Are Free Radicals of Food & Drugs Killing You?
By admin | July 30, 2010
I just published an article on free radicals in the food chain. They can be destructive. Here is a link to that article. Just click on the blue link: Are Food & Drug Free Radicals Killing You?
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Does High Blood Pressure Threaten Your Life… Without Drugs?
By admin | July 19, 2010
High blood pressure is a real killer. Untreated it can blow out an artery in the brain and cause a stroke. It is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease. Heart attack, heart failure, poor sleep and fatigue often accompany untreated hypertension or high blood pressure.
Do you have any of the following problems that cause high blood pressure?
- Atherosclerosis that builds up cholesterol and calcium plaque in your arteries
- Enzyme imbalances that thicken blood and require blood thinners
- Mineral imbalances of too much sodium and too little potassium
- Hormone imbalances caused by stress and poor diet
- Sleep disturbances due to sleep apnea
Your medical doctor may be treating some of these problems already and that is good. All of the aforementioned categories are the primary drivers for high blood pressure and are serious health risks. Besides treatment by your medical doctor you yourself can help with several simple, no cost measures that are doctor recommended.
Nattokinase: Cardiologist, nutritionist, author and researcher, Stephen Sinatra, M.D. reports this in his June 2009 newsletter: “Thick blood contributes to the calcification of blood vessels and increases the risk of clots. Nattokinase helps prevent abnormal thickening. I have seen this supplement reduce diastolic pressure by 5 -10 points. Start with 50mg a day and increase the dose to 100 mg after a week.” It is available in most health food stores.
Dr. Sinatra is not alone in his recommendation for a non-drug treatment available to the public. Martin Milner, M.D., professor of cardiology and pulmonary medicine in Portland, Oregon says this: “In all my years of research as a professor of cardiology and pulmonary medicine, Natto and Nattokinase represent the most exciting development in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular related problems. We’ve finally found a potent natural agent that can help thin and dissolve clots effectively, with relative safety and without side effects.”
The Japanese have used Nattokinase for over 1000 years and effectively reduced a clot forming enzyme, fibrin, which can become over abundant. You should be under the supervision of a medical doctor using this drug alternative because there are many reasons for high blood pressure other than thick blood. Also Nattokinase is contra indicated along with other blood thinners unless closely monitored.
Most people are aware that too much salt is a driver in hypertension. Sometimes it is more a lack of potassium and your doctor can monitor mineral levels with lab tests. Good diet and supplements help provide the needed vitamins and nutrients like calcium, potassium and magnesium that are frequently deficient. All the drugs in the world do not help if your body is not getting the needed nutrients.
Cardiologist Stephen Sinatra and Robert J. Rowan, M.D. concur in the benefit of reducing blood pressure by grounding. What is grounding? This is a very new discovery that going barefoot on cement or the ground helps balance the electrical charges on the red blood cells called zeta. Normally red blood cells carry a negative charge that causes the RBC’s to repel each other. This prevents their sticking together and decreases the resistance to blood flow. Free flowing red blood cells naturally reduces your blood pressure.
Yet another proven remedy for some with hypertension is to give blood regularly. Amazingly, regular donation of blood can reduce blood pressure by up to 88%. Normal red blood cells are flexible, biconcave disks that must become more round in order to pass through the terminal capillaries. Old red blood cells are stiff and less flexible; they produce friction, raising viscosity and increasing blood pressure.
Why does viscosity reduction reduce blood pressure and heart attacks? Quite simply since the old red blood cells are less flexible, they create significant resistance to the flow-through end capillaries. It is believed that terminal capillaries need to squeeze the red blood cell discs to as much as one fourth of their diameter to pass them through.
Since new red blood cells are more flexible, they pass through the capillaries easily. You might ask why is friction produced by the old red blood cells so significant. Friction at the bifurcation of the blood vessels causes injury and accumulation of LDL cholesterol plaque there. Plaque accumulates in response to inflammation of the blood vessels, due to injury. This can cause blood clots that produce heart attack or stroke.
Another simple, yet amazingly effective blood thinner, can be water. If you drink too little water and are basically dehydrated your blood is thick and resists flow. A simple, no cost remedy for some, is drinking 8 glasses of water a day. When the body does not get enough water to hydrate the body tissues, water is drawn from the blood. When too much water is removed from the blood, the blood pressure goes up because of thick blood.
High blood pressure needs to be monitored by a medical doctor, but you can also help reduce blood pressure by some simple, inexpensive measures…Denis Van Loan D.D.S.
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Coronary Artery Disease & Telomeres
By admin | July 13, 2010
Two recent studies were reported by Frank Shallenberger, M.D., in his Real Cures Newsletter. They both shed light on how rapidly coronary artery disease occurs. The first study found five times the destruction of telomeres (more about that later) occurred when the aerobic (oxygen) capacity of the cell was exceeded. This first experiment was conducted at Humbolt University in Berlin, Germany on fibroblast cells in the laboratory.
Individual cells demonstrate age when the telomeres that cap the ends of chromosomes shorten. The significance of this is, when cells divide and reproduce, the genetic content is not lost because the telomere caps help protect the precious DNA of the chromosomes. Genetic code is not lost but the lifespan of the new cell is reduced. It is lost because the telomere shortens.
Each time the cell divides it loses a little of its protective telomere cap. Inflammation in the form of free radicals also accelerates the shortening of the telemeres. This oxidative damage shortens the cellular life span.
A second experiment was done from skin biopsies. The 16 subjects who were followed were between the ages of 28 and 91 years. The fibroblast cells of the skin were subjected to 20 cell divisions in the laboratory. Of course the telomere caps were shortened as expected.
The rate of destruction was related to the cells that were most deficient in anti-oxidants. specifically glutathione peroxidase and super oxidase dimutase. These enzymes are powerful anti-oxidants.They neutralize oxidation and subsequent inflammation that is destructive to the cell’s lifespan.
It is well known that free radical oxidation accelerates inflammatory degenerative diseases like coronary artery disease; this shorten the life expectancy of the individual. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It can be measured by the rapid shortening of the telomeres. How rapid telomeres shorten is associated with unchecked free radical damage. Good antioxidant are important in reversing declining health from heart disease…Denis Van Loan D.D.S.
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Coronary Artery Disease…Free Radical Damage & Inflammation
By admin | July 12, 2010
Coronary artery disease is propelled by free radical damage that causes inflammation.
In recent years it has come into focus that free radicals such as smoking and inflammatory toxins or foods produce the degenerative diseases of aging. It is well established that inflammation is the key destructive force ultimately causing coronary artery disease. How does this happen? Why are some people more affected than others? Throughout the history of mankind there was always a search for extending longevity and normal lifespans. It is only in recent years that many of the secrets of aging have come to light, but inflammation is the key. The whole process is complex, but on a biochemical level we know much more now.
Key to all aging is the free radical damage. Just what is free radical damage? It is a chemical process on a molecular level that involves the electrons that every atom has. Atoms are the basic elements that go into the building of molecules and compounds that make up all matter. It just so happens that the organic molecules of your body are extremely complex yet are still subject to the laws of biophysics.
Every atom has electrons perpetually circulating around the nucleus of the atom. They are negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus of the atom and are the most reactive part of the chemical process. The whole body, including thinking, is propelled by chemical reactions. There is a constant exchange of electrons and up-building as well as breakdown of chemical processes. The problem of free radical damage occurs when incomplete compounds, in need of electrons, steal their needed electrons from other weaker compounds. This causes oxidative damage and inflammation, the mother of all degenerative disease.
Oxidative, free radical damage often becomes cumulative. This occurs when there are too few electron donors (called anti-oxidants). All chemical processes of the body produce some free radicals. (Even exercise and digestion) The problem occurs when the body is overwhelmed with too many free radicals and too few anti-oxidant donors. This easily occurs because the environment is loaded with toxins, foreign substances along with the poor dietary intake for the needed electron donors anti-oxidants.
Compounds deficient in electrons are somewhat analogous to a vacuum force, pulling in electrons. They tend to suck in the needed electrons to make their atom or molecule more stable. They cause inflammation. Inflammation in coronary arteries produces an accumulation of dangerous plaque that can result in a heart attack. This plaque is called atherosclerosis. It increases blood pressure and clot formation that can obstruct coronary arteries, producing the heart attack. This is what defines coronary artery disease.
Where do the needed electrons come from? They are best released and donated from anti-oxidant compounds like vitamins A, C and E, polyphenols, as well as certain enzymes like glutathione that are designed just for that purpose. These substances carry extra, or donor, electrons. In addition, certain bioflavonoids, most richly available in fruits and vegetables, are also excellent donors. This is why a good diet is so important to a healthy and long life. Anti-oxidants have spare electrons to give. This makes them most available so that the hungry free radicals do not rob electrons from weaker compounds.
The victims of the theft (the weak molecules) are then sick and when trillions of them accumulate, your body ages and slows down. So here is what happens in the process of aging and free radical damage on a molecular level.
As already alluded to, oxidative damage is the process whereby substances deficient in electrons damage other atoms or molecules. A good example is the rusting of iron. It is called oxidation. Oxidation in artery linings attracts cholesterol and calcium and results in a plaque buildup; the condition is called atherosclerosis. It is sometimes also called hardening of the arteries or arteriosclerosis.
Free radical damage can happen throughout the body. This is oxidative damage on a cellular level, with its accompanying inflammation. This process results in a shorter lifespan. You may be asking, I thought oxygen was good for you? It is; however, too much oxygen causes free radical damage. Oxygen is needed by every cell but excessive amounts are destructive. There is a limit to the aerobic (oxygen) capacity.
