Yes, There’s an App for That: How to Integrate Mobile Applications and Other Emerging Technologies into Clinical Education and Patient Care Apps and Resources List American Geriatrics Society 2015 …

Source: Geriatric mobile app

Yes, There’s an App for That: How to Integrate Mobile Applications and Other Emerging Technologies into Clinical Education and Patient Care Apps and Resources List

Apps/Resources Mentioned by Dr. Eric Widera (Clinical Teaching and Patient Care) 

1. Seeing the world as our patients do:
   •  VisionSim:   Simulates visual problems (excellent for empathy exercises and teaching importance of addressing vision in comprehensive geriatric assessments)
2. Multimorbidity and Geriatric Principles:
   • American Geriatrics Society’s iGeriatrics App
   • Geriatrics at Your Fingertips
   • American Geriatrics Society’s Multimorbidity Guiding Principles App
3. Prognosticating
   • Gofarcalc.com (Good Outcome Following Attempted Resuscitation)
   • Seattle Heart Failure Calc (by Epocrates)
   • QXMD Calculate (6 month mortality on dialysis)
   • ePrognosis Cancer Screening App 

Apps/Resources Mentioned by Dr. Amit Shah (Massive, Flipped and Spaced Learning)

More app for serious illness and senior care

• An app to help with communication about serious illness that contains key point of care mnenomics etc. from VitalTalk. The Caring Conversations App for android.
• Opioids by Professor EBM! It’s free and so useful for opioid conversion.
• Health Communication (iOS platform)—free for downloading. This resource is designed to facilitate providers who are navigating challenging conversations and moments in care with patients and their families.

  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/health-communication/id697289957?mt=8

Understanding Mineral Balance between Zinc: Copper (12:1 ratio) The body has sophisticated systems for keeping trace mineral levels in a state of steady harmony and at fine-tuned ratios that promot…

Source: Hair loss,breast cancer, Zinc and Copper balance

Understanding Mineral Balance between Zinc: Copper (12:1 ratio)

The body has sophisticated systems for keeping trace mineral levels in a state of steady harmony and at fine-tuned ratios that promote the optimal function of the cells. If levels of certain minerals like zinc, copper, iron, manganese, selenium or chromium dip for example, the body is stimulated to absorb those nutrients more fully from the diet, thus correcting the imbalance. Conversely, if the blood and cells are sufficiently overloaded, the liver is prompted to excrete unneeded minerals. On an even more intricate level, a deficiency in one mineral often creates an surplus in another as the body makes internal shifts in an attempt to self-regulate. 

Generally these elegant processes work in concert to successfully modulate the inherent biochemical swings that occur with our daily activity, keeping the body in a state of homeostatic stability and vigor. However this graceful system is easily interrupted by the ravages of disease, stress, and toxins, as well as by the consumption of nutrient deficient foods that lack the critical mineral content to build preliminary stores. Given these overt disruptions, these systems simply cannot compensate and the body becomes overloaded, resulting in destructive and evasive mineral imbalances. Left undetected, such subtle nutrient disparities can have devastating and chronic impacts on health.

Zinc-Copper Ratios

According to leaders in the field of functional medicine, one of the most commonly observed mineral imbalances in clinical practice is the pairing of insufficient zinc with excess copper. Research suggests that these dynamic minerals are most compatible when hovering in the range of an 8:1 to 12:1 zinc-copper ratio. For example, someone consuming about 15 mg of zinc per day would require around 1.5 mg of copper.  In nature this correlation is almost flawlessly observed in sources of animal protein, where levels of zinc and copper occur in balanced quantities. Yet due to the inherent variability of our modern world, these minerals are not always experienced in such perfect harmony.

While copper and zinc work synergistically to promote such fundamental life-sustaining processes as immune response, nervous system function and healthy digestion, they are also antagonistic in character. This means that as levels of one decline, the other will rise. Therefore if one nutrient falls out of balance, both levels shift- confounding symptoms and making this dynamic relationship quite troublesome. The relatively common occurrence of excess copper with deficient zinc can thus lead to such diffuse and overlapping symptoms as: 

• fatigue
• depression
• anxiety
• severe PMS
• learning disabilities
• headaches
• impaired memory
• behavior changes
• loss of appetite and taste perception
• slowed sexual maturation
• sensitive skin
• hair loss
• diarrhea
• delayed wound healing

Where Has All The Zinc Gone?

