Vitamin D and Cancer

Further proof of the important role Vitamin D plays in cancer protection was revealed in a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It discussed a twelve year study, involving more than 16,000 participants, which showed that people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 72% less likely to die of colon cancer than those who had the lowest levels. Current data states that colon cancer is killing 50,000 people in the U.S. per year.

To be completely honest, there's nothing new here. We are simply seeing further proof of what has been proven, seemingly beyond any reasonable doubt. If you have a lot of vitamin D coursing through your veins, you probably won't die of cancer.

What is important to realize, however, and what this study makes note of, is that this and many other positive studies involving vitamin D, have looked specifically at blood levels of vitamin D, not supplemental intake. Studies looking at the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases from taking vitamin D supplements are less prevalent than those looking simply at blood levels.

In other words, while we know that the vitamin D we get "the natural way" (i.e. from our skin creating is when exposed to the sun) is helpful, we don't know for sure if supplements have exactly the same benefit.

So, what is a Portlander (or anyone else living in a less than balmy environment) to do? Well, try as hard as you can to get in the sun as often as possible for starters. Next, test your blood levels of vitamin D at least a couple times a year to see where they are at. (contact me if you have to pay more than $46 for this test) If they are low, I would start taking a concentrated, high-dose form of cod liver oil (containing at least 500 iu per 1/2 tsp).

I am absolutely convinced that food based forms of vitamins (cod liver oil is the highest natural source of vitamin D) are superior to isolated or synthetic nutrients in terms of absorption and safety. I also think that, in the case of vitamin D, when we aren't sure how well taking it compared to making it works for us, our best bet in supplementation is the most natural form possible, i.e. high dose cod liver oil.

If you get your vitamin D levels tested and they are extremely low, you may need to augment your cod liver oil supplementation with a pure vitamin D supplement for some time. Again, the proof is less solid with this form of vitamin D, but I still believe it's far better than nothing, and I've certainly seen it raise my patients blood levels. I like to give pure vitamin D supplements (and other single nutrients when necessary) along with the food or foods that naturally contain it, as doing so will provide a myriad of other nutrients and cofactors that your body is used to seeing come along with that nutrient.

For more info on the value of whole food supplements, be sure to read my article at Mercola.com: The Truth About Whole Food Supplements.

Your friendly gallbladder...

I often sit and wonder what 'brilliant' doctor first decided that taking your gallbladder out is no big deal. A cursory review of any human anatomy or physiology textbook will quickly prove to you that there is really no organ in the body that is not there for a reason. Certainly there are many that can be removed without causing death, but are there any that can be removed without causing a reduction in your ability to achieve or maintain optimal health?

I think not.

Nonetheless, of the adult population of patients I see, I would guess that approximately 30-50% of them have had their gallbladders removed. Few of these cases involved a true emergency situation. Instead most of them were removed simply because the patient was feeling some pain and discomfort, and the doctors in charge knew not what to do about it. This is not grounds for organ removal in my book.

I also find it interesting that the very diet people suffering from gallbladder pain are told to go on (low fat, high carb) is the very same sort of diet (minus a few veggies) that probably started the problem in the first place. Think about it, most of people these days have been hypnotized into believing beyond all reasonable doubt, that low fat diets are the healthiest, so, in an effort to look good and stay healthy, most people eat that way.

What food causes the gallbladder to contract? That's right, FAT. How on earth can we encourage proper and regular gallbladder function without eating a decent amount of fat?? Of course people whose gallbladders are simply too far gone, full of stones and really hurting, do usually have to reduce fat in their diets, because any stimulation of the gallbladder for them causes pain. The point is though, that if they ate a higher fat, lower carb diet in the first place, they probably wouldn't be dealing with this problem at all!

Anyways, I could go on and on. The main point of this post was really to review a study regarding magnesium and gallbladder function, which I will get to now...

A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed more than 42,000 men between ages 40 and 75 for 16 years. The men filled out health questionnaires every two years and diet questionnaires every four years. Those with the highest magnesium intake—more than 409 mg per day from food and supplements—were 28% less likely to develop gallstones than those whose intake was the lowest, at less than 288 mg per day.

Our best natural sources of magnesium are dark green veggies. If you combine this sort of food with good types of fat such as organic butter, extra virgin olive oil, avocados and nuts, along with some good protein sources like free range eggs (with the yolks), grass fed beef and wild caught fish, and a little bit of fruit, you have the perfect diet for preventing gallstones. In fact, my experience has been that this diet is great for treating all kinds of modern day, chronic health problems.

And, wouldn't you know it, if you examine the research out on ancient people and the healthy diets they ate (see links to the right) this sort of diet is about as close as you can come to recreating it. In other words, this is the diet that is NATURAL for us.

Happy munching....

You can get fat if you eat fat.....Certain fats that is.

As a naturopathic doc, I counsel many people on their diet and how it relates to their health. More often than not, the discussion eventually turns to dietary influences on weight gain. I am always quick to point out that refined carbs and sugar are two of the most likely culprits in weight gain. I also commonly recommend eating more fat and less grains of any kind, always being sure to emphasize the need for these fats to be "good fats" like the kind you'd find in olive oil, avocados, organic butter, grass fed meats, seafoods, and coconut oil.

While I usually do not talk about them in weight loss discussions, I also make sure to recommend strict avoidance of trans fatty acids, or hydrogenated oils. After all, these are some of the worst "foods" on the planet, and make you sick in many ways, including increasing your risk of cancer and heart disease. What I was not aware of, however, was their tremendous effect on weight gain, until I read about a recent study in the journal Obesity.

The new study looked at the effect of a high-trans-fat diet on sugar metabolism and weight gain in male African green monkeys. Forty-two monkeys were assigned to eat either a high-trans-fat diet or a low-trans-fat diet for six years. The monkeys on the high-trans-fat diet were given partially hydrogenated soybean oil so that trans fats accounted for approximately 8% of their daily calories—an amount similar to that of people who eat the most trans fats. The other monkeys ate the same diet but their fat was from a blend of oils high in monounsaturated fatty acids.

At the end of the study, the monkeys on the high-trans-fat diet gained four times as much weight and had more body fat than their counterparts, and a greater percentage of their body fat was in the abdomen, a pattern known to be linked to increased cardiac risk. Blood tests revealed that these monkeys showed signs of insulin resistance, a condition that leads to type 2 diabetes, but the other monkeys had normal responses to sugar and insulin.

It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways crappy food is bad for you.

Wondering about gluten? Don't delay!!

A recent study published in the journal Gastroenterology provided further proof about the strong connection between Celiac disease (severe gluten sensitivity) and colon cancer. The connection between these two conditions has long been recognized, but what was still not clear was exactly how strong this connection was and how important establishing a diagnosis of Celiac disease is in preventing colon cancer.

Part of the problem in all of this is the fact that there are a number of undiagnosed people walking around out there who actually do have Celiac disease. In fact, some sources estimate that up to 1 in 10 people in the US have it! This number may even continue to rise as we get better and better at diagnosing it.

Celiac disease often has no obvious symptoms so people can have it for years, continuing to consume gluten the whole time, and not know it. In fact, I would guess that a majority of people, some of whom eventually die from colon cancer, never discover they had this condition. This study provides strong evidence that had these people been diagnosed and subsequently avoided gluten from that point forward, they might have been able to prevent their cancers.

As a naturopathic doctor, I am now constantly searching for problems with gluten in my patients. And, more often than not, I find them. If you have a particularly strong craving for breads and pastas, or are a "carb addict", if you have ANY digestive symptoms, if you have any neurological or immune system related disorders, if you are fatigued, if you have hormone problems, basically, if you have any chronic health issues at all, gluten intolerance should be ruled out.

The interesting thing about this study though is that, even if you don't have anything noticeably wrong, identifying gluten intolerance could still save your life.

For more information on this very important topic, I strongly recommend reading, Going Against the Grain, by Melissa Diane Smith. Proper testing for gluten sensitivity can be done through a naturopathic doctor, or through Enterolab.com.

Kids and Colds

As my two little ones lie in bed, half asleep, each fighting a particularly nasty little flu bug, I can't help but think about the past winter and how many kids have also had "particularly nasty little bugs" to deal with.

I've seen my fair share of boogery, goopy-eyed, miserable kids in my clinic this year and always wish their parents would bring them in at the very start of their illnesses, before those little critters have really taken hold. Even better, I wish they'd all come in for tips on how to try and prevent these illnesses in the first place.

A great study came out recently, which reminded me of how truly simple it can be to help prevent colds and flus in your kids.

The new study, published in Archives of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, included 401 children, from six to ten years old, who visited their pediatrician for a common cold or flu. About one-quarter of the children were assigned to receive standard treatment, which could include any combination of medicines aimed at reducing fever, relieving nasal congestion, breaking up mucus, and fighting infection. The rest were assigned to receive standard treatment plus saline nasal rinses, six times per day during acute illness and three times per day during the rest of the 12-week study.

Shortly after their initial doctor visit, the children who used the nasal rinses had fewer nasal and throat symptoms and were healthier than the children who did not use the rinses. By eight weeks, they had fewer and less severe symptoms such as dry cough, runny nose, and inability to breathe through the nose, and fewer of them were using medications to manage their symptoms. They were also less likely to have been sick again, and they missed less school due to illness.

The nasal rinse was a standard 0.9% saline (sodium chloride) solution with trace elements and minerals in concentrations similar to those in seawater, and was applied either with medium jet flow, as a fine mist spray, or as a spray for both eyes and nose. The three methods for the nasal rinse were equally effective.

There are a number of other ways parents can help kids who tend to get lots of colds stay healthy during the cold and flu season:

• Stay away from sugar and pasteurized dairy products: Sugar inhibits the immune system, leaving us more vulnerable to infections. Pasteurized dairy contributes to mucus formation in many people.

• Feed them high vitamin cod liver oil: The vitamin D found in cod liver oil may turn out to be even better than vitamin C at preventing colds and flus. As sunlight fades to clouds and rain, so do levels of vitamin D in our blood. Do you think it's a coincidence that many of us start getting sick soon after? I don't. My kids get a tsp a day, which comes out to about 1000iu of vitamin D. I take the same dose, plus another 2000iu of plain vitamin D per day in the winter months.

• Gargle: Gargling with plain water removes mucus and keeps bacteria and viruses from sticking around. A three-times-a-day habit has been found to reduce the occurrence of respiratory infections.

• A daily dose of Echinacea, increasing that to a dose every hour at the first sign of a cold may get your little ones through a whole winter without one illness. Don't believe those out there who say you shouldn't take echinacea for more than a few weeks at a time. The research doesn't support this idea. In fact, Kerry Bone, a world renowned herbalist and Echinacea expert takes a dose every day, all year long!

Ummm, water filters for everyone please.

As if what is known about the quality of our drinking water wasn't bad enough already, it now sounds like you're going to need to do more than just go to a naturopathic doctor to avoid exposure to pharmaceutical drugs.

A new study (more about it here: http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/pharmawater_i.html)
has found there are measurable levels of many drugs - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - in the water supplies of most major metropolitan areas.

Yikes!

I recommend filtered vs. bottled water, as bottled water is often of poor quality and can be a source of exposure to some serious chemicals if they leach out of the plastic in these bottles.

It's getting harder and harder to live a healthy life these days isn't it? We need to put filters on our water and our air. We have to pay extra money to buy foods with less ingredients and less chemicals in them. Most of us, if we actually do decide to exercise regularly, join a health club or take an exercise class that, you guessed it, we have to pay for also.

What is going on here???

We are literally witnessing the destruction of our environment, as well as ours and many other species of animals on this planet. As a naturopathic doctor, I feel like I am especially aware of this process unfolding before us all, because I see first hand the toll it is taking on us. Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in the air and quit!

I won't, but I could use your help. Start "going green". Start eating better. Start going outside and appreciating what we still have, instead of staring at your televisions, computer screens and iPhones all day long. Do more than that if you like. Do less if you have to, but please,

DO SOMETHING.

How's your prostate? Let's wait and see.....

A recent study has concluded that older men with early prostate cancer do not shorten their survival odds if they adopt a "wait-and-see" approach to the disease. In fact, most such patients will die of other causes or they simply won't develop any complications from the cancer, the researchers found.

"Many elderly men with lower risk cancer may do well with conservative management," concluded study author Grace Lu-Yau, a cancer epidemiologist at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and an associate professor at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Public Health. Seventy-two percent of the 9000 men in the study died of other causes or didn't have enough cancer progression to warrant surgery or radiation, the researchers found. For the remaining 2,675 men who did receive treatment, the median time between diagnosis and start of therapy was more than 10 years.

Hey, why not reduce your chances of problems even more?

• Increase your vitamin D levels by getting safe amounts of regular sun exposure, taking high vitamin cod liver oil and getting your vitamin D blood levels checked.
• Incorporate foods high in natural lycopene:

1. Tomatoes
2. Raspberries
3. Watermelon

• Eat a diet low in grains, flours and sugars and high in veggies, fruits, seafood and healthy fats to discourage blood sugar and insulin problems. This will also help discourage excessive levels of estrogen in your body, which can increase risk.
• Eat foods from the cabbage family, such as broccoli, which also helps to control excess estrogens.
• Exercise
• Do a good quality cleansing program one or more times a year.