the longer you wait to treat it, the deadlier it gets. As noted in a special report on sepsis by Consumer Reports:33

“Whenever the body develops an infection, the immune system normally kicks in, producing chemicals to fight the infection. But sometimes — either because the triggering bacteria is unusually powerful or because the person’s immune system is already weakened by other health problems — those chemicals are set loose in the bloodstream and course through the body.

Instead of just fighting the local infection, those chemicals unleashed by the immune system cause widespread inflammation and damage tissues in the liver, kidneys, heart and other organs.

Within hours, blood clots can begin to form, and damage to blood vessels causes blood pressure to drop, which in turn slows the delivery of vital nutrients to those organs already under attack. In the final stages, the heart weakens and organs begin to fail.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you’re at higher risk for sepsis if you have:

  • Chronic disease — A vast majority — 7 out of 10 — of people who develop sepsis have some kind of chronic health condition. Those with diabetes, lung, kidney or liver disease tend to be particularly susceptible to infection, which raises the risk.
  • Weakened immune system, AIDS or cancer.
  • Recently spent time in a hospital, nursing home or other health care facility, as exposure to infection-causing bacteria is common in these places.

Common Sense Strategies to Reduce Your Risk of Sepsis

While health care workers have a responsibility to prevent infections that could potentially turn septic and to educate patients about warning signs of sepsis, you can lower your own risk by:

• Promptly treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) — UTIs are the second most common type of infection in the body, sending more than 8 million people to their health care providers every year in the U.S. alone,34 and one-quarter of sepsis cases are related to urinary tract infections.

Conventional treatment typically involves antibiotics, but research shows 90% of UTIs can be successfully treated with D-Mannose, a naturally occurring sugar that’s closely related to glucose.

• Properly clean skin wounds — About 1 in 10 sepsis cases are due to skin infections, so always take the time to properly clean and care for wounds and scrapes. Wash the wound with mild soap and water to clean out dirt and debris, then cover with a sterile bandage. Diabetics should follow good foot care to avoid dangerous foot infections.

• Avoid infections in hospitals — When visiting a health care facility, be sure to wash your own hands, and remind doctors and nurses to wash theirs (and/or change gloves) before touching you or any equipment being used on you.

If you have to undergo a colonoscopy or other testing using a flexible medical scope, remember to call and ask how they clean their scopes and what kind of cleaning solution they use. If the answer is glutaraldehyde (brand name Cidex), find another hospital or clinic — one that uses peracetic acid. This preliminary legwork will significantly decrease your risk of contracting an infection from a contaminated scope.

In the video below, Andrew Saul, Ph.D., co-author of the book, “Hospitals and Health: Your Orthomolecular Guide to a Shorter, Safer Hospital Stay,” discusses the dangers of hospital stays, the type of patient that tends to get killed the most, and how you can protect your health and life in the event you have to spend time in a hospital.

Download Interview Transcript | Video Link

 

– Sources and References

Posted in Food, Kidney, Mitochondria, Sepsis, UTI - Urinary Tract Infection, Vitamins | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 15, 2023

Is a Niacin Flush Dangerous?


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/15/is-niacin-flush-dangerous.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     December 15, 2023

is niacin flush dangerous

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency, called pellagra, is characterized by diarrhea, mental confusion and scaly skin sores; it is often confined to people who have problems absorbing the vitamin from food
  • Niacin flush, a common side effect in doses 100 mg and above, is harmless; it starts on your face and may travel to your chest and arms, disappearing after 30 minutes to two hours
  • Niacin has significant side effects when taken consistently, but may be used safely once or twice weekly in combination with exercise and sauna to detoxify your body during weight loss

Niacin, or vitamin B3, is important to your overall good health. Vitamin B3 deficiency may result in a condition called pellagra, characterized by mental confusion, diarrhea and scaly skin sores. Deficiencies, however, are rare and often confined to people with trouble absorbing the vitamin from their food.1

The vitamin is water soluble, so it is not stored in the body but eliminated through the kidneys. This means you need a steady supply from your diet. Niacin is found in many foods commonly found in an everyday diet, such as chicken, eggs, legumes (peanuts), milk and rice.2

The vitamin helps convert carbohydrates into glucose and is part of the process in making several sex and stress-related hormones.3 You can meet your daily requirements for niacin through dietary intake.

It is rare to develop a deficiency unless you also suffer from an underlying medical condition that reduces your absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, such as alcoholism. Niacin is available as a supplement, but comes with several potential side effects, especially when taken in large doses. One of those side effects is commonly known as a niacin flush.

How a Niacin Flush Develops

A niacin flush is the most common immediate side effect of taking a supplemental form of the vitamin in a large enough dose. Most people use the niacin form to help reduce cholesterol levels. Another form, niacinamide, does not produce the flushing side effect, but neither does it have an effect on cholesterol levels.4

The flushing effect is not triggered by eating foods high in niacin or vitamin B3. Symptoms begin with a burning or tingling sensation in the chest, neck and face. The skin takes on a flushed or red appearance.5 Your skin may also feel warm to the touch.

As little as a 50 milligram (mg) supplement may trigger a niacin flush reaction. Niacin triggers the blood vessels near the surface of the skin to dilate, causing the tingling sensation and appearance. You may build a tolerance to the vitamin over time, which reduces the flushing effect. Some researchers believe everyone using niacin will experience a flush.6 While irritating, and sometimes alarming if you don’t expect the side effect, a niacin flush is nonetheless harmless.

Taking a time-released version of the supplement, taking it with meals or drinking plenty of fluid with the supplement have all been found to reduce the flushing effect as your body builds tolerance. It may also be helpful to begin taking smaller doses of the supplement throughout the day to reduce the effect. Taking niacin may trigger an upset stomach, nausea or diarrhea. These effects also often diminish over time.7

Reduce Your Risk of Niacin Flush

The flush that accompanies niacin supplementation may appear as a blotchy red appearance on your neck and face.8 The color and tingling sensation may gradually move down your body, usually stopping at your chest and arms. This flush is harmless, without any ill effects other than an irritating and tingling sensation.

A niacin flush may last between 10 and 30 minutes, depending upon the severity of the reaction and the amount of niacin you took. In some cases it may last up to two hours. There are several strategies you may try to reduce the potential you’ll experience this side effect. Taking a cold shower during the flush may help reduce the symptoms as they subside.

Researchers have found that up to 50% of people taking the immediate-release formula of niacin will experience a flush reaction. Switching to a time-release formula may reduce this risk, and may reduce the severity if it occurs.9,10 The flush occurs because niacin at higher doses increases the use of methyl groups and this releases histamine. You can prevent this effect by taking methyl donors like TMG, trimethylglycine.

Starting with smaller doses and slowly increasing the amount of niacin you take daily may help to bypass the side effect of a niacin flush altogether.11 Taking your niacin with food may lengthen the amount of time it takes to be fully absorbed and has also been found to reduce the side effect.

Drinking additional clean, filtered water may help to reduce the niacin flush and will also help support your overall hydration and removal of toxins. Although there has been some research to suggest taking an aspirin 30 minutes prior to taking the niacin supplement will reduce the niacin flush, I recommend trying food, fluids and an extended release formula first.