Experts estimate that 1 in 10 Americans have diets that are overtly deficient in zinc, although many more are believed to struggle with insufficiencies. Zinc is actually present in a wide variety of protein containing foods from animal products- such as red meat, egg yolk, organ meats, and seafood- to certain nuts, seeds, beans and cereal grains. The recommended daily allowance for zinc is currently set at 8-11 mg, which is certainly achievable from food sources. Yet, the issue lies not simply with crude zinc intake, but also in how accessible the sources are by the body. Plant sources of zinc are bound by anti-nutrients like phytic acid and therefore not easily absorbed. While irritating phytates can be neutralized by the processes of soaking and sprouting nuts nuts, legumes and grains (as was practiced in many traditional cultures), your average handful of granola, slice of bread, or dollop of hummus have certainly not been prepared with such virtuous care. Beef/lamb liver and oysters are by far the best sources of this powerful mineral, with four times the absorption rate of their plant counterparts, and a balanced ratio of other trace minerals. However in our fat-phobic, grain-chomping society, people have been wrongfully shooed away from incorporating these sacred, zinc-rich foods. Some experts even estimate that during the paleolithic era humans consumed an average of 50 mg of zinc per day from whole food sources. What’s more, all-too common struggles such as excess sugar intake, alcohol, stress, heart disease, and infection further suppress levels of this critical nutrient.

An Era of Copper Dominance

Zinc insufficiency is truly just one piece of the puzzle. Because of the dramatic zinc-copper interplay, efforts to nibble away at zinc containing foods can be easily thwarted by an excess of copper. Overall, copper is not a sweepingly bad nutrient- in fact it is critical to the formation of many essential enzymes and is necessary for normal metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis and red blood cell formation. However, copper is highly reactive and needs to be consumed within a relatively narrow range and balanced by zinc intake- else it easily becomes dominant and suppresses the levels of other trace minerals. Because grains and other plant-based foods tend to have a higher copper to zinc ratio, those judiciously following a Standard American Diet can be unknowingly driving copper levels up if intake is not properly balanced with adequate zinc-rich meats, organ meats and seafood. Another element that often goes unrecognized is the multiplicity of inorganic copper sources existing in our environment, which can contribute to toxicity when experienced in excess. For example, although not commonly discussed, chemical-treated water flowing through copper pipes causes a low-level erosion that releases copper into our drinking water. There is also copper found in such unassuming places as in multivitamins, medications, dental fixtures, cookware, birth control, fungicides, and pesticides. Thus while copper-containing foods are certainly not hazardous in and of themselves, the cumulative sources can become problematic if not properly balanced.

Regaining Zinc-Copper Balance

Minerals are complex and function in delicate patterns throughout the body- many of which we don’t even fully understand. Thus when working towards regaining a state of nutritional balance, it is important to do so slowly and collaboratively, finding the full support that you need. Everyone has a unique situation and intricate physiological patterning that can be difficult to navigate on one’s own. Here are a few preliminary steps to get you started on the way to regaining an optimal zinc-copper balance:

1. Test Mineral Levels

If you suspect that you have copper-zinc imbalance it is best to work with a provider to get a comprehnsive picture of your mineral status.

• Have mineral status tested by serum, urine or hair mineral analysis. Because mineral balance is so delicate, this will allow you to make appropriate supplementation decisions based on your unique situation.
• To get started you can also try the Zinc Assay Test– a taste test I have written about before. Keep in mind however that while popularly used, there has only been one study on its efficacy.

2. Limit Exposure to Copper

Complete a brief review of your environment and lifestyle to assess if there are unneeded sources of copper in your life. For example:

• Limit copper cookware
• Get a good water filter that removes leached minerals and pesticides
• If you take a multivitamin, check to see that it doesn’t have copper

3. Increase Zinc Intake

If possible, increase whole food sources of zinc to get a balance of synergistic nutrients.