Just as most food substances are good in adequate amounts, overabundance is destructive to health. It upsets the chemical balance.
Glutathione has especially shown itself a powerful anti-aging agent in other experiments. Anti-oxidant vitamins like C and E lose the spare electron and become ineffective as anti-oxidants. Glutathione is able to replenish the spare electron lost by vitamins C and E. These vitamins are no longer suicidal in anti-oxidant function but are re-charged and re-cycled to be anti-oxidants again.
The bottom line is this. Breakthrough recent research has uncovered the process that causes aging. Free radical damage increases aging and degenerative diseases like heart disease and cancer. Why breakdown sometimes occurs and sometimes does not often hinges on anti-oxidant activity that cancels out the oxidative damage.
The evidence of why free radical oxidative damage is so destructive is evident in the shortening of the telomere caps on your chromosomes. Shortened telomeres correlate to and measure the degree of aging process in the whole body. This subject is worthy of a whole blog post that will soon follow..Denis Van Loan D.D.S.
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Fructose Propels Diabetes, Obesity & Coronary Artery Disease
By admin | June 29, 2010
Richard Johnson, M.D., is a researcher who is on the cutting edge of information about coronary artery disease, obesity, diabetes II and hypertension. Hypertension and inflammation drive coronary artery disease. He reveals some startling insights of why obesity and the diabetes epidemic is sweeping the U.S. and modern countries.
Dr. Johnson has carefully charted the historical development of almost no hypertension, no diabetes and no obesity up to the modern epidemic that is occurring. Subsequent to the hypertension is the enormous increase in coronary artery disease in the form of atherosclerosis.
Regarding hypertension, in 1900 only 5% was found as a measure of 110/90 mm Hg. Today in 2010, 31% of adults suffer from hypertension. Many are placed on several different drugs…often to no avail.
Regarding diabetes II, in 1892 there were reported 2 cases per 100,000 persons. Today one person in four to five will develop diabetes II. Shockingly, even children are developing diabetes at the rate of one in three persons.
Obesity is alarmingly apparent all around us. Those who have lived more than a few decades are shocked at the presence of obesity around them. Some seniors citizens suddenly find themselves among the obese. Fat beds accumulate and store toxins that increase other degenerative diseases such as cancer and arthritis.
Is there a single factor that can account for the enormous increase in hypertension, diabetes and obesity? One isolated factor cannot be blamed for the health deterioration we are witnessing. However, there is compelling evidence that high fructose (fruit sugar) consumption is often associated with these maladies.
Interestingly, until recently, the fruit sugar, fructose, was thought to be a healthy sugar. Nothing could be farther from the truth when high amounts of fructose are consumed. A little can be good but a lot is bad.
It is true the natural fruit has lesser concentrations of fructose but it also has the benefit of other metabolites that help the body process it. There are anti-oxidants in the form of flavonoids, poly-phenols and vitamins. There are phytonutrients that probably act as catalysts and co-enzymes. There is fiber to help the whole process of metabolism.
The body just does not handle well high concentrations of most substances. The problem is excessive amounts of fructose are consumed, plus there is stripping away of other nutrients found in whole fruit. The role of all the unknowns in natural fruit is not fully known.
Man has discovered how to concentrate sweeteners by producing large amounts of sucrose (table sugar) and by the addition of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into thousands of our foods. Sweetness always sells better. The trouble is, sugar is quite inflammatory in coronary arteries and it produces atherosclerosis.
One half of the table sugar (sucrose) molecule is fructose. The other half is glucose. The body can immediately convert glucose into energy. It just cannot story much glucose. The excess is converted into triglycerides. These are fatty acids that become stored into fat beds and thus propel obesity.
Why is concentrated fructose, like that found in HFCS, so harmful? The simple answer is it:
- Damages fructose metabolism
- Fuels diabetes II
- Increases blood pressure
- Produces atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke
- Is associated with increasing obesity
- Increases inflammatory uric acid
- Increases gout
Dr. Joseph Mercola, N.D. has one of the most creditable, cutting edge, health blogs on the internet. He says this about fructose, it:
- Increases insulin resistance
- Increases hypertension
- Elevates triglycerides
- Increases cardiovascular disease…heart attack & stroke
- Increases fatty liver disease
- Is associated with increased cancer
- Increases arthritis
- Is highly correlated to obesity and weight gain
To put the fructose consumption in perspective, 100 years ago 15 grams per person per day was consumed. Today the estimate is 73 grams per person per day.
The widespread use of HFCS became prevalent during 1970’s. HFCS is 20% sweeter and is cheaper than table sugar. This means the food industry will favor its use because of bottom line profits. Fifty five percent of all sugar sweetener used in the food industry is HFCS.
Fructose not only propels obesity but it is now closely associated with the number one killer in the U.S.A. This is cardiovascular disease. It is associated with high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.
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