Written by:  Dr. Davis-Cardiologist- New York Times Best Seller

Wheat Belly in a Nutshell

1) The gliadin protein of wheat has been modified by geneticists through their work to increase yield.

This work, performed mostly in the 1970s, yielded a form of gliadin that is several amino acids different, but increased the appetite-stimulating properties of wheat.

Modern wheat, a high-yield, semi-dwarf strain (not the 4 1/2-foot tall “amber waves of grain” everyone thinks of) is now, in effect, an appetite-stimulant that increases calorie intake 400 calories per day.

This form of gliadin is also the likely explanation for the surge in behavioral struggles in children with autism and ADHD.

2) The amylopectin A of wheat is the underlying explanation for why two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar or many candy bars.

It is unique and highly digestible by the enzyme amylase.

Incredibly, the high glycemic index of whole wheat is simply ignored, despite being listed at the top of all tables of glycemic index.

3) The lectins of wheat may underlie the increase in multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in Americans, especially rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s).

In other words, if someone is not gluten-sensitive, they may still remain sensitive to the many non-gluten aspects of modern high-yield semi-dwarf wheat, such as appetite-stimulation and mental “fog,” joint pains in the hands, leg edema, or the many rashes and skin disorders. This represents one of the most important examples of the widespread unintended effects of modern agricultural genetics and agribusiness.

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Dr. William Davis explains why the wheat of today is not the wheat of yesterday and why it has become so destructive to health. It ain’t wheat! [[[[You Tube Videos in this link]]]]

Key points from me from article:

1.   global chronic lifestyle and dietary driven disease kills more than twice as many people as infectious disease.  These non-communicable chronic diseases will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years.

2.  FrankenWheat (is not the wheat of the Bible) – a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years. (1. It contains a Super Starch – amylopectin A that is super fattening. 2.It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory. 3.It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.)

3.   Two slices of whole wheat bread now raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar.

4.  Sadly, this tsunami of chronic illness is increasingly caused by eating our beloved diet staple, bread, the staff of life, and all the wheat products hidden in everything from soups to vodka to lipstick to envelope adhesive.

5.  Each American now consumes about 55 pounds of wheat flour every year.

6.  Bottom line: wheat is an addictive appetite stimulant.

Okay…on with the article….
Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat

Gluten free is hot these days.

There are books and websites, restaurants with gluten free menus, and grocery stores with hundreds of new gluten free food products on the shelf.  Is this a fad, or a reflection of response to a real problem?

Yes, gluten is a real problem.

But the problem is not just gluten.

In fact, there are three major hidden reasons that wheat products, not just gluten (along with sugar in all its forms) is the major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression and so many other modern ills.

This is why there are now 30% more obese than undernourished in the world, and why globally chronic lifestyle and dietary driven disease kills more than twice as many people as infectious disease.  These non-communicable chronic diseases will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years.

The biggest problem is wheat, the major source of gluten in our diet.  But wheat weaves it misery through many mechanisms, not just the gluten!    The history of wheat parallels the history of chronic disease and obesity across the world.  Supermarkets today contain walls of wheat and corn disguised in literally hundreds of thousands of different food- like products, or FrankenFoods.  Each American now consumes about 55 pounds of wheat flour every year.

It is not just the amount but also the hidden components of wheat that drive weight gain and disease.  This is not the wheat your great-grandmother used to bake her bread.  It is FrankenWheat – a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years.

How Wheat (and Gluten) Triggers Weight Gain, Prediabetes, Diabetes and More

This new modern wheat may look like wheat, but it is different in three important ways that all drive obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and more.

It contains a Super Starch – amylopectin A that is super fattening.
It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.

The Super Starch

The Bible says, “Give us this day our daily bread”.  Eating bread is nearly a religious commandment. But the Einkorn, heirloom, Biblical wheat of our ancestors is something modern humans never eat.

Instead, we eat dwarf wheat, the product of genetic manipulation and hybridization that created short, stubby, hardy, high yielding wheat plants with much higher amounts of starch and gluten and many more chromosomes coding for all sorts of new odd proteins.  The man who engineered this modern wheat won the Nobel Prize – it promised to feed millions of starving around the world.  Well, it has, and it has made them fat and sick.

The first major difference of this dwarf wheat is that it contains very high levels of a super starch called amylopectin A.  This is how we get big fluffy Wonder Bread and Cinnabons.

Here’s the downside.  Two slices of whole wheat bread now raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar.

There is no difference between whole wheat and white flour here.  The biggest scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting public is the inclusion of “whole grains” in many processed foods full of sugar and wheat giving the food a virtuous glow.  The best way to avoid foods that are bad for you is to stay away from foods with health claims on the label.  They are usually hiding something bad.

In people with diabetes, both white and whole grain bread raises blood sugar levels 70 to 120 mg/dl over starting levels.  We know that foods with a high glycemic index make people store belly fat, trigger hidden fires of inflammation in the body, and give you a fatty liver leading the whole cascade of obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes.  This problem now affects every other American and is the major driver of nearly all chronic disease and most our health care costs. Diabetes now sucks up one in three Medicare dollars.

The Super Gluten

Not only does this dwarf, FrankenWheat, contain the super starch, but it also contains super gluten which is much more likely to create inflammation in the body. And in addition to a host of inflammatory and chronic diseases caused by gluten, it causes obesity and diabetes.

Gluten is that sticky protein in wheat that holds bread together and makes it rise.  The old fourteen chromosome containing Einkorn wheat codes for the small number of gluten proteins and those that it does produce are the least likely to trigger celiac disease and inflammation. The new dwarf wheat contains twenty-eight or twice as many chromosomes and produces a large variety of gluten proteins, including the ones most likely to cause celiac disease.

Five Ways Gluten Makes You Sick and Fat

Gluten can trigger inflammation, obesity and chronic disease in five major ways.

Full-blown celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that triggers body-wide inflammation triggering insulin resistance, which causes weight gain and diabetes, as well as over 55 conditions including autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel, reflux, cancer, depression, osteoporosis and more.

Low-level inflammation reactions to gluten trigger the same problems even if you don’t have full-blown celiac disease but just have elevated antibodies (7% of the population or 21 million Americans).

There is also striking new research showing that adverse immune reactions to gluten may result from problems in very different parts of the immune system than those implicated in celiac disease.  Most doctors dismiss gluten sensitivity if you don’t have a diagnosis of celiac disease, but this new research proves them wrong. Celiac disease results when the body creates antibodies against the wheat (adaptive immunity), but another kind of gluten sensitivity results from a generalized activated immune system (innate immunity).  This means that people can be gluten-sensitive without having celiac disease or gluten antibodies and still have inflammation and many other symptoms.

A NON-gluten glycoprotein or lectin (combination of sugar and protein) in wheat called wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)(1)   found in highest concentrations in whole wheat increases whole body inflammation as well. This is not an autoimmune reaction but can be just as dangerous and cause heart attacks (2).

Eating too much gluten free food (what I call gluten free junk food) like gluten free cookies, cakes and processed food.  Processed food has a high glycemic load.  Just because it is gluten free, doesn’t mean it is healthy. Gluten free cakes and cookies are still cakes and cookies!  Vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds and lean animal protein are all gluten free – stick with those.

Let’s look at this a little more closely.  Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats) can cause celiac disease, which triggers severe inflammation throughout the body and has been linked to autoimmune diseases, mood disorders, autism, schizophrenia, dementia, digestive disorders, nutritional deficiencies, diabetes, cancer, and more.

Celiac Disease: The First Problem

Celiac disease and gluten related problems has been increasing and now affects at least 21 million Americans and perhaps many millions more.  And 99% of people who have problems with gluten or wheat are NOT currently diagnosed.

Ninety eight percent of people with celiac have a genetic predisposition known as HLA DQ2 or DQ8, which occurs in 30% of the population.  But even though our genes haven’t changed, we have seen a dramatic increase in celiac disease in the last 50 years because of some environmental trigger.

In a recent study comparing blood samples taken 50 years ago from 10,000 young Air Force recruits to samples taken recently from 10,000 people, researchers found something quite remarkable. There has been a real 400 percent increase in celiac disease over the last 50 years (3).   And that’s just the full-blown disease affecting about 1 in 100 people, or about 3 million Americans. We used to think that this only was diagnosed in children with bloated bellies, weight loss and nutritional deficiencies.  But now we know it can be triggered (based on a genetic susceptibility) at any age and without ANY digestive symptoms.  The inflammation triggered by celiac disease can drive insulin resistance, weight gain and diabetes, just like any inflammatory trigger – and I have seen this over and over in my patients.

Gluten and Gut Inflammation: The Second Problem

But there are two ways other than celiac disease in which wheat appears to be a problem.

The second way gluten causes inflammation is through a low-grade autoimmune reaction to gluten. Your immune system creates low-level antibodies to gluten but doesn’t create full blown celiac disease.  In fact 7% of the population, 21 million, has these anti-gliadin antibodies.   These antibodies were also found in 18% of people with autism and 20% of those with schizophrenia.

A major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, hidden gluten sensitivity (elevated antibodies without full blown celiac disease) was shown to increase risk of death by 35 to 75 percent, mostly by causing heart disease and cancer.(4)

Just by this mechanism alone over 20 million Americans are at risk for heart attack, obesity, cancer and death.

How does eating gluten cause inflammation, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer?

Most of the increased risk occurs when gluten triggers inflammation that spreads like a fire throughout your whole body.  It damages the gut lining. Then all the bugs and partially digested food particles inside your intestine get across the gut barrier and are exposed your immune system, 60% of which lies right under the surface of the one cell thick layer of cells lining your gut or small intestine.  If you spread out the lining of your gut it would equal the surface area of a tennis court.  Your immune system starts attacking these foreign proteins leading to systemic inflammation that then causes heart disease, dementia, cancer, diabetes and more.

Dr. Alessio Fasano, a celiac expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine discovered a protein made in the intestine called “zonulin” that is increased by exposure to gluten (5).

Zonulin breaks up the tight junctions or cement between the intestinal cells that normally protect your immune system from bugs and foreign proteins in food leaking across the intestinal barrier. If you have a “leaky gut” you will get inflammation throughout your whole body and a whole list of symptoms and diseases.

Why is there an increase in disease from gluten in the last 50 years?

It is because, as I described earlier, the dwarf wheat grown in this country has changed the quality and type of gluten proteins in wheat, creating much higher gluten content and many more of the gluten proteins that cause celiac disease and autoimmune antibodies.

Combine that with the damage our guts have suffered from our diet, environment, lifestyle, and medication use, and you have the perfect storm for gluten intolerance. This super gluten crosses our leaky guts and gets exposed to our immune system. Our immune system reacts as if gluten was something foreign and sets off the fires of inflammation in an attempt to eliminate it. However, this inflammation is not selective, so it begins to attack our cells—leading to diabesity and other inflammatory diseases.

Damage to the gastrointestinal tract from overuse of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil or Aleve, and acid-blocking drugs like Prilosec or Nexium, combined with our low-fiber, high-sugar diet, leads to the development of celiac disease and gluten intolerance or sensitivity and the resultant inflammation. That is why elimination of gluten and food allergens or sensitivities can be a powerful way to prevent and reverse diabesity and so many other chronic diseases.

The Super Drug

Not only does wheat contain super starch and super gluten – making it super fattening and super inflammatory, but it also contains a super drug that makes you crazy, hungry and addicted.

When processed by your digestion, the proteins in wheat are converted into shorter proteins, “polypeptides”, called “exorphins”.  They are like the endorphins you get from a runner’s high and bind to the opioid receptors in the brain, making you high, and addicted just like a heroin addict.  These wheat polypeptides are absorbed into the bloodstream and get right across the blood brain barrier.  They are called “gluteomorphins” after “gluten” and “morphine”.

These super drugs can cause multiple problems including schizophrenia and autism. But they also cause addictive eating behavior including cravings and bingeing.  No one binges on broccoli, but they binge on cookies or cake.  Even more alarming is the fact that you can block these food cravings and addictive eating behaviors and reduce calorie intake by giving the same drug we use in the emergency room to block heroin or morphine in an overdose called naloxone.  Binge eaters ate nearly 30% less food when given this drug.

Bottom line: wheat is an addictive appetite stimulant.

How to Beat the Wheat, and Lose the Weight

First you should get tested to see if you have a more serious wheat or gluten problem.

If you meet any of these criteria then you should do a six-week 100% gluten free diet trial to see how you feel.  If you have 3 out of 5 criteria, you should be gluten free for life.

You have symptoms of celiac (any digestive, allergic, autoimmune or inflammatory disease including diabesity).
You get better on a gluten free diet.
You have elevated antibodies to gluten (anti-gliadin, AGA, or tissue transglutaminase antibodies, TTG).
You have a positive small intestinal biopsy.
You have the genes that predispose you to gluten (HLA DQ2/8).

Second, for the rest of you who don’t have gluten antibodies or some variety of celiac, the super starch and the super drug, both of which make you fat and sick, can still affect you.  So go cold turkey for six weeks.  And keep a journal of how you feel.

The problems with wheat are real, scientifically validated and ever present.  Getting off wheat may not only make you feel better and lose weight, it could save your life.

My personal hope is that together we can create a national conversation about a real, practical solution for the prevention, treatment, and reversal of our obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemic.  Getting off wheat may just be an important step.

To learn more and to get a free sneak preview of The Blood Sugar Solution where I explain exactly how to avoid wheat and what to eat instead go to www.drhyman.com.

Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, MD

Other good articles:

1.  Wheat Belly-William Davis, M.D.-Cardiologist-NY Times Bestseller

2.  Gluten-Top 12 Reasons Gluten Should Be ELIMINATED From Your Diet-Poliquin

3.  Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You-Mark Hyman M.D.

References

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(1) Saja K, Chatterjee U, Chatterjee BP, Sudhakaran PR. Activation dependent expression of MMPs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells involves protein kinase  A. Mol Cell Biochem. 2007 Feb;296(1-2):185-92

(2) Dalla Pellegrina C, Perbellini O, Scupoli MT, Tomelleri C, Zanetti C, Zoccatelli G, Fusi M, Peruffo A, Rizzi C, Chignola R. Effects of wheat germ agglutinin on human gastrointestinal epithelium:  insights  experimental model of immune/epithelial cell interaction. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 1;237(2):146-53.

(3)  Rubio-Tapia A, Kyle RA, Kaplan EL, Johnson DR, Page W, Erdtmann F, Brantner TL, Kim WR, Phelps TK, Lahr BD, Zinsmeister AR, Melton LJ 3rd, Murray JA. Increased prevalence and mortality in undiagnosed celiac disease. Gastroenterology. 2009 Jul;137(1):88-93

(4)  Ludvigsson JF, Montgomery SM, Ekbom A, Brandt L, Granath F. Small-intestinal histopathology and mortality risk in celiac disease. JAMA. 2009 Sep 16;302(11):1171-8.

(5) Fasano A. Physiological, pathological, and therapeutic implications of zonulin-mediated intestinal barrier modulation: living life on the edge of the wall. Am J Pathol. 2008 Nov;173(5):1243-52.

Is magnesium citrate treatment effective on pain, clinical parameters and functional status in patients with fibromyalgia?

Bagis S, Karabiber M, As I, Tamer L, Erdogan C, Atalay A.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Acıbadem University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey

Key points:

1.  The serum and erythrocyte magnesium levels were significantly lower in patients with fibromyalgia than in the controls.

2.  The number of tender points, tender point index, FIQ and Beck depression scores decreased significantly with the magnesium citrate treatment.

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between magnesium levels and fibromyalgia symptoms and to determine the effect of magnesium citrate treatment on these symptoms.

Sixty premenopausal women diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the ACR criteria and 20 healthy women whose age and weight matched the premenopausal women were evaluated.

Pain intensity, pain threshold, the number of tender points, the tender point index, the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck depression and Beck anxiety scores and patient symptoms were evaluated in all the women.

Serum and erythrocyte magnesium levels were also measured.

The patients were divided into three groups.

The magnesium citrate (300 mg/day) was given to the first group (n = 20), amitriptyline (10 mg/day) was given to the second group (n = 20), and magnesium citrate (300 mg/day) + amitriptyline (10 mg/day) treatment was given to the third group (n = 20).

All parameters were reevaluated after the 8 weeks of treatment.

The serum and erythrocyte magnesium levels were significantly lower in patients with fibromyalgia than in the controls.

Also there was a negative correlation between the magnesium levels and fibromyalgia symptoms.

The number of tender points, tender point index, FIQ and Beck depression scores decreased significantly with the magnesium citrate treatment.

The combined amitriptyline + magnesium citrate treatment proved effective on all parameters except numbness.

Low magnesium levels in the erythrocyte might be an etiologic factor on fibromyalgia symptoms.

The magnesium citrate treatment was only effective tender points and the intensity of fibromyalgia.

However, it was effective on all parameters when used in combination with amitriptyline.

other good articles:

1.  short video of Mark Hyman, M.D. about [Magnesium Link]

2.  Emily Deans, M.D. -Magnesium and the Brain-the Original Chill Pill

3.  Emily Deans, M.D.- Magnesium Deficiency and Fibroymaliga

4.  Magnesium and Malic acid rational for Fibromylgia-Journal of Nutritional Medicine 1992

5.  The Miracle of Magnesium

Dr. William Davis, author of the NY Times Bestseller, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health, explains why the wheat of today is not the wheat of yesterday and why it has become so destructive to health. It ain’t wheat! 20 min VIDEO part 1

Wheat Unhealthy Whole Grain part 2: VIDEO

Wheat Belly in a Nutshell

1) The gliadin protein of wheat has been modified by geneticists through their work to increase yield.

This work, performed mostly in the 1970s, yielded a form of gliadin that is several amino acids different, but increased the appetite-stimulating properties of wheat.

Modern wheat, a high-yield, semi-dwarf strain (not the 4 1/2-foot tall “amber waves of grain” everyone thinks of) is now, in effect, an appetite-stimulant that increases calorie intake 400 calories per day.

This form of gliadin is also the likely explanation for the surge in behavioral struggles in children with autism and ADHD.

2) The amylopectin A of wheat is the underlying explanation for why two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar or many candy bars.

It is unique and highly digestible by the enzyme amylase.

Incredibly, the high glycemic index of whole wheat is simply ignored, despite being listed at the top of all tables of glycemic index.

3) The lectins of wheat may underlie the increase in multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in Americans, especially rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s).

In other words, if someone is not gluten-sensitive, they may still remain sensitive to the many non-gluten aspects of modern high-yield semi-dwarf wheat, such as appetite-stimulation and mental “fog,” joint pains in the hands, leg edema, or the many rashes and skin disorders. This represents one of the most important examples of the widespread unintended effects of modern agricultural genetics and agribusiness.

other good reads and video’s: 

Interesting 3 min video on the Gut-Brain-Immune System connection  and a Lab that can do more sophisticated testing:  Cyrex Labs

Gluten-Top 12 Reasons Gluten Should Be ELIMINATED From Your Diet-Poliquin

Avoid Genetically Modified Food-Doctors and Animals Alike Tell Us

Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You-Mark Hyman M.D.

Posted by:  Kevin G. Parker, D.C.

Do you know what insulin resistance is? How about insulin sensitivity? Do you know how these words relate to the development of diabetes? Both are terms that are used regularly in the media and by public health professionals, but do you find yourself confused about what insulin health actually is?

What is Insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas—an organ that sits behind the stomach—after you eat carbohydrates. When you eat carbs and they are absorbed into the bloodstream, they elevate your blood sugar (also called blood glucose), which the pancreas detects. The pancreas secretes insulin in order to help the body process the blood glucose.
In a healthy body, the insulin binds with receptors on your cells. When a cell has insulin attached to it via the receptor, the cell activates other receptors (that act like messengers) to absorb the glucose from the blood stream into the cell to be used for energy.

Mikus, C., Oberlin, D., Libla, J., Taylor, A., Booth, F., Thyfault, J. Lowering Physical Activity Impairs Glycemic Control in Healthy Volunteers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. June 2011. Published Ahead of Print.

Thyfault J., Booth, F., Lack of Regular Physical Exercise or too Much Inactivity. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. July 2011. 14(4), 374-378.

Von Hurst, P., Stonehouse, W., Coad, J. Vitamin D supplementation reduces insulin resistance in South Asian women living in New Zealand who are insulin resistant and vitamin D deficient – a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. British Journal of Nutrition. 2009. 4(103), 549 – 555.

Pittas, A., Lau, J., Hu, F., Dawson-Hughes, B. The role of vitamin D and calcium in type 2 diabetes. A systematic review and meta-analysis.  Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2007. 92, 2017-2029.

Is Coconut Oil REALLY Healthy?

5 min video: VIDEO

Coconut oil for Alzheimer’s and Memory Loss-Dr. Newport

10 min video:  VIDEO

Posted by Kevin G. Parker, D.C.

Before we start the article below…here is another good article:  Cholesterol Lie-Heart Surgeon Admits Huge Mistake!By Dwight Lundell, MD

We have all been led to believe that cholesterol is bad and that lowering it is good. Because of extensive pharmaceutical marketing to both doctors and patients we think that using statin drugs is proven to work to lower the risk of heart attacks and death.

But on what scientific evidence is this based, what does that evidence really show?

Roger Williams once said something that is very applicable to how we commonly view the benefits of statins. “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.”

We see prominent ads on television and in medical journals — things like 36% reduction in risk of having a heart attack. But we don’t look at the fine print. What does that REALLY mean and how does it affect decisions about who should really be using these drugs.

Before I explain that, here are some thought provoking findings to ponder.

• If you lower bad cholesterol (LDL) but have a low HDL (good cholesterol) there is no benefit to statins. (i)
• If you lower bad cholesterol (LDL) but don’t reduce inflammation (marked by a test called C-reactive protein), there is no benefit to statins. (ii)
• If you are a healthy woman with high cholesterol, there is no proof that taking statins reduces your risk of heart attack or death. (iii)
• If you are a man or a woman over 69 years old with high cholesterol, there is no proof that taking statins reduces your risk of heart attack or death. (iv)
• Aggressive cholesterol treatment with two medications (Zocor and Zetia) lowered cholesterol much more than one drug alone, but led to more plaque build up in the arties and no fewer heart attacks. (v)
• 75% of people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol
• Older patients with lower cholesterol have higher risks of death than those with higher cholesterol. (vi)
• Countries with higher average cholesterol than Americans such as the Swiss or Spanish have less heart disease.
• Recent evidence shows that it is likely statins’ ability to lower inflammation it what accounts for the benefits of statins, not their ability to lower cholesterol.

So for whom do the statin drugs work for anyway? They work for people who have already had heart attacks to prevent more heart attacks or death. And they work slightly for middle-aged men who have many risk factors for heart disease like high blood pressure, obesity, or diabetes ^[2].

So why did the 2004 National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines expand the previous guidelines to recommend that more people take statins (from 13 million to 40 million) and that people who don’t have heart disease should take them to prevent heart disease. Could it have been that 8 of the 9 experts on the panel who developed these guidelines had financial ties to the drug industry? Thirty-four other non-industry affiliated experts sent a petition to protest the recommendations to the National Institutes of Health saying the evidence was weak. It was like having a fox guard the chicken coop.

People with the lowest cholesterol as they age are in fact at highest risk of death. Under certain circumstances, higher cholesterol can actually help increase life span.

It’s all in the spin. The spin of the statistics and numbers. And it’s easy to get confused. Let me try to clear things up.

When you look under the hood of the research data you find that the touted “36% reduction” means a reduction of the number of people getting heart attacks or death from 3% to 2% (or about 30-40%).

And that data also shows that treatment only really works if you have heart disease already. In those who DON’T have documented heart disease, there is no benefit.

In those at high risk for heart disease about 50 people would need to be treated for 5 years to reduce one cardiovascular event. Just to put that in perspective: If a drug works, it has a very low NTT (number needed to treat). For example, if you have a urine infection and take an antibiotic, you will get near a 100% benefit. The number needed to treat is “1″. So if you have an NTT of 50 like statins do for preventing heart disease in 75% of the people who take them, it is basically a crap shoot.

Yet at a cost of over $28 billion a year, 75% of all statin prescriptions are for exactly this type of unproven primary prevention. Simply applying the science over 10 years would save over $200 billion. This is just one example of reimbursed but unproven care. We need not only prevent disease but also prevent the wrong type of care.

If these medications were without side effects, then you may be able to justify the risk – but they cause muscle damage, sexual dysfunction, liver and nerve damage and other problems in 10-15% of patients who take them. Certainly not a free ride.

So if lowering cholesterol is not the great panacea that we thought, how do we treat heart disease, and how do we get the right kind of cholesterol – high HDL, low LDL and low triglycerides and have cholesterol particles that are large, light and fluffy rather than small, dense and hard, which is the type that actually causes heart disease and plaque build up.

We know what causes the damaging small cholesterol particles. And it isn’t fat in the diet. It is sugar. Sugar in any form or refined carbohydrates (white food) drives the good cholesterol down, cause triglycerides to go up, creates small damaging cholesterol particles, and causes metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes. That is the true cause of most heart attacks, NOT LDL cholesterol.

One of the reasons we don’t hear about this is because there is no good drug to raise HDL. Statin drugs lower LDL — and billions are spent advertising them, even though they are the wrong treatment.

If you’re like most of the patients I see in my practice, you’re convinced that cholesterol is the evil that causes heart disease. You may hope that if you monitor your cholesterol levels and avoid the foods that are purported to raise cholesterol, you’ll be safe from America’s number-one killer.

We are all terrified of cholesterol because for years well-meaning doctors, echoed by the media, have emphasized what they long believed is the intimate link between cholesterol and death by heart disease. If only it were so simple!

The truth is much more complex.

Cholesterol is only one factor of many — and not even the most important — that contribute to your risk of getting heart disease.

First of all, let’s take a look at what cholesterol actually is. It’s a fatty substance produced by the liver that is used to help perform thousands of bodily functions. The body uses it to help build your cell membranes, the covering of your nerve sheaths, and much of your brain. It’s a key building block for our hormone production, and without it you would not be able to maintain adequate levels of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and cortisol.

So if you think cholesterol is the enemy, think again. Without cholesterol, you would die.

In fact, people with the lowest cholesterol as they age are at highest risk of death. Under certain circumstances, higher cholesterol can actually help to increase life span.

In reality, the biggest source of abnormal cholesterol is not fat at all — it’s sugar. The sugar you consume converts to fat in your body. And the worst culprit of all is high fructose corn syrup.

To help clear the confusion, I will review many of the cholesterol myths our culture labors under and explain what the real factors are that lead to cardiovascular disease.

Cholesterol Myths

One of the biggest cholesterol myths out there has to do with dietary fat. Although most of us have been taught that a high-fat diet causes cholesterol problems, this isn’t entirely true. Here’s why: The type of fat that you eat is more important than the amount of fat. Trans fats or hydrogenated fats and saturated fats promote abnormal cholesterol, whereas omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats actually improve the type and quantity of the cholesterol your body produces.

In reality, the biggest source of abnormal cholesterol is not fat at all — it’s sugar. The sugar you consume converts to fat in your body. And the worst culprit of all is high fructose corn syrup.

Consumption of high fructose corn syrup, which is present in sodas, many juices, and most processed foods, is the primary nutritional cause of most of the cholesterol issues we doctors see in our patients.

So the real concern isn’t the amount of cholesterol you have, but the type of fats and sugar and refined carbohydrates in your diet that lead to abnormal cholesterol production.

Of course, many health-conscious people today know that total cholesterol is not as critical as the following:

• Your levels of HDL “good” cholesterol vs. LDL “bad” cholesterol
• Your triglyceride levels
• Your ratio of triglycerides to HDL
• Your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL

Many are also aware that there are different sizes of cholesterol particles. There are small and large particles of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. The most dangerous are the small, dense particles that act like BB pellets, easily penetrating your arteries. Large, fluffy cholesterol particles are practically harmless–even if your total cholesterol is high. They function like beach balls and bounce off the arteries, causing no harm.

Another concern is whether or not your cholesterol is rancid. If so, the risk of arterial plaque is real.

Rancid or oxidized cholesterol results from oxidative stress and free radicals, which trigger a vicious cycle of inflammation and fat or plaque deposition under the artery walls. That is the real danger: When small dense LDL particles are oxidized they become dangerous and start the build up of plaque or cholesterol deposits in your arteries.

Now that we’ve explored when and how cholesterol becomes more problematic, let’s take a look at other factors that play a more significant role in cardiovascular disease.

Prime Contributors to Cardiovascular Disease

First of all, cardiovascular illness results when key bodily functions go awry, causing inflammation ^[3], (vii) imbalances in blood sugar and insulin and oxidative stress.

To control these key biological functions and keep them in balance, you need to look at your overall health as well as your genetic predispositions, as these underlie the types of diseases you’re most likely to develop. It is the interaction of your genes, lifestyle, and environment that ultimately determines your risks — and the outcome of your life.

This is the science of nutrigenomics, or how food acts as information to stall or totally prevent some predisposed disease risks by turning on the right gene messages with our diet and lifestyle choices. That means some of the factors that unbalance bodily health are under your control, or could be.

These include diet, nutritional status ^[4], stress levels ^[5], and activity levels. Key tests can reveal problems with a person’s blood sugar and insulin, inflammation level, level of folic acid, clotting factors, hormones, and other bodily systems that affect your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Particularly important are the causes if inflammation, which are many, and need to be assessed. Inflammation can arise from poor diet (too much sugar and trans and saturated fats), a sedentary lifestyle, stress, autoimmune disease ^[6], food allergies ^[7], hidden infections such as gum disease, and even toxins such as mercury. All of these causal factors need to be considered anytime there is inflammation.

Combined together, all of these factors determine your risk of heart disease. And I recommend that people undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation to see what their risk really is.

Zeroing in on Key Factors for Heart Disease

There’s no doubt about it, inflammation is key contributor to heart disease. A major study done at Harvard found that people with high levels of a marker called C-reactive protein (CRP) had higher risks of heart disease than people with high cholesterol. Normal cholesterol levels were NOT protective to those with high CRP. The risks were greatest for those with high levels of both CRP and cholesterol.

Another predisposing factor to heart disease is insulin resistance ^[8] or metabolic syndrome, which leads to an imbalance in the blood sugar and high levels of insulin. This may affect as many as half of Americans over age 65. Many younger people also have this condition, which is sometimes called pre-diabetes.

Although modern medicine sometimes loses sight of the interconnectedness of all our bodily systems, blood sugar imbalances like these impact your cholesterol levels too. If you have any of these conditions, they will cause your good cholesterol to go down, while your triglycerides rise, which further increases inflammation and oxidative stress. All of these fluctuations contribute to blood thickening, clotting, and other malfunctions — leading to cardiovascular disease.

What’s more, elevated levels of a substance called homocysteine (which is related to your body’s levels of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12) appears to correlate to cardiovascular illness. Although this is still somewhat controversial, I often see this inter-relationship in my practice. While genes may play a part, tests done as part of a comprehensive evaluation of cardiac risk can easily ascertain this factor. Where problematic levels occur, they can be easily addressed by adequate folic acid intake, along with vitamins B6 and B12.

Testing for Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Heart disease is not only about cholesterol. It is important to look at many factors that contribute to your overall risk. And it seems that insulin and blood sugar imbalances, and inflammation are proving to be more of a risk that cholesterol.

If you want to test your overall risk, you can consider asking your doctor to perform the following tests:

1. Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Your total cholesterol should be under 200. Your triglycerides should be under 100. Your HDL should be over 60. Your LDL should be ideally under 80. Your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should be less than 3.0. Your ratio of triglycerides to HDL should be no greater than 4, which can indicate insulin resistance if elevated.
2. NMR Lipid Profile. This looks at your cholesterol under an MRI scan to assess the size of the particles, which can determine your cardiovascular risk. This is a very important test that can further differentiate the risk of your cholesterol and can be an important factor to track as your system improves and your cholesterol transforms from being small dense and dangerous to light and fluffy and innocuous. It is done by a company called Liposcience and is also available through LabCorp.
3. Glucose Insulin Tolerance Test. Measurements of fasting and 1 and 2 hour levels of glucose AND insulin helps identify pre-diabetes and excessively high levels of insulin, and even diabetes. Most doctors just check blood sugar and NOT insulin, which is the first thing to go up. By the time your blood sugar goes up, the train has left the station.
4. Hemaglobin A1c. This measures your average blood sugar level over the last 6 weeks. Anything over 5.5 is high.
5. Cardio C-reactive protein. This is a marker of inflammation in the body that is essential to understand in the context of overall risk. Your C-reactive protein level should be less than 1.
6. Homocysteine. Your homocysteine measures your folate status and should be between 6 and 8.
7. Lipid peroxides or TBARS test, which looks at the amount of oxidized or rancid fat. This should be within normal limits of the test and indicates whether or not you have oxidized cholesterol.
8. Fibrinogen, which is another test looking at clotting in the blood. It should be less than 300.
9. Lipoprotein (a), which is another factor that can promote the risk of heart disease, often in men. It should be less than 30.
10. Genes or SNPs may also be useful in terms of assessing your situation. A number of key genes regulate cholesterol and metabolism, including Apo E genes and the cholesterol ester transfer protein gene. The MTHFR gene, which regulates homocysteine is also important and may be part of an overall workup.
11. Get a high-speed CT or (EBT) scan of the heart if you are concerned that you have cardiovascular disease. This may be helpful to assess overall plaque burden and calcium score. A score higher than 100 is a concern, and a score higher than 400 indicates severe risk of cardiovascular disease.

References

(i) Barter P, Gotto AM, LaRosa JC, Maroni J, Szarek M, Grundy SM, Kastelein JJ, Bittner V, Fruchart JC; Treating to New Targets Investigators. HDL cholesterol, very low levels of LDL cholesterol, and cardiovascular events. N Engl J Med. 2007 Sep 27;357(13):1301-10.

(ii) Ridker PM, Danielson E, Fonseca FA, Genest J, Gotto AM Jr, Kastelein JJ, Koenig W, Libby P, Lorenzatti AJ, MacFadyen JG, Nordestgaard BG, Shepherd J, Willerson JT, Glynn RJ; JUPITER Study Group. Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov 20;359(21):2195-207.

(iii) Abramson J, Wright JM. Are lipid-lowering guidelines evidence-based? Lancet. 2007 Jan 20;369(9557):168-9

(iv) IBID

(v) Brown BG, Taylor AJ Does ENHANCE Diminish Confidence in Lowering LDL or in Ezetimibe? Engl J Med 358:1504, April 3, 2008 Editorial

(vi) Schatz IJ, Masaki K, Yano K, Chen R, Rodriguez BL, Curb JD. Cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people from the Honolulu Heart Program: a cohort study. Lancet. 2001 Aug 4;358(9279):351-5.

(vii) Hansson GK Inflammation, Atherosclerosis, and Coronary Artery Disease N Engl J Med 352:1685, April 21, 2005

Posted by:  Kevin G. Parker, D.C.

Management of neck pain in Royal Australian Air Force fast jet aircrew.

-Netto K, Hampson G, Oppermann B, Carstairs G, Aisbett B.

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.

Key Points:       1.  Ninety-five percent of the respondents experienced flight-related neck pain.

2.  Many respondents reported that currently provided on-base treatment and ancillary services such as chiropractic therapy are the most effective in alleviating symptoms.

Abstract

To examine the type and effectiveness of various strategies used by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fast jet (FJ) aircrew in self-referral and management of flight-related neck pain, a 6-section, 18-question survey tool was distributed to 86 eligible RAAF aircrew.

Selective results from the sections evaluating aircrew demographics, incidence of flight-related neck pain, and the self-referral strategies of aircrew to manage these injuries are presented here.

