Part II
In the previous post we discussed the relations between vaccines with Al as adjuvant and diseases. Such relations include those of simple co-appearance – vaccine and disease happen in the same individual but one does not necessarily cause the other-, and causation, - i.e. the vaccine causes the disease. Such reactions to vaccines are considered quite rare and not impinging on the general safety of vaccines.
The problems with vaccine-derived Al include the facts that: 1. Al can persist in the body for a long time after vaccination (up to years for Macrophagic Myofasciitis - described further down), 2. Al can trigger immunologic diseases and 3. Al can make its way into the CNS where it can drive further dangerous immuno-inflammatory and excitotoxic processes (! here could be the link between Al-vaccine and autoimmune reaction, neurogedeneration and behavioral dysfunctions).
1. Al is engulfed into macrophages (immune system white blood cells) and can remain there for a long time and transported inside them throughout the organism.
2. Al can trigger immune responses, in predisposed people. For an adjuvant disease to develop, genetic susceptibilities or co-exposure to other environmental factors are needed. Therefore, adjuvant effect appears in subjects who are genetically susceptible OR in those who are subject to another trigger, such as in co-exposure to more than one adjuvant (or repetitive vaccines). These individuals show an adverse reaction to Al-vaccines and it seems that for these people aluminium acts as an antigen –an intruder to be fought against. Several receivers of vaccines (as many as 1% of all vaccinated people) retain a memory of exposure to aluminium from, for example, childhood vaccination, and show delayed hyper-sensitivity (a form of allergy) to subsequent exposures: i.e. these recipients are sensitized to aluminium. This hyper-sensitivity together with an aluminium overload through repetitive vaccination can lead to an adverse reaction: the immune system fights against the antigen Al contained in the vaccine as well as against all significant body stores of it, an autoimmune reaction.
3. Al has been found in CNS and it is now clear that it can cross the protective blood-brain barrier causing neurological damages. Alum is potentially highly neurotoxic, but it is used at such concentrations that are considered by the industry and regulatory agencies an acceptable compromise between acting as adjuvant and being toxic. The potential toxicity of alum depends by its capacity to remain localized at injection points or dispersing and accumulating in distant tissues. Al is present as aggregates of minuscule (nano-sized, 1/1,000,000 mm) particles in the vaccines and these minuscule particles were believed to remain at the shot site and outside o the cell membranes. However some cells of the immune system take up these alum particles and transport them to distant sites through the lymphatic system and into blood, spleen, and can even penetrate the brain, although at a very low rate in normal conditions. However, continuous doses of Al may become dangerously unsafe, especially in case of overimmunization or of an immature or altered blood brain barrier, like the one of babies or aging people.
While scientists and doctors have known about the property of aluminium of facilitating the immune response for at least 80 years, they still do not fully understand the mechanism of this functioning! The challenge would seem to try to balance the Al facilitating effect with the risk of it remaining in the organism and triggering an inflammatory reaction, the fighting response of the immune system. Some scientists believe that a subject’s sensitivity to Al should probably be detected before submitting him/her to a vaccine containing Al. Or else, less dangerous adjuvants could be experimented.
Similar to the case of Al, a causative relationship between an adjuvant (but not from a vaccine) and a particular group of symptoms has been reported for a completely different scenario. A significant link has been documented frequently in recent years between breast implants and a collection of conditions, some of which are autoimmune reactions: systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, impaired cognition, depression, dry eyes, dry mouth, skin abnormalities, paresthesia, swollen and tender axillary glands, unexplained fever, hair loss, headache and morning stiffness. The term “the adjuvant disease” or siliconosis was given in the early 1990s to these silicone-induced autoimmune phenomena.
ASIA, a new syndrome1? The manifestations of post-vaccination reactions and siliconosis are now recognized by scientists to be similar to other recently described conditions called Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) and Macrophagic Myofasciitis syndrome (MMF). GWS showed up in veterans of Gulf War presenting similar symptoms as discussed above: fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, memory problems, neurological problems, rashes and diarrhea. During the Gulf War, the vaccination plan included the anthrax vaccine, administered in a six-shot regimen and adjuvated by aluminium hydroxide and squalene.
MMF presents with a lesion containing aluminium salts at the site of an intramuscular injection, and with systemic symptoms of muscle and joint pain which are the effects of an inflammatory reaction to alum from 3 months to 10 years after injection.
Thus 2 years ago, these four conditions, post- vaccinations autoimmune reactions, siliconosis, GWS and MMF, carrying common systemic symptoms were linked to the exposure to an adjuvant and defined by a group of researchers under the same umbrella of ASIA, Autoimmune or auto-inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants.