• Consume red meats, organ meats, and seafood. Desiccated Liver capsules are a great source of balanced zinc for those who do not have such items in their diet.
• Soak and sprout nuts, seeds, grains and legumes. Learn how in the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, or enjoy from trusted vendors such as Better Than Roasted Nuts.
• If you decide to supplement with zinc, try a form of ionic zinc or liquid zinc sulfate as they are tend to be more easily absorbed than tablets and capsules.

4. Heal the Adrenals

Stress triples the rate of zinc depletion. The adrenals must also be working properly in order to stimulate the liver to remove excess copper.

• Practice techniques to build resilience to stress
• Learn how to manage your cortisol levels

——————————————

Cornell U has a drug that mops up Copper for breast cancer patients

Targeting copper to treat breast cancer

Linda Vahdat, M.D. In 2007, a woman facing an almost certain death sentence took a chance on a drug that needed a second chance itself. The woman had stage IV breast cancer that had spread to her liver. Chemotherapy had eliminated her primary tumor, and surgeons had removed the liver metastases, leaving her in a status called “no evidence of disease” (NED). But oncologists cannot eliminate microscopic distant metastases—and this woman had the “triple negative” subclass of breast cancer, which is particularly aggressive and prone to bouncing back. Patients like her usually relapse within a year, with death following swiftly.

So, as part of a two-year clinical trial of advanced breast cancer patients, the woman began taking a drug that mops up copper, thought to play a role in tumor growth. The drug, tetrathiomolybdate (TM), had already failed a series of previous cancer clinical trials, but this new trial has since been extended several times and there is still no sign of cancer in the woman after eight years.

The full trial results are equally striking, as Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) oncology fellow Eleni Nackos reported last month at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). At a median follow-up of nearly five years, 62 other women in the 75-patient TM trial also had no detectable cancer. Among them were 12 of the 15 other women with stage IV triple negative breast cancer, whose typical median survival is months, with NED status only a temporary reprieve.

Though these are extremely small numbers and the study had no placebo arm, University of Chicago oncologist Olufunmilayo Olopade says she was “blown away” by the data presented at ASCO. “What was so compelling about this study was that they were looking [at] women who were at high risk of recurrence,” she adds.

Yet the promise of copper depletion appears tarnished—not by clinical results but by corporate strategy. WCMC oncologist Linda Vahdat, who led the trial, now wants to proceed with a larger, phase III trial of TM for triple negative breast cancer. But the rights to treating cancer with TM are held by a Swedish biotech company that is developing the drug instead for Wilson disease, a rare inherited disease of copper accumulation. The company, Wilson Therapeutics, has no immediate plans to test TM in cancer patients, its CEO acknowledges, and for now will not sublicense the drug.

TM, easily synthesized in the lab, has a long history as a copper chelator—a compound that binds and inactivates ionic copper. In veterinary medicine, it cures copper poisoning in sheep, which are very sensitive to copper in their food. Around 1990, George Brewer, a University of Michigan (UM) physician and geneticist, began testing TM in people with Wilson disease.

The cancer connection emerged after work by several research teams showed that copper boosts angiogenesis, the creation of new blood vessels, which solid tumors need to grow and metastasize. Brewer, with colleagues at UM, gave TM to female mice genetically engineered to develop breast tumors. None of the treated animals became cancerous, whereas more than half of control mice did. Under a microscope, says Brewer, he could see dormant, precancerous cells in the treated mice “just sitting there, not growing because they couldn’t develop a blood supply.”

The mouse work led to a series of human trials of TM in various types of cancers, with disappointing results. Instead of abandoning the drug, Brewer concluded that that copper depletion would be more effective against the microtumors that seed metastases, which differ biologically from the primary tumor. He tried to convince a biotech company, Attenuon, to use TM to prevent recurrence in cancer patients in remission, but the company instead enrolled people with bulk tumors. These trials, too, failed.

Meanwhile, aware of the UM mouse work and studies linking copper to angiogenesis and metastasis, Vahdat organized the current phase II trial. Like Brewer, she concluded that the drug was best deployed in people at risk of recurrence, and she raised money for the small trial from private foundations and cancer nonprofits.

At ASCO, Nackos reported that the drug reduced copper in patients’ blood by about half, with few serious side effects. That may have triggered several antitumor mechanisms. For example, TM treatment lowered the number of bone marrow–derived, angiogenesis-promoting cells in blood, probably because copper is needed to activate growth factors important to those cells. TM’s “real value is to prevent metastasis,” Vahdat says. “And that’s by changing the tumor microenvironment … It’s a totally different way to treat cancer.”

To mount a phase III trial, Vahdat sought Wilson Therapetics’ version of TM because it only needs to be taken once a day. Wilson will provide it at cost, but the company will not fund the trial. And Vahdat’s recent application for a $10 million grant from a U.S. Department of Defense program devoted to breast cancer was rejected.

Wilson Therapeutics CEO Jonas Hansson says he has closely followed Vahdat’s phase II trial, which he calls “promising.” His company is now reviewing all the literature on TM and cancer. “We are in the evaluation phase,” Hansson says. “We just can’t give these rights [to TM] away, because we ourselves want to understand it first.”

The impasse with Wilson had left Vahdat increasingly frustrated. “They have laserlike focus on Wilson’s disease, because that’s what their investors have invested in,” she says. “But they are interested in cancer, and I think ultimately when the timing is right for them, that they will look into it. It’s just that I’m ready and raring to go right now.”

——————-

Connie’s comments: To ensure that we do not have too much copper, increase your intake of Zinc rich foods.

http://www.cornell.edu/video/metastatic-cancer-cells-implode-on-protein-contact

By Blaine Friedlander

Professor Michael King, right, with students Elizabeth Wayne, left, and Michael Mitchell in the King laboratory.

By attaching a cancer-killer protein to white blood cells, Cornell biomedical engineers have demonstrated the annihilation of metastasizing cancer cells traveling throughout the bloodstream.

The study, “TRAIL-Coated Leukocytes that Kill Cancer Cells in the Circulation,” was published online the week of Jan. 6 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“These circulating cancer cells are doomed,” said Michael King, Cornell professor of biomedical engineering and the study’s senior author. “About 90 percent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we’ve found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis – the cancer cell’s own death – obliterating them from the bloodstream. When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape.”

Metastasis is the spread of a cancer cells to other parts of the body. Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumors, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells has made treatment of the spreading cancer problematic, say the scientists.

King and his colleagues injected human blood samples, and later mice, with two proteins: E-selectin (an adhesive) and TRAIL (Tumor Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand). The TRAIL protein joined together with the E-selectin protein stick to leukocytes – white blood cells – ubiquitous in the bloodstream. When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which becomes unavoidable in the chaotic blood flow, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.

“The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein,” say the authors.

In the laboratory, King and his colleagues tested this concept’s efficacy. When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, they found a 60 percent success rate in killing the cancer cells. In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins. Once the proteins were added to flowing blood, which models forces, mixing and other human-body conditions, however, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 percent.

As this research is newly announced, King says animal trials will continue and he hopes that the research will proceed to human clinical trials sometime in the future.

In addition to King, the paper’s researchers include first author Michael Mitchell, a Cornell doctoral candidate in the field of biomedical engineering; Elizabeth C. Wayne, a Cornell doctoral student in the field of biomedical engineering; Kuldeepsinh Rana, a Cornell Ph.D. ’11; and Chris Schaffer, associate professor in biomedical engineering. The National Cancer Institute (Physical Sciences-Oncology program) of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., funded the research through Cornell’s Center for the Microenvironment and Metastasis.

Stress, not getting enough sleep with two jobs in the bay area caused me to have fast heart beat, Tachycardia. So I cough and did valsava maneuver (like pooing exerted force) and took my calcium an…

Source: Magnesium and Calcium (40:60 ratio) for heart muscles

Stress, not getting enough sleep with two jobs in the bay area caused me to have fast heart beat, Tachycardia. