Obesity Mortality
Overtaking Smoking
Mad Cow Testing
Antioxidant Update
Degenerative Aging
Protection
Ask Dr. J: Oral Chelation-Beware
References
In the Health News
Diet and Disease
Recipe of the Month:
Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Dear Friends,
Recent information from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
show that obesity will soon overtake
smoking as a preventable cause
of death. The epidemic of obesity
is in large part (no pun intended)
due to the high level of sweet,
refined, fatty foods that have
stormed into the diet, and the
infiltration of these fast-snack
restaurants into our schools and
hospitals.
Even more worrying is the government
position, and that of the American
Dietetic Association (ADA), that
there are no such things as bad
foods, only bad overall dietary
choices. As if you could take
a combination of McBurgers, chicken
corn dogs, bacon-fries, Twinkies,
Snickers, chips, and Cherry Garcia,
put them all in a blender, and
make a healthful lunch. Of course,
you can’t take a collection
of empty calories and make a nutritious
meal.
With the increasing concerns
about the appearance of bovine
spongiform encelopathy (or BSE,
also called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease) in the United States,
it is understandable that some
cattle farmers, especially those
who raise their beef naturally,
want to test their herds, and
report the results of these tests
to their consumers. This they
are not allowed to do. The USDA,
which oversees the testing for
BSE, until recently has limited
testing to their own single lab,
and some beef suppliers claim
that this is not enough.
The USDA claims that their concern
is that private testing might
be inaccurate, and further alarm
the public. They recently expanded
their own inadequate testing for
BSE, but they still do not let
private labs or individual farmers
set up testing. According to the
Wall Street Journal, the USDA
threatens criminal action against
anyone testing without their approval.
It seems that they are more concerned
about alarming the public than
protecting them.
While testing for BSE does not
guarantee safety, partly because
testing may not reveal the presence
of the disease in the early stages,
it is at least one step to enhance
the confidence of the consumer
that at least their food has been
screened. Cattle-raising practices
have been changed to eliminate
feeding potentially-infected cattle
byproducts to other cattle. I
think everyone believes that the
USDA is meant to protect people
as much as possible, but they
also aim to protect the industry
that they regulate, and they balance
the needs of the consumer with
the commercial impact of their
decisions.
Testing in Europe and Japan is
much more rigorous than in the
United States, partly due to the
claim that the US beef supply
is safe from BSE, but whether
this is true, or remains true,
can only be known if testing is
thorough and reliable, and the
USDA needs to “beef up”
its efforts if the public is to
remain confident. This does not,
of course, affect any of the other
dangers of excessive meat consumption.
Antioxidants are nutritionally-derived
protective compounds that scavenge
damaging oxygen-related free radicals
(called reactive oxygen species,
or ROS) and prevent them from
disrupting the functions of cell
membranes and the genetic materials
DNA and RNA. They also prevent
the oxidation of lipids in blood
and tissues. Well-known antioxidants
or cofactors, such as vitamins
C and E, beta-carotene, selenium,
and zinc, have a long history
of value in treatment and prevention
of disease.
In subjects undertaking intense
exercise, the high stress increases
the metabolic production of ROS,
and consequently increases muscle
damage. Research shows that supplements
of vitamins C, E, and selenium
not only reduce the oxidative
load, but also alleviate the resulting
muscle damage.
Supplements of vitamins C and
E, plus beta-carotene and selenium
can prevent chromosome damage,
the genetic changes underlying
carcinogenesis. Researchers gave
subjects supplements and examined
their white blood cells during
replication. They found that the
supplements improved plasma antioxidant
status, and reduced abnormal cells
and chromosome breaks. The benefits
were even greater in smokers.
Many other food compounds with
antioxidant activity have been
discovered in recent decades,
including coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic
acid, and a group of compounds
known as polyphenols. Polyphenols
include flavonoids, anthocyanidins,
isoflavones, catechins, lignan,
and a number of sub-categories,
all of which work together with
other antioxidants to protect
against cancer, atherosclerosis,
strokes, diabetes, vision loss,
and premature aging of the skin.
These compounds are found in
a wide variety of fruits, vegetables,
seeds, and legumes. Recent research
continues to confirm the value
of consuming a large amount and
a wide variety of these foods
and taking supplements. Many of
the studies are in cell cultures
or in animals, but they are promising
for human health. They have antiviral,
anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor
effects, and help with allergies
and immunity.
For example, in cell cultures,
quercetin and polyphenols from
black tea (theaflavin) and green
tea (catechins) were able to protect
mitochondria from ROS. The liver
cells survived better when treated
with these antioxidants before
being exposed to a potent generator
of oxidative stress.
