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Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 17, 2023

What You Need to Know About Vitamin K2, D and Calcium

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/06/17/vitamin-k2.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 Fact Checked June 17, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Vitamin K2 is an important fat-soluble vitamin that plays critical roles in protecting your heart and brain, and building strong bones. It also plays an important role in cancer protection
The biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth. It also helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues
The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 might be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle calcium to the proper areas
If you take oral vitamin D, you also need to take vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries
If you take a calcium supplement, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between calcium, vitamin K2, vitamin D, and magnesium. Lack of balance between these nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published December 16, 2012.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin most well-known for the important role it plays in blood clotting. However, many do not realize that there are different kinds of vitamin K, and they are completely different.

The health benefits of vitamin K2 go far beyond blood clotting, which is done by vitamin K1, and vitamin K2 also works synergistically with a number of other nutrients, including calcium and vitamin D.

Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, a naturopathic physician with a keen interest in nutrition, has authored what I believe is one of the most comprehensive books on this important topic, titled: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life.

“I tuned in to the emerging research about K2 early in 2007,” she says. “Not long before, I had read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. When I learned about vitamin K2, I thought:

“Hey, you know what? I’m sure Price talked all about this in his book.” I went to the book, looked through it, and didn’t find any reference to vitamin K2. I was really stumped. A little bit later in 2007, I read a brilliant article by Chris Masterjohn that links vitamin K2 to Price’s work on Activator X.

Once I realized that link, the light bulb went on about how important this nutrient is, and how overlooked it’s been for so long. It really provides the missing piece to the puzzle of so many health conditions, and yet it was being completely overlooked, despite the overwhelming amounts of modern-day research.”

What’s so Special About Vitamin K2?

Vitamin K is actually a group of fat-soluble vitamins. Of the two main ones, K1 and K2, the one receiving the most attention is K1, which is found in green leafy vegetables and is very easy to get through your diet. This lack of distinction has created a lot of confusion, and it’s one of the reasons why vitamin K2 has been overlooked for so long. The three types of vitamin K are:

1.Vitamin K1, or phylloquinone, is found naturally in plants, especially green vegetables; K1 goes directly to your liver and helps you maintain healthy blood clotting

2.Vitamin K2, also called menaquinone, is made by the bacteria that line your gastrointestinal tract; K2 goes straight to your blood vessel walls, bones, and tissues other than your liver

3.Vitamin K3, or menadione, is a synthetic form I do not recommend; it’s important to note that toxicity has occurred in infants injected with this synthetic vitamin K3

It also plays a role in removing calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues. “K2 is really critical for keeping your bones strong and your arteries clear,” Rheaume-Bleue says. Now, vitamin K2 can be broken into two additional categories, called:

MK-4 (menaquinone-4), a short-chain form of vitamin K2 found in butter, egg yolks, and animal-based foods.
MK-7 (menaquinone-7), longer-chain forms found in fermented foods. There’s a variety of these long-chain forms but the most common one is MK-7. This is the one you’ll want to look for in supplements, because in a supplement form, the MK-4 products are actually synthetic. They are not derived from natural food products containing MK-4.

Vitamin K1 exclusively participates in blood clotting — that’s sole purpose. K2 on the other hand comes from a whole different set of food sources, and its biological role is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth.

The MK-7 – these long-chain, natural bacterial-derived vitamin K2 – is from a fermentation process, which offers a number of health advantages:

It stays in your body longer, and
It has a longer half-life, which means you can just take it once a day in very convenient dosing

How Much Vitamin K2 Do You Need?

The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 should be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle the calcium where it needs to be, and remove it from the places where it shouldn’t.

“The most recent clinical trials used around those amounts of K2,” Rheaume-Bleue says. “The average person is getting a lot less than that. That’s for sure. In the North American diet, you can see as little as maybe 10 percent of that or less. Certainly, not near enough to be able to optimize bone density and improve heart health.”

She estimates that about 80% of Americans do not get enough vitamin K2 in their diet to activate their K2 proteins, which is similar to the deficiency rate of vitamin D. Vitamin K2 deficiency leaves you vulnerable for a number of chronic diseases, including:

Osteoporosis	Heart disease	Heart attack and stroke
Inappropriate calcification, from heel spurs to kidney stones	Brain disease	Cancer

“I talked about vitamin K2 moving calcium around the body. Its other main role is to activate proteins that control cell growth. That means K2 has a very important role to play in cancer protection,” Rheaume-Bleue says.

“When we’re lacking K2, we’re at much greater risk for osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer. And these are three concerns that used to be relatively rare. Over the last 100 years, as we’ve changed the way we produced our food and the way we eat, they have become very common.”

Researchers are also looking into other health benefits. For example, a study published in the journal Modern Rheumatology¹ found that vitamin K2 has the potential to improve disease activity besides osteoporosis in those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Another, published in the journal Science,² found that vitamin K2 serves as a mitochondrial electron carrier, thereby helping maintain normal ATP production in mitochondrial dysfunction, such as that found in Parkinson’s Disease. According to the authors:

“We identified Drosophila UBIAD1/Heix as a modifier of pink1, a gene mutated in Parkinson’s disease that affects mitochondrial function. We found that vitamin K(2) was necessary and sufficient to transfer electrons in Drosophila mitochondria.

Heix mutants showed severe mitochondrial defects that were rescued by vitamin K(2), and, similar to ubiquinone, vitamin K(2) transferred electrons in Drosophila mitochondria, resulting in more efficient adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction was rescued by vitamin K(2) that serves as a mitochondrial electron carrier, helping to maintain normal ATP production.”

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The Interplay Between Vitamin K2, Vitamin D and Calcium

As I’ve discussed on numerous occasions, vitamin D is a critical nutrient for optimal health and is best obtained from sun exposure or a safe tanning bed. However, many are taking oral vitamin D, which may become problematic unless you’re also getting sufficient amounts of vitamin K2. Dr. Rheaume-Bleue explains:

“When you take vitamin D, your body creates more of these vitamin K2-dependent proteins, the proteins that will move the calcium around. They have a lot of potential health benefits. But until the K2 comes in to activate those proteins, those benefits aren’t realized. So, really, if you’re taking vitamin D, you’re creating an increased demand for K2. And vitamin D and K2 work together to strengthen your bones and improve your heart health.

… For so long, we’ve been told to take calcium for osteoporosis … and vitamin D, which we know is helpful. But then, more studies are coming out showing that increased calcium intake is causing more heart attacks and strokes.

That created a lot of confusion around whether calcium is safe or not. But that’s the wrong question to be asking, because we’ll never properly understand the health benefits of calcium or vitamin D, unless we take into consideration K2. That’s what keeps the calcium in its right place.”

IMPORTANT: If You Take Vitamin D, You Need K2

This is a really crucial point: If you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2.

“There are so many people on the vitamin-D-mega-dose bandwagon, taking more and more of vitamin D. And it could absolutely be causing harm if you are lacking the K2 to complete the job to get the calcium where it’s supposed to be,” Rheaume-Bleue warns.

“We don’t see symptoms of vitamin D toxicity very often. But when we do, those symptoms are inappropriate calcification. That’s the symptom of vitamin D toxicity. And it is actually a lack of vitamin K2 that can cause that …”

While the ideal or optimal ratios between vitamin D and vitamin K2 have yet to be elucidated, Rheaume-Bleue suggests about 150-200 micrograms of K2 will meet the need for the “average” healthy person.

“My earlier recommendation was not taking into account people who were doing high dose of vitamin D supplementation,” Rheaume-Bleue says. “That’s where it gets a little bit more technical. It seems that for the average person, around 200 to 280 micrograms will activate your K2 proteins and do a lot of good for your bones and your heart. If you’re taking high levels of vitamin D … then I would recommend taking more K2.”

The good news is that vitamin K2 has no toxicity. No toxic effects have ever been demonstrated in the medical literature.

“The reason why K2 doesn’t have potential toxic effect is that all vitamin K2 does is activate K2 proteins. It will activate all the K2 proteins it finds. And if they’re all activated and you take extra K2, it simply won’t do that. That’s why we don’t see a potential for toxicity the way we do with vitamin A or D,” she says.

If You Need Calcium, Aim for Calcium-Rich Foods First

For those who are calcium deficient, Rheaume-Bleue recommends looking to food sources high in calcium, before opting for a supplement. This is because many high calcium foods also contain naturally high amounts of, you guessed it, vitamin K2! Nature cleverly gives us these two nutrients in combination, so they work optimally. Good sources of calcium include dairy, especially cheeses, and vegetables, although veggies aren’t high in K2.

Additionally, magnesium is far more important than calcium if you are going to consider supplementing. Magnesium will also help keep calcium in the cell to do its job far better. In many ways it serves as nutritional version of the highly effective class of drugs called calcium channel blockers. If you do chose to supplement with calcium, for whatever reason, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between your intake of calcium and other nutrients such as:

Vitamin K2
Vitamin D
Magnesium

The Importance of Magnesium

As mentioned previously, magnesium is another important player to allow for proper function of calcium. As with vitamin D and K2, magnesium deficiency is also common, and when you are lacking in magnesium and take calcium, you may exacerbate the situation. Vitamin K2 and magnesium complement each other, as magnesium helps lower blood pressure, which is an important component of heart disease.

Dietary sources of magnesium include sea vegetables, such as kelp, dulse, and nori. Few people eat these on a regular basis however, if at all. Vegetables can also be a good source, along with whole grains. However, grains MUST be prepared properly to remove phytates and anti-nutrients that can otherwise block your absorption of magnesium.

As for supplements, Rheaume-Bleue recommends using magnesium citrate. Another emerging one is magnesium threonate, which appears promising primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane.

How Can You Tell if You’re Lacking in Vitamin K2?

There’s no way to test for vitamin K2 deficiency. But by assessing your diet and lifestyle, you can get an idea of whether or not you may be lacking in this critical nutrient. If you have any of the following health conditions, you’re likely deficient in vitamin K2 as they are all connected to K2:

Do you have osteoporosis?
Do you have heart disease?
Do you have diabetes?

If you do not have any of those health conditions, but do NOT regularly eat high amounts of the following foods, then your likelihood of being vitamin K2 deficient is still very high:

• Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. eggs, butter, dairy)

• Certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria. Please note that most fermented vegetables are not really high in vitamin K2 and come in at about 50 mcg per serving. However, if specific starter cultures are used they can have ten times as much, or 500 mcg per serving

• Goose liver pâté

• Certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda (these two are particularly high in K2, containing about 75 mcg per ounce)

“An important thing to mention when it comes to cheese (because this becomes an area of confusion), [is that] because cheese is a bacterial derived form of vitamin K2, it actually doesn’t matter if the cheese came from grass-fed milk.

That would be nice, but it’s not the milk that went into the cheese that makes the K2. It’s the bacteria making the cheese, which means it doesn’t matter if you’re importing your brie from France or getting it domestically. Brie cheese, the bacteria that makes brie cheese, will make vitamin K2,” she says.

Fermented vegetables, which are one of my new passions, primarily for supplying beneficial bacteria back into our gut, can be a great source of vitamin K if you ferment your own using the proper starter culture.

We had samples of high-quality fermented organic vegetables made with our specific starter culture tested, and were shocked to discover that not only does a typical serving of about two to three ounces contain about 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, but it also contained 500 mcg of vitamin K2.

Note that not every strain of bacteria makes K2. For example, most yoghurts have almost no vitamin K2. Certain types of cheeses are very high in K2, and others are not. It really depends on the specific bacteria. You can’t assume that any fermented food will be high in K2, but some fermented foods are very high in K2, such as natto. Others, such as miso and tempeh, are not high n K2.

Pregnant? Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Vitamin K2

Last but not least, while vitamin K2 is critical for the prevention of a number of chronic diseases listed above, it’s also vital for women who are trying to conceive, who are pregnant, and for growing healthy children.

“K2 plays a very important role throughout pregnancy (for the development of teeth for both primary and adult teeth, the development of proper facial form, healthy facial form, as well as strong bones), then again throughout childhood to prevent cavities, and through adolescence as the skeleton is growing,” Rheaume-Bleue says.

Vitamin K2 is needed throughout pregnancy, and later while breastfeeding. It may be particularly important during the third trimester, as most women’s levels tend to drop at that time, indicating there’s an additional drain on the system toward the end of the pregnancy. Since vitamin K2 has no toxicity issues, it may be prudent to double or even triple — which is what Rheaume-Bleue did during her own pregnancy — your intake while pregnant.

– Sources and References

Posted in Blood, Blood Clots, Brain, Cardiovascular, Heart, Kidney, Liver, Minerals, Mitochondria, Parkinson's, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 17, 2023

Taking Vitamin D Daily May Reduce Cancer Mortality by 12%

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/06/16/vitamin-d-and-tumor-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 Fact Checked June 16, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis found daily vitamin D supplementation reduced cancer mortality by a significant 12%
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
Among people who took daily vitamin D doses of 5,000 IU to 50,000 IU daily, no adverse effects were found
Past research has found women with a vitamin D level at or above 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L) had an 82% lower risk of breast cancer compared to those with levels below 20 ng/mL
To optimize your vitamin D levels, regular sun exposure is the best option; however, if you’re unable to get adequate sun exposure each day, supplementation may be necessary

On a typical sunny day, your body may produce up to 25,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D.¹ Yet, in the U.S., the average daily recommended intake is only 600 IU for people between the ages of 1 and 70, and 800 IU for those over 70.²

These amounts are likely far too low for most people to optimize their vitamin D levels and take advantage of all the related health benefits — like a reduced risk of dying from cancer.³ The fact is, adequate daily sun exposure over a large portion of your skin is the best way to increase and maintain your vitamin D levels.

But many people either don’t get outdoors enough to achieve this, or live in areas where it’s too cold to comfortably do so for much of the year. While you should strive to get sensible sun exposure as much as possible, since it offers important benefits beyond vitamin D, research also shows that daily vitamin D supplementation is safe⁴ and significantly advantageous for your health.

Daily Vitamin D Lowers Cancer Mortality by 12%

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease.⁵ Yet, despite the fact that so many people are dying of this condition — and vitamin D could help — health officials rarely recommend vitamin D for cancer prevention or treatment.

A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Ageing Research Reviews found vitamin D3 supplementation reduced cancer mortality by 6%. This wasn’t considered statistically significant, but when only studies involving daily vitamin D intake were analyzed, cancer mortality dropped by a significant 12%.⁶ According to the researchers:⁷

“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.”

Meanwhile, risks of lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer and lymphoma are higher in people with low vitamin D levels, while having higher levels is associated with a better prognosis in cases of breast and colorectal cancers.⁸

The Ageing Research Reviews 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. Study author Ben Schöttker, Ph.D., with the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, explained:⁹

“This does imply that basically everyone aged 50 and older, including people who have never had cancer, might profit from vitamin D supplementation if they are vitamin D insufficient … Doctors cannot know who might develop cancer at a later time.

However, in Germany, the risk [of developing] cancer once in life is very high — 43% for women and 51% for men — and thus, the chance to treat someone who might profit from that in the future is quite high … the lifetime risk to develop cancer is comparable in most other industrialized countries.”

Many Studies Show Vitamin D Lowers Risk of Cancer Death

Other research also supports vitamin D’s role in protecting against cancer death. In one study of 25,871 patients, vitamin D supplementation was found to reduce the risk for metastatic cancer and death by 17%. The risk was reduced by as much as 38% among those who also maintained a healthy weight.^10,11

What’s particularly noteworthy is this study only gave participants 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily and didn’t measure their blood levels. Despite these research flaws, a significant benefit was still found. However, other research has found even more striking benefits.

Take, for example, a GrassrootsHealth analysis published in June 2018 in PLOS ONE. It showed women with a vitamin D level at or above 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L) had an 82% lower risk of breast cancer compared to those with levels below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L).¹²

An earlier U.K. study found that having a vitamin D level above 60 ng/mL resulted in an 83% lower breast cancer risk,^13,14 which is nearly identical to GrassrootsHealth’s 2018 analysis. Another meta-analysis looking at breast cancer reviewed 70 observational studies, finding that for each 2 ng/mL (5 nmol/L) increase in vitamin D level there was a corresponding 6% decrease in breast cancer incidence.¹⁵

Overall, this translates into a 71% reduced risk when you increase your vitamin D level from 20 ng/mL to 60 ng/mL (50 to 150 nmol/L).¹⁶ Similarly, a Canadian study showed that women who reported having the most sun exposure from ages 10 to 19 had a significantly reduced risk of developing breast cancer.¹⁷

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Did High-Dose Vitamin D Cure Pancreatic Cancer?

Vitamin D may even help in cases of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer with a five-year survival rate of just 7.2%.¹⁸ Researchers published the case of an 83-year-old woman with pancreatic cancer “who errantly took supratherapeutic doses of vitamin D 50,000 U daily, achieving a serum 25(OH)D level of more than 150 ng/mL, with no appreciable side effects.”

Personally, I strongly disagree with high dose therapy as it is unnecessary and non-biological and if you are supplementing I would recommend taking it once a day.

Eight months after diagnosis — and consistent daily intake of high-dose vitamin D — scans revealed “no evidence of disease progression.” Further, the researchers noted, “Currently she describes as feeling quite well with no difficulty accomplishing her activities of daily living.” They called for further research to investigate:¹⁹

“One cannot conclude that her vitamin D dose was in any way related to this outcome. There is only one CT scan before the initiation of vitamin D, and there is no way to know what her pace of disease would have been in the absence of vitamin D supplementation. In addition, she was taking several other supplements such as shitake mushrooms, although inconsistently and for a shorter duration, which were also intended to treat her malignancy.

Nonetheless, given the poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer and the limited treatment options for patients, this case should stimulate further investigation. The daily dose of 50,000 U of vitamin D3 was well tolerated in our patient for over 10 months at the time of writing. Consideration should be given to a clinical trial that evaluates a similar dose.”

High-Dose Vitamin D Deemed ‘Safe,’ Beneficial

There’s a lot of controversy over taking higher doses of vitamin D, in part because excessive vitamin D, particularly in combination with lack of vitamin K2 and magnesium, may cause overabsorption of calcium, which in turn may result in calcium deposits in your heart and kidneys.

A team of researchers conducted routine vitamin D screenings on more than 4,700 hospital patients upon admission.²⁰ Most were then given vitamin D supplements in the amount of 5,000 or 10,000 IUs a day to correct deficiencies. In some cases, patients took 20,000 to 50,000 IUs daily to target certain diseases.

“Deficiency is strongly linked to increased risk for a multitude of diseases, several of which have historically been shown to improve dramatically with either adequate UVB exposure to the skin, or to oral or topical supplementation with vitamin D. These diseases include asthma, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, rickets and tuberculosis,” the researchers explained.

While three patients with psoriasis had “marked clinical improvement” upon taking higher vitamin D doses daily, none of the patients experienced hypercalcemia due to vitamin D — nor did they experience any other adverse event from vitamin D supplementation.

In the video above, John Campbell, a retired nurse educator based in England, details the study, noting, “There’s no question at all in my mind that authorities around the world … should increase the recommended amount of vitamin D. The current recommended amounts … are way too low.”²¹

There’s a Good Chance You’re Vitamin-D Deficient

The global prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (defined as a level of less than 20 ng/mL) and insufficiency (defined as a level of 20 to less than 30 ng/mL) is 40% to 100%.²²

Further, 20 ng/mL has repeatedly been shown to be grossly insufficient for good health and disease prevention and, to maintain your health, your level should be between 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L) and 80 ng/ml (200 nmol/l). A level of 100 ng/mL (250 nmol/l) appears safe and beneficial for certain conditions, especially cancer.

Research has shown that once you reach a minimum serum vitamin D level of 40 ng/mL, your risk for cancer diminishes by 67%, compared to having a level of 20 ng/mL or less.²³

Among older adults in the U.S., vitamin D deficiency may affect up to 100% of the population,²⁴ not only because they tend to spend a lot of time indoors but also because they produce less vitamin D in response to sun exposure than a younger person with the same sun exposure.

The Best Way to Raise Your Vitamin D Level

The best way to get your vitamin D is from sun exposure. While many are unable to do this, it is possible. As I am writing this at the end of May, my vitamin D level was 99 with no supplementation. When you aren’t taking a vitamin D supplement, your D level is a strong marker for sun exposure and confirmation you are getting enough near infrared (IR) in addition to UVB radiation.

There’s a good reason to ensure your vitamin D levels are within the optimal range. Aside from combating cancer, giving vitamin D to people with COVID-19 cut risk of death from SARS-CoV-2 by 51% and reduced risk of admission to the intensive care unit by 72%.²⁵

I launched an information campaign to raise awareness about the use of vitamin D for COVID-19 back in June 2020 and published my own vitamin D review October 31, 2020, in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients.²⁶ It shows that 14 observational studies suggest vitamin D levels are inversely linked with the incidence or severity of COVID-19 and recommends vitamin D supplements for prevention or treatment.²⁷

To optimize your vitamin D levels, regular sun exposure is the best option, as not only will it naturally raise your vitamin D levels, but it will provide numerous other benefits, such as enhanced production of melatonin — another potent anticancer agent.²⁸ However, if you’re unable to get adequate sun exposure each day, supplementation may be necessary.

To determine how much sun exposure is enough and/or how much vitamin D3 you need to take, you’ll need to measure your vitamin D level, ideally twice a year. When supplementing, also remember vitamins D and K2, calcium and magnesium all work together and must be properly balanced for optimal health.

– Sources and References

^1, ^4, ²⁰ J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2019 May;189:228-239. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2018.12.010. Epub 2019 Jan 4
² National Institutes of Health, Vitamin D, Recommended Intakes
^3, ^6, ^7, ⁸ Ageing Research Reviews June 2023, Volume 87, 101923
⁵ U.S. CDC, An Update on Cancer Deaths in the United States
⁹ Medical News Today May 17, 2023
¹⁰ JAMA Network Open 2020;3(11):e2025850
¹¹ The Sentinel November 22, 2020
¹² PLOS ONE June 15, 2015 (PDF)
¹³ European Journal of Cancer 2005 May;41(8):1164-9
¹⁴ GrassrootsHealth, Breast Cancer Reduction and Vitamin D
¹⁵ Aging 2019 Dec 28;11(24):12708-12732
¹⁶ GrassrootsHealth Blog, Lower Breast Cancer Risk with Vitamin
¹⁷ Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev (2007) 16 (3): 422–429
^18, ¹⁹ Case Reports in Pancreatic Cancer May 1, 2016
²¹ YouTube, Dr. John Campbell, Vitamin D Doses, May 15, 2023, 0:23
²² Endocr Pract. 2021 May; 27(5): 484–493
²³ PLOS ONE 2016; 11 (4): e0152441
²⁴ J Aging Gerontol. 2014 Dec; 2(2): 60–71
²⁵ Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2023 Jan; 16(1): 130
^26, ²⁷ Nutrients 2020, 12(11), 3361
²⁸ Bitchute, The Joe Cohen Show, Episode 1, October 25, 2022, 4:00

Posted in Cancer, Mortality, Supplements, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 14, 2023

Drs. Wilfrid & Evan Shute Cured Thousands with Vitamin E

Reproduced from original OMNS article (OrthoMolecular News Service):
http://orthomolecular.org/

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Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 12, 2023

And it all began over 70 years ago

by Andrew W. Saul, Editor

OMNS (June 12, 2023) The first course I ever taught was entitled “Forgotten Research in Medicine.” That was in 1976. Even by that time, there had been a strikingly large number of impeccably qualified researchers and physicians who had left drug-and-cut medicine behind in favor of a naturopathic approach. I had seen so much well-documented evidence for the safety and effectiveness of therapeutic nutrition against major chronic diseases that I figured it must presently be self-evident to everybody. Surely, I thought, it could only be a matter of time (say twenty years at most) until all doctors shifted to natural healing, because word would spread like wildfire and all their patients would demand it of them.

I’d read a variety of articles documenting an incredibly bitter controversy which raged throughout the 1950’s over the use of vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol) for cardiovascular disease. Drs. Wilfrid and Evan Shute were at the center of this storm, which encircled their work in Ontario, Canada. They were among the very first medical doctors to clinically employ large doses of the vitamin in place of conventional drug therapy. Almost all of the positive articles I saw were based on case histories and came from the popular press. Almost all of the criticism seemed to come from the medical press, which seemed singularly resistant to even try the Shute’s approach, let alone endorse it. Yet, somehow, their unwillingness to test the Shute’s high-dose, natural vitamin E protocol did not seem to prevent them from dismissing it.

In the early 50’s, Canada was a hotbed of leading-edge nutritional research. In Saskatchewan at about the same time, Dr. Abram Hoffer and Dr. Humphrey Osmond found that niacin was the best way to treat psychosis. The Shutes found that vitamin E was the best way to treat heart disease. One might think that the only possible professional response to such important discoveries would be grateful acceptance and widespread journal publication.

Just the opposite occurred.

https://www.seleneriverpress.com/images/pdfs/THE_FIGHT_OVER_VITAMIN_E_1954_Special_Reprint_4-54.pdf

For decades it has been said that pharmaceutical medicine has little to gain from a cheap vitamin cure that cannot be patented and exploited for high profit. Observers have also witnessed what happens to medical doctors that have defected to drugless healing: they gain many grateful patients, and lose a lot of research funding. Few pharmaceutical companies willingly contribute to the competition.

The Shutes saw early that such would be the case, and paid their own way. They created their own research foundation and treatment facility (the Shute Institute), created their own journal (the Summary), and in so doing, some would say, created their own trouble.

Oddly enough, in 1948 they actually advocated making vitamin E a prescription item.

Perhaps this is understandable, given the spectacular, wonder-drug-style patient recoveries that the Shutes had already seen by mid-century.

TWENTY YEARS OF IGNORED SHUTE VITAMIN E RESEARCH: A Timeline

1936: Vitamin E-rich wheat germ oil cures angina.

1940: Vitamin E suspected as preventive of fibroids and endometriosis, and curative of atherosclerosis.

1945: Vitamin E shown to cure hemorrhages in skin and mucous membranes, and to decrease the diabetic’s need for insulin.

1946: Vitamin E greatly improves wound healing, including skin ulcers. Also demonstrated effective in cases of claudication, acute nephritis, thrombosis, cirrhosis and phlebitis. Vitamin E strengthens and regulates heartbeat.

1947: Vitamin E successfully used as therapy for gangrene, inflammation of blood vessels (Buerger’s disease), retinitis and choroiditis.

1948: Vitamin E helps lupus erythematosus and shortness of breath.

1950: Vitamin E shown to be effective treatment for varicose veins, and in cases of severe body burns.

1954: The Shutes’ medical textbook, Alpha Tocopherol in Cardiovascular Disease, is published.

1956: The Heart and Vitamin E is published.

It is not overly easy to see how such promise could be ignored for long. But it was. Dr. Evan Shute’s frustration with an unnaturally stubborn medical profession comes starkly through the text in his book The Vitamin E Story:

“It was nearly impossible now for anyone who valued his future in Academe to espouse Vitamin E, prescribe it or advise its use. That would make a man a “quack” at once. This situation lasted for many years. In the United States, of course, the closure of the J.A.M.A. pages against us and tocopherol meant that it did not exist. It was either in the U.S. medical bible or it was nought. No amount of documentation could budge medical men from this stance. Literature in the positive was ignored and left unread. Individual doctors often said: “If it is as good as you say, we would all be using it.” But nothing could induce them as persons of scientific background to make the simplest trial on a burn or coronary.” (p 146)

The American Medical Association even refused to let the Shute’s present their findings at national medical conventions. (p 148-9) In the early 1960’s, the United States Post Office successfully prevented even the mailing of vitamin E. (p 166)

Linus Pauling wrote, in the book’s 1985 forward:

“The failure of the medical establishment during the last forty years to recognize the value of Vitamin E in controlling heart disease is responsible for a tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering and for many early deaths. The interesting story of the efforts to suppress the Shute discoveries about Vitamin E illustrates the shocking bias of organized medicine against nutritional measures for achieving improved health.” (vii)

O that things were truly better today, but they are not. Yes, the American public can and does buy vitamin E (even by mail) without a prescription. Still, I am unaware of any burn clinic using topical vitamin E as their primary treatment. I am yet to see “megadose vitamin E cures cardiovascular disease” commercials on TV. I have never seen a bottle of vitamin E in an intensive care unit. It has now been nearly 80 years since vitamin E was seen to greatly help diabetics and cardiovascular patients and only recently has medical research “discovered” a glimmer of the value of this vitamin. Yet for three-quarters of a century, vitamin E has been an available specific for intermittent claudication, angina, prevention of and recovery from heart attack, thrombophlebitis, and a wide variety of other serious conditions.

Aye, there’s the rub.

Vitamin E is entirely too good for too many purposes. Consumer Reports trashed it in back in 1972, and often since. It didn’t help matters that Evan Shute was “only” an obstetrician. (This obstetrician was, however, made a Fellow of the American Society of Angiology in 1969.) And today, vitamin E’s very availability, and exceptional safety, seemingly render it unattractive for hospital use as the spectacular therapy that it is.

Tocopherol has been known and studied since the 1920’s, generally in small quantities as a means to ensure a full-term pregnancy. Without the Shute brothers’ high-dosage clinical work, especially in cardiology, no one at all would be megadosing with vitamin E today. We owe them our thanks, and our lives.

(This article appeared in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 17, No. 3, Third Quarter, 2002, pages 179-181 https://isom.ca/jom-archives/vol17-no3-2002/ and is reprinted with permission.)

A bibliography of the Shutes’ principal written work is posted at http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_shute.html There is a whole lot for you to look at . . . for which I make no apology whatsoever. Cardiovascular disease remains our number one enemy, the biggest killer of men AND women.

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Posted in Cardiovascular, Natural Medicine, Nutrition, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 5, 2023

Vitamin K Protects Against Diabetes

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/06/05/vitamin-k-protects-against-diabetes.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 Fact Checked June 05, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Canadian researchers identified a protective role vitamin K plays against diabetes following past research implicating vitamin K in the development of the disease. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2017 and total health care costs were $327 billion in 2019
The researchers found vitamin K in large quantities in beta cells where insulin is produced and discovered it plays an important role in maintaining calcium, which prevents a disturbance in insulin secretion
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and important to lowering the inflammatory response, bone metabolism, preventing mineralization of the arterial system, and preventing heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and cancer
Other important factors in the development of diabetes include carbohydrate intake, artificial sweeteners, seed oils and statin medications. Addressing these factors as well as increasing omega-3 fat consumption and ensuring you are not deficient in vitamin C and magnesium can also help prevent diabetes

In a May 2023 paper, Canadian researchers announced they had newly identified a protective role that vitamin K plays against diabetes.¹ In 2019, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.,² a disease which affected approximately 37.3 million people in 2019.³

How Diabetes Affects Public Health

According to the CDC,⁴ the total number of existing cases of diabetes steadily increased from 2001 to 2020 and similar trends were seen when the population was examined by ethnic group, education level, race, age and sex. The CDC further broke down the data by the percentage of adults with diagnosed diabetes in each state.

When this table is compared against 2021 data of obese adults,⁵ it is apparent that many of the states with higher numbers of obese adults also have higher percentages of adults with diagnosed diabetes.

In 2017,⁶ it was estimated the total health care cost for people diagnosed with diabetes was $327 billion. The total direct cost in 2017 was $237 billion, which rose dramatically from $188 billion in 2012. In 2018 diabetes was responsible for 8.25 million hospital discharges, 17 million emergency room visits and 62,012 people with end-stage kidney disease.

One of the hallmark signs of diabetes is high blood sugar, which happens for several reasons. For example, the pancreas may not make enough insulin, which is the hormone that helps glucose move from the bloodstream into the cells to be used for energy. The cells may also become insulin resistant, a significant risk factor for which is overeating carbohydrates and added sugars. These spike your insulin level and gradually increase resistance.

Sugar and carbohydrate can cause a hormonal response, which changes metabolism and is a primary cause of weight gain.^7,⁸ In essence, this data supports the statement that you cannot out-exercise your diet and therefore your risk for Type 2 diabetes. According to the CDC,⁹ the daily mean percentage of carbohydrate intake for men and women is 45.9% and 47.4% respectively.

The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, lists the upper limit for carbohydrates at 65%,¹⁰ although the limits were based on nearly 20-year-old data. According to the 2020 guidelines, the “Estimates are based on Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) set by the Institute of Medicine. Source … 2005.”

Vitamin K and Gamma Carboxylation Protects Insulin Production

Scientists know that vitamin K is necessary for gamma-carboxylation of glutamic acids that occurs in the cells and affects protein secretion.¹¹ Past clinical studies have also implicated vitamin K in the development of diabetes, yet the underlying mechanism has remained unclear.

Vitamin K is best known for the role it plays in blood clotting. The gamma-carboxylation reaction is essential to the process of blood clotting and scientists have suspected this process may also have other functions in the body.¹² Past studies show a link between a lower intake of vitamin K and an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from the University of Montreal first determined that vitamin K was present in large quantities in beta cells — where insulin is produced — and involved in gamma-carboxylation. Then, using an animal model, they identified the role vitamin K plays in the gamma-carboxylation inside the beta cells and how the presence of vitamin K may help protect against diabetes. Julie Lacombe conducted the laboratory work and commented in a press release:¹³

“We were able to identify a new gamma-carboxylated protein called ERGP. Our study shows that this protein plays an important role in maintaining physiological levels of calcium in beta cells in order to prevent a disturbance of insulin secretion. Finally, we show that vitamin K through gamma-carboxylation is essential for ERGP to perform its role.”

The researchers point out that this is the first time in 15 years a new vitamin K-dependent protein has been identified. This potentially opens a new area of research in the role vitamin K plays in the body, as well as new therapeutic applications for diabetes.

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More Health Benefits From Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that significantly influences your health.¹⁴ Since your body stores very little, it’s rapidly depleted without regular dietary intake. Several common drugs can also deplete levels of vitamin K, which makes ensuring adequate consumption even more important.

Vitamin K is involved in several bodily functions, including bone metabolism and preventing blood vessel mineralization. This means it plays a particularly important role in the prevention of osteoporosis, heart disease and bleeding disorders.

There are two main forms of vitamin K and several subtypes, which can make matters a little confusing. The difference between vitamins K1 and K2 was clearly established in the 2004 Rotterdam study,¹⁵ which focused on the effect the vitamins had on heart health. While vitamin K1 has no real effect on heart disease, vitamin K2 is important to the cardiovascular system.

Vitamin K1 plays other roles. In a 2020 study,¹⁶ researchers found older individuals with low levels of vitamin K1 had a higher probability of mobility issues and disability than those with higher levels. One of the reasons vitamin K2 plays an important role in bone and heart health has to do with complex biochemical reactions involving the enzymes matrix gla-protein and osteocalcin.

“Gla” stands for glutamic acid, which binds to calcium in the cells of the arterial walls and removes it from the lining of your blood vessels.¹⁷ It then helps facilitate the integration of calcium into the bone matrix.

Calcium deposits in the arteries are responsible for atherosclerosis, commonly called hardening of the arteries, which slowly blocks blood flow. This is a common cause of heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular disease. Vitamin K2 also helps move calcium into tooth enamel and plays a role in preventing tooth decay.¹⁸

Vitamin K2 plays a role in cancer prevention, as noted in the 2010 European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study.¹⁹ People with higher intakes of vitamin K2 also had lower cancer risk and mortality. Evidence has also suggested²⁰ that vitamin K2 can reduce the risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 45% as compared to those with the lowest intake of vitamin K2. The researchers attribute this role to the vitamin’s ability to inhibit inflammatory cytokines.

The inflammatory response is crucial in many chronic diseases and diseases of aging, and research has suggested both vitamin K1 and K2 have anti-inflammatory properties. In one analysis,²¹ researchers found vitamin K helps protect against chronic aging conditions, cardiovascular disease and inflammation.

Another study²² demonstrated a reduction in C-reactive protein, a common biomarker used to evaluate inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Vitamin K2 may also play a role in chronic kidney disease. One clinical trial²³ demonstrated four weeks of supplementation with vitamin K2 MK-7 significantly reduced calcification in the participants’ blood vessels.

Vitamin K2 MK-7 has also demonstrated benefits in participants with age-related macular degeneration.²⁴ In a 2012 paper,²⁵ researchers revealed the role vitamin K2 serves as a mitochondrial electron carrier, which helps maintain normal ATP production in mitochondrial dysfunction like that found in Parkinson’s disease.

Multiple Factors Contribute to Diabetes

There were an estimated 96 million adults diagnosed with prediabetes in 2019. However, this may only be a matter of semantics as many are suffering from what the late Dr. Joseph Kraft calls “diabetes in situ.”²⁶ I believe any fasting blood sugar that regularly measures over 90 suggests insulin resistance and Kraft suggested 8 out of 10 Americans were insulin resistant based on data from 14,384 patients.

The risks of prediabetes include being overweight and inactivity.²⁷ One factor that significantly increases your risk of obesity, and therefore Type 2 diabetes, is artificial sweeteners. A 2018 animal study²⁸ confirmed that artificial sweeteners raise your risk of obesity and diabetes.

Other studies²⁹ have demonstrated that women who consume artificial sweeteners feel hungrier and consume more food than those who drink sugar-sweetened beverages. This research showed³⁰ the body is not fooled by artificial sweeteners, which is another reason why they promote, rather than prevent, obesity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 17% rise in deaths in people with diabetes.³¹ During the pandemic, 39.5% of all deaths related to COVID occurred in those with diabetes.³² Inactivity and a poor diet fueled the diabetic crisis during the pandemic. Diets that focus on ultraprocessed foods and fast foods are at the root of the problem as they are loaded with dangerous seed oils, misleadingly named “vegetable oils.”

Yet, the American Diabetes Association continues to recommend seed oils like canola “as part of a healthy balanced diet.”³³ These oils are rich in omega-6 linoleic acid, which is the most common fat in the American diet. An important take-home message is that linoleic acid is not digested. Instead, it is stored while saturated fat is mostly burned or oxidized and used up.³⁴ This aptly illustrates the importance of the type of fat you eat.

Secondary effects from some medications can also increase the risk of developing diabetes. One of the most significant of those medications is statins. These are cholesterol-lowering medications with a long history of adverse events and side effects that could double the risk of diabetes with long-term use.³⁵

Ensuring your bedroom is pitch black is a simple way to reduce your risk of chronic disease. A real-world study³⁶ in individuals aged 63 to 84 found those who were exposed to light during sleep were more likely to be obese and have high blood pressure or diabetes.

Strategies to Reduce Your Risk or Reverse High Blood Sugar

Eating a balanced, healthy diet of fresh, organically raised fruits and vegetables and steering clear of artificial sweeteners and all processed foods is the best way to take control of your glucose levels. The timing of your meals also matters.

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a simple yet powerful intervention for weight loss. TRE mimics the eating habits of our ancestors and restores your body to a more natural state that allows a host of metabolic benefits to occur.³⁷ If you’re overweight or obese, I recommend limiting your eating window to six to eight hours per day instead of the more than 12-hour window most people use.

As mentioned, one of the most important strategies to reduce your risk for diabetes or reverse the disease is to reduce your LA intake. Many people will experience weight loss as a “side effect” of reducing intake of LA. Ideally, consider cutting LA down to below 7 grams per day, which is close to what our ancestors used to get before all of these chronic health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, became widespread.

To do so, you’ll need to avoid nearly all ultraprocessed foods, fast foods and restaurant foods, as virtually all of them contain seed oils. The easiest way to do this is to prepare the majority of your food at home so you know what you are eating.

Also, be aware that, because animals are fed grains that are high in linoleic acid,³⁸ it’s also hidden in “healthy” foods like chicken and pork, which makes these meats a major source that should be avoided. Olive oil is another health food that can be a hidden source of linoleic acid, as it’s often cut with cheaper seed oils. Instead, use tallow, ghee or butter to cook with. Ghee is better than butter as it has a higher smoke point.

Still Other Strategies

Several other strategies can also help improve blood sugar control and protect your overall health. One is to pay attention to the type of fat in your diet.

While omega-6 linoleic acid primarily found in vegetable/seed oils, nuts and seeds are damaging in the amounts consumed by Americans, most people don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fats are found in fatty, cold-water fish such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, anchovies, sardines, mackerel and herring.

It’s best to avoid farmed salmon as there is an exaggerated potential for contamination, including pollution, disease, toxicity and inferior nutritional quality. Most farmed fish are also fed genetically engineered corn and soy, which is a completely unnatural diet for marine life and loaded with hazardous omega-6 fat that is stored in the flesh, raising the consumers’ intake of omega-6 fat.

A December 2020 study³⁹ showed adults who test positive for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) antibodies can significantly reduce the risk of adult-onset Type 1 diabetes by eating omega-3-rich fatty fish. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and the researchers found that those who did not eat fatty fish were twice as likely to develop the disease.⁴⁰

Other nutrient deficiencies associated with the development of diabetes include vitamin C, vitamin D and magnesium. With vitamin C, one study showed that supplementation may help lower glucose levels.⁴¹ Likewise, other studies show that vitamin D supplementation can be an ally against diabetes.⁴²

Magnesium is also an often-overlooked nutrient. Deficiency is associated with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease⁴³ and low levels may be the greatest predictor of heart disease.⁴⁴ Magnesium deficiency is linked to a higher risk of insulin resistance since it impairs the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar.⁴⁵

In one study⁴⁶ of prediabetics, those with the highest magnesium intake lowered their risk for blood sugar and metabolic problems by 71% when compared to those with the lowest intake. To compound the problem, high serum levels of insulin, which is common in insulin resistance, lead to further magnesium loss.⁴⁷

– Sources and References

Posted in Age, Arthritis, Blood, Blood Clots, Bones, Cancer, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Inflammation, Insulin, Minerals, Sugar, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 5, 2023

Black cumin plus vitamin D equals a top antiviral combination

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 1, 2023

The remarkable clinical versitility of Nigella sativa

by Max Langen

OMNS (June 1, 2023) Nigella sativa, also called black cumin, is one of the most important medicinal plants. Its seeds (sometimes called “black seeds”) have been used for thousands of years as a spice and condiment, and in several traditional medicine systems to treat a wide range of diseases. This plant is described and acknowledged in ancient medical and religious literature. The Bible mentions Nigella sativa as “Curative black seed,” and it is also known as prophetic medicine, since Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, referred to it as “cure for every disease except death.” It was mentioned in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine and was also described in traditional Arab and Islamic medicine. [1-3]

The biochemical content of nigella sativa seeds includes oils (30-40%), essential oils including thymoquinone, nigellidine, and PUFAs, and many other proteins (~25%), minerals, fatty acids, alkaloids, sterols (alpha-hederine), phenolics, flavonoids, and saponins. Recent clinical studies have shown that seeds of nigella sativa and their major compounds including thymoquinone have strong immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial, antifungal, antihistaminic, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-asthmatic, anti-allergic, antitussive, anticoagulant, analgesic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, gastroprotective and neuroprotective effects, among others. [1-3]

Nigella sativa has shown in several studies to be highly effective for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19, massively reducing severe outcomes and mortality. Many could still be alive had this therapy not been widely ignored. Also, the combination of nigella sativa and vitamin D has shown to be remarkably effective in the clearance of a viral infection.

Before looking more closely at those impressive results from studies on Covid-19, here are short summaries of what recent clinical studies have shown about the healing effects of nigella sativa for other conditions, including other infectious diseases. As of April 2023, there are more than 1900 scientific publications on nigella sativa. More than 90 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses of RCTs have been published to date that tested the effectiveness of nigella sativa for various diseases and health outcomes, with a large majority of them showing clear benefits. This evidence suggests that nigella sativa could be used as an effective (adjuvant) treatment to improve many conditions. RCTs, often placebo-controlled, or meta-analyses of RCTs have shown that nigella sativa, often administered as capsules with 1000 or 2000 mg of nigella sativa seed oil, or pharmaceutical powder of the seeds (and sometimes given in other forms, for example as pure, non-powdered nigella sativa seeds or as topical ointment/gel application) can effectively:

reduce hypertension by lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. [4]
support achieving and maintaining a healthy weight in overweight individuals by helping to moderately reduce weight and body mass index. [5]
treat metabolic syndrome, by reducing body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage, fasting glucose and lipid levels. The combination of nigella sativa + turmeric was even more effective. [6]
improve glucose status in patients with type 2 diabetes, by decreasing fasting plasma glucose, postprandial glucose and long term glucose (HbA1c) levels. [7] In patients with prediabetes, it reduces glycemic and anthropometric parameters just as effectively as the drug metformin. [8]
decrease blood lipid levels, including total cholesterol, very low density cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides for individuals with excessive levels. [9]
treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by improving the grades of liver steatosis, injury and fatty liver. Various liver and cholesterol parameters improved. [10,11]
increase total antioxidant capacity and reduce oxidative stress. [12]
reduce inflammatory processes (especially hs-CRP and TNF-alpha), suggesting that it decreases chronic inflammation. [12] Of note, chronic low-grade inflammatory processes are important causes of most diseases and conditions including cancer.
improve cardiovascular health and therefore reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases via many different mechanisms (incl. reduction of hypertension, cholesterol and body weight, glucose regulation, reduction of silent inflammation and oxidative stress etc.) In patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, it also improved flow-mediated dilation, the level of nitric oxide, and lowered mean arterial pressure and heart rate, [13,14] suggesting that it can greatly stabilize the health of the cardiovascular system.
improve kidney parameters, suggesting that it may help maintain or increase health of the kidneys. [9] In patients with (advanced) chronic kidney disease (stage 3 or 4) due to diabetic nephropathy, it reduced blood glucose and improved kidney parameters incl. serum creatinine and glomerular filtration rate etc. suggesting that it may stop the progression of kidney disease or even help reverse it. [15] An additional study confirmed that patients with advanced kidney disease greatly improve by nigella sativa. The addition of nigella sativa to the treatment protocol caused a “marked improvement” in clinical features and kidney parameters. [16]
dissolve kidney stones. In the nigella sativa group, 44% of patients excreted their kidney stones completely, and in a further 52% the size of the stones was reduced. In the placebo group, only 15% excreted their stones, 12% had a reduction of stone size, and 15% even had an increase of stone size. [17] This suggests nigella sativa may also prevent kidney stone formation.
improve Hashimoto thyroiditis, which is one of the most common autoimmune diseases. TSH, antibodies against the thyroid and vascular endothelial growth factor decreased, while the thyroid hormone T3 level increased, suggesting that it helps reverse the disease, strengthens the health of the thyroid and may also be an effective treatment for autoimmune diseases in general. [18] As will be shown below, nigella sativa has already shown to be effective for several autoimmune conditions: rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, vitiligo and asthma.
decrease the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Swollen joints and morning stiffness were also reduced. [19]
reduce stool frequency in patients with ulcerative colitis. [20]
improve psoriasis. Both oral and gel administration of nigella sativa were effective in most patients and led to improvements after several weeks of treatment. However, the combination of both oral and gel administration led to the best outcomes. 55% of psoriasis patients who received this combination achieved a good response. Further, 30% even had an excellent response or achieved a complete cure. Of note, if the treatment was stopped, the condition returned in some patients, indicating that it may be helpful for these patients to continue the treatment. [21]
treat vitiligo (patchy skin pigmentation). Nigella sativa (as a gel application) was more effective than fish oil in reducing the vitiligo area scoring index. [22]
treat hand eczema. Nigella sativa (as gel application) was just as effective as the drug betamethasone, reducing the severity of hand eczema and increasing quality of life in the affected patients. [23]
treat dermatitis. Nigella sativa reduced the symptoms and signs of occupational contact dermatitis like eczematous lesions. In many patients, dermatitis improved or disappeared completely. Of note, oral capsules were more effective than topical administration. [24]
treat acne vulgaris (as gel application). After 2 months, the acne disability index had declined by 64% in the Nigella sativa group, compared with 5% in the placebo group. [25]
reduce symptoms of asthma (shortness of breath, night time waking, interference with activity), reduce rescue treatment and inhaler use, rating of asthma control, and improve lung function measured as forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1). [26]
treat impaired lung function in chemical war victims. Nigella sativa (as boiled extract) improved pulmonary function, chest wheezing and all other respiratory symptoms. The need to use inhalers and drugs decreased, suggesting that it may at least partially substitute for drugs. [27]
treat allergic conditions, including allergic rhinitis, by reducing runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing attacks, nasal itching, turbinate hypertrophy etc. in affected patients. [28,29]
reduce knee osteoarthritis symptoms and pain. [30] Nigella sativa (as gel/oil application) was more effective in relieving pain (51% reduction) than the common pharmaceutical pain reliever diclofenac (14% reduction). [31]
improve symptoms of menopausal women (in combination with another herbal medication: Vitex agnus-castus). Psychosocial, physical and vasomotor (hot flashes) symptoms decreased. [33]
treat polycystic ovary syndrome. It was effective in the treatment of menstrual irregularities in women with PCOS. [34]
stabilize/increase mood, calmness and cognition, and decrease anxiety. [35]
treat major depressive disorder. In the intervention group that received the antidepressant sertraline + Nigella sativa capsules, the depression scores declined more than in the control group that only received sertraline + placebo. [36]
increase attention and memory, suggesting that it may help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. [37]
treat epilepsy in patients resistant to conventional anti-epileptic drugs. Administration of the aqueous extract of Nigella sativa or high dose thymoquinone (one of its main active ingredients) reduced the frequency of epileptic seizures. [38,39]
improve nasal dryness, obstruction and crusting (as intranasal application) in older people suffering from nasal mucosa symptoms. [40]
improve oral submucous fibrosis. Burning sensation decreased by 80% after continuous application of nigella sativa. Mouth opening was also reduced. [41]
treat alveolar osteitis/dry socket (painful inflammation following tooth extraction). Nigella sativa (as oil and powder) was a more effective dressing material than a commonly used commercial dressing. Those who received this treatment had immediate and complete pain relief and required less repeated visits. [42]
improve recovery of oral cavity ulcers or traumatic ulcers. [43]
treat gingivitis. Nigella sativa oil reduced the gingival index score, inflammation, and pathogenic (streptococcus) bacteria. By decreasing biofilm formation and disrupting the colonization of such bacteria, it may help reduce the progression of periodontal diseases. It was as effective as chlorhexidine, suggesting that nigella sativa could be an alternative to chemical mouthwashes. [44]
treat insomnia. Nigella sativa restored restful sleep in patients with sleep issues. [45]
improve irritable bowel syndrome after some weeks of continuous intake. Severity of the disease symptoms, abdominal distention and the impact of the condition on daily life decreased, and defecation improved. [46]
reduce urinary incontinence (in older women). [47]
improve semen quality (sperm count, motility, morphology, volume etc.) in infertile men, suggesting that it may help reverse infertility and increase pregnancy rates. [48]
treat female infertility by improving reproductive parameters including the number of ovarian follicles and reducing oxidative stress and may therefore help reverse female infertility and increase pregnancy rates. [49]
increase volume of breastmilk in breastfeeding mothers. [50]
treat (chronic) rhinosinusitis. Nigella sativa (as nasal drops) reduced the congestion, pain, numbness, pressure, fullness and bad breath in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. [51]
treat arsenic poisoning in patients with palmar arsenical keratosis. Nigella sativa reduced the body arsenic load, which led to an improvement of arsenical keratosis. Therefore, it might also support detoxification of other toxic metals. [52]
improve immune health. Nigella sativa (1 g of seed oil per day) has an immunopotentiating effect, increasing total lymphocyte count, CD3+ and CD4+ cells, suggesting that it reduces the risk of infectious diseases. [53]
prevent side effects of toxic cancer therapies: Nigella sativa (as a gel application) reduced the incidence and severity of phlebitis (inflammation of veins), a common complication of intravenous chemotherapy. [54] As a mouth rinse it decreased the severity of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. Erythema, ulceration and pain were reduced. Therefore, it enabled those patients to consume normal food. [55] Nigella sativa (as a gel application) reduced the risk of developing acute radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. [56] Nigella sativa also reduced the risk of developing febrile neutropenia (FN), a dangerous complication of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy harms the immune system and often leads to a reduction of immune cells (neutrophil granulocytes). 5 grams of nigella sativa seeds per day greatly reduced the risk of developing a chemotherapy-induced FN, inhibiting the harm done to the immune system and reducing by almost 90% severe or deadly (viral, bacterial, fungal) infections. [57]
treat hepatitis C infections by attenuating viral load. 50% of hepatitis C patients treated with (a relatively low dose of) nigella sativa had a decrease in the quantitative viral load and 17% even became seronegative. [58] A higher dose might have been even more effective. Of note, another study also showed that hepatitis can be treated more effectively by adding nigella sativa and vitamin C to conventional therapy. [59]
treat vaginitis caused by a candida albicans infection. Standard therapy + nigella sativa was more effective in reducing several symptoms and signs of candida-induced vaginitis compared with standard therapy + placebo. [60]
eradicate helicobacter pylori infections (bacteria), which are among the leading causes of gastric cancer. Resistance of helicobacter towards pharmaceutical drugs has recently increased alarmingly. Eradication of helicobacter occurred in almost 60% of patients who were treated with high dose nigella sativa + honey. [61] Double-blind RCTs confirmed that patients who received standard therapy + nigella sativa achieved a greater eradication. [62,63]
treat staphylococcal skin infections. In neonates with staphylococcal skin infections, it was similarly effective as the antibacterial drug mupirocin. [64]
inhibit bacterial wound infections caused by staphylococcus aureus. A lab study with samples obtained from cases of wound infections in a hospital showed that high dose thymoquinone may inhibit s. aureus and therefore prevent/treat such wound infections. [65]
inhibit MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus), which is one of the deadliest bacterial infections often acquired in a hospital. Nigella sativa (in high concentrations in a preclinical study) was shown to have inhibitory effects against MRSA. [66] It also had inhibitory effects against vancomycin resistant staphylococcus aureus (VRSA). [67]
accelerate the recovery of acute respiratory infections overall (flu/cold etc.). Patients with an acute respiratory infection who received nigella sativa had a greater chance of becoming symptom-free after only 4 days. [68] A combination of nigella sativa oil + echinacea extract + garlic powder + panax ginseng extract + vitamin C + zinc cut the duration of a common cold in half (4 vs. 8 days of median recovery time). [69]

Treating Covid-19

Nigella sativa not only prevented Covid-19 in many people, but also accelerated the recovery and greatly reduced the development of severe symptoms or death in patients with Covid-19. [3] Several compounds of nigella sativa, including thymoquinone, nigellidine and alpha-hederin have proven antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. Thymoquinone can inhibit the main protease in SARS-CoV-2, causing a “strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity.” [70]

A prospective prophylaxis study with 376 participants has shown that daily consumption of 40 mg/kg of nigella sativa seeds (= 3000 mg per day for a 75 kg person) reduced the risk of developing a symptomatic case of Covid-19 by more than 60%. Of note, the results of this study were available in Jan 2021. [71] A widespread recommendation to use nigella sativa would therefore have been an effective way to limit the pandemic and reduce the incidence of symptomatic infections in the population.

In a recent RCT with hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the treated group received standard therapy and 80 mg/kg/day of encapsulated nigella sativa seeds plus 1 g/kg/day of honey. [72] The results showed that the treated group had significantly faster viral clearance and recovery. In fact, those who received NS + honey recovered almost twice as fast. Overall, the patients in the treated group had a 82% lower risk of death compared with the control group. Importantly, these striking results of this high quality study were available in Nov. 2020, during the first year of the pandemic. [73]

Therefore, by 2020 it was clear that this treatment could reduce the fatality rate of hospitalized Covid-19 patients by 80%. Since then, millions of Covid-19 patients have died, but many of these deaths could have been easily prevented, not only with nigella sativa and honey, but also with other natural and orthomolecular treatment protocols that have shown to be similarly effective in reducing mortality of Covid-patients. [74,75]

Importantly, earlier treatment with nigella sativa can even prevent the progression and development of severe stages of Covid-19. A recent RCT showed that, if treatment with nigella sativa is started early in the disease course, shortly after symptoms begin, serious complications (and therefore hospitalization etc.) can be strongly reduced. Among those patients who only received the standard treatment, 17% developed a severe case. However, among those who received nigella sativa seeds for a duration of 2 weeks, only 1% developed severe symptoms, a 93% reduction. The results of this RCT were published in Jan 2021. [76]

A recent RCT confirmed that daily treatment with 1000 mg of nigella sativa seed oil (in capsules) improves recovery from Covid-19. The patients in the intervention group (standard therapy + nigella sativa) recovered significantly faster from Covid-symptoms than those in the control group (who only received standard therapy). The intervention group had a 75% lower risk of requiring hospitalization. [77]

In another RCT, Covid-19 outpatients were divided into four groups:

Group 1 received standard therapy + nigella sativa capsules, group 2 received standard therapy + vitamin D, group 3 received standard therapy + a combination of both nigella sativa and vitamin D and group 4 received only standard therapy (control group). The results showed that while viral clearance and symptom recovery occurred faster in groups 1 and 2 compared with the control group, the combination group that received both nigella sativa + vitamin D had the most impressive results with regard to recovery of the disease. The authors noted the remarkably fast viral clearance and reduction of many symptoms in this combination group and recommended this treatment for Covid-patients. [78] It is therefore highly likely that nigella sativa + vitamin D may also be a very effective treatment combination for other (infectious) diseases. They may have synergistic effects.

The evidence clearly shows: Had nigella sativa been used widely to treat Covid-19, many lives could have been saved. Unfortunately, however, governments around the world chose to recommend (or enforce) an experimental prophylactic drug, which caused massive numbers of serious adverse events and injuries [79] and led to significant excess mortality. [80] Analyses from various countries clearly showed that the higher the uptake of this experimental drug in 2021, the stronger the increase in excess deaths in 2022. Extensive mortality analyses by many scientists indicate that these drugs caused the deaths of 6.5 to 13 million people worldwide. [81]

Even before the roll-out of those experimental drugs, many people died from side effects of typical conventional medicine. Prescription drugs are one of the leading causes of death in Europe and in the United States of America. [82] Orthomolecular or natural medicine has been shown to be highly effective for many conditions and diseases, suggesting that most of these deaths from conventional drugs could easily be prevented by more widespread use of natural treatment approaches. Of course, each individual’s situation is different and may require different treatment approaches. Health issues should always be discussed with an orthomolecular or natural health care provider who can offer medical advice and help finding the best natural (or natural + conventional) treatment for an individual.

Many nigella sativa products are available and not all of them are high quality. When choosing nigella sativa capsules (rather than consuming the raw seeds in sufficient amounts), one should make sure that the seed oil is cold-pressed, to ensure that the capsules contain the seeds’ effective compounds. The color of the oil needs to be golden and a bitter smell/taste should prevail. A lighter yellow color would be a negative sign, which indicates that too many of the compounds have been removed during the processing.

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71. Al-Haidari KAA, Faiq TAN, Ghareeb OA (2021) Preventive value of black seed in people at risk of infection with COVID-19. Pak J Med Health Sci. 15:384-387. https://pjmhsonline.com/2021/jan/384.pdf

72. Ashraf S, Ashraf S, Ashraf M, et al. (2023) DOCTORS LOUNGE consortium.(2023) Honey and Nigella sativa against COVID-19 in Pakistan (HNS-COVID-PK): A multicenter placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Phytother Res. 37:627-644. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36420866

73. Ashraf S, Ashraf S, Ashraf M, et al. (2020) Honey and Nigella sativa against COVID-19 in Pakistan (HNS-COVID-PK): A multi-center placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. medRxiv preprint, Nov 2020. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364v4.full.pdf

74. Leal-Martínez F, Abarca-Bernal L, García-Pérez A, et al. (2022) Effect of a Nutritional Support System to Increase Survival and Reduce Mortality in Patients with COVID-19 in Stage III and Comorbidities: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 19:1172. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35162195

75. Langen M (2023) Millions of avoidable deaths from COVID-19. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v19n16.shtml

76. Al-Haidari KAA, Faiq TN, Ghareeb OA (2021) Clinical trial of black seeds against covid – 19 in Kirkuk city/Iraq. Indian J Foren Med Toxicol 15:3393-3399. https://www.revistaamplamente.com/index.php/ijfmt/article/view/15825

77. Koshak AE, Koshak EA, Mobeireek AF, et al. (2021) Nigella sativa for the treatment of COVID-19: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 61:102769. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34407441

78. Said SA, Abdulbaset A, El-Kholy AA, et al. (2022) The effect of Nigella sativa and vitamin D3 supplementation on the clinical outcome in COVID-19 patients: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Front Pharmacol. 13:1011522. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36425571

79. Fraiman J, Erviti J, Jones M, et al. (2022) Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults. Vaccine. 40:5798-5805. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877

80. Aarstad, J.; Kvitastein, O.A. Is there a Link between the 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Europe and 2022 Excess All-Cause Mortality?. Asian Pac J Health Sci. 10:25-30. https://hvlopen.brage.unit.no/hvlopen-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/3062560/Aarstad.pdf

81. Rancourt DG, Baudin M, Hickey J, Mercier J (2023) Age-stratified COVID-19 vaccine-dose fatality rate for Israel and Australia. Correlation Research in the Public Interest. https://correlation-canada.org/report-age-stratified-covid-19-vaccine-dose-fatality-rate-for-israel-and-australia

82. Gøtzsche PC. (2014) Our prescription drugs kill us in large numbers. Pol Arch Med Wewn. 124:628-634. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25355584

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Posted by: admin | Posted on: June 4, 2023

Why Watermelon Is Good for Your Cardiometabolic Health

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/06/02/watermelon-cardiometabolic-health-benefits.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 Fact Checked June 02, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Only 6.8% of U.S. adults have optimal cardiometabolic health, while an estimated 47 million have cardiometabolic disorders
Watermelon contains L-citrulline and L-arginine, which are nitric oxide (NO) precursors; NO helps relax blood vessels and widen arteries
Consuming watermelon juice attenuates reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) after high sugar consumption; low HRV is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality
Compared to people who don’t eat watermelon, those who do have healthier quality diets and increased nutrient intake
Among overweight or obese adults, eating watermelon led to greater satiety, including lower hunger, food consumption and desire to eat and greater fullness, compared to eating low-fat cookies

Only 6.8% of U.S. adults have optimal cardiometabolic health,¹ while an estimated 47 million have cardiometabolic disorders that increase their risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.² Risk factors for cardiometabolic disease include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, elevated fasting blood sugar, dyslipidemia and elevated triglycerides.³

Factors that lower these risks are therefore beneficial for cardiometabolic health. This includes lifestyle factors like eating right, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. Specifically, in the realm of dietary strategies, watermelon has an ideal mix of nutrients to support cardiometabolic health, making it among the best food choices.

Watermelon Juice Is Good for Heart Rate Variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an indicator of your body’s capacity to respond to stress. It measures the variations in time between your heartbeats — a function controlled by your autonomic nervous system (ANS). As such, HRV is said to be a “proxy of autonomic activity” that’s associated with executive functions, emotional regulation and more.⁴

HRV can help assess autonomic dysfunction, which, according to researchers with Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, is an “emerging mechanism in the development of cardiometabolic disease.”⁵ Low HRV, for instance, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Reduced HRV is also linked to the accumulation of visceral fat, hyperglycemia, endothelial dysfunction and increased inflammation.

Watermelon contains L-citrulline and L-arginine, which are nitric oxide (NO) precursors. NO helps relax blood vessels and widen arteries. When consumed orally, l-citrulline is converted to l-arginine. These compounds show promise for heart health, in part via their effect on HRV. According to the Louisiana State University team:⁶

“The amino acid L-arginine serves as the substrate for NO synthase to promote the enzymatic formation of NO. In healthy participants, increasing the plasma concentrations of L-arginine resulted in improved vagal control of heart rate. Other NO-promoting therapies, such as nitrates and beetroot juice, have also shown some promise in improving HRV.”

Watermelon Juice Attenuates Reductions in HRV

The team previously found that consuming watermelon juice for two weeks increases NO bioavailability. It’s believed that loss of NO bioavailability may play a role in reduced HRV.⁷ They conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effects of daily watermelon juice consumption for two weeks on HRV during an oral glucose challenge (OGC), or high sugar consumption. OGC has previously been shown to reduce HRV.

The trial involved 18 participants who drank either 500 milliliters (ml) of watermelon juice or a placebo daily for the study period. It found that watermelon juice attenuated the reductions in HRV caused by OCG. According to the study:⁸

“Using a rigorous study design, we show the efficacy of a naturally rich source of amino acids, L-citrulline, and L-arginine, to preserve HRV during a hyperglycemic episode.

These findings build on our previous work that shows WMJ supplementation protects vascular function during hyperglycemia. NO bioavailability is potentially a link between these two integrated physiological systems, but more work is required to develop a mechanistic understanding of this relationship.”