There is a form of niacin advertised as “no-flush,” which contains inositol nicotinate. However, there is little evidence that it provides you with as much niacin and likely explains why the formula doesn’t produce a flushing effect.12

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Long-Term Use of Sustained Release Niacin Supplements Is Dangerous

While the niacin flush is harmless, long-term use of niacin does have significant side effects that may be dangerous. The sustained release form of niacin may be hepatotoxic, causing irreparable damage to your liver. However non-sustained release forms do not cause this problem and are safe.13

Research also finds long-term use of niacin, prescribed for nearly 50 years at high doses to reduce cholesterol levels, has been linked with an increased risk of death and no association with a reduction in heart attacks or strokes.14 While high doses have been found to reduce cholesterol, an increase in cholesterol is not the causative factor behind heart attack and stroke.15,16

The increased risks in study participants associated with high doses of niacin included excessive bleeding, gout, development of diabetes in those who didn’t have it when the study began, liver problems, excessive infections and loss of blood sugar control in diabetics.17

Macular edema has also been noted in people using niacin in doses more than 1500 mg per day.18 The effect of maculopathy occurred from one to 36 months after high-dose niacin was initiated. Cystoid macular edema causes painless vision loss, resulting in blindness. It has also been noted in patients taking lower doses of niacin.19 In one study, the effects of maculopathy reversed when the supplement was discontinued.20

Weight Management May Increase Your Toxic Load

Download Interview Transcript | Video Link

In this short interview with Dr. George W. Yu, we discuss how weight loss mobilizes greater amounts of toxins as they are released from fat cells, which then need to be removed from your body to reduce potential health problems.

Your body stores toxins in fat and fatty organs, including your brain. As you lose weight these toxins are freed from fat cells. In a paper published in 1990, Dr. David Root found fat cells in Yugoslavian capacitor workers contained 140 to 150 times higher levels than their blood.21

After a detoxification program, the toxic load decreased by 30%. Another study looked at how science may be able to reduce this number even further. Yu and John Laseter, Ph.D., of Accu-Chem Laboratories, assessed the levels of toxic chemicals in visceral fat. They found the average person likely had more than 500 times higher levels of toxins in their body than what was found in their blood.

Root has extensive experience detoxifying veterans exposed to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. In treating the veterans he used niacin to mobilize fat and free up toxic chemicals locked in lipophilic fatty tissues. Yu explains the process:22

“Of course, a lot of substances come out from your body. But the two biggest surface areas are the skin and the GI tract. In our clinic, we started thinking that we have to mobilize it not only from the skin by sweating after we use the niacin, but also using the GI tract to pull it out. One of the things that I want to clarify is that people think detoxification is the process.

I think it’s actually mobilization of the toxic chemicals, and then having a way to eliminate it and to excrete it out. ‘Detoxification’ by medical terms is only in the liver. That’s very important. But to mobilize things quickly, you have to use this kind of [mobilization and elimination] system.”

Simple Detox Program Uses Niacin, Exercise and a Sauna

A simple way to detoxify your body starts with optimizing your lean body mass. To mobilize the toxins stored in the fat you’ve lost, Yu recommends using niacin in combination with exercise and sauna therapy. Exercise speeds the number of toxins that are eliminated through the skin. Using a sauna also helps excretion through your pores and may significantly expedite the process.

An infrared sauna heats your tissues several inches deep, enhancing your natural metabolic processes, circulation and tissue oxygenation. Although your skin is a major organ of elimination, most people don’t sweat on a regular basis. Sedentary living, tight fitting clothes and sun damage may reduce your skin’s ability to excrete toxins. Repeated sauna use may restore this process.

Additionally, you may consider using activated charcoal and/or zeolite clay, both pull toxins out of your blood through the GI tract. Yu typically recommends 500 mg of charcoal. Just be aware that any medicines or supplements you take in the same hours will also be bound to the charcoal and eliminated from your body, so do not take them together. Yu recommends 100 mg of niacin once or twice weekly, combined with exercise and sauna to detoxify during an active weight loss program.

On the days you take niacin, start exercising 20 minutes after ingestion. Exercise for approximately 20 minutes, ensure you are sweating, and then get into a sauna for up to one hour. The sauna should be at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit. After the sauna you may want to use the activated charcoal or zeolite clay to help eliminate toxins through your GI tract.

While sweating profusely, you will lose minerals and even some vitamins. So, be sure to rehydrate using a fluid rich with electrolytes, magnesium and potassium. Coconut water is excellent for this purpose as it contains natural electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Posted in Exercise, Food, Liver, Supplements, Toxins, Vitamins, Weight Loss | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 13, 2023

Why Official Vitamin D Intake Recommendations Are Grossly Inadequate


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/11/vitamin-d-intake-recommendations.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     December 11, 2023

vitamin d intake recommendations

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Three November 2023 studies demonstrate that the current governmental dosing recommendations for vitamin D are woefully inadequate, and you need an individualized approach to boost your vitamin D to optimal levels
  • Two of the studies were presented before the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia. The third, from Germany, revealed that personalized guidelines were more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach in athletes
  • Vitamin D deficiency in athletes is associated with a reduction in endurance parameters, core muscle injuries, muscle strains, bone injuries and stress fractures. Less-than-optimal levels are also associated with uterine fibroids, higher mortality from cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease, all-cause mortality and a higher risk of dementia
  • I’ve long recommended a vitamin D level of 60 to 80 ng/ml (150-200 nmol/L) for optimal health and disease prevention. You need to measure your serum levels to know your vitamin D requirement; JUST supplementing with vitamin D is not enough and could backfire

Two studies published in November 2023 demonstrated that the current governmental dosing recommendations for vitamin D may not help you achieve optimal levels;1 a third found a personalized approach to supplementation yielded better results in athletes than a one-size-fits-all approach.2

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, also called calciferol. While it can be found naturally in some foods, your body endogenously produces vitamin D when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun. In the U.S., vitamin D supplements are available as vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 cholecalciferol).3 Ideally, you can optimize your vitamin D through sensible sun exposure.

However, many are simply unable to get sufficient levels from the sun alone and need a supplement. On a typical sunny day,4 your body can produce up to 25,000 international units IU of vitamin D. Yet, the current recommended intake5 is only 600 IU for people between the ages of 1 and 70 years, and 800 IU for those over 70 years.

Two studies6 presented before the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia demonstrated that the current recommended intakes are far lower than needed to boost your vitamin D to optimal levels. And, as we’ll discuss below, when your vitamin D levels are insufficient or deficient, it increases your potential risk for several health problems.

Current Recommendations Won’t Raise Vitamin D to Optimal Levels

The two studies7 presented in November 2023 were from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City. The data suggest that when research trials are studying the effectiveness of vitamin D treatment to prevent heart disease, it was essential to use sufficient doses to raise vitamin D levels; otherwise the data would be inaccurate.

As the researchers wrote, past studies have demonstrated that low levels of vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of a cardiac event, such as a heart attack or stroke. The lead author, Heidi May, Ph.D., is an epidemiologist at Intermountain Health. She commented on the implications of their findings in a press release:8

“We’ve seen a series of studies that report an association between low Vitamin D and poor heart outcomes, but also a few randomized clinical trials that do not report the same association.

Our findings here show that just giving patients some Vitamin D does not help them achieve optimal levels. If researchers are going to further look at Vitamin D dosing as a possible way to improve heart health, patients need to be given the right doses to reach those ideal levels.”

The data showed that without using a personalized approach to supplementation and evaluating blood levels, patients may not have the expected results. Patients were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial to evaluate whether a personalized approach to supplementation could reduce heart-related outcomes. In the first Target-D study, researchers engaged 632 patients and split them into two groups.

The first group received a general recommendation to speak with their health care practitioner about a vitamin D treatment and the second group received a targeted vitamin D treatment. The goal was to raise their 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] vit D) level to more than 40 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), which is the level this study determined was optimal.9

Patients in the intervention group had their supplementation dosage determined by an algorithm and every-three-month blood serum assessment to adjust the dosage until their levels reached over 40 ng/ml. In the treatment group, nearly 90% required vitamin D supplementation, and of those, 86.5% needed more than 2,000 IU per day and 14.6% needed more than 10,000 IU per day to reach the serum level goal.

It took three months for less than 65% to achieve 40 ng/ml and six months or more for another 25% to reach the goal. The goal of the second analysis is to determine whether a sufficient level of vitamin D could help prevent heart attacks and stroke.

The participants had to have a heart event within 30 days of enrollment. The trial is planned to continue until at least 104 patients have experienced another heart event or die from heart disease.

In the intervention group, those with a vitamin D Level under 40 ng/ml began with a starting dose of 5,000 IU, which the researchers point out is well over the 600 to 800 IU that is currently the recommended dietary allowance. Viet T. Le is a cardiovascular researcher and physician assistant at Intermountain Health. He commented on the importance of accurate dosing in a press release:10

“If Vitamin D can help prevent heart attacks, we want to know it, but our findings are showing that you can’t just tell someone to take a single low supplement dose, then set it and forget it. We need to be more intentional in these trials in order to determine if there is a link between Vitamin D supplementation and improved heart health, as well as how to dose it to help our patients if it does.”

It was great that the study used blood levels as an endpoint as many studies fail to do this. However, they seem to have left out some key issues that are mentioned below:

  • The best source of vitamin D is from the sun, not a supplement, as it provides far more than vitamin D, as I mentioned in an article in 2022.
  • If you do get adequate sun exposure one day, it is important not to take a vitamin D supplement on that day.
  • Vitamin K2 and magnesium are important cofactors to produce vitamin D, and if you aren’t getting enough in your diet or with supplements, you may be unable to get high enough vitamin D levels.
  • The typical adult dose of vitamin D to produce healthy levels would be 8,000 units per day.

Personalized Guidelines More Effective Than One-Size-Fits-All

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in an athlete’s health and performance. A 2020 paper11 in Nutrients acknowledged that athletes have the same potential for low levels of vitamin D as the general population and that vitamin D plays a crucial role in skeletal muscle growth, inflammatory modulation, and cardiopulmonary function, all of which influence athletic performance.

As noted in Nutraingredients,12 evidence suggests that vitamin D influences power and strength parameters in athletes, including vertical jump and mean power output in combat sports.

Vitamin D also can influence endurance parameters, which influences athletic performance. In addition to performance, suboptimal or deficient vitamin D levels have a strong correlation with core muscle injuries, muscle strains, bone injuries and stress fractures.

A 2023 randomized controlled intervention study13 published in Nutrients sought to determine the type of vitamin D supplementation that could help an athlete meet the target of 40 ng/ml over 10 weeks. The study was conducted during the winter months in Germany with 90 athletes who had known insufficient vitamin D levels that were less than 30 ng/ml.

The participants were split into two groups, one of which received a universal dose of 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D. The other group received an individualized supplementation regimen based on a dosing guideline published in 2010 by Lenneke Groningen and colleagues.14 Serum levels of vitamin D were measured with Mitra tips using volumetric absorptive microsampling technology (VAMS®).

The researchers measured serum vitamin D levels at baseline, at the date they computed that 40 ng/ml would be reached and again at 10 weeks. The researchers found that on the day when the algorithm indicated the athlete would reach 40 ng/ml, the group that had received individualized supplementation had significantly higher serum levels than the group receiving a standard dose.

The researchers believe the data demonstrated the formula they used to estimate optimal vitamin D levels was suitable and “indicates that a personalized approach is more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach in restoring adequate vitamin D levels in athletes.”15 They concluded:

“To prevent a possible decline in athletic performance and long failure times due to illness or injuries, athletes need to be informed and adequately supported regarding vitamin D. It has been previously stated that an individualized approach is warranted when correcting vitamin D deficiency.

The approach used in this study, using independent VAMS® sampling for vitamin D status assessment followed by an individualized supplementation strategy, is an example of how this individual support could be implemented in sports practice.”

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Less-Than-Optimal Levels Raise Your Risk of Health Problems

In addition to the health issues identified in athletes with low vitamin D levels, suboptimal and deficient vitamin D can also raise your risk of other health problems. A 2022 study16 examined how levels could affect the development and progression of uterine fibroids. These are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus and are nearly always benign. However, the symptoms can be difficult to live with.

Treatment for fibroids nearly always destroys fertility. In this study, the researchers were seeking a treatment that would preserve fertility and found an association between vitamin D levels equal to or greater than 30 ng/ml with an “imprecise” reduction of 22% in the incidence of fibroids when compared to those with levels less than 30 ng/ml. The group with serum levels greater than 30 ng/ml also had a 32% increase in fibroid tissue loss.

It is also important to note that while vitamin D is useful in the treatment of fibroids, they are almost always due to excess estrogen and a progesterone deficiency which can’t be treated with vitamin D.

A 2022 study17 showed that people whose vitamin D level could be genetically predicted were 25% more likely to die from any cause compared to those with genetics conducive to healthy vitamin D levels.

Data were gathered from 307,600 people in the UK BioBank, which is a cohort from England, Scotland and Wales. The study also showed that genetically predicted vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of death from cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases.

A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis18 found vitamin D3 supplementation reduced cancer mortality by 6% and when only studies involving daily vitamin D intake were analyzed, cancer mortality dropped by a significant 12%. According to the researchers:19

“From a biological perspective, it is plausible that a sufficient vitamin D status has an impact on cancer prognosis: by binding to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), the active hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) influences signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and cell survival, and thus acts as an anti-proliferative agent in many tissues and can slow the growth of malignant cells.”

The study further revealed that daily vitamin D supplementation was particularly beneficial for people aged 70 and over, as well as those who took vitamin D daily and were later diagnosed with cancer. The data from a 2023 study20 also indicate that vitamin D deficiency may increase your risk for dementia.

The researchers gathered data from 12,388 people from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center who were dementia-free and had an average age of 71. They explored the association between supplementation and the incidence of dementia by measuring exposure to vitamin D but not serum levels.

In other words, just taking a vitamin D supplement and raising the serum level an unknown amount had a positive effect on reducing risk. They found that across all formulations used, participants who were exposed to vitamin D had a “significantly longer dementia-free survival and lower dementia incidence rate than no exposure.”21

What Are Optimal Levels of Vitamin D and How to Get There

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was easy to find lies in the mainstream media about several drugs that had been effectively used in human medicine for several decades. Among the supplements that were vilified was vitamin D. Vitamin D is crucial to the innate and adaptive immune responses,22 so it’s just common sense that it would be useful in an infectious disease.

I’ve long recommended a vitamin D level of 60 to 80 ng/ml (150-200 nmol/L) for optimal health and disease prevention. A level upward of 100 ng/mL also appears safe and beneficial for certain conditions, especially cancer. However, the only way to know your vitamin D level is to measure your serum levels, ideally twice a year.

But supplementing with just vitamin D is not enough, and it could backfire. As I’ve written before, magnesium and vitamin K2 are necessary to optimize your vitamin D supplementation. When you’re not taking magnesium and K2, you could need up to 2.5 times more vitamin D to reach adequate levels.

However, a deficiency in vitamin K2 can lead to excessive calcification in your arteries when you’re taking vitamin D. Magnesium is also a crucial part of the equation since it’s necessary to activate vitamin D so your body can properly utilize it. You’ll find more about the interactions between vitamins D, K2, B12, and magnesium in Magnesium and K2 Optimize Your Vitamin D Supplementation.

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Posted by: | Posted on: December 10, 2023

Vitamin D Is More Effective Than Flu Vaccine, Study Says


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/09/vitamin-d-better-than-flu-vaccine.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     December 09, 2023

Newly Leaked Data Shows Just How Dangerous the COVID Vaccines Are
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
  • Mounting research suggests vitamin D deficiency may actually be a major cause of influenza. People with the lowest vitamin D levels report having significantly more colds or cases of the flu
  • Scientific review confirms vitamin D optimization boosts immunity and cuts rates of cold and flu. Among people vitamin D blood levels below 10 ng/mL, taking a supplement cut risk of respiratory infection by 50%
  • To prevent influenza in one person, 40 people must receive the flu vaccine whereas one case of the flu can be prevented for every 33 people taking vitamin D. If you’re severely vitamin D deficient, vitamin D supplementation is 10 times more effective than the flu vaccine

Conventional health authorities claim getting a flu shot each year is the best way to ward off influenza. But where’s the actual science backing up that claim?

If you’ve repeatedly fallen for this annual propaganda campaign, you may be surprised to find the medical literature suggests vitamin D may actually be a FAR more effective strategy, and the evidence for this goes back at least a decade.

Dr. John Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council, was one of the first to introduce the idea that vitamin D deficiency may actually be an underlying CAUSE of influenza. His hypothesis1 was initially published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection in 2006.2 It was subsequently followed up with another study published in the Virology Journal in 2008.3

The following year, the largest nationally representative study4 of its kind to date discovered that people with the lowest vitamin D levels indeed reported having significantly more colds or cases of the flu. In conclusion, lead author Dr. Adit Ginde stated:

“The findings of our study support an important role for vitamin D in prevention of common respiratory infections, such as colds and the flu. Individuals with common lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, may be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections from vitamin D deficiency.”

Vitamin D Works Better Than Flu Vaccine if Your Levels Are Low

Since then, a number of studies have come to similar conclusions. More recently, a scientific review5,6 of 25 randomized controlled trials confirmed that vitamin D supplementation boosts immunity and cuts rates of cold and flu.

Overall, the studies included nearly 11,000 individuals from more than a dozen countries. As reported by Time Magazine:7

“… [P]eople who took daily or weekly vitamin D supplements were less likely to report acute respiratory infections, like influenza or the common cold, than those who did not … For people with the most significant vitamin D deficiencies (blood levels below 10 [ng/mL]), taking a supplement cut their risk of respiratory infection in half.

People with higher vitamin D levels also saw a small reduction in risk: about 10 percent, which is about equal to the protective effect of the injectable flu vaccine, the researchers say.”

Like Cannell before them, the researchers believe vitamin D offers protection by increasing antimicrobial peptides in your lungs, and that “[t]his may be one reason why colds and flus are most common in the winter, when sunlight exposure (and therefore the body’s natural vitamin D production) is at its lowest …”8

According to this international research team, vitamin D supplementation could prevent more than 3.25 million cases of cold and flu each year in the U.K. alone.9 Another statistic showing vitamin D is a more effective strategy than flu vaccine is the “number needed to treat” (NNT).

Overall, one person would be spared from influenza for every 33 people taking a vitamin D supplement (NNT = 33), whereas 40 people have to receive the flu vaccine in order to prevent one case of the flu (NNT = 40).

Among those with severe vitamin D deficiency at baseline, the NNT was 4. In other words, if you’re vitamin D deficient to begin with, vitamin D supplementation is 10 times more effective than the flu vaccine.

Optimizing Vitamin D May Be Your Best Defense Against Influenza

In my view, optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best flu-prevention and optimal health strategies available. Your diet also plays a significant role of course, as it lays the foundation for good immune function.

A high-sugar diet is a sure-fire way to diminish your body’s innate ability to fight off infections of all kinds by radically impairing the functioning of your immune system.

However, I do not agree that fortifying more processed foods with vitamin D is the best solution, although I realize it could potentially have a more widespread impact among people who remain unaware of the beneficial health effects of sunlight in general.

I believe sensible sun exposure is the ideal way to optimize your vitamin D. Taking a vitamin D3 supplement is only recommended in cases when you simply cannot obtain sufficient amounts of sensible sun exposure.

It’s also important to point out that, contrary to what’s reported by most mainstream media, including NPR report above, most people cannot optimize their vitamin D levels by getting the recommended 600 IUs of vitamin D from fortified foods. The dose you need really depends on your current blood level of vitamin D.

If it’s very low, you may need 8,000 to 10,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day in order to reach and maintain a clinically relevant level of 45 to 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). The only way to know how much you need is to get tested at least once or twice each year.

If you’ve been supplementing for some time and your levels are still below 45 ng/mL, you then know you have to increase your dose further. If using an oral supplement, also make sure to boost your vitamin K2 and magnesium intake, as these nutrients help optimize vitamin D levels.

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Other Studies Supporting Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Influenza

In a study published in 2010,10 researchers investigated the effect of vitamin D on the incidence of seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. The randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study included 430 children, half of which were given 1,200 IUs of vitamin D3 per day while the other half received a placebo.

Overall, children in the treatment group were 42% less likely to come down with the flu. According to the authors: “This study suggests that vitamin D3 supplementation during the winter may reduce the incidence of influenza A, especially in specific subgroups of schoolchildren.”

Another study11 published that same year concluded that infection-fighting T-cells need help from vitamin D in order to activate. This is yet another mechanism that helps explain why vitamin D is so effective against infections.

When a T cell recognizes foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses, it sends activating signals to the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene.

The VDR gene then starts producing a protein that binds vitamin D in the T cell. A downstream effect of this is PLC-gamma1 protein production, which subsequently enables the T cell to fight the infection. At the time, lead researcher Carsten Geisler told Food Consumer:12

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or “antenna” known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D. This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

With that understanding, it’s no wonder flu shots don’t work. Flu vaccines do absolutely nothing to address the underlying problem of vitamin D deficiency, which is effectively hindering your immune system from working properly.

In fact, flu vaccines tend to deteriorate your immune function, and their side effects can be significant.

‘Gold Standard’ Studies Ignored by Mainstream Media

The gold standard of scientific analysis, the so-called Cochrane Database Review, has also issued several reports between 2006 and 2012, all of which decimate the claim that flu vaccinations are the most effective prevention method available. In 2010, Cochrane published the following bombshell conclusion, which was completely ignored by mainstream media:13

“Influenza vaccines have a modest effect in reducing influenza symptoms and working days lost. There is no evidence that they affect complications, such as pneumonia, or transmission. WARNING: This review includes 15 out of 36 trials funded by industry (four had no funding declaration).

An earlier systematic review of 274 influenza vaccine studies published up to 2007 found industry funded studies were published in more prestigious journals and cited more than other studies independently from methodological quality and size. Studies funded from public sources were significantly less likely to report conclusions favorable to the vaccines …”

So, despite the fact that 15 of the 36 studies included were biased by industry interests, they still couldn’t come up with evidence supporting the conventional claim that flu vaccines are the best and most effective prevention available against influenza!

Scientific Reviews Show Vaccinating Children and Elderly Is Ineffective

Cochrane has issued several reports addressing the effectiveness of flu vaccines on infants and the elderly — two groups that tend to be the most targeted by flu vaccine advertising — and all have had negative findings. For children:

1.A large-scale, systematic review14 of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in children under two. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months.

2.In 2008, another Cochrane review15 again concluded that “little evidence is available” that the flu vaccine is effective for children under the age of two. Even more disturbingly, the authors stated that:

“It was surprising to find only one study of inactivated vaccine in children under two years, given current recommendations to vaccinate healthy children from six months old in the USA and Canada. If immunization in children is to be recommended as a public health policy, large-scale studies assessing important outcomes and directly comparing vaccine types are urgently required.”

3.In a 2012 review,16 Cochrane concluded that “in children aged from two years, nasal spray vaccines made from weakened influenza viruses were better at preventing illness caused by the influenza virus than injected vaccines made from the killed virus. Neither type was particularly good at preventing “flu-like illness” caused by other types of viruses. In children under the age of two, the efficacy of inactivated vaccine was similar to placebo.”

The available evidence with regards to protecting the elderly is equally abysmal.

4.In 2010, Cochrane concluded that:17 “The available evidence is of poor quality and provides no guidance regarding the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of influenza vaccines for people aged 65 years or older.”

5.Cochrane also reviewed whether or not vaccinating health care workers can help protect the elderly patients with whom they work. In conclusion, the authors stated that:18 “[T]here is no evidence that vaccinating health care workers prevents influenza in elderly residents in long-term care facilities.”

Annual Flu Vaccinations May Raise Risk of More Serious Infections

Other studies have shown that with each successive annual flu vaccination, the protection afforded by the vaccine appears to diminish.19,20 Research published in 2014 concluded that vaccine-induced protection against influenza was greatest among those who had NOT received a flu shot in the previous five years.21 The flu vaccine may also increase your risk of contracting other, more serious influenza infections.

  • Data shows people who received the seasonal flu vaccine in 2008 had twice the risk of getting the H1N1 “swine flu” compared to those who didn’t receive a flu shot.22
  • Compared to children who do not get an annual flu vaccine, those who receive influenza vaccinations have a three times higher risk of hospitalization due to influenza.23

Research also shows that statin drugs — taken by 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 45 — may undermine your immune system’s ability to respond to the flu vaccine.24,25,26 When you consider the low efficacy rate of the flu vaccine in any given year, getting vaccinated if you’re on a statin may well be a moot point.

Independent science reviews have also concluded that influenza vaccine does not appear to prevent influenza-like illness associated with other types of viruses responsible for about 80% of all respiratory or gastrointestinal infections during any given flu season.27,28

Other Foods and Supplements That Send Pathogens Packin’

Besides vitamin D, there are a number of other foods and supplements that can be beneficial for colds and influenza, including the following:

Garlic29 — Garlic has natural antiviral, antibiotic and antifungal activity and has long been hailed for its immune boosting effects. The Cochrane Database, which has repeatedly demonstrated that the science in support of the flu vaccine is flimsy at best, has also reviewed studies on alternatives, including garlic.30 Unfortunately, such research is harder to come by, as there’s no financial incentive driving it.

Still, in the singular study identified by the Cochrane group, those who took garlic daily for three months had fewer colds than those who took a placebo, and, when they did come down with a cold, the duration of illness was shorter — an average of 4.5 days compared to 5.5 days for the placebo group.

While this may not seem overly impressive, it’s still better than the results achieved by the flu drug Tamiflu!
Zinc — A Cochrane Database Review of the medical research on zinc found that when taken within one day of the first symptoms, zinc can cut down the time you have a cold by about 24 hours. Zinc was also found to greatly reduce the severity of symptoms. Zinc was not recommended for anyone with an underlying health condition, like lowered immune function, asthma or chronic illness.

I do not recommend taking more than 50 mg a day, and I do not recommend taking zinc on a daily basis for preventive purposes as you could easily develop a copper imbalance that way.
Vitamin C — A very potent antioxidant; use a natural form such as acerola, which contains associated micronutrients. You can take several grams every hour (use the liposomal form so you don’t get loose stools), till you are better. I never travel without a bottle of our liposomal C.
A tea made from a combination of elderflower, yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger; drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It causes you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virus from your system.
Oregano oil — The higher the carvacrol concentration, the more effective it is. Carvacrol is the most active antimicrobial agent in oregano oil.
Medicinal mushrooms, such as shiitake, reishi and turkey tail.
Propolis — A bee resin and one of the most broad-spectrum antimicrobial compounds in the world; propolis is also the richest source of caffeic acid and apigenin, two very important compounds that aid in immune response.
Olive leaf extract is widely known as a natural, nontoxic immune system builder.

Vitamin D Is Important for Optimal Health and Disease Prevention Year-Round

Video Link

In related news, researchers are also homing in on how vitamin D may help protect against age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The video above discusses research31 showing vitamin D extends lifespan in nematode worms by 30% and helps slow or even reverse accumulation of beta amyloid protein, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, autoimmune disease and many other chronic diseases. As noted in a February 2017 issue of Orthomolecular Medicine News:32 “Research on the health benefits of vitamin D continues at a rapid pace. There were 4,356 papers published in 2015 with vitamin D in the title or abstract and 4,388 in 2016 …” Among some of the most impactful studies are ones demonstrating:

• Health benefits from sun exposure unrelated to vitamin D production — One review concluded benefits of sun exposure includes lower rates of cancer, heart disease, dementia, myopia, macular degeneration, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. My belief is that the majority of these benefits are due to the near-, mid- and far-infrared wavelengths.

According to the author: “The message of sun avoidance must be changed to acceptance of non-burning sun exposure sufficient to achieve [vitamin D] concentrations of 30 ng/mL or higher … and the general benefits of UV exposure beyond those of vitamin D.”

Also, while intermittent sun exposure is associated with higher rates of skin cancer, “the risks of these cancers is dwarfed by the reduced risk of internal cancers from sun exposure,” William Grant, Ph.D. writes.

• Benefits of higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy — Research demonstrates preterm births steadily decrease as vitamin D levels increase among pregnant women. In one study, raising vitamin D blood concentrations from 20 to 40 ng/mL decreased preterm births by 59%.