The mechanisms by which ASIA symptoms are triggered are unknown, however the adjuvant (Al in the case of vaccines, GWS and MMF) is researched as the possible culprit.
Aluminum is the most widely distributed metal in our environment plus it is the most common adjuvant used in human and animal vaccine. A suggestion to this link is given by animal (mice, fish, sheep) studies and observations in which chronic exposure to aluminum is associated with behavioral, neuropathological and neurochemical changes.
Al is widely used in animal vaccines. In veterinary applications the safety of alum as an adjuvant is being questioned at present: a new syndrome was recently described affecting up to 50–70% of farmed sheep flocks and up to 100% of animals within a flock or salmons in a farm. The symptoms are severe neurobehavioural impacts like restlessness, compulsive wool biting, weakness, muscle tremors, loss of response to stimuli, tetraplegia, diseases of the liver and peritoneum, circulatory disease and kidney disease, stupor, coma and death. Scientists believe that these reactions depend on the persistence of Al in the central nervous system AND on the chronic hyperstimulation of the immune system which would facilitate the production of autoantibodies (antibodies against own healthy cells) leading to autoimmune disease. A similar explanation to the hypersensitivity reactions of certain humans.
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1 A syndrome is defined as “a collection of signs and symptoms that often occur together in the same individuals. Its characteristics may be induced by a number of different primary causes that give rise to the same clinical manifestations”.
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Europan Hospital, 2012. Silicone gel breast implants and connective tissue and autoimmune disease risk , http://www.european-hospital.com/en/article/9384-Silicone_gel_breast_implants_and_connective_tissue_and_autoimmune_disease_risk.html
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After a complex research on previous studies and lots of reading of scientific papers, here it is, the focus of this ‘recent research of research’ of mine:
Impact of vaccines on immunity (or body defense system) and the nervous system.
This story will come in chapters, it's long BUT it is very interesting. I was quite shocked to find SO many studies published in peer review journals confirming the link between vaccines and disesases...both in adults and in children.
What is the relationship between an increasing number of vaccinations and the appearance of several otherwise unexplained diseases of our times, like: 1. autoimmune or autoinflammatory diseases such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Multiple Sclerosis, or 2. neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), or 3. behavioral-emotional diseases like Autism?
All such syndromes or diseases have been increasing in the past 2 generations, however this observation is difficult to measure in an absolute manner since diagnosis has also improved – but not only: for example, neurodegenerative diseases: a study estimated that in 2006, 0.40% of the world population (26.6 million) were affected by AD, and that this rate would triple by 2050; behavioral diseases, 6.7 in 1000 children had autism in 2000 and 14.7 in 1000 children in 2010; autoimmune diseases: altogether … 1 in 20 people in Western countries have an autoimmune disease!
When I came to learn about the tight connection between nervous and immune system in both development and functioning, many things became clear or plausible. The immune system develops – and later works - tightly with the nervous system. The two interact extensively via cytokines, messenger molecules produced by cells of the immune system, and neuropeptides, messengers produced by the nervous systems: cytokines are recognized by nervous system glial cells, and neuropeptides are recognized by immune cells. Some cytokines not only control the development of the nervous system but also help in its protection and regeneration. There is a constant talk between the two systems.
The immune system pervades our organism by interacting with the nervous system and endocrine system, and checking everywhere for the presence of invaders or dead or malfunctioning cells to be eliminated. It permeates every component of our body with its cells and messengers.
The immune system is our protector from harmful stimuli, like pathogens, damaged cells, irritants, etc. Inflammation is the number one response of the immune system to fight any attack from inside or outside. Examples of inflammation are: a bruise from a fall or an infection, which are characterized by redness, warmth, pain, swelling.
Autoimmune and autoinflammatory reactions and diseases are the results of an improper functioning of the immune system, in which the immune cells mistakenly fight against their own organism. The body attacks and destroys itself. Such is the case of multiple sclerosis (MS), in which the myelin sheath of neurons is destroyed, or of systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), in which skin, joints, kidneys and brain get attacked.
Neurodegenerative diseases, like AD, Parkinson’s and ALS (Amyotyroiphic lateral sclerosis or motoneuron disease), are caused by loss of structure and function of the nervous system. There are commonalities among them, like strange conglomerates of proteins and nervous cells death.
Behavioral-emotional diseases affect behavior and emotion: included are ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar, and sometimes AD.