In one interesting study with
practical implications, researchers
incubated meat with gastric juice
and found a dramatic increase
in the production of lipid hydroperoxides
and destruction of carotenoids,
related to the exposure to iron
or myoglobin. When tea-derived
catechins or red-wine polyphenols
were added to the mix, the oxidative
byproducts were reduced to zero
and carotene destruction was totally
blocked.
A recent report shows that anthocyanidins
are present in cacao beans, and
that the particular compounds
are effective at scavenging ROS
that lead to lipid peroxidation.
While all of this may seem like
an argument to include tea, wine,
and chocolate in your diet, this
is not necessarily a healthy way
to get your antioxidants. The
problem is the sugar in chocolate,
the caffeine in tea, and the alcohol
in wine can create their own problems,
and you can get these benefits
from other foods and supplements.
Grapes and grape juice have many
of the same antioxidants as wine,
and caffeine-free teas and supplements
can provide catechins, while anthocyanins
are found in grape skins, cranberries,
blueberries, and supplements of
pine bark and grape seeds. These
potent antioxidants help protect
the brain and other tissues against
aging and degeneration, enhance
immune function, and inhibit excessive
clotting inside narrowed arteries
by blocking platelet aggregation.
Quercetin is found in apples
and yellow onions and in supplements.
It is yet another substance that
inhibits platelet aggregation
and it also reduces allergic reactions
by blocking the release of histamine.
In a recent study, quercetin was
able to enhance the anti-cancer
effect of cisplatin, a chemotherapy
drug.
A number of flavonoids can reduce
carcinogenesis by blocking both
the initiation and the promotion
phases that lead to cancer. One
from tangerines, called tangeretin,
is particularly helpful. Investigators
evaluated this by feeding rats
the nutrients while exposing them
to aflatoxin, a mold derivative
that causes liver cancer. Other
citrus flavonoids have been shown
to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory
activities.
The activity of many herbs is
based on the flavonoids that they
contain and other antioxidants.
Flavonoids are among the active
components of ginkgo biloba, bilberry,
elderberry, and milk thistle,
among others. Cinnamon, for example,
contains antioxidants that are
more potent in lab studies than
vitamin E.
Some antioxidant supplements
provide levels that are unattainable
from diet alone, and some, but
not all, studies suggest that
they are of great value in preventing
and treating the chronic, degenerative
diseases that are common in industrialized
societies. It is clear that no
one nutrient is sufficient to
provide adequate protection, which
is why it is important to eat
a wide variety of vegetables,
fruits, legumes, and seeds, as
well as to take supplements.
Q. Do you recommend
any good oral chelation products?
— DF, New Hampshire, via
email.
Not in the usual sense, but it
depends on what you are looking
for. Chelation therapy is used
in conventional medicine as a
treatment for heavy metal toxicity,
but most people know of it as
an integrative medicine treatment
for hardening of the arteries
and heart disease. For this treatment,
no oral chelation products have
been shown to be either safe or
effective.
EDTA is the most commonly known
drug used as an intravenous treatment
for symptoms of atherosclerosis,
including angina, claudication,
and brain vascular disease. Some
promoters have offered EDTA in
oral supplements along with a
few vitamins, but little EDTA
is absorbed through the intestinal
tract, and it is not possible
to achieve blood levels provided
by IV therapy.
If you have heart disease, then
in addition to nutrition, exercise,
and dietary supplements, IV EDTA
chelation may well help you, but
oral EDTA has not been shown to
be safe in the amounts in many
of these supplements (it may carry
heavy metals from the intestinal
tract into the body). The promoters
say that it is approved as a food
preservative, so it must be safe.
However, the amounts added to
foods are extremely small, and
they are unrelated to the amounts
in oral chelation, so this is
very misleading. EDTA is quite
safe when given IV rather than
by mouth.
If you are looking for treatment
of heavy metal exposure, such
as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic,
this is a different story, although
oral EDTA is still not the proper
treatment. Alpha-lipoic acid (500
to 1000 mg) has antioxidant and
chelating properties, and can
help reduce the toxicity of metals
such as lead and mercury. Vitamin
C is also a mild chelator.
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is particularly
helpful in removing mercury, especially
when combined with another supplement
called DMSA (dimercapto succinic
acid). Typical doses of NAC are
500 to 1000 mg twice a day. DMSA
doses vary, usually between 100
to 500 mg twice a day.
Phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate
or IP6), from beans and grains,
is a good chelating agent, and
supplements of zinc and selenium
also help to remove heavy metals
from the body.
CDC: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/factsheets/death_causes2000.htm
USDA Prohibits
Mad-Cow Tests By Outside Labs,
Causing Outcry. Wall Street Journal,
March 9, 2004
Feng Q, et
al., Anticarcinogenic antioxidants
as inhibitors against intracellular
oxidative stress. Free Radic Res.
2001 Dec;35(6):779-88.
Middleton E
Jr, Effect of plant flavonoids
on immune and inflammatory cell
function. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1998;439:175-82.
Kanner J, Lapidot
T, The stomach as a bioreactor:
dietary lipid peroxidation in
the gastric fluid and the effects
of plant-derived antioxidants.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2001 Dec
1;31(11):1388-95.
Borska S, et
al., The effects of quercetin
vs cisplatin on proliferation
and the apoptotic process... Folia
Morphol (Warsz). 2004 Feb;63(1):103-5.
Palazzetti
S, et al., Antioxidant supplementation
preserves antioxidant response
in physical training and low antioxidant
intake. Br J Nutr. 2004 Jan;91(1):91-100.
Dusinska M,
et al., Nutritional supplementation...decreases
chromosomal damage in humans.
Mutagenesis. 2003 Jul;18(4):371-6.
Siess MH, et
al., Mechanisms involved in the
chemoprevention of flavonoids.
Biofactors. 2000;12(1-4):193-9.
Manthey JA,
et al., Biological properties
of citrus flavonoids pertaining
to cancer and inflammation. Curr
Med Chem. 2001 Feb;8(2):135-53.
Ellnain-Wojtaszek
M, Investigation of the free radical
scavenging activity of Ginkgo
biloba L. leaves. Fitoterapia.
2003 Feb;74(1-2):1-6.
Lin CC, et
al., Antioxidant activity of Cinnamomum
cassia. Phytother Res. 2003 Aug;17(7):726-30.
Ballatori N,
N-acetylcysteine as an antidote
in methylmercury poisoning. Environ
Health Perspect. 1998 May;106(5):267-71.
Ou P, et al.,
Thioctic (lipoic) acid: a therapeutic
metal-chelating antioxidant? Biochem
Pharmacol. 1995 Jun 29;50(1):123-6.
Patrick L,
Mercury toxicity and antioxidants:
... in the treatment of mercury
toxicity. Altern Med Rev. 2002
Dec;7(6):456-71.
Excess lead was in the Washington,
DC, water supply for over a year
before the information was made
public and action was taken to
rectify the problem, which is
not yet solved (D.C. Lead Issue
Was Debated for Months, Washington
Post, March 16, 2004). The EPA,
water officials, and local government
were wrangling while the unaware
public continued to drink the
water. As you can’t depend
on regulators, the safest way
to protect yourself is with a
solid-carbon-block (not granulated
carbon) water filter (such as
those made by MultiPure) or drinking
bottled water.
Vitamin E helps to reduce the
risk of prostate and bladder cancers.
In one study, subjects with the
highest blood level of vitamin
E, from food and supplements,
had a 53 percent lower risk of
prostate cancer. Alpha-tocopherol
was better than gamma tocopherol,
which also lowered risk (and is
also of benefit in other ways).
In the other study, bladder cancer
risk was reduced by high dietary
E, and supplements slightly enhanced
that benefit. (More Evidence Found
of How Vitamins Prevent Cancer,
Reuters, March 28, 2004).
Phytoestrogens are isoflavones
derived mainly from soy, red clover,
and other beans. These phytochemicals
are associated with increased
rates of bone formation. Cultures
with high soy intake have much
lower rates of osteoporosis. In
one study (Atkinson C, et al.,
The effects of phytoestrogen isoflavones
on bone density in women... Am
J Clin Nutr. 2004 Feb;79(2):326-33.),
177 women between the ages of
49 to 65 were administered either
isoflavones or a placebo for one
year. Those who received the isoflavones
did significantly better than
the placebo group in terms of
bone density.
Split pea soup is a hearty and
tasty staple of vegetarian cooking
(without the hambone, of course).
Sauté some diced onions
and crushed garlic with olive
oil, freshly ground pepper, cumin,
thyme, and a dash of cayenne (more
if you like it spicy) until the
onions are starting to turn brown.
Add some diced celery, carrots,
and chopped parsley, stir them
around until they are well mixed,
and add 1-2 cups of dried green
and yellow split peas. You can
also add a half cup of barley
to the mix to vary the texture
and flavor. Boil 2-4 quarts of
dilute vegetable broth (you can
get organic broth from Imagine
Foods or use other brands), and
put all together in a large soup
pot. Simmer and stir regularly
until the peas are cooked, adding
more water as needed, or use a
crock pot so you don’t have
to watch it or worry about stirring
or sticking. Serve with whole
wheat bread.