• Reduction in cancer risk from vitamin D supplementation — One pooled analysis showed that women with higher levels of vitamin D had much lower incidence rates of cancer — from a 2% per year cancer incidence rate at 18 ng/mL to 0.4% at 63 ng/mL.

Overall, maintaining a vitamin D serum level of 45 to 60 ng/mL year-round may be one of the simplest and most efficient ways to safeguard yourself against chronic disease and acute infections.

When it comes to seasonal colds and influenza, the rate of protection you get from vitamin D is actually greater than what you’d get from a flu vaccination, and you don’t have to worry about potential side effects either — which in the case of the flu vaccine can be far worse than the original complaint.

While death and complete disability from a flu vaccine may be rare, so is dying from the flu itself. I strongly recommend weighing the risk of suffering a debilitating side effect of the flu vaccine relative to the more likely potential of spending a week in bed with the flu.

Remember, most deaths attributed to influenza are actually due to bacterial pneumonia, and these days, bacterial pneumonia can be effectively treated with advanced medical care and therapies like respirators and parenteral antibiotics.

Posted in Flu, Supplements, Vaccinations, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 5, 2023

The Four Hormones Most Adults Need More Of


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/03/four-hormones-most-adults-need-more-of.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     December 03, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Four hormones most adults can benefit from are progesterone, thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone
  • Around the ages of 11 and 12, right before puberty, the hormonal profiles of boys and girls are relatively similar. They produce about the same amounts of pregnenolone and progesterone. This is also the time when thyroid hormone levels are the highest they’ll ever be, and it’s the time in a person’s life cycle when their mortality is the lowest. Most supplementation recommendations are based on these prepubescent levels
  • To optimize bioavailability, take T3, DHEA and/or pregnenolone orally, after dissolving them in a long-chain fat (14 carbons or more) such as ghee or butter
  • The normal daily output of DHEA by the adrenal gland is about 20 to 50 milligrams (mg), so for most people, the max DHEA dose would be 50 mg, ideally split into several smaller doses. Human studies have shown that once you take more than 50 mg of DHEA per day, you begin to increase estrogen biomarkers. Best to start at 5-10 mg.
  • As a general recommendation, I recommend taking 30 to 50 mg of bioidentical progesterone per a day, taken in the evening before bed, as it can promote sleep. The same dose (30 to 50 mg a day) is recommended for pregnenolone. This is the physiological dose, meaning it’s what you need for full replenishment, assuming you’re producing nothing

In this interview, repeat guest Georgi Dinkov and I discuss the four hormones most adults need more of if they want to optimize their health. In my introduction I mention that we will review the benefits and mechanisms of action of carbon dioxide (CO2), but that will be covered in Part 2 of this interview that will be posted in the next few weeks.

As for hormones, if you’re optimally healthy, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is unnecessary, as your body will make whatever hormones you need. The problem is that very few people, including me, enjoy truly optimal health.

We live in a very polluted world, so “optimal health” is a high bar for all of us. I take four hormones that I believe most adults can benefit from: Progesterone, thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone.

Three of these, progesterone, DHEA and pregnenolone are available over-the-counter. Thyroid hormones, however, require a doctor’s prescription. You also need to get routine blood tests done (typically two to four times a year) to make sure your thyroid hormones are maintained at optimal levels. Overtreatment can result in hyperthyroid symptoms, which you clearly want to avoid.

How Hormones Impact Health Span and Life Span

As noted by Dinkov, around the ages of 11 and 12, right before puberty, the hormonal profiles of boys and girls are relatively similar, and they produce about the same amounts of pregnenolone and progesterone.

This is also the time when thyroid hormone levels are the highest they’ll ever be, and it’s the time in a person’s life cycle when their mortality is the lowest. Once puberty strikes, adrenal activity increases. In fact, the old name for puberty was adrenarchy, which tells you that adrenal activity is driving the process.

At this time, boys start producing more testosterone and girls progesterone (depending on where they are in the menstrual cycle). Interestingly, many studies have shown that the later puberty starts, the longer the lifespan and health span of both sexes. Conversely, the earlier the onset of puberty, the shorter the lifespan and the more prone to diseases the individual will be.

“After puberty starts and until the late 20s, people are remarkably resilient to stress,” Dinkov notes. “In fact, stress often seems stimulating for them. This seems to change drastically after they hit 30, and especially after 35. It’s basically a very steep decline.

And if you look at the way the hormonal profile changes, you’ll see that whenever young, healthy people are exposed to stress, there’s a spike in cortisol release, followed closely by a spike of pregnenolone and DHEA release for males, and pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA release for females.

That delayed release of these secondary hormones drop off a cliff after the age of about 35. The ranges for pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA, and even testosterone, change depending on what age group you fall into, but the range for cortisol doesn’t change.

So, throughout your lifetime, unless you’re critically ill, in which case cortisol drops, or you have Addison disease, which is full on adrenal failure, your cortisol levels do not decline, and that’s what keeps you alive because, if you have adrenal failure, unless you take cortisol shots you will die from hypoglycemia or Addison’s disease. So, it’s lethal.

Cortisol is really a life-saving hormone. It’s proinflammatory, but its primary purpose is to keep blood sugar from dropping too low, because your brain runs predominantly on glucose. So, basically, after the age of 35, cortisol stays the same.

It’s a catabolic hormone. It can shred your muscles, soft tissue, bone, you name it. There’s no organ that is immune to the effects of cortisol. There is only one that is somewhat resilient, and it’s the heart. And the reason the heart is so resilient in both genders is because in males, the heart contains a very large amount of testosterone, and in females it contains very large amounts of progesterone.

Both of these happen to be glucocorticoid antagonists. So they’re protecting this vital muscle … but all the other tissues can be shredded and they’re considered basically nonessential. So, after the age of 35, you have a stable supply of a catabolic hormone and then a rapidly declining supply of pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA, all three of which have antiglucocorticoid effects.”

All of that said, if you’re taking progesterone, you don’t need to worry about the DHEA converting to estrogenic substances because progesterone will block that conversion. Even if there is conversion, progesterone is an antagonist at the estrogen receptors so it will directly block the estrogen as well. Pregnenolone has similar effects. It’s a milder aromatase inhibitor than progesterone, but it’s still quite good at preventing the uptake of estrogen into the cell.

Cortisol-to-DHEA Ratio Is a Good Predictor of Life Span

One of the take-homes from the above is that when you’re young, before puberty sets in, you have high production of T3 thyroid hormone, cortisol and anti-cortisol steroids. After age 35, there’s a gradual decline of thyroid function and a rapid decline in the synthesis and release of the anti-cortisol hormones, some of which also happen to be anti-estrogenic.

As a result, you enter a state of relative glucocorticoid and estrogen excess, both of which have detrimental effects on health. Dinkov explains:

“The state of glucocorticoid excess is not very well known. It’s easily measurable though by the ratio of cortisol to DHEA, or cortisol to progesterone, or cortisol to pregnenolone. Studies demonstrate that the cortisol to DHEA ratio is the best predictor we have for how long you’re going to live and for any diseases that you’re going to develop throughout your lifetime.”

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DHEA Influences Your Immune Function

One of the reasons for this is because DHEA is an immune booster, and your immune system is your first line of defense against both acute and chronic diseases, including cancer. And the amount of DHEA produced is about the same in both sexes, regardless of age. Dinkov suspects an ideal ratio of cortisol to DHEA is 0-to-3 or lower.

As for DHEA by itself, he recommends aiming for a level in the upper 50th percentile for the upper range of a 20-year-old, which is around 600 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). So, ideally, if you’re older than 35, you’d want your DHEA to be somewhere between 300 and 600 ng/dL.

As for the daily dosage, the normal daily output of DHEA by the adrenal gland is about 10 milligrams (mg), so for most people, the max DHEA dose would be 5-10 mg and mixed with a long-chain fat. According to Dinkov, human studies have shown that once you take more than 10 mg of DHEA per day, you begin to increase estrogen biomarkers, which is something you don’t want.

“Anything less than [10 mg], which happens to be a physiological dose, doesn’t really cause that much of a problem, but I would still take it with progesterone because blood levels are not always indicative of tissue levels,” Dinkov says.

“In fact, [DHEA] is not always reflected on the blood test … If you look at the studies, they show you that cells have a very high uptake of pregnenolone and DHEA. They accumulate them at levels 100 times higher than what they are in the bloodstream. So if you’re very DHEA deficient, it will take a while to fill up your reserves and then for the extra to spill over. About six months.

There’s a study with Italian women. They took 10 mg for a full year. Eventually that restored their levels back to normal, but not until the six-month mark did they see significant change. So it really depends on how deficient you are, for how long you’ve been deficient, and the state of your adrenal gland.

Another study demonstrated that the DHEA starts working immediately. You don’t see it in the blood test, but they started measuring downstream metabolites of DHEA and found that taking just 10 mg of DHEA drastically increased the metabolites of the dihydrotestosterone such as 3-alpha androstane diol and metabolites of testosterone, such as testosterone glucoronate and sulfate.

So, DHEA starts working immediately and converting to downstream hormones, but it’s going to take a while to see that in the biomarkers that are usually measured, which is DHEA and DHEA sulfate. What they really should be doing is measure all of the other things that DHA can convert into.

And some of those things are estrogens. Chances are, at least based on studies, that either prolactin or estrone will rise if you’re taking too high of a dose long before there will be changes in the blood levels of DHEA or DHEA sulfate.”

Caveats and Warnings

There are a few important caveats here. Taking too high a dose of DHEA can cause unwanted hair growth in women, and breast growth in men,1 so be sure to monitor your symptoms. DHEA is also banned in sports. It’s classified as a doping agent by the World Anti-Doping Agency, so athletes must take their competitive status into account before taking supplemental DHEA.

Also, never take DHEA without progesterone. They need to be taken together. Another point to optimize the therapy and not derail it is that if you take T3, DHEA and/or pregnenolone orally, you need to dissolve them in a long-chain fat (14 carbons or more) first.

If you don’t do that, they’ll be metabolized by your liver, which significantly lowers their effectiveness. According to Dinkov, the bioavailability of oral hormones can be as low as 10%. Dissolving the supplements in a little ghee or butter will bypass liver metabolism and allow you to get the most out of your supplements.

Olive oil is also a long-chain fat, but I don’t recommend it in this case, as it can have 20% linoleic acid (LA) and a flavor that many don’t like. According to Dinkov, at least one study has demonstrated that LA binds directly to estrogen receptors and acts like estrogen.

So, LA not merely promotes the effects of estrogen but also acts as an estrogen directly. Since estrogen is a potent carcinogen, you want to avoid things with estrogenic activity.

Progesterone Works Best With Vitamin E

Progesterone, meanwhile, needs to be mixed into vitamin E for optimal bioavailability. Health Natura sells a progesterone in vitamin E product. Alternatively, you can make your own by dissolving pure USP progesterone powder in one capsule of a high-quality vitamin E. The difference in bioavailability between taking progesterone orally without vitamin E and taking it with vitamin E is 45 minutes versus 48 hours.

Another good reason for taking progesterone with vitamin E is because it binds to red blood cells, which allows the progesterone to be carried throughout your body and be distributed to where it’s needed the most. What’s more, Dinkov cites recent research showing that when you dissolve a substance in vitamin E, it specifically targets sites with the highest inflammation.

Other Important Benefits of Vitamin E

Another important benefit of vitamin E is that it prevents LA stored in your tissues from being oxidized into toxic byproducts. Since most people are walking around with LA stores that are 10 times higher than normal, and since excess LA is likely one of the primary contributors to chronic disease, it can be a good idea to take vitamin E regularly until you get your LA down to healthy levels, which may take up to six years for most people.

Vitamin E can almost miraculously prevent most of the damage done by LA. It can also reverse or prevent many of the issues associated with excess estrogen. This is important because LA has remarkable parallels to excess estrogen in terms of its metabolic and anti-health effects.

When you eat excess PUFA or LA, you increase your body’s production of estrogen. So, when you increase LA, estrogen levels go up — and that’s not a good thing. Both LA and estrogen interestingly increase the flow of calcium from outside the cell to inside because the concentration of calcium outside as well is 50 times higher than inside. So, the excess as LA will cause the influx of calcium inside the cell, which causes nitric oxide and superoxide to increase inside the cell.

Nitric oxide and superoxide combine almost instantaneously to form a very pernicious reactive nitrogen species called peroxynitrite, which causes pervasive damage to tissues in your body.

Both LA and estrogen also increase a potentially dangerous process in your body called lipolysis, which is simply the liberation of fatty acids from your fat cells into your bloodstream where they are mobilized. This then increases the oxidation of LA, which is precisely what you want to avoid as ideally you want to keep LA in your fat cells until they metabolize it with peroxisomes.

Fortunately, vitamin E can also help neutralize this damaging effect of LA. Vitamin E also directly inhibits the activity of an enzyme called aromatase. This is an enzyme that converts the male hormones like testosterone and DHEA into estrogens.

Even better, it serves as an estrogen antagonist, meaning it binds to the estrogen receptor to block it from binding to estrogen. This dramatically lowers the damage from excess estrogen.

Vitamin E works very similarly to the drug tamoxifen, which is used to treat estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. For these reasons, I firmly believe nearly everyone needs to be getting vitamin E in their diet. However, due to the high LA burden, very few people can get enough vitamin E from their diet to suppress this oxidative destruction unless they’re supplementing with vitamin E.

The good news is that since the supplementation is short term, you’re not going to need it the rest of your life. If you can keep your LA intake to below 5 grams a day for three years, it’s likely you may not even need it at all, or at most, only a few times a month.

However, if for whatever reason, during this time, or when the LA in your tissues are low or normal, and you go out and binge on a meal that’s very high in LA, I would strongly recommend taking a vitamin E capsule to protect yourself from this exposure.

Vitamin E also protects against free radical damage and the normal effects of aging. It’s particularly important for brain health, and studies have found it can help delay the loss of cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease by preventing cell membrane damage and neuronal death.2

How to Pick a Good Vitamin E Supplement

Most vitamin E supplements are synthetic, and you want to steer clear of those. Studies have demonstrated that synthetic vitamin E has the opposite effect of natural vitamin E, such as increasing the risk of certain cancers rather than lowering it, for example. So, it’s important to make sure you’re getting a natural version.

Synthetic vitamin E is called alpha tocopherol acetate. The acetate indicates that it’s synthetic. Next, you need to pay attention to the orientation of the optical isomer. Most vitamin supplements are racemic, or they have left- and right-hand isomers. This is a problem as most biological molecules have optical isomers that are right-handed.

They’re usually called D and L isomers, which stands for right and left. When you have both left and right isomers present, it’s called racemic. Biologically, there’s usually only one optical isomer that works well, and with vitamin E it is the D isomer that works in your body, while the L isomer is useless. Yet in synthetic supplements, 50% of the vitamin E in the supplement is the useless L isomer.

To make matters even worse, many synthetic versions use an ester of vitamin E, which only has about 50% of the activity of the natural product. So, the total activity of many vitamin E supplements is reduced by 75%.

So, the first step in identifying healthy good vitamin E supplements is to make sure you’re getting real vitamin E and not synthetic. What you’re looking for is “d alpha tocopherol.” This is the pure D isomer, which is what your body can use.

Many vitamin E brands will use vitamin E from sunflower oil, which has a very high percentage of LA. However, the LA in the capsule is an insignificant amount, probably less than 50 or 100 mg, so in this case it’s not a problem. Your goal is to keep LA intake under 5,000 mg, and even better under 2,500 mg, so it really won’t negatively impact your LA intake at all.

As for dose, you don’t need more than 100 mg a day. There are also other vitamin E isomers, and you want the complete spectrum of tocotrienols, specifically the beta, gamma, and delta types of vitamin E, in the effective D isomer. It’s important to get this right, which is why I’m going into this much detail.

Most People Can Benefit From Bioidentical Progesterone

So, to tie up the discussion about progesterone, bioidentical progesterone (not synthetic progestin) is probably the most important hormone that most adults need. Conversely, I believe estrogen — including bioidentical estrogen — should never be used, as estrogen is carcinogenic.

As noted by Dinkov, virtually all cancers respond to hormones and estrogen is a primary growth factor in all of them. So, there’s really no such thing as a nonendocrine cancer. To learn more about this, see our previous interview, where we dove deeper into the hazards of estrogen.

Unfortunately, most people who use progesterone use it transdermally, which could be problematic. As explained by Dinkov, your skin expresses high levels of 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which causes a significant portion of the progesterone you’re taking to be irreversibly converted primarily into allopregnanolone and cannot be converted back into progesterone.

If you’re taking it orally with vitamin E as the solvent, a significant portion will be non-metabolized, that non-metabolized progesterone has potent pro-thyroid effects. It’s also a thermogenic steroid. It induces uncoupling, so you’ll be producing more heat, which is one of the effects of taking T3. While not as potent as taking T3, it can raise your metabolic rate by about 10%.

Progesterone also blocks cortisol and helps protect against excess cortisol production, but not to the point of causing cortisol deficiency (Addison disease), and it helps deactivate adrenaline.

“There are human studies demonstrating that you administer progesterone, even in its nonoptimal form — such as just the powder without the long-chain fatty acids and definitely without the tocopherols — even in that form, 100 to 200 milligrams orally.

A single dose is sufficient to drop cortisol and adrenaline by about 60%. As a side effect of that, the blood pressure also dropped in both sexes,” Dinkov says. “So, we know that progesterone has a very potent antistress effect by acting specifically on the two sides of the stress system, cortisol and adrenaline.

One of the explanations is that progesterone has shown some ability to directly activate the alpha receptors, which are negative feedback. In other words, if you activate the alpha adrenal receptor, you basically send in the signal that there’s too much adrenaline, so the body will produce less adrenaline …”

The dose of bioidentical progesterone I recommend is 30 to 50 mg a day (again, mixed with a long-chain fat), taken in the evening before bed, as it can promote sleepiness. The same dose (30 to 50 mg a day) is recommended for pregnenolone. This is the physiological dose, meaning it’s what you need for full replenishment, assuming you’re producing nothing.

Important Caveat for Menstruating Women

Women who still menstruate need to be careful with the timing of their progesterone supplementation. Progesterone is crucial for successful pregnancy, and you can severely inhibit your ability to get pregnant if you take it at the wrong time. (During pregnancy, progesterone actually skyrockets. In the third trimester, women produce about 600 mg a day.)

If your menses are regular, start taking the progesterone on the 14th day after your menstrual flow begins, and take it for 14 days straight (until cycle day 27). If your cycles are short, start on day 12 and continue for 14 days. Always take the progesterone for the full 14 days even if your menses begin before the 14 days are over. Start the next progesterone 14 days after the flow began.3

There’s no toxicity to progesterone, unlike estrogen and testosterone, neither of which I recommend. Progesterone, T3, DHEA and pregnenolone are the only hormones you really need. Supplementing progesterone also will not lower your natural production, so you don’t need to be concerned about that. In fact, it enhances your natural production.

Thyroid Hormone Supplementation

When it comes to your thyroid, most people only need T3. That said, desiccated thyroid contains both T3 and T4 and can be a good option for some. Here, unless you’re treating a specific thyroid problem, the generally recommended dose is 10 micrograms two to three times a day. Dinkov comments:

“The thyroid gland produces about 100 micrograms in a healthy person — 100 micrograms of T3 over 24-hour period. If you take more than 25 micrograms, even that is a very high dose because it has such a potent thermogenic effect, and in higher doses can be catabolic.

The body has deiodinase enzymes, and they very quickly convert the excess T3 into something called T2 and even T1 … So, in other words, you’re going to be wasting most of it. Interestingly, the same type of enzymes, T3 deactivating, are highly overexpressed in cancer cells, and cancer cells just happen to be very hypometabolic, as we’ve discussed previously.

So the thyroid gland produces T3 and T4 in a ratio of about 1 to 4 in favor of T4. T4 is actually a prohormone, it by itself does not have a very high activity directly at the thyroid receptors T3. So, it circulates and about 80% of it in the liver, in a healthy person, should get converted to T3. The other 20% can get converted to T3 peripherally, or if the dosage of T4 is too high, the excess very quickly gets converted to something called reverse T3.

This is a very dangerous state because reverse T3 acts as a thyroid hormone antagonist … Most doctors don’t take these things into account, so if they prescribe you, let’s say, 100 or 200 micrograms T4 daily. You better be praying that this will get properly converted because if it doesn’t, and gets converted to reverse T3, you’ll end up in a more hypothyroid state than if you did not take the T4 at all …

T4 is almost never a good option by itself unless the person is very young. But even then, if a person is hypothyroid, that by definition already means that the liver will be burdened, because one of the primary functions of the liver is the detox mechanisms and one of the primary things that liver detoxifies are polyunsaturated fats and estrogens.

But the detoxification mechanisms themselves depend on thyroid function. So hypothyroid means sluggish liver by definition. So, if you give a hypothyroid person T4 only, especially if the dose is higher, you’re asking for trouble. Some of that will get converted to reverse T3.”

Posted in Cortisol, DHEA, Estrogen, Hormones, Immunity, Progesterone, Thyroid, Vitamins | No Comments »

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