All such diseases, like all diseases in general, have a genetic AND an environmental component. Your chances to get one of these (or any other) disease depends on your DNA make-up as well as on the external conditions: life style, where you live, diet, what you do, your exposure to toxins, amount and type of physical exercise etc. Which means that, IF you have the genes for a disease, you do not NECESSARILY get it, if you avoid certain environmental triggers.
What is the common factor between autoimmune or autoinflammatory diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and behavioral diseases? There is a theory and many proven correlations that adjuvants used in medicine (vaccination, implants) could cause these conditions.
Adjuvants are pharmacological agents that modify the effect of another agent. Immunologic adjuvants are substances that are used in the delivery of a vaccine to make it more long-lasting and effective. Such adjuvants interact with cells in the immune system to make it more reactive in the defense towards antigens = toxic molecules or organisms (ex. bacteria or viruses that are delivered through the vaccine to prepare the system of defense in face of a real invasion). Adjuvants also provide antigen transport to the lymph nodes, where cells of the immune systems can be produced in high number to fight specifically that antigen; thus such adjuvants provide a longer exposure of pathogens to the immune system and a more robust response. In doing so, they enable the decrease of the amount of antigen needed and thereby the production of a larger number of vaccines (!). The most common immunological adjuvant is alum or hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate, used in vaccines since 1927. Silicon is also considered an adjuvant when used in breast implants.
Adjuvants and autoimmune diseases? Formerly, adjuvants were thought to be harmless, but studies of animal models and human reactions to vaccines demonstrated the ability of some of them to cause autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases in some patients.
Vaccines are important achievements of modern medicine and are commonly and safely inoculated to human and animals worldwide. However, sometimes, vaccines can induce the appearances of autoantibodies, inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases: arthritis, neuronal damage, fatigue, encephalitis and vasculitis have been frequently described in association to vaccines. A similar association has been proven between silicon in implants and other autoimmune reactions. The factors with the adjuvant activity (infectious agents and alum in vaccines and silicon in breast implants) are the link to the immune-mediated diseases. Such association has been observed in both in animals (where tests could be run and causation proven) and in humans.
Causation versus correlation: Such association between vaccines, or other environmental factors, with immune-mediated diseases have been shown in numerous studies, however it is almost impossible to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. They just happen to appear in conjunction.
However, in some (many!) cases this causation has been scientifically proven and in few cases the causation is now accepted by the medical community and the decision makers: in 1976 an outbreak of Guillain-Barré syndrome (a dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system causing paralysis and eventually death) followed vaccination with the “swine flu” vaccine. After complete acceptance of this causation link, warnings of possible side effects as GB syndrome are still notified on labels in present flu-vaccines packages. Similar causal relationship (i.e. the vaccine caused the disease) have been accepted for:
Oral Polio Vaccine: transverse myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and sensory and motor loss and paralysis), inflammatory myopathies
Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis Vaccine (DTP): arthritis, inflammatory myopathies
Diphtheria with scarlet fever vaccine: inflammatory myopathies
Pertussis Vaccine: allergic disorders (asthma, hay fever, food allergy),
Smallpox Vaccine: inflammatory myopathies,
Measles-mumps-rubella Vaccine (MMR): arthritis, autoimmune thrombocytopenia
Tuberculosis bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccine: inflammatory myopathies
Tetanus Vaccine: inflammatory myopathies
Human Papilloma virus Vaccine: SLE
Hepstein Barr Vaccine: SLE
Hepatitis B Vaccine: arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, SLE, inflammatory myopathies
Influenza vaccine: polymyalgia rheumatic, SLE, Rheumatoid arthritis
H1N1 Vaccine: inflammatory myopathies, sometimes associated with interstitial lung disease
The list goes on. The more I search the more I find scientific published research on the relations between vaccines an autoimmune diseases. There are probably as many works stating the opposite. But here you go, up to you to juice out a truth. If there is a risk….why running it? Especially, why taking it for your child?
…next on breast implants and auto-immune diseases, ASIA syndrome, autism, children vaccination....
This text is to be taken as information, always refer to your medical doctor for questions. Learn to be informed before conseting on your or your child's health.
The power of ginger: anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, liver depurator, fighting
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Yummi Ginger tea, to
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Cut
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simmer for 10-15 minutes. Let it cool to warm temperature and then add 1 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a tsp of honey. Enjoy
ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder) is one the most common and impairing health conditions affecting school-aged children. The research on it is quite recent. Worldwide, 5.29% of persons of age 18 and under are diagnosed with ADHD (based on a 2007 review from all world regions). Boys get affected three times more frequently than girls (2.2% vs 0.7%), according to data from 2010. Children with ADHD are at a higher risk of drug abuse and delinquencies in their teens and between 30 and 70% of children affected will carry the condition into adulthood. It is estimated that about 8 million adults may be affected but 80% of them do not know. In adults this condition manifests mainly with problems of lack of self-regulation and can conduct to marital conflicts, substance abuse, financial problems.
It is medically described as a mental disorder, usually diagnosed by a series of neurological tests and by the presence of a specific number of clearly described symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity that have persisted for at least six months and that result in clinically significant impairment in social, academic, occupational functioning.
The causes of this condition are not completely identified yet but genetics seems to be the most important fact, followed by diet. Nutritional deficiencies and excesses, as well as food sensitivities can either cause or have a huge impact on ADHD symptoms.
The correlated nutritional deficiencies include: mineral deficiencies, such as zinc, magnesium (one of the most widespread deficiency in the world), iron, low levels of proteins, glutathione (one of the strongest antioxidants in the body), omega 3.
Among nutritional excesses are high consumption of refined sugars, pro-inflammatory diets, food with colorants, preservatives and other food additives. A recent research published on The Lancet found that drink mixtures containing common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate increase hyperactivity scores in 3 year olds, eight- and nine-year-olds.
Digestive problems can also dramatically affect brain development and result in attention and hyperactivity disorders. A common factor among ADHD patients is a weak intestinal system (leaky gut) and relative food allergies. The most common food allergens to avoid: pasteurized dairy products and gluten-containing grains such as wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and to a less degree oats. Soy products, some nuts, eggs are sometimes not well tolerated. Other possible allergens include those of the nightshade family such as eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes.
Other conditions correlated to ADHD, thus not surely a cause but appearing at the same time, include 1- circumstances prior and during birth: infections during pregnancy (measles, varicella, rubella, streptococcal infection), smoking when pregnant, premature birth; 2 -chemical sensitivities to synthetic products like polychlorinated biphenyls, organophosphates, organochlorine, heavy metals (mercury - including mercury used as adjuvants in vaccines, lead), polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (found in products such as food packaging, nonstick pan coatings, paper and textile coatings, and personal care products); 3 -hypoglycemia; 4 -electromagnetic wave exposure (use of mobile devices when pregnant, exposure to cell phones prenatally—and, to a lesser degree, postnatally); 5- early television watching (before age 3); 6- fluorescent light and low natural light exposure. All these factors showed to have an impact on brain development and to be related to ADHD symptoms.
The management of ADHD typically involves counseling or medications (nervous system stimulants and sometimes antidepressants) either alone or in combination. Use of such medication does not eliminate negative outcomes entirely and can have serious side effects. For these reasons many parents are now asking support to the complementary medicine approach.
Dietary modifications have shown to give some benefits and sometimes herbal prescriptions are more effective that synthetic drugs.
Critical nutrients that are key for brain function can be in deficiency due to a poor or process food-based diet include. Vitamin D, Folic acid, Pyridoxine (B6), Vitamin B12, Zinc, CoQ10, and trace minerals are important for the brain. Supplementing amino acids that are precursors of neurotransmitters such as tryptophan, tyrosine and glutamine insure the needed building materials to make serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine and GABA that have been found to be in low amounts in ADHD patients, due to insufficient protein assumption or bad absorption.
Herbal remedies that have shown promise without side effects are Ginkgo biloba, Siberian ginseng, Gotu kola, and green oats.
Please take this reading as educational and do not interrupt medications without advice from your doctor.
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Manor, I., Magen, A., Keidar, D., Rosen, Sm, Tasker, H., Cohen, T., Richter, Y., Zaaroor-Regev, D., Manor, Y., Weizman, A.. 2012 The effect of phosphatidylserine containing Omega3 fatty-acids on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, followed by an open-label extension. Eur Psychiatry, 27, 5, 335-42.
McCann, D., Barrett, A., Cooper, A., Crumpler, D. Dalen, L., Grimshaw, K., Kitchin, E., Lok, K., Porteous, L., Prince, E., Sonuga-Barke, E., Warner, J.O., Stevenson, J. 2007. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, The Lancet, 370, 9598, 1560 – 1567.
McConnell H. 1985. Catecholamine metabolism in the attention deficit disorder: implications for the use of amino acid precursor therapy. Med Hypotheses, 17, 305-311.
Medscape, 2014. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Prevalence, Etiology, and Persistence, in: <http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/547415_2>
Murphy, Km, Kubin, Z.J,, Shepherd, J.N., Ettinger, R.H. 2010. Valeriana officinalis root extracts have potent anxiolytic effects in laboratory rats. Phytomedicine, 17, 674-678.