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Eating Watermelon Linked to Healthier Diet

Separate research, published in the journal Nutrients, used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to look into the associations between watermelon intake, nutrient intake and diet quality. Previous studies have linked watermelon extracts or supplements to a number of health benefits, including decreased pulse pressure and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures.⁹

However, the extracts used in the studies equate to watermelon intakes of more than 2 pounds a day.¹⁰ The featured study set out to determine if eating smaller quantities of fresh, raw watermelon would also yield beneficial effects. About 98% of the study participants, which included both children and adults, consumed raw watermelon.¹¹

Among children, usual intake was 125 grams, or 5/8 cup, a day, while adults typically consumed 161 grams, or about 2/3 cup, daily.¹² Compared to people who didn’t eat watermelon, those who did had healthier quality diets and increased nutrient intake. The study found:¹³

“Children and adult watermelon consumers had greater than 5% higher intake of dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin A as well as more than 5% lower intake of added sugars … as well as higher intake of lycopene and other carotenoids. This study suggests watermelon can increase nutrient intake as well as diet quality in both children and adult Americans.”

Even compared to other foods, such as oatmeal, mango and nuts, watermelon consumption was associated with the highest positive percent changes. For instance, eating watermelon was linked to a 3% increase in total vegetables among children and a 10% increase in adults. Protein increased 5% in children who ate watermelon, and fatty acid ratio had a 9% increase.¹⁴

Watermelon is a nutrient-dense food, so it makes sense that eating it daily gives your nutrition a healthy boost. The Nutrients researchers noted, “Studies focused on raw watermelon intake are less common but have reported reduced triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, body weight, BMI, lower risk of prostate, lung, and breast cancer, as well as higher antioxidant capacity.”¹⁵

Regarding the lower sugar intake among watermelon consumers, the researchers suggested, “It’s possible the sweetness of watermelon curbed the desire to have other foods with added sugars.”¹⁶ A 100-gram serving of watermelon (about 1/2 cup) provides a wealth of important nutrients, including:¹⁷

112 milligrams (mg) potassium	8.1 mg vitamin C
28 µg vitamin A	10 mg magnesium
3 µg folate	0.4 grams of dietary fiber

Watermelon Is a Bioavailable Source of Antioxidants

Watermelon is also unique in that it’s a rich source of antioxidants, including lycopene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin.

“Watermelon has over ten and six times higher beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin content, respectively, than other commonly consumed fruits,” the researchers noted. “Encouraging Americans to consume watermelon could benefit intake of certain nutrients as well as unique components with antioxidant properties.”¹⁸

Diets rich in the carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene confer greater resistance against oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol,¹⁹ which plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis. Higher plasma concentration of carotenoids was also associated with lower DNA damage.²⁰

Plasma levels of antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and alpha- and beta-carotene are also inversely correlated with congestive heart failure severity.²¹

Lycopene, a carotenoid antioxidant that gives watermelon its pink or red color, is especially noteworthy, as research suggests it may significantly reduce your risk of stroke. A study that followed men in their mid-40s to mid-50s for more than 12 years found those with the highest blood levels of lycopene were 55% less likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest levels.²²

L-citrulline, meanwhile, may have therapeutic usefulness for cardiovascular disease. According to a study in Cardiovascular Drug Reviews:²³

“Supplemental administration [of] L-arginine has been shown to be effective in improving NO production and cardiovascular function in cardiovascular diseases associated with endothelial dysfunction, such as hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis, diabetic vascular disease and ischemia-reperfusion injury, but the beneficial actions do not endure with chronic therapy.

Substantial intestinal and hepatic metabolism of L-arginine … makes oral delivery very ineffective … In contrast, L-citrulline is not metabolized in the intestine or liver … L-citrulline entering the kidney, vascular endothelium and other tissues can be readily converted to L-arginine, thus raising plasma and tissue levels of L-arginine and enhancing NO production.”

A 2022 meta-analysis further highlighted watermelon consumption for improvement of cardiometabolic risk factors, calling out l-citrulline intake as well:²⁴

“To conclude, longer-term l-citrulline supplementation and watermelon consumption may improve vascular function, suggesting a potential mechanism by which increased l-citrulline intake beneficially affects cardiovascular health outcomes in adults.”

More Reasons to Eat Watermelon

Another study looked at the effects of consuming “whole blenderized watermelon,” which refers to whole watermelon, including the flesh and rind, blended together.²⁵ Overweight or obese children between the ages of 10 and 17 consumed either 1 cup of blenderized watermelon or a sugar-sweetened beverage daily for eight weeks.

Watermelon intake significantly decreased body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, body fat percentage and HbA1c — a test that measures average blood sugar levels over three months. “Watermelon is a potential alternative to unhealthful snacks for improving anthropometry and some risk factors related to obesity in children,” the study concluded.²⁶

Watermelon, which is 91% water by weight,²⁷ also helps keep people hydrated, and this is another reason it’s so good for you. It also boosts satiety, which has benefits for weight management. In a study of 33 overweight or obese adults, participants consumed either 2 cups of watermelon or low-fat cookies daily for four weeks.²⁸

The watermelon led to greater satiety, including lower hunger, food consumption and desire to eat and greater fullness. Eating watermelon also led to significantly decreased body weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio compared to cookie consumption, which led to increased blood pressure and body fat. The watermelon group also enjoyed lower oxidative stress and increased antioxidant capacity. The researchers noted:²⁹

“This study shows that reductions in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure can be achieved through daily consumption of watermelon, which also improves some factors associated with overweight and obesity.”

A review of the evidence surrounding watermelon and l-citrulline for cardiometabolic health, spanning studies conducted from 2000 to 2020, further supported watermelon for reduced blood pressure and, potentially, weight control. Emerging evidence even suggests watermelon may boost brain and gut health by increasing NO bioavailability in all tissues.³⁰

– Sources and References

¹ J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 Jul 12;80(2):138-151. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.04.046., Results
^2, ³ American College of Cardiology, Cardiometabolic Initiatives
⁴ Front Neurosci. 2023; 17: 1055445
^5, ^6, ^7, ⁸ Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 810; doi: 10.3390/nu15040810
^9, ¹⁰ Nutrients 2022, 14(22), 4883; doi: 10.3390/nu14224883
¹¹ Medical News Today May 10, 2023
^12, ¹³ Nutrients 2022, 14(22), 4883; doi: 10.3390/nu14224883, Abstract
^14, ^16, ^18, ²⁷ Nutrients 2022, 14(22), 4883; doi: 10.3390/nu14224883, Discussion
^15, ¹⁷ Nutrients 2022, 14(22), 4883; doi: 10.3390/nu14224883, Intro
¹⁹ Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 2007;51(8)
²⁰ Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2001;11(4 Suppl):78
²¹ Free Radic Biol Med. 2002;32(2):148
²² Neurology October 9, 2012; 79(15); 1540-1547
²³ Cardiovascular Drug Review 2006 Fall-Winter;24(3-4):275-90
²⁴ Br J Nutr. 2022 Nov 14; 128(9): 1758–1770
^25, ²⁶ Pediatr Obes. 2023 Apr 18;e13038. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13038
^28, ²⁹ Nutrients 2019, 11(3), 595; doi: 10.3390/nu11030595
³⁰ Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2021 Dec 11;23(12):81. doi: 10.1007/s11883-021-00978-5

Posted in Antioxidant, Blood, Cardiovascular, Food, Heart, Metabolism, Minerals, Natural Medicine, Sugar, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: May 30, 2023

The Uncommon Heart Attack That Kills Healthy, Young Women

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/05/30/spontaneous-coronary-artery-dissection.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 Fact Checked May 30, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Symptoms of an uncommon type of heart attack known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) are easily overlooked, as few SCAD patients have any history of or risk factors for heart disease
SCAD is a leading cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 55; the average age of SCAD patients is 42. Eighty percent of SCAD patients are women; 20% have recently given birth
SCAD occurs when the layers of your blood vessel wall tear apart from each other, trapping blood between the layers. As the blood collects between the layers, your blood vessel gets choked off, triggering a heart attack
Most SCAD patients are healthy. Risk factors for the condition include underlying blood vessel conditions such as fibromuscular dysplasia, extreme exercise and severe emotional stress
Common signs and symptoms of a SCAD-induced heart attack, and current treatment recommendations are included

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published March 8, 2018.

The symptoms of an uncommon type of heart attack known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)¹ are dangerously easy to overlook, as few SCAD patients have any history of or risk factors for heart disease. SCAD is a leading cause of heart attacks in healthy women under 55; the average age of SCAD patients is 42.

ABC News recounts the stories of two women whose sudden heart attacks were triggered by SCAD.² Five weeks after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Maryn Cox suddenly developed troubling symptoms. “It felt like pressure, possibly gas; acid reflux, I wasn’t sure what it was. One of my arms went numb, I started getting nauseous; cold sweats,” she says. The symptoms, while common, turned out to be SCAD, a condition few have ever heard of.

While SCAD is a cause of heart attack, it’s different from a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. Essentially, SCAD occurs when the layers of your blood vessel wall tear apart from each other, trapping blood between the layers. As the blood pools and collects between the layers, your blood vessel gets choked off, killing heart muscle tissue downstream from the blockage, thereby triggering a heart attack.

Signs and Symptoms of SCAD

Commonly reported signs and symptoms of SCAD include the following. If you experience these symptoms, call for immediate emergency medical assistance (in the U.S., call 911). It’s important to realize that many who develop SCAD are otherwise quite healthy and most do not have risk factors for heart disease. For this reason, it’s important to seek medical attention if you experience symptoms of SCAD, in order to avoid a lethal heart attack.

Indeed, the No. 1 symptom of a heart attack is sudden death, and the same applies to SCAD. In essence, by the time recognizable symptoms of a heart attack occur, you’re well on your way toward death, so early intervention is crucial.

Lightheadedness	Sweating
Radiating pain in your neck, back or jaw	Shortness of breath
Pain, tightness, pressure or discomfort in your chest (some women report feeling like their bra is suddenly too tight, even though they know it’s not)	Stomach pain
Fatigue	Pain radiating down one or both arms

For whatever reason, SCAD tends to be more common in women — especially younger women, and following pregnancy — although it’s a relatively rare condition overall. While the cause for SCAD is unknown, medical experts have theorized the gender difference may have something to do with hormonal variations. Common risk factors for SCAD include:

Being female (80% of SCAD patients are women)
Recently giving birth (20% of SCAD patients have recently given birth)
Underlying blood vessel conditions such as fibromuscular dysplasia (a condition that causes abnormal cell growth in the arteries)
Extreme physical exercise
Severe emotional stress

Best Treatment for SCAD Is Allowing Body to Heal Naturally

Because the underlying cause of SCAD is still unknown, the best course of treatment has been equally uncertain. However, according to a recent scientific statement by Mayo Clinic researchers, SCAD sufferers tend to benefit the most from “conservative treatment, letting the body heal on its own.”³

Dr. Sharonne Hayes, the Mayo Clinic cardiologist who since 2010 has dedicated herself to the study of SCAD (see videos above), says, “It may seem counterintuitive, but we discovered that treating SCAD the same way we treat heart attacks due to atherosclerosis can cause further tearing and damage to the vessel. [T]he initial proper diagnosis is critical in guiding the care.”

The Mayo Clinic consensus statement is a significant step forward, providing health care providers with information about how to diagnose and treat SCAD. Importantly, their findings reveal that, in most patients who were not treated with a stent, the dissection in the blood vessel healed on its own within weeks or months.

In some patients, healing began within mere days. The statement also recommends a tailored cardiac rehabilitation program for patients, and stresses the importance of addressing mental health, as anxiety and depression tend to be quite common in SCAD patients.

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Many Women Mistake Heart Attack Symptoms With Anxiety, Stress

In related research,⁴ researchers found women are less likely to report chest pain when having a heart attack. According to the authors, compared to men, “women were more likely to perceive symptoms as stress/anxiety (20.9% versus 11.8%) but less likely to attribute symptoms to muscle pain (15.4% versus 21.2%).” They were also more likely to use terms such as “pressure,” “tightness” or “discomfort” in the chest rather than referring to it as chest pain.

They also found that a significantly greater number of women reported their doctor did not think their symptoms were heart-related. Overall, 53% of female heart attack patients reported this, compared to just 37% of men.

Nearly 30% of women had actually sought medical help prior to being hospitalized with a heart attack, compared to just 22% of men. What these findings suggest is that both women and their doctors tend to misdiagnose or dismiss symptoms of heart attack, placing them at increased risk of death than men. As noted by the authors:

“The presentation of [acute myocardial infarction] symptoms was similar for young women and men, with chest pain as the predominant symptom for both sexes. Women presented with a greater number of additional non-chest pain symptoms regardless of the presence of chest pain, and both women and their health care providers were less likely to attribute their prodromal symptoms to heart disease in comparison with men.”

Top 6 Factors That Predict Your Heart Attack Risk

If you want to reduce your risk of a heart attack, you should absolutely pay attention to your diet and exercise habits. These, along with four other habits, are said to make young women more or less “heart attack-proof,” according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.⁵

Women who adhered to all six guidelines lowered their heart disease risk by 92%. Based on these findings, the researchers estimated that more than 70% of heart attacks could be prevented by implementing the following:

A healthy diet discussed in my two most recent books “Effortless Healing” and “Fat for Fuel“
Normalizing your body weight (your waist-to-hip ratio being a more reliable risk predictor than body mass index, as it reflects your visceral fat deposits)
Getting at least 2.5 hours of exercise each week and moving regularly throughout the day
Restricting your TV watching to seven or fewer hours per week
Not smoking
Limiting alcohol intake to one drink or less per day

These results echo those of a 2014 study,⁶ which concluded that the following five healthy lifestyle strategies could prevent nearly 80% of first-time heart attacks in men. As noted by the authors, “It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks … What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors.”

A healthy diet
Being physically active (walking/bicycling ≥ 40 minutes/day and exercising ≥ one hour/week)
Maintaining a healthy waist circumference (waist circumference < 37.4 inches or 95 centimeters)
Moderate alcohol consumption (10 to 30 grams/day)
No smoking

Tests to Evaluate Your Heart Disease Risk

While SCAD is an exception, most heart attacks are caused by heart disease. Unfortunately, many are still evaluating risk based on the flawed cholesterol hypothesis. In reality, high cholesterol is not a significant risk factor for heart disease or heart attacks at all.

As you evaluate your risk of cardiovascular disease, there are specific ratios and blood level values that will tell you much more than your total cholesterol numbers. The following tests will also give you a better assessment of your potential risk for heart attack or coronary artery disease:

• Cholesterol ratios — Your HDL to cholesterol ratio and triglyceride to HDL ratio are strong indicators of your risk. To calculate your HDL/cholesterol ratio, divide your HDL by your total cholesterol and multiply by 100. That percentage should ideally be above 24%. For your triglyceride/HDL ratio, divide your triglyceride total by your HDL and multiply by 100. The ideal percentage is below 2%.

• NMR LipoProfile — The size of your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is more important than your overall total LDL level. Large particle LDLs are not harmful to your health while the smaller, denser LDL particles may create problems as they squeeze through the lining of your arteries, oxidize and trigger inflammation.

An NMR LipoProfile that measures the size of your LDL particles is a better assessment of your risk of heart disease than total cholesterol or total LDL.

• Fasting insulin level — Sugar and carbohydrates increase inflammation. Once eaten, they trigger a release of insulin, promoting the accumulation of fat and creation of triglycerides, making it more difficult for you to lose weight or maintain your normal weight. Excess fat around your midsection is one of the major contributors to heart disease.⁷

Your fasting insulin level can be determined by a simple, inexpensive blood test. A normal fasting blood insulin level is below 5 microunits per milliliter (mcU/ml) but, ideally, you’ll want it below 3 mcU/ml. If your insulin level is higher than 3 to 5, the most effective way to optimize it is to reduce net carbs, replacing them with higher amounts of healthy fats, including saturated fats.

• Fasting blood sugar level — Studies have demonstrated people with higher fasting blood sugar levels have a higher risk of coronary heart disease.⁸ In fact, when your fasting blood sugar is between 100 and 125 mg/dl, your risk of coronary artery disease is 300% higher than having a level below 79 mg/dl.

• Iron level — Iron creates an environment for oxidative stress, so excess iron may increase your inflammation and increase your risk of heart disease. An ideal iron level for adult men and non-menstruating women is between 40 and 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). You do not want to be below 20 ng/ml or above 80 ng/ml.

Learn to Implement Heart Healthy Lifestyle Strategies

Any time you experience any kind of chest pain or discomfort, it’s important to take it seriously and contact your doctor. Keep in mind that not everyone experiences chest pain or discomfort during a heart attack. Other signs and symptoms include:

Upper body pain or discomfort in your arms, back, neck, jaw or upper stomach
Shortness of breath
Nausea
Lightheadedness
Cold sweats

You’re far better off getting a diagnosis of heartburn than dying, which is the most common “symptom” of a heart attack. Your chances of survival are greater if you get emergency treatment quickly. Especially if you’re a woman, be extra mindful of troublesome symptoms that might be heart-related, as women are misdiagnosed far more often than men. You may even have to insist on a more in-depth evaluation by your doctor if he or she seems immediately dismissive.

Last but not least, remember that heart attack prevention is primarily lifestyle related, as indicated by the studies above. In addition to the strategies mentioned earlier, consider:

Reducing, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet. It is vitally important to eliminate gluten-containing grains and sugars, especially fructose. Also consume a good portion of your food raw.

Replacing harmful vegetable oils and synthetic trans fats with healthy fats, such as olive oil, butter, avocado, organic pastured eggs and coconut oil (remember olive oil should be used cold only; use coconut oil for cooking and baking).

Also make sure you’re getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats.

Eating more fermented foods. In addition to optimizing your intestinal microflora, which will boost your overall immunity, it will also introduce beneficial bacteria into your mouth. Poor oral health is another powerful indicator of increased heart disease risk.

Optimizing your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate sun exposure as this will allow your body to also create vitamin D sulfate — another factor that may play a crucial role in preventing the formation of arterial plaque.

Ideally, incorporate high-intensity interval exercises into your fitness routine, as this will also optimize your human growth hormone production.

Getting plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep.

Practicing regular stress-management techniques.

– Sources and References

Posted in Cardiovascular, Exercise, Food, Heart, Immunity, Mortality, Oils, Omega-3, Omega-6, Sleep, Stress, Sugar, Vaccinations, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: May 30, 2023

The Many Health Benefits of Fennel

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/05/29/many-health-benefits-of-fennel.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 Fact Checked May 29, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Common fennel is a perennial plant in the carrot family. All but the roots are used in traditional culinary and medicinal preparations. The plant is native to the Mediterranean and is believed to have been part of Jewish meals since biblical times
Although from the same family and similar in taste, anise and fennel are from different plants and have slightly different flavor profiles. Anise is more pungent and often found in Chinese Five Spice powder while fennel seeds have a less sweet licorice flavor that lends itself to savory dishes
Fennel bulbs are low in calories and are a rich source of fiber and anethole, which gives the plant the distinctive flavor and has anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, chemoprotective and antithrombotic properties
Fennel seed has anti-infective properties effective against conjunctivitis, and has been incorporated into natural remedies to treat dry cough, pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. It also has mild diuretic properties
Animal studies link fennel extract to the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The seeds also have a long history as a digestive aid as they lower cramping, bloating and gas while promoting motility and peristalsis. The seeds have traditionally been used as a galactagogue, helping to increase breast milk supply

Common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a perennial plant in the carrot family that is grown for the edible leaves, shoots, seeds and bulbs. It’s likely the plant was first cultivated in Israel,¹ and is believed to have been part of Jewish meals since biblical times. The plant is native to the Mediterranean area, where the seeds are used as a spice, insect repellent and medicine, and the shoots and feathery fronds are added to salad.

Pliny the Elder mentions fennel several times in his encyclopedia, “Natural History,” as a treatment for uterine health, stomach aches, and to care for “stings of serpents.”² Although the plant has become an invasive species in parts of the U.S., it can be grown in pots, which may help contain the spread.³

The plant appreciates cool weather and temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit can induce bolting, or premature seeding.⁴ It likes full sun, well-draining soil and should be planted in the early spring or fall months. If the seed heads are collected before they shatter, it may also help prevent the spread of the plant. Although the plant can reach 6 feet in height, it often is ready for harvest when it’s shorter than that.⁵

Traditionally, the medicinal value of fennel has benefited nursing women and people with gastrointestinal disorders; it has even been used as a mild diuretic to help reduce edema. However, some people don’t like the licorice-like flavor of the fennel plant, which tastes like anise.

Is It Anise or Fennel?

Although anise and fennel are similar in taste and the plants are from the same family, that is where the similarity ends. While fennel produces a bulb at the base that is edible, anise grows as a bush that produces the seed, and only the anise seed is edible.⁶

Both plants are native to the Mediterranean and both have a licorice flavor derived from anethole, an essential oil found in the seed. Many cooks use the seeds interchangeably, but anise is more pungent and often found in Chinese five spice powder. Fennel seeds have a less sweet licorice flavor that lends itself to savory dishes.

Fennel is a versatile plant and much of it can be eaten.⁷ The bulb can be trimmed, the outer layer peeled, and the bulb cut in half lengthwise through the middle of the root. The core can be tough on larger bulbs but is often tender in younger plants.

The fennel bulb and stocks can be eaten raw or roasted, caramelized, grilled or candied. Cooking the vegetable tends to reduce the licorice flavoring. The stems can be tossed over coals when grilling fish and the fronds make a garnish on fish or salad.

Vitamin and Antioxidant Components Support Health

The vitamin and nutrient content in fennel bulbs and seeds contribute to supporting overall health and have specific benefits, such as digestive health and anticancer properties. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nutrients in fennel bulbs and seeds include:

Vitamin/Nutrient	Recommended Daily Allowance⁸ Women – Men	1 Cup sliced Fennel bulb⁹	1 Tbs. Fennel seeds¹⁰
Calories		27	20
Protein		1.08 grams (gm)	0.916 gm
Calcium	1,000 mgs	42.6 milligrams (mg)	69.6 mg
Iron	8 mg	0.635 mg	1.07 mg
Magnesium	310 – 400 mg	14.8 mg	22.3 mg
Potassium	2,600 – 3,400 mg	360 mg	98 mg
Phosphorus	700 mg	43.5 mg	28.2 mg
Zinc	8 – 11 mg	0.174 mg	0.215 mg
Copper	900 micrograms (µg)	0.057 mg (57 µg)	0.062 mg (62 µg)
Folate	400 µg	23.5 µg	Not listed
Vitamin C	75 – 90 mg	10.4 mg	1.22 mg
Vitamin A	700 – 900 µg	41.8 µg	0.406 µg

The combination of nutrients in fennel seed offers mild diuretic properties, which may be one of the reasons weight loss formulas include the seed.¹¹ In the past, it’s been used as an appetite suppressant and has been incorporated into natural remedies to treat dry, hacking coughs, as well as asthma, pneumonia and bronchitis.

Fennel seed also has anti-infective properties effective against conjunctivitis. A decoction of the seed strained through a paper filter has been used as an eye wash for sore and bloodshot eyes. The essential oil derived from fennel seed has been useful to improve energy levels and incorporated into facial products for mature skin. This includes soaps, creams and lotions.

Kaempferol and quercetin are ubiquitous polyphenols in fruit and vegetables,¹² which are beneficial in the fight against cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Fennel leaves have higher levels of quercetin in milligrams per 100 gm of fresh weight than other plant sources tested, except for dill.

Fennel is also rich in anethole, which helps give the plant its distinctive flavor. The compound has been widely used within the food industry and across the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Studies have also revealed the compound may play a role in several chronic diseases due to the anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, chemoprotective and antithrombotic properties modulated across ion channels.^13,¹⁴

Fennel bulbs are also rich in prebiotic fiber,¹⁵ that helps support gut microbiota and promotes optimal brain and psychological health.¹⁶ Adding prebiotic fiber to your diet improves your gut microbiome and thus may impact brain development and function.

Animal studies¹⁷ have also linked common fennel in the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The extract was used in mice for eight consecutive days and found to ameliorate the amnesic effect of chemically induced memory deficits in mice. The powerful antioxidants found in the fennel bulb, such as vitamin C and quercetin, helped to reduce levels of inflammatory markers in an animal model.¹⁸

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More Health Benefits From Fennel and Fennel Seeds

Fennel seeds have a long history as an effective digestive aid.¹⁹ They appear to help lower digestive cramping, bloating and gas. Volatile oils in the fennel seed help encourage motility and peristalsis, while the aromatic oils have antispasmodic and carminative properties.

Fennel tea is made by crushing dried seeds and adding them to boiling water. By increasing motility and reducing muscle spasms, drinking fennel tea may help prevent acid reflux and improve digestion. Since the fennel seeds help reduce stomach cramps and lower gas and bloating, they could potentially help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and act as a muscle relaxant to ease cramping.

The impact that consuming fennel bulb has on heart disease is related to the prebiotics that help improve gut health. Fennel seeds are rich in potassium, which can help balance your sodium-potassium ratio and have a positive influence on blood pressure. In postmenopausal women, fennel increased sexual satisfaction and reduced painful intercourse,²⁰ and fennel vaginal cream improved arousal, lubrication, sexual satisfaction and orgasm after eight weeks.²¹

Lifestyle and wellness coach Luke Coutinho shared a fennel tea recipe with the Times of India to help promote sleep. It includes making fennel tea with dried seeds and adding dashes of freshly ground nutmeg and cinnamon, and then drinking it at bedtime.²²

Fennel tea also has antimicrobial and antiviral properties, so drinking some tea when you feel a cold coming on may help your body fight the pathogens.²³ Fennel tea may be one of the original ways people used to freshen their breath. The antibacterial properties may help kill oral pathogens that cause your breath to smell bad.²⁴

Fennel seeds have traditionally been used as a galactagogue, helping to increase breast milk supply.²⁵ Fennel seeds are used in traditional medicine and are included in several over-the-counter proprietary mixtures believed to help increase milk supply. It is believed to boost milk production by competing with dopamine that binds with prolactin first.²⁶ By preserving prolactin’s milk stimulation properties, the anethole in fennel seed helps boost production.

Health Benefits of Indian Cooking Spice Asafoetida

Asafoetida is an Indian cooking spice made from the gum of a type of giant fennel. The name translates into “rotten resin,”²⁷ which aptly describes the unpleasant odor reminiscent of rotting food and sweaty feet. If you can get past the scent while cooking, it has been long used in lieu of garlic and onions in Indian food.

Asafoetida also can reduce gas and bloating, and sometimes is paired with bean-based dishes for that reason.²⁸ In 2009,²⁹ researchers found it was more effective at killing the H1N1 influenza virus than the commercially manufactured antiviral drug, amantadine.

Asafoetida also contains several chemicals shown to have anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antimutagenic activities. As reported in the Pharmacognosy Review:³⁰

“Dried resin, administered orally to Sprague–Dawley rats at doses of 1.25 and 2.5% w/w of the diet, produced a significant reduction in the multiplicity and size of palpable N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumors, and a delay in mean latency period of tumor appearance. Oral administration to mice increased the percentage of life span by 52.9%. Intraperitoneal administration did not produce any significant reduction in tumor growth.”

Similarly, a study³¹ published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine in 2017 confirmed asafoetida resin had antitumor effects against breast cancer. According to the researchers:

“Our results showed that treatment with asafoetida was effective in decreasing the tumor weight and tumor volume in treated mice. Apart from the antitumor effect, asafoetida decreased lung, liver and kidney metastasis and also increased areas of necrosis in the tumor tissue respectively.”

As with fennel bulb and fennel seed, asafoetida lowers blood pressure,³² has significant smooth muscle relaxant and anticoagulant effects, and certain compounds may have the ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase,³³ which may prove useful against Alzheimer’s disease.

Some People Should Avoid Fennel, Seeds or Oil

The fennel bulb has a crunchy texture and mildly sweet flavor. When purchasing fennel, look for a firm white or pale green color. If the buds are flowering, the plant has gotten overripe.

Fennel and fennel seeds are gentle, but there are instances when fennel can cause an allergic reaction on the skin and in the respiratory tract.³⁴ The essential oil can be toxic in high doses and should be avoided during pregnancy as it has estrogen-like activities. Individuals with estrogen-sensitive conditions, such as breast cancer or other tumors, should also avoid consuming the essential oil.

Other high-sensitivity reactions can include over-excitement of the nervous system and seizures in a sensitive individual. People with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy should avoid using the essential oil. Fennel may also slow blood clotting, so people with bleeding disorders or on blood thinners should not use fennel.

When drinking fennel tea or using other products with essential oil, avoid ultraviolet light exposure as it can increase the risk of burns. If a mother or breastfed infant is allergic to carrots, celery, or other plants in the Apiaceae family, the mother should also avoid fennel to reduce the risk of a possible cross-allergic reaction as the compounds cross into the breast milk.

– Sources and References

¹ Tablet Magazine, May 10, 2023
² Food Print, Fennel
³ Yates, Fennel
⁴ Plant Village, Fennel, Propagation
⁵ Wisconsin Horticulture, Fennel
⁶ Gardening Know How, Fennel Vs. Anise
⁷ Food Print, Fennel, Cooking with Fennel
⁸ Harvard The Nutrition Source, Vitamins and Minerals
^9, ¹⁵ USDA, Fennel, bulb, raw, 1 cup sliced
¹⁰ USDA, Fennel Seed, 1 Tbs
^11, ¹⁹ The Northwest School for Botanical Studies, Fennel
¹² Nutrients, 2019; 11(10)
¹³ Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 2016; 929
¹⁴ Molecular Pharmacology, 2019;95(4)
¹⁶ Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2016;10 Discussion 50% DTP para 1
¹⁷ Journal of Medicinal Food, 2006; 9(3)
¹⁸ European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 2012; 16 (4)
²⁰ Journal of Menopausal Medicine, 2018 semicolon 24(1)
²¹ Journal of Medicine and Life, 2018; 11(1)
²² Times of India, June 28, 2019
²³ Biomed Research International, 2014; 2014(842674)
²⁴ BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2009; 9
²⁵ Drugs and Lactation Database, March 15, 2023
²⁶ Mom Junction, March 27, 2023, How does fennel increase breastmilk
²⁷ Chemistry World, Asafoetida
²⁸ Good Food, Asafoetida
²⁹ Journal of Natural Products, 2009;72(9)
³⁰ Pharmacognosy Review, 2012;6(12) 45 DTP
³¹ Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 2017; 8(3)
³² Pharmacognosy Review, 2012;6(12)
³³ Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 2017;7(3) Table 3, 7 down in the table, observation column
³⁴ RxList, Fennel, Side Effects

Posted in Antioxidant, Brain, Cancer, Flu, Food, Gut, Minerals, Nutrition, Virus, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: May 22, 2023

A Surprising Reason Why You May Need More Carbs in Your Diet

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/05/21/surprising-reason-why-you-may-need-more-carbs.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 Fact Checked May 21, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

A ketogenic diet can be very useful initially when transitioning people who are metabolically inflexible. However, continuing in ketosis long term can lead to problems, including stubborn weight gain or the inability to lose unwanted weight
The reason for this has to do with cortisol. Your body needs glucose, and when deprived for too long, your body will release cortisol to stimulate the production of glucose by your liver. Cortisol also promotes inflammation and central obesity, so you don’t want chronically elevated cortisol levels
Your metabolic rate is strongly affected by the type of sugar you consume. High fructose corn syrup promotes ill health while whole fruit, raw honey and pure organic cane sugar are readily metabolized without promoting weight gain
When adding in more carbs, you also need to reduce your fat intake to avoid elevating your triglycerides
Restricting dietary fat and/or blocking the oxidation of fat inside of the cell have strong therapeutic effects against cancer by forcing the cell out of its excessive fatty acid oxidation state

In this interview, Georgi Dinkov and I continue our discussion about diet, diving into some of the finer details that can make or break your health. Dinkov is a student of Ray Peat, who passed away around Thanksgiving 2022, leaving behind a legacy of iconoclastic wisdom on how to optimize biological health.

For example, a ketogenic diet can be very useful initially when transitioning people who are metabolically inflexible, which is about 95% of the population of the United States. So, in the short term, the vast majority of people can benefit from going keto. However, if you continue in ketosis long term, you’re going to run into problems.

Elevated Cortisol Leads to Central Obesity

As just one example, while weight loss is a typical response when going on a ketogenic diet, months later, maintaining that weight loss often becomes a struggle again. Dinkov experienced this firsthand. Once he started following Ray Peat’s recommendations, he lost the weight again and kept it off.

“My take is it’s an endocrine problem,” Dinkov says. “So if you’re struggling with weight you cannot lose, I think it’s a good idea to do a blood work [panel] for the steroids … Every single person that has been struggling with excessive weight that has emailed [me] their blood results, without exception, their cortisol is either high-normal or above the range, both the AM and the PM value.

Their thyroid is less than optimal, in fact, pretty bad for most people … They’re at the upper limit of normal. A very large number of people are basically hypothyroid … I think we are eating foods that are lowering our metabolic rate. We’re living an excessively stressful lifestyle.

That’s probably not a surprise for anybody. Many people think, well, stress is good for you. It’s good as a hormetic response in an acute situation, but not when you have chronically elevated cortisol. Every doctor will tell you if you have a chronic elevated cortisol, you will develop the so-called spectrum of Cushing syndrome …

One of the defining features of elevated cortisol is that you have central obesity. So that, to me, is really the problem. We have higher than desirable levels of stress, suboptimal diet, and we’re surrounded by a number of different endocrine disrupters which are now proven to reliably cause obesity in animal models, even in very small amounts. Most of those are found in plastics.”

How High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Disease

One factor that makes a big difference in your metabolic rate is the type of sugar you consume. Contrary to popular belief, there’s a dramatic difference between high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar. They’re really two different foods. If the high fructose corn syrup is properly processed to remove all starch, then it’s very similar to cane sugar because it’s about 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

However, studies have shown beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain a tremendous amount of starch, which isn’t accounted for in the calories listed on the label. Once the starch is factored in, the caloric content of many sodas can easily quadruple that on the label, so you’re getting FAR more calories than you think.

Additionally, because the starch is made up of such tiny particles, they can enter your blood circulation unprocessed via your digestive system, potentially causing an allergic reaction.

They can also trigger a low-grade inflammatory reaction, which will trigger the release of histamine, nitric oxide and serotonin. As noted by Dinkov, if you’re sneezing and have itchy eyes even though it’s not allergy season, you may well be having a reaction to something you ate or drank, and high fructose corn syrup may be the culprit.

Starch particles also serve as fuel for pathogenic bacteria in your gut, and the endotoxins from these bacteria contribute to inflammatory conditions. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is one example of what can happen, especially if you’re on a proton pump inhibitor, as these drugs decrease the amount of stomach acid you’re producing. Stomach acid is there not only to help with digestion but also to keep bacteria in check.

“If you’re not producing a sufficient amount of acid, you’re going to get bacteria colonizing your small intestine, either from food or creeping up from the large intestine. And that’s not a good thing. Basically … the portion of the intestine that is supposed to be clean and just focused on absorbing food is now harboring a microbiome.

And then, if you give it any kind of a food that the bacteria can process, you’re increasing the turnover [which] result in the endotoxemia that is now accepted to cause a large number of diseases, especially cardiovascular disease, obesity and neurological disease.

Alzheimer’s has been conclusively tied to chronic low-grade endotoxemia. They’re still claiming there’s a genetic component to it, but they’re now admitting that endotoxin is a causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease,” Dinkov says.

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Cane Sugar Can Be Part of a Healthy Diet

Most people who embrace natural health believe sugar is a pernicious evil, but Peat’s and Dinkov’s position is that the negative effects are primarily caused by high fructose corns syrup, and that pure cane sugar can actually be a useful strategy to counteract some of the challenges that people can get into when on a strict low-carb diet. Dinkov explains:

“Cane sugar, if it’s pure, has a very different overall systemic health effect than high fructose corn syrup … I think most of the sugar sold in the crystal form, especially organic ones, is pretty safe. Heavy metal contamination used to be a problem in sugar distillation but it looks like most of the western countries have sorted this out …

Now, some people that have an issue with sugar are saying, ‘Well, it’s just empty calories and whatnot.’ Multiple studies demonstrated that honey, which is very similar in composition to plain white sugar, does not trigger the normal hyperglycemic response that most of the other simple carbohydrates do. In fact, it improves the hyperglycemia in Type 2 diabetic patients despite being pure sugar.

I think that’s the greatest confirmation that we have that sugar is not evil. It depends how you’re getting it and in what form. One animal study demonstrated that rats, when given free access to [Mexican] Coke sweetened with cane sugar, they were eating the equivalent of 8,000 calories daily … without gaining an ounce of fat.

So sugar is not dangerous. It’s perhaps the only nutrient that we evolved to metabolize for fuel. But the other two micronutrients, even though we can metabolize them as fuel, come with a lot of strings attached …

If you’re oxidizing PUFA, then all hell breaks loose. If you’re oxidizing saturated fats, it’s far less dangerous. But in the long run it still puts you, due to the Randle cycle, into the semi-diabetic state because it decreases your insulin sensitivity.

So pure sugar is what we are meant to oxidize for fuel. If you get it from ripe fruit, great. If you can get it from [raw unadulterated] honey, probably just as good if not even better. But if not, then the pure white variety, preferably organic, that you get from the store, I think is a very good source of most of the carb calories that you intend to eat throughout the day.”

The Glucose-Cortisol Link

In my book “Fat for Fuel,” I argued that healthy saturated fats generate fewer free radical species in the electron transport chain than sugar. However, I’m starting to revise my views on this, based on Peat’s work.

The problem is that if your glucose level is low because you’re on a low-carb diet, your body is going to compensate by self-generating glucose, and that stimulus to make glucose is part of the obesity puzzle, because one of the ways in which your body produces glucose is by secreting cortisol.

And, as explained by Dinkov, if your cortisol is chronically elevated, you end up with central obesity and chronic inflammation, which clearly isn’t good. So, you’ve got to have a certain amount of glucose, and it’s best to get it from your diet rather than forcing your liver to make it, as cortisol is then also being churned out. Dinkov explains:

“If glucose is oxidized properly going through the Krebs Cycle and electron transport chain, it generates more carbon dioxide per molecule of glucose oxidized than do fats.

Now, carbon dioxide has this kind of controversial role in medicine. It used to be considered a metabolic byproduct that could potentially be dangerous. People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have higher than normal levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.

But then, medicine started to look into this more closely, I think, over the last 10 years, outside of Dr. Pete’s research, and said, ‘Hm. Carbon dioxide seems to have a lot of positive effects in the body.’ One of them is vasodilation.

So basically, if your metabolism is not working properly, if you’re not oxidizing glucose properly, you’re not going to produce sufficient amounts of carbon dioxide. What happens then? Vasoconstriction. And since that is actually a problem, it raises blood pressure and all kinds of other things; all hell breaks loose. The body then releases an emergency vasodilator, known as nitric oxide. And that is now acquiring a bad reputation.

Even in mainstream medical circles, they’ve started seeing that people who are taking the drug nitroglycerin, which used to be the mainstream drug for angina — chest pain — for cardiovascular disease and blood pressure.

With nitroglycerin, you’ll quickly lower blood pressure. But over time, the inflammatory nature of nitric oxide ensures that these people actually get worse. And, in fact, most people who take nitroglycerin on a long-term basis die from a heart attack or ischemic stroke.

So, if you’re not eating enough glucose, your body will make it. And, in fact, the primary evolutionary role of cortisol, the acute role, is actually preventing blood glucose from dropping too low, because that will put you into a hypoglycemic coma.

In the longer run its secondary role is to dampen down inflammation. So really, the acute, the lifesaving role of cortisol on a daily basis, is to prevent you from dropping into a coma because your blood glucose went too low.

But we don’t want that process because it’s going to get the glucose from the tissues. So, we need glucose [in our diet]. I think even the ketogenic proponents are now getting to the point of saying, ‘We cannot be always in ketosis.’ In the long term, it’s not good.”

Will Sugar Feed Cancer?

In recent years, ketogenic diets have also been hailed for their ability to prevent and treat cancer, but even this may turn out to be a misunderstanding in the end.

“I think some of the ideas around glucose feeding cancer stem from two basic misunderstandings,” Dinkov says. “One is that cancer is an evil cell, genetically mutated, and that your only chance is to kill all of those cells because they’re not going away by themselves.

First of all, that’s not true. Spontaneous remissions of cancer are known, and they vary depending on the cancer. Prostate cancer has a pretty high rate of spontaneous remission … A paper that came about five years ago … from the MD Anderson cancer center in Texas … said it’s always been the position of medicine that cancerous mutations [happen] and after that, the cell becomes metabolically deranged.

But it looks like we’ve had it backwards. It’s the metabolic derangement that happens first, and, over time, this triggers the genetic mutations, because the cell, being in an energetic deficiency, cannot properly maintain its structure. That was a huge admission …

So what we need to be doing here is not trying to kill the cancer cell, because it is not a cancer cell. It is actually a normal cell that is metabolically deranged.

If we could compare it to anything, it’d be a diabetic cell [and] diabetes is now known to be caused by hyperlipidemia — too much fat in the body, too much fat in the blood. Basically, the cells are getting stuck in oxidizing fats, due to the Randle cycle.

And then, the glucose that’s floating around in diabetes, a good portion of it — because it cannot be metabolized — is being peed out … or you’re converting it into lactic acid. This [MD Anderson] paper said the exact same thing is happening in cancer.

We are seeing an abnormal rate of fatty acid oxidation, because the cell is stuck in the cycle due to oversupply of fat.

The glucose, the ‘cancer cell’ cannot actually metabolize it, but because the cell needs its glucose for a variety of purposes — not just synthesizing energy, but also synthesizing DNA and RNA, and those two … can only be synthesized from glucose, not from fats — the cancer cell says, ‘Oh, I’m in a state of extreme deficiency of glucose. Give me more.’

So, it increases the synthesis of these glucose transporters known as GLUT1 through GLUT4. Basically, that’s why when you give a patient with cancer a little bit of radioactive sugar, it accumulates mostly into the tumor, because the tumor has a much higher capacity for uptake of sugar.

However, and this is the key difference, it has a much lower capacity for oxidizing that sugar. So, you’re going to see a lot of radioactive sugar accumulation in the tumor, but most of it will get converted to lactic acid. So this paper that came out said, ‘We need to do something that gets the cell out of its stressed state.’

And I think we already agreed that excessive oxidation of fat is a stress state. Right? We don’t want to produce lactic acid, and as long as we are over-oxidizing fat, we will be producing lactic acid, and we will be uptaking more glucose …

Several studies have come out since then … and they said, ‘OK, how can we restrict the supply of fat?’ assuming the fat is the problem. There’s only really two macronutrients that can go to the cell. Assuming cancer is a metabolic disease, and assuming a cell can only oxidize fat or sugar, then if it’s not the sugar, it’s got to be the fat. There’s nothing else.

And if it’s not the mutations, if the mutations are secondary to the metabolic derangement, it’s got to be one of these two macronutrients that we can manipulate to actually try to cure the cancer. They already tried glucose restriction … That did not cure cancer. It did have a sensitizing effect to chemotherapy, but it did not result in actual cancer remission.

So now we’re back to the other micronutrient, restricting the supply of fat. Multiple studies … I have at least 30 on my blog … have shown that restricting lipolysis by administering the beta blocker propranolol … lowers lipolysis.

The way [propranolol] lowers blood pressure is by blocking adrenaline. If you’re blocking adrenaline, you’re also lowering lipolysis, because adrenaline is the primary activator of the hormone-sensitive lipase enzyme. Basically, you’re going to be restricting the supply of fat from your own tissues to the tumor.

What else can be done? Well, that’s not the only source of fat. You’re also getting it through the diet. Other studies have tried doing low-fat diets for cancer, and are getting actually good results. Not cure, but good results. The propranolol induced full remission in the cancer.”

Summary

Dinkov also cites research in which the beta oxidation inhibitor etomoxir, prescribed for heart disease, induced full remission in neuro glioblastoma, which is thought to be incurable. So, in summary, either restricting dietary fat or blocking the oxidation of fat inside the cell appears to have strong therapeutic effects against cancer by forcing the cell out of its excessive fatty acid oxidation state.

“And, once you do that, there’s no metabolic damage preventing the cell from oxidizing glucose,” Dinkov says. “It’s all functional. If you flood the cell with fat then, basically, that’s what the cell will oxidize, because it’s overabundant relative to the glucose that is getting to the cell. If you stop that process, or at least greatly restrict it, the cell starts oxidizing glucose again.”

The Devil in the Details

Here, I’d like to share a personal story. In an effort to adopt this new knowledge, I increased my carbohydrate intake to about 250 grams to 300 grams, depending on the day and the fruit availability. When I got my blood work back, I was surprised to find my triglycerides were in the low triple digits, just over 100, which is abnormal.

Normally, I’m closer to 50. In my clinical experience, elevated triglycerides is almost always related to excessive carbohydrate intake, which seems to conflict with what Dinkov just explained. But here’s the key: When you increase carbohydrates, you also have to lower fat. If you don’t, you could end up with complications, as just happened to me. So, now I’m lowering my fat intake. Dinkov confirms my experience:

“Most of the animal studies say, ‘High sugar diet causes this. High sugar diet causes that.’ But if you look at their diets, these animals are already on a high fat diet. All they did was add more sugar on top of it. Well, of course, in a situation like that, you’re going to have an increase in the triglycerides, increase in LDL cholesterol, because the body can synthesize cholesterol from the sugars.

So, you’re going to get these biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease to increase, but it’s actually not really a fair comparison. What you should be doing is keeping the diets isocaloric, the same. And also, not increase the total amount of calories, just replace some of that fat with sugar …

Another thing that is probably important is that since there’s always some baseline lipolysis going on, when you’re increasing the carbohydrate intake, the excess that cannot get metabolized will get converted to triglycerides and then stored.

When you are increasing the carbohydrate intake, you should be decreasing the amount of fat. If you’re not, then at least you should be taking something that stimulates the oxidation of carbohydrate so that it doesn’t result in the raising of triglycerides.

Aspirin, caffeine, especially vitamin B-3 niacinamide, all of these are known to lower triglycerides and, by now, the consensus mechanism of action is that all three of these components are increasing the oxidation of carbohydrates.

So, if you’re increasing carbohydrates and you’re getting an increase in triglycerides, two things, either you’re eating too much fat or your baseline metabolic rate is not where it should be, so you can use some metabolic stimulation from these substances.”

In addition to increasing the oxidation of glucose as fuel, aspirin, caffeine and niacinamide may also inhibit the oxidation of fatty acids, specifically linoleic acid, and the most foundational strategy that anyone could implement to improve their health is to lower their linoleic acid, the omega-6 intake. These supplements will also lower inflammation, which in turn will lower your baseline cortisol.

The metabolite of aspirin, salicylic acid, also has an inhibitory infect on the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase Type 1. This enzyme synthesizes active cortisol from the inactive precursor cortisone.

“So, aspirin will actually lower your synthesis of cortisol directly, not just by lowering inflammation, but also lowering the actual synthesis of cortisol,” Dinkov explains. “A recent study demonstrated that baby aspirin, 81-100 milligrams daily, decreased fatty acid oxidation by about 30% …

Aspirin also has an anti-lipolytic effect, not as strong as niacinamide, but it’s got these three different things that are basically helping to lower both the supply of fat to the cell and excessive oxidation of fats even at these tiny dosages.”

Be mindful about the aspirin you use, though. Immediate-release aspirin made with cornstarch is the preferred version that is now hard to find. Extended-release aspirin is not recommended due to the additives they put in it. Your best option would be to use a salicylic acid or willow bark supplement.

Benefits of Vitamin E

Dinkov also reviews the benefits of other supplements, such as vitamin E, which inhibits lipolysis, improves glucose metabolism, acts as an estrogen antagonist and helps counteract much of the damage caused by linoleic acid and other polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs).

According to Dinkov, research suggests your need for vitamin E can be directly calculated by your PUFA intake. You need about 2 milligrams of vitamin E from all sources per gram of PUFA that you’re eating. So, if you’re eating 50 grams of PUFA daily — which is about 10 times what you should be getting — you need about 100 mg of total tocopherol.

Importantly, PUFAs aren’t just the omega-6s. It’s also omega-3. In the interview, Dinkov goes into detail as to why omega-3 supplements such as fish oil are mostly garbage and shouldn’t be used. I also recently wrote an article about this very topic.

Whole food, in this case, small fatty fish and wild-caught Alaskan salmon are really your best bet. It’s virtually impossible to find fish oil that’s not rancid. So, to review, when you’re calculating your PUFA intake you also need to include your omega-3s. Ideally, your daily PUFA intake would be below 10 grams.

Dinkov’s Dietary Suggestions

In closing, Dinkov reviews some of his top dietary recommendations for optimal health. No. 1 is keeping PUFA intake below 10 grams; below 5 grams would be even better. No. 2 is to avoid high fructose corn syrup when adding carbs. Stick with the simple sugars from ripe fruit, raw honey (make sure it’s not adulterated with high fructose corn syrup, as many are) and/or pure organic cane sugar.

As for the macro composition of your diet, equal amounts of fat, carbs and protein seem to be best for otherwise healthy individuals, so he recommends getting one-third or 33% of your daily calories from each. If you have metabolic problems or some kind of inflammatory disease, he recommends cutting down on fats.

Lower fat intake will also allow your body to digest protein better, as bile acids are released in response to fat, and bile interferes with the absorption of protein. Next, he recommends adding:

Vitamin E, based on your PUFA intake (as detailed above)
Aspirin or willow bark extract
Niacinamide at a dose of 50 mg to a max of 100 mg, three times a day. In addition to antiobesity effects, niacinamide will also help synthesize NAD+, which has important health benefits
Caffeine — BC powder, sold as a headache remedy, contains both aspirin and caffeine. According to Dinkov, research has shown that taking caffeine with aspirin increases the blood concentrations of both and prolongs their effects. Taking 50 mg of aspirin with 50 mg of caffeine can raise your metabolic rate by about 7% and keep it elevated for up to 12 hours
Copper — Copper is the rate limiting factor for cytochrome c oxidase, (Complex 4). With aging, the amount of copper in that enzyme decreases while iron increases, and the less copper you have, the lower your metabolic rate. Ideally, get your copper from whole foods such as liver, oysters, shrimp or acerola cherry. If using a supplement, bisglycinate is a good option with high bioavailability

How to Apply This When Using Time-Restricted Eating (TRE)

If you’re using time-restricted eating, or considering starting, then this final side note will be important. If you’re metabolically inflexible, insulin resistant, and unable to easily switch between burning sugar and fat as your primary fuel, then a TRE program, such as that described by Dr. Mindy Pelz in my recent interview with her, may be quite beneficial, and this is true whether you’re eating a ketogenic diet or not.

However, once you regain your metabolic flexibility, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, you will need to increase your eating window. The reason for this goes back to the glucose-cortisol connection, Dinkov explains in this interview. Your body needs glucose, and if you deprive it for too long, it will produce cortisol to stimulate your liver to make it.

This increased cortisol can contribute to chronic inflammation and cellular damage. Therefore, once you are no longer insulin resistant, it is best to vary your eating window between eight and 12 hours, and avoid going lower or higher than that window. It is also best to avoid eating before sunrise or after sunset and at least three hours before bedtime.

More Information

To learn more, be sure to listen to the entire interview, as we dive into far greater detail than what I’ve summarized here. Georgi is an absolute fire hydrant when it comes to biochemical details.

Also check out Georgi’s blog at www.haidut.me or follow him on Twitter. You can also obtain a major sampling of Ray Peat’s work for free by going to these two sites: wiki.chadnet.org/Ray-Peat and RayPeat.com.

Posted in Cancer, Carbohydrates, Inflammation, Keto, Obesity, Sugar, Vitamins | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: May 16, 2023

Cranberries Can Reduce Risk for Urinary Tract Infections

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Analysis by Dr. Joseph MercolaFact Checked

cranberries reduce urinary tract infections risk

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Polyphenols found in cranberries may help reduce the risk of developing urinary tract infections (UTIs) and reduce the risk of symptomatic, culture-verified UTIs in women with recurrent UTIs
Cranberry products had little to no benefit in elderly men and women in residential facilities, in pregnant women or adults with incomplete bladder emptying
Data have conclusively demonstrated that a majority of the rising number of UTIs are caused by exposure to contaminated chicken. A close genetic match has been found between drug-resistant E. coli in humans and bacteria found in poultry
Cranberries are rich in iodine, and a diet high in flavonoids, also found in cranberries, can lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and all-cause mortality, and have a sustained benefit on the cardiovascular system of healthy individuals
Several preventive practices can reduce the risk of a UTI, including staying well-hydrated, taking showers instead of baths, urinating when you feel the need and avoiding feminine hygiene sprays; consider starting a UTI treatment at home

Cranberries are rich in polyphenols, which are metabolites that scientists believe are involved in plant defense. One group of polyphenols are proanthocyanidins, which are the compounds that give fruits or flowers a distinctive purple, blue or red coloring and belong to a subclass called flavonoids.¹

Flavonoids are found in some fruits, vegetables, tea, wine and dark chocolate. These compounds have long been studied for their beneficial effects on health and are now an indispensable part of applications in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, medicinal and nutraceutical industries.² Nearly every group of flavonoids acts as an antioxidant to protect the body against reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Proanthocyanidins found in cranberries are unique to the fruit and have very distinctive properties.³ This distinction may, in part, be responsible for the results of a Cochrane Library systematic review of the literature⁴ which continues to demonstrate that cranberries are effective in the effort to reduce urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Cochrane Review Finds Cranberries Help Prevent UTIs

Cranberries are native to North America and were used as a staple by Native Americans for centuries. The berries have a natural preservative, allowing sailors to keep them on board to prevent scurvy.⁵ Native Americans once used them to draw poison from wounds, calm nerves and ward off indigestion. The berries have also been commonly used as a treatment for UTIs.

The berries are also known as bearberries since bears enjoy eating them, or bounce berries, since they bounce after being dropped when they are fresh. Although the fruit is little, they pack a nutritional punch, including a good source of fiber, vitamin C and a variety of antioxidants. Unlike other berries, they’re naturally low in sugar, which is why many commercially prepared cranberry products contain added sweeteners.

The most recent Cochrane systematic review of the literature⁶ included an additional 26 studies more than the last review, bringing the total number to 50 studies with 8,857 randomized participants. The results of this review showed cranberry products reduce both the risk of developing UTIs and the risk of symptomatic, culture-verified urinary tract infections in women with recurrent UTIs.

The review concluded that the data supported the “use of cranberry products to reduce the risk of symptomatic, culture-verified UTIs in women with recurrent UTIs, in children, and in people susceptible to UTIs following interventions. The evidence currently available does not support its use in the elderly, patients with bladder emptying problems, or pregnant women.”⁷

The review also included studies that compared cranberry products with probiotics and antibiotics. When compared to preventive antibiotic use, cranberry products had little or no difference in the risk of a UTI, but when compared against probiotics, cranberry appeared to lower the risk of symptomatic, culture-verified UTIs.

Gastrointestinal side effects were the most reported in the studies and the number of participants who reported GI upset did not differ between those taking the placebo and those taking cranberry products.

Epidemiologist Jonathan Craig from Flinders University, commented on the results, “This is a review of the totality of the evidence, and as new evidence emerges, new findings might occur. In this case, the new evidence shows a very positive finding that cranberry juice can prevent UTI in susceptible people.”⁸

UTI Prevalence Rises With Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance

You may have learned that UTIs are primarily caused by the transfer of Escherichia coli (E. coli) during sexual contact with an infected individual or by transferring fecal bacteria from your anus to your urethra. However, more recent studies have conclusively demonstrated that a majority of the rising number of UTIs⁹ are caused by exposure to contaminated chicken.¹⁰

Factory-farmed chickens are a source of most antibiotic-resistant UTIs. This can be traced back to the routine use of antibiotics for growth promotion and infection prevention for animals kept in close quarters, which has increased antibiotic resistance. Data¹¹ gathered from 2005 to 2007 matched drug-resistant E. coli strains from supermarket meat to human E. coli infections.

Research^12,¹³ has since confirmed humans can develop antibiotic resistance by eating poultry treated with antibiotics. Bacteria from conventionally raised chicken, and in those who ate the chicken, were found to be more prone to developing resistance against Synercid, a strong antibiotic used to treat Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecium.

Researchers have also found a close genetic match between drug-resistant E. coli in human patients and bacteria found in poultry. In a 2018 study,¹⁴ 79.8% of chicken, pork and turkey samples from stores in Flagstaff, Arizona, were contaminated with E. coli.

Blood and urine samples from patients at a major medical center in the area revealed E. coli in 72.4% of those who were diagnosed with a UTI. A strain of E. coli known as E. coli ST131 showed up in the meat samples and the human UTI samples.

“Our results suggest that one ST131 sublineage — ST131-H22 — has become established in poultry populations around the world and that meat may serve as a vehicle for human exposure and infection,” the researchers noted,¹⁵ adding that this E. coli lineage is just one of many that may be transmitted from poultry and other meat sources to people.

In essence, the research showed that eating chicken treated with antibiotics can cause you to develop resistance to the last known line of defense against bacterial pathogens, which is a steep price to pay for inexpensive meat. By 2023, multidrug-resistant E. coli was found in 68.3% of meat samples in Spain.¹⁶

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Factory Farmed Chicken Linked to UTI Mechanism of Infection

The featured study found that cranberry products had a significant impact on preventing UTIs in women. Women are also more prone to urinary tract infections, in part because of a shorter urethra. This is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The prostate gland in adult men¹⁷ produces a bacterial growth inhibitor secreted directly into the urinary system, which may help prevent urinary tract infections.

Research in 2015¹⁸ demonstrated that while several pathogens can trigger a UTI, the most common are E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Of these, about 90% of UTIs are caused by E. coli,¹⁹ which is normally found in the intestinal tract.

E. coli only triggers an infection when it’s present in high numbers in areas of the body where it should not be, like the urinary tract system. The usual signs and symptoms of a UTI²⁰ include frequent urges to urinate and burning with urination, lower abdominal pain, blood in the urine and or cloudy or foul-smelling urine.

Your body cannot flush E. coli out of the body with urine because the bacteria are covered with finger-like projections called fimbria.²¹ These are made of an amino acid sugar complex that makes them sticky. The stickiness allows the bacteria to adhere to the wall of the bladder and increases the potential for the bacteria to work its way up to the kidneys. At this point, the situation can become serious.

A complication of untreated or unsuccessfully treated UTIs is sepsis. When the infection is caused by a drug-resistant bacterium, sepsis becomes more likely. An infusion of vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine has been shown to impressively reduce mortality from sepsis, but many health care professionals are still unaware of this revolutionary treatment.²²

A UTI in an older individual can trigger behavioral changes, such as agitation, social withdrawal, mental confusion and even hallucinations. According to Dr. Amanda Smith, medical director at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute at the University of South Florida, symptoms of UTI in the elderly actually tend to be primarily behavioral,²³ which can result in delayed diagnosis and treatment.

Flavonoids Each Day Help Keep the Doctor Away

After many years of research, scientists have found that the nutrient value in cranberries is associated with more than preventing urinary tract infections. Since your body cannot produce iodine, you must consume it from your food. While an iodine deficiency is reemerging as a public health threat,²⁴ it is also completely preventable in the Western world.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand the relationship that iodine has with more than the thyroid gland. Cranberries are a rich source of iodine. I suggest consuming fresh, organic cranberries or 100% cranberry juice with no added sugar. If you have urinary tract stones²⁵ or take blood thinning medication like warfarin,²⁶ it’s important to avoid cranberries.

Research data²⁷ have also determined that cranberries can have a sustained benefit on the cardiovascular system of healthy individuals. In an initial pilot study with five young men, the data showed cranberry powder improved flow mediated dilation,²⁸ which is a noninvasive assessment of endothelial function proven to be an effective prognostic indicator of future cardiovascular events.²⁹

Following the pilot study, 45 healthy men consumed cranberry powder equivalent to 100 grams of fresh cranberries for one month. In just two hours after the first dose, researchers measured a significant Improvement in flow mediated dilation,³⁰ which was duplicated at the end of the study. They also identified cranberry metabolites that could be used to predict the positive effects they found in the flow mediated dilation measurements.

A 23-year study³¹ published in 2019 also demonstrated that a diet high in flavonoids can lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and all-cause mortality. The researchers studied the diet of 56,048 Danish people and found even moderate consumption of foods high in flavonoids was inversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. After reaching 500 mg per day, the association between intake and lower risk plateaued.

In 2015,³² researchers observed that the more flavonoid-rich foods people ate, the less apt they were to develop heart disease, experience a nonfatal heart problem or die from heart disease. A 2013 meta-analysis³³ demonstrated the incidence of breast cancer was “significantly decreased” in women who reported high intake.

Among the nutrients packed into cranberries is resveratrol. This is another phytochemical that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic properties. Resveratrol helps protect against age-related diseases, including improving blood flow to the brain, suppressing inflammatory effects in microglia and astrocytes³⁴ and protecting against vascular dementia.³⁵

Preventing and Treating a UTI at Home

Prevention is, of course, your best option. Fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables are great for your overall health, including your urinary system. Women can take some specific hygiene steps to maintain a healthy urinary tract:

Drink plenty of pure, filtered water every day	Urinate when you feel the need; don’t put off going to the bathroom
Wipe from front to back to prevent bacteria from entering your urethra	Take showers instead of tub baths; avoid hot tubs/Jacuzzis
Cleanse male and female genital areas prior to sexual intercourse	Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays, which may irritate your urethra
Use a bidet

As mentioned earlier, the fimbria (fingerlike projections) of E. coli is made of a sticky glycoprotein called lectin, which is why the bacteria are so hard to flush out. It’s not impossible, however, even without an antibiotic. While antibiotics are typically the go-to treatment, you may want to start with a D-mannose supplement.³⁶

Mannose is produced by your cells and covers the internal lining of your urinary organs. The lectin on the bacteria’s fimbria binds to mannose. This is why the bacteria adhere to the walls of your urinary system. When you take D-mannose, the E. coli adheres to the mannose in your urine and is then flushed out when you urinate. As the bacterial load is reduced, they’re more easily overtaken by agents of your immune system.

According to Dr. Jonathan Wright, medical director of Tahoma Clinic in Tukwila, Washington, infections caused by a bacterium other than E. coli may be eliminated by taking a saturated solution of potassium iodide (SSKI). Both treatments are recommended by Wright, who is also author of the book, “D-Mannose and Bladder Infection: The Natural Alternative to Antibiotics.”

For UTIs caused by bacteria or fungi other than E. coli, Wright suggests taking 15 drops of SSKI in water every three to four hours for two days (three days maximum). In order to know which of these treatments would work best, you’d need to perform a culture test to identify the bacteria responsible for your infection.

Alternatively, Wright suggests taking D-mannose first, and if significant improvement doesn’t occur, move on to SSKI. A culture test is also advisable when symptoms do not quickly abate to rule out a drug-resistant infection, as this will require close medical supervision to avoid serious complications.

– Sources and References

¹ University of Rochester Medical Center, Proanthocyanidins
² Journal of Nutritional Science, 2016;5:e47
³ Science Daily, March 22, 2022
^4, ^6, ⁷ Cochrane Library, April 17, 2023
⁵ American Botanical Council, August 31, 2012
⁸ Science Alert, April 24, 2023, last para
⁹ Harvard Health Publishing, October 14, 2019
¹⁰ Wired, July 11, 2012
¹¹ Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2010;16(1)
¹² Journal of Infectious Disease, 2006;194(9)
¹³ Science Daily, October 17, 2006
^14, ¹⁵ mBio, 2018;9(4)
¹⁶ CIDRAP, April 17, 2023
¹⁷ Illinois Department of Public Health, Facts About Urinary Tract Infections
¹⁸ Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2015;13(5)
¹⁹ UCSF Health, Urinary Tract Infections
²⁰ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Urinary Tract Infection
²¹ PNAS, 1996; 93(18)
²² EVMS, Has Sepsis Met Its Match?
²³ Aging Care, August 7, 2018
²⁴ American Thyroid Association, Iodine Deficiency
²⁵ Journal of Urology, 2005;174(2)
²⁶ Mayo Clinic, Warfarin Diet: What Foods Should I Avoid?
²⁷ Food and Function, March 22, 2022
^28, ³⁰ Study Finds, March 23, 2022
²⁹ Hypertension, 2011;57
³¹ Nature Communications, 2019;10(3651)
³² Journal of Translational Medicine, 2015;13(218)
³³ PLOS|One, January 18, 2013
³⁴ Journal of Neuroinflammation, 2010;7(46)
³⁵ Archives of Medical Science, 2019;15(4)
³⁶ Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Mar; 11(3): 314

Posted in Bacteria, Food, Kidney, Supplements, UTI - Urinary Tract Infection, Vitamins | One Comment »

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More Information

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Cochrane Review Finds Cranberries Help Prevent UTIs

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