Eighty-two RAAF FJ aircrew responded to the survey.

Ninety-five percent of the respondents experienced flight-related neck pain.

The most commonly sought treatment modalities were on-base medical and physiotherapy services.

Many respondents reported that currently provided on-base treatment and ancillary services such as chiropractic therapy are the most effective in alleviating symptoms.

Further investigation into the effectiveness and safety of these ancillary therapies needs to be performed to allow appropriate consideration of their place in the management of neck pain in FJ aircrew.

Other good articles:

Neck pain-Journal of Pain 1993

Cervical spine manipulation-Clinical Neurophysiology 2007

Neck pain-Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 2004

Manipulation in Improving Motion and Joint Health ~Review of Medical literature

Chiropractic Manipulation and Rehabilitation Irvine Calif.

Chiropractic Care Cost effective

If you are suffering from: Sports Injuries, Sprains, Strains, Car accident,  Herniated Disc, Disc Bulge, Degenerative Disc Disease, Neck pain, Headaches, Low back pain, of just want to feel better and have better life performance– please call our office in Irvine, California- at 949.857.1888 or visit our website at ADJUST2IT to learn more about Functional Fitness Chiropractic, Sports massage, Myofascial Release, Corrective Exercise, Non Surgical Spinal Decompression, Class IV laser,  and Functional Nutrition.

Pavel Tsatsouline (Kettle Bells) and his colleagues continue to improve upon the Plank.

Here’s the current RKC plank methodology – do this right and 10 seconds is all you need.

You tube video (roughly 2 min)

Other good articles:

Core Stabilization-Abdominal Hollowing vs. Bracing

Kettlebells-Journal Strength and Conditioning Res-Jan 2012-McGill

Russian Kettlebell Swings for Injury Rehab

Kill the sit-up crunch-Dr. Stuart McGill

No Sit-ups Stuart McGill PhD

If you are suffering from: Sports Injuries, Sprains, Strains, Car accident,  Herniated Disc, Disc Bulge, Degenerative Disc Disease, Neck pain, Headaches, Low back pain, of just want to feel better and have better life performance– please call our office in Irvine, California- at 949.857.1888 or visit our website at ADJUST2IT to learn more about Functional Fitness Chiropractic, Sports massage, Myofascial Release, Corrective Exercise, Non Surgical Spinal Decompression, Class IV laser,  and Functional Nutrition.

Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain

A Randomized Trial- Gert Bronfort, DC, PhD;  Roni Evans, DC, MS;  A V. Anderson, DC, MD;  Kenneth H. Svendsen, MS; Yiscah Bracha, MS; and  Richard H. Grimm, MD, MPH, PhD

From Northwestern Health Sciences University, Pain Management and Rehabilitation Center, and Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Conclusion:  For participants with acute and subacute neck pain, Spinal Manipulation Therapy(SMT) was more effective than medication in both the short and long term. However, a few instructional sessions of HEA resulted in similar outcomes at most time points.

Side note:   New York Times Health Section: 1-3-2012:  For Neck Pain, Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs

Abstract

Background: Mechanical neck pain is a common condition that affects an estimated 70% of persons at some point in their lives. Little research exists to guide the choice of therapy for acute and subacute neck pain.

Objective: To determine the relative efficacy of spinal manipulation therapy (SMT), medication, and home exercise with advice (HEA) for acute and subacute neck pain in both the short and long term.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00029770)

Setting: 1 university research center and 1 pain management clinic in Minnesota.

Participants: 272 persons aged 18 to 65 years who had nonspecific neck pain for 2 to 12 weeks.

Intervention: 12 weeks of SMT, medication, or HEA.

Measurements: The primary outcome was participant-rated pain, measured at 2, 4, 8, 12, 26, and 52 weeks after randomization. Secondary measures were self-reported disability, global improvement, medication use, satisfaction, general health status (Short Form-36 Health Survey physical and mental health scales), and adverse events. Blinded evaluation of neck motion was performed at 4 and 12 weeks.

Results: For pain, SMT had a statistically significant advantage over medication after 8, 12, 26, and 52 weeks (P ≤ 0.010), and HEA was superior to medication at 26 weeks (P = 0.02). No important differences in pain were found between SMT and HEA at any time point. Results for most of the secondary outcomes were similar to those of the primary outcome.

Limitations: Participants and providers could not be blinded. No specific criteria for defining clinically important group differences were prespecified or available from the literature.

Primary Funding Source: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Other good articles:

Chiropractic Care Cost effective

Exercise and Chiropractic-Part of the Anti-aging Puzzle

Chiropractic Doctors-5 Things You’re Not Supposed To Know About Them

Manipulation in Improving Motion and Joint Health ~Review of Medical literature

If you are suffering from: Sports Injuries, Sprains, Strains, Car accident,  Herniated Disc, Disc Bulge, Degenerative Disc Disease, Neck pain, Headaches, Low back pain, of just want to feel better and have better life performance– please call our office in Irvine, California- at 949.857.1888 or visit our website at ADJUST2IT to learn more about Functional Fitness Chiropractic, Sports massage, Myofascial Release, Corrective Exercise, Non Surgical Spinal Decompression, Class IV laser,  and Functional Nutrition.