Naturalnews, 2014, ADHD natural remedies, in : <http://www.naturalnews.com/032275_ADHD_natural_remedies.html>
Naturalnews, 2014, Amino acids addiction, in: <http://www.naturalnews.com/034030_amino_acids_addiction.html#ixzz32ESlXVyS>
Naturalnews, 2014, ADHD and herbal remedies, in: <http://www.naturalnews.com/026081_adhd_herbal_remedies.html#ixzz32ETZBd36>
Neuman, R.J., Lobos, E., Reich, W., Henderson, C.A., Sun, L.W., Todd, R.D. 2007 Prenatal smoking exposure and dopaminergic genotypes interact to cause a severe ADHD subtype. Biol Psychiatry, 61, 12, 1320-8.
Niederhofer, H. 2010. St. John’s wort may improve some symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nat Prod Res, 24, 203-20.5
Nigg, J.T., Lewis, K., Edinger, T., Falk, M. 2012 Meta-Analysis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms, Restriction Diet, and Synthetic Food Color Additives, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 1, 86-97.
Olsson, E.M., von Scheele, B., Panossian, A.G. 2009. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of the standardised extract Shr-5 of the roots of Rhodiola rosea in the treatment of subjects with stress-related fatigue. Planta Med, 75,105-112.
Pellow, J., Solomon, E.M., Barnard, C.N. 2008. Nutritional and environmental approaches to preventing and treating autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a review. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 16, 4, 323-337.
Pelsser, L.M., Frankena, K., Toorman, J., Savelkoul, H.F., Dubois, A.E., Rodrigues Pereira, R., Haagen, T.A., N Rommelse, N.N., Buitelaar, J.K.201.1Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): a randomised controlled trial, The Lancet, 377, 9764, 494 - 503
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Sagiv, S.K., Thurston, S.W., Bellinger, D.C.,Tolbert, P.E., Altshul, L.M., Korrick, S.A. 2010. Prenatal organochlorine exposure and behaviors associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in school aged children. American journal of epidemiology, 171, 5, 593-601.
Sonuga-Barke, E.J.S., Brandeis,D., Cortese, S., Daley, D. Ferrin, M., Holtmann, M., Stevenson, J., Danckaerts, M., van der Oord, S., Döpfner, M., Dittmann, R.W., Simonoff, E, Zuddas, A., Banaschewski, T., Buitelaar, J., Coghill, D., Hollis, C, Konofal, E., Lecendreux, M. Wong, I.C.K., Sergeant, J. 2013 Nonpharmacological Interventions for ADHD: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials of Dietary and Psychological Treatments, Am J Psychiatry 2013;170:275-289.
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Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, but it is more like a hormone than a vitamin itself. It has innumerable functions throughout the body, although its fame is linked to its requirement for proper skeleton formation and prevention of rickets. In fact, Vitamin D deficiency causes growth retardation and rickets in children and will precipitate and exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis and increase risk of fractures in adults.
This is due to the fact that one well known function of vitamin D is to enhance the efficiency of calcium absorption from the intestine. Besides this action, though, vitamin D is key to several other functions in the body, from muscular performance to immune system function, from kidney function to cardiovascular health to fertility.
Vitamin D promotes insulin secretion (preventing diabetes), inhibits adaptive immunity but promotes innate immunity (protecting from autoimmune diseases and infections), inhibits cell proliferation and enhances cell self-death (protecting from cancer), alters cardiac contractility, stimulates sex hormones production. Vitamin D has a n important effect on reproduction in both women and men: it might influence production of sex hormones (estradiol and progesterone) in women and men, and it is positively associated with semen quality.
Notwithstanding its importance, many people (an estimated 1 billion) are vitamin D deficient (D3 level less than 20 29 ng/ml), i.e. they do not even have the minimal amount of it for correct functioning of these body systems. This is recognized as one of the most common medical conditions in children and adults. Doctors are starting to accept vit D’s important role and prescribe it, although mainly to prevent osteoporosis in post-menopause women.
But its need of supplementation does not end here.
It is calculated that approximately 90% of all vitamin D needed has to be formed in the skin under the effect of ultraviolet radiation UV B. This might be one reason for it being so low in so many people: strict sun protection, predicated in the past 30 years or so to supposedly prevent skin cancers, causes vitamin D-deficiency.
Use of sunscreens: not only do synthetic sunscreens effectively block the healing benefits of the sun, by blocking UVB rays, but they also become absorbed into the skin where they create several potential health problems. Moreover, synthetic sunscreens create a false sense of security by disabling the skin's early reaction for overexposure, the sunburn, which creates other health problems. When sunburn, the skin gets damaged by sun rays through creation of free radicals, which are responsible, among other things, for premature ageing and some cancers. That is why it is a good idea to counter these free radicals with antioxidants in the diet.
The synthesis of vitamin D in the skin is a function of skin pigmentation (at darker skin corresponds a lower synthesis) and of the solar angle, which depends on latitude, season, and time of day. Melanin absorbs 99.9% of the UVB photons into heat that is easily dissipated, which effectively avoids radiation damage that contributes to cell damage. The remaining photons are used for the transformation of 7-dehydrocholesterol found in the skin to the previtamin D3.
This 0.1% of photons use is extremely rapid and robust. The obtained forms of pre-vitamin D (D3) is biologically inactive and require activation in the liver and kidneys.
It is believed that, besides the recent lower sun exposure, also protein losses, gastrointestinal malabsorption (so common in our times) and defective skin synthesis might contribute to the elevated number of people with suboptimal level of such vitamin.
Insufficient dietary intake might be another cause: vitamin D is found in eggs and oily fish. Eggs have been (unjustly) receiving a bad name with the appearance of the cholesterol fright(1) of the past 20 years and oily fish do not get highly consumed by the general population, except probably among Inuit. Also, farmed salmon (the most commonly eaten one) has a mean content of vitamin D of approximately 25% of the mean content found in wild caught salmon. Vitamin D content in food is however minimal importance when compared to vitamin D production from the skin-sun reaction.
Association of vitamin D-deficiency has been found with various diseases including cancer (especially breast, ovarian, prostate, colorectal, multiple myeloma and Hodgkins lymphoma, pancreas, leukemia), heart failure, bone diseases, autoimmune diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, autoimmune thyroid diseases, Systemic Sclerosis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus , Rheumatoid Arthritis, Chron’s disease), chronic kidney disease, infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, type II diabetes, infertility, muscular diseases (myopathies, risk of falling, fibromyalgia), asthma and neurological disorders (cognitive performance, depression, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia).
A series of studies have suggested that low vitamin D increases risk of cancer: in a recent study researchers from Northwestern University found that vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer in some men by nearly 500 percent. Lung cancer patients have a better prognosis with vit D3 enhancement by high sun exposure.
Vitamin D supplementation can also increase survival of chronic kidney disease patients. In general, and this is what science reveals, higher vitamin D levels are associated with lower overall mortality.
We hope that this article educated on the beneficial effects of moderate sunlight for providing us the vitamin D requirement for good health. For people who are not exposed to sunlight, a supplement is recommended: at present, most experts agree that daily intake of 1000- to 5000 IU vitamin D in adults and 400 IU in children could reduce the incidence of vitamin D-deficiency-related diseases.
So finally, avoid getting sunburn, but do not avoid the sun: train your skin in spring with the morning to midday sun, exposing your body 15-20 minutes at first and then longer times, without sun protection. Use the coloring of the skin as a gauge for safety against overexposure.
(1) For a complete explanation on cholesterol and cardiovascular health and how to avoid the need of statins, order the series of seminars on Cholesterol on www.puravita.co.nz
References
25 (OH) vitamin D level in Crohn's disease: association with sun exposure & disease activity. The Indian journal of medical research, 2009
Childhood asthma may be a consequence of vitamin D deficiency. Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology, 2009
Dietary intake of vitamin D and cognition in older women: a large population based study. Neurology, 2010
Disease specific definitions of vitamin D deficiency need to be established in autoimmune and non autoimmune chronic diseases: a retrospective comparison of three chronic diseases. Arthritis research & therapy, 2010
Factors that influence the cutaneous synthesis and dietary sources of vitamin D.Archives of biochemistry and biophysics, 2007
Interaction of factors related to the metabolic syndrome and vitamin D on risk of prostate cancer. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2007
Is Vitamin D Deficiency Associated With Heart Failure? A Review of Current Evidence.
Journal of cardiovascular pharmacology and therapeutics, 2011
Melanoma and vitamin D. Molecular oncology, 2011
Nonclassic actions of vitamin D. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2009
Protective and toxic effects of vitamin D on vascular calcification: clinical implications. Molecular aspects of medicine, 2008
Role of vitamin d in insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity for glucose homeostasis. International journal of endocrinology, 2010
Scientific documentation of the relationship of vitamin D deficiency and the development of cancer. Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer, 2009
Seasonal and geographical variations in lung cancer prognosis in Norway. Does Vitamin D from the sun play a role? Lung cancer, 2007
Serum vitamin D concentrations are related to depression in young adult US population: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. International archives of medicine, 2010
Skin cancer prevention and UV protection: how to avoid vitamin D deficiency? The British journal of dermatology, 2009
The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention: does UV protection conflict with the need to raise low levels of vitamin D? Deutsches Ärzteblatt international, 2010
Very low levels of vitamin D in systemic sclerosis patients. Clinical rheumatology, 2010
Vitamin D and autoimmune thyroid diseases. Cellular & molecular immunology, 2011
Vitamin D and host resistance to infection? Putting the cart in front of the horse. Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.), 2010
Vitamin D and skeletal muscle tissue and function. Molecular aspects of medicine, 2008
Vitamin D biology: from the discovery to its significance in chronic kidney disease. Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation, 2011
Vitamin D deficiency in fibromyalgia. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2010
Vitamin D, neurocognitive functioning and immunocompetence. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 2011
Vitamin D: considerations in the continued development as an agent for cancer prevention and therapy. Cancer journal, 2010
Vitamin D and fertility: a systematic review. European Journal of Endocrinology 2012
The prostate is a gland of the male reproductive system, of the size of a walnut, found just below the urinary bladder, which secretes a juice that is 50 to 70% of the semen.
The need to undertake the prostate tests which men are commonly supposed to do in order to detect presence of prostate cancer after 50 years of age has been shattered by recent research. In 2010 even the Dr. Ablin himself, the doctor who invented such test in 1970, attacked the prevention philosophy which presses men, even those who are perfectly healthy, to undertake these tests. These blood exams, called PSA (prostate specific antigen), are never 100% sure (they diagnose only 3.8 % of cancers) and they can often detect problems that are not real or of a different form and concern than a cancer. Levels of PSA > 4 ng/mL are considered abnormal by the majority of urologists and doctors, but 80% of men with levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL have either a BHP(1) (benign prostatic hyperplasia), which is not a cancer but an inoffensive enlargement of the prostate, or no conditions at all. In fact, the levels of PSA can be increased by the use of over-the-counter drugs like Ibuprofen, as well as by infections!
Early screening and results that suggest the (3.8%) possibility of cancer often lead to unnecessary treatments: painful, dangerous and expensive exams (biopsies) and potentially dangerous treatments (prostectomy, followed by hormonal therapy that reduces testosterone). These procedures would be mostly useless, as stated by a research published in 1993 in the highly respected medical journal The Lancet: in this research, 33% of autopsies on a pool of men showed presence of prostate cancer but only 1% of such individuals died from it. Also, according to two studies found in the New England Journal of Medicine, prevention through PSA does not reduce (in USA) the rate of mortality of men older than 55 years of age, or slightly reduces the rate of mortality (in Europe), but in this case 48 men over 100 would need to be operated to save 1 life; the other 47 will undertake a surgery that most probably will make them impotent, even without need! And also, according to a research published in 2008, only 2% of men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer and 5% of men with high-risk cancer die in the 10 years after diagnosis. Men with a low-risk prostate cancer live at least 10 years longer than men who are never diagnosed.
Why would such a cancer have a minimal risk of causing premature death? In the prostate, like in all organs, there are always sick and possibly carcinogenic cells, but a well functioning immune system constantly eliminates them. With age, the number of carcinogenic cells can increase, especially in the prostate. But this growth is so slow in this gland that the 80% of men with prostate cancer do not even realize they have it.
Prostate cancer treatment can cause permanent damage, including impotence (50 % of cases), heart attacks, incontinence and even death: and these risks are related to a treatment of a disease that is statistically unlikely to kill them.
Dr. Ablin never stated that PSA tests could detect prostate cancer and even less that they could make a difference between a high-risk cancer and a low-risk cancer. He believes that the present enhancement of such testing is driven by economical interests.
* BHP is very common, 50% of men over 50s are touched by it and almost all men at 80-90 years of age have it. It usually does not cause major problems, except for some cases of urinary dysfunctions. Even if a minimal issue compared to cancer, it has to be considered that some of these dysfunctions could lead to infections, inflammation or calculi in the bladder. However, it is interesting to note that 10% of problems of urinary functions are the result of undesired effects of some drugs (ex. treatment for asthma and emphysema, antidepressants, anti-allergy or anti-hypertension).
What causes BPH? “DHT” (di-hydrotestosterone) is considered being the culprit. With age, production of testosterone decreases and DHT replaces it and increases. This DHT is responsible for the proliferation of prostate cells after puberty, proliferation that takes off with such increased levels of the hormone with age. Another hormone, oestradiol, also stimulates cell proliferation; such hormone is present in men as in women and it is produced by fat cells, which explains how being overweight is a risk in prostate cancer. Diabetes also increases the risk of BPH.
What to do to prevent both BPH and prostate cancer? As any other condition, there is a genetic component in the prevalence of prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. However, controlling the environmental factors (diet, lifestyle, emotional status) can change the chances.
So, the recommendations for keeping your risks low:
- keep a stable weight, exercise regularly. Eat healthy: i.e.:
- decrease consumption of farmed animal products (milk products, salted meat and meat from battery beef) that have been related with a 31% increase of risk of BPH.
- replace red meat with fish or vegetable proteins (they reduce growth of prostate by15%)
- eat many fresh fruits and vegetables, especially apples, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers and red onions, and drink green tea: catechines and quercitine contained in high amounts in green tea and red onions and in these vegetables limit the activity of the enzyme that synthesizes dehydrotestosterone, and thus prevents overgrowth of prostate cells. Quercitine would also reduce night time needs to urinate; as a plus it is also a strong anti-inflammatory.
- consume capsules of the mushroom Reishi, which has been proven to block cancerous growth in breast, prostate, bone marrow, lungs, liver and bones, even when cells become resistant to chemotherapy. Reishi is considered by science to be a natural chemotherapeutic agent
- increase fiber intake (insoluble and from legumes) that was found to be inversely associated with prostate cancer risk
- avoid coffee, heavy alcohol and sodas which irritate the bladder. Two glasses of wine protect prostate, with an associated 33%lowered risk of BPH
- use the power of medicinal plants: the plant saw palmetto contains anti-inflammatory components and molecules that inhibit transformation of testosterone into DHT. Also nettle (Urtica dioica) contains steroids that inhibit enzymes in the prostate and limits or reduces the prostate volume while relieving symptoms. Another plant product, rye flower pollen (Secale cereale), inhibits DHT formation and growth of prostate cells
- supplement with key vitamins and minerals: vitamin E (α-tocopherol, contained in wheat germ, leafy vegetables and seeds) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation and has been studied as a potential chemo-preventive agent for prostate cancer. Using magnesium regularly prevents cancer growth. Magnesium chloride allows the body to better face carcinogenic aggressions.
ALWAYS ask your doctors what values really means. There are alternative tests that can be done to assess the condition of the prostate.
Some references:
Lifetime occupational physical activity and incidental prostate cancer (Canada). Cancer Causes Control. 2000
Dietary Total and Insoluble Fiber Intakes Are Inversely Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk Journal of Nutrition 2014
Genetic Variants Reflecting Higher Vitamin E Status in Men Are Associated with Reduced Risk of Prostate Cancer, Journal of Nutrition 2014
Ganoderic acids suppress growth and invasive behavior of breast cancer cells by modulating AP-1 and NF-kappaB signaling. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 2008
The development of human benign prostatic hyperplasia with age. Journal of Urology 1984
The prevalence of prostatism: a population-based survey of urinary symptoms. Journal of Urology 1993
Obesity and benign prostatic hyperplasia: clinical connections, emerging etiological paradigms and future directions - Journal of Urology 2013
Diabetes and benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms--what do we know? Journal of Urology 2009
Contribution of common medications to lower urinary tract symptoms in men. Archives of Internal Medicine 2011
Physical activity, obesity, and lower urinary tract symptoms. Eur Urolology 2011
Avoiding
eggs, to supposedly keep the blood cholestrol in control, is not
recommendable: eggs are the richest source of the full complex of
amino-acids (components of proteins) that Nature delivers. Not only
this, but they are also fantastic concentrates of minerals and vitamins:
egg yolks are rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6,
folate, pantothenic acid and B12.
The yolk also contains vitamins A, D and E, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Egg yolks are also a rich source of choline (essential for brain function and CV function), and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin that protect the eyes and lower the risk of macular degeneration. These elements make the egg the perfect complete food.
Several research publications now state that eating one or two eggs a day does not impact your Cho levels, in normal conditions (this does not apply for example to people with diabetes or people on a high carbohydrate diet or people with history of a heart attack).
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For more information on cholesterol levels, how to control them and, especially, why and ..is this necessary? check the history on 'Cholesterol, fats and cardiovascular health' on this website: http://leelawadee-silviap.blogspot.co.nz/2014/04/cholesterol-control-right-fats-in-your.html
or buy it for 5 $ (4 euors) each chapter (total of 6 chapters) to receive it in your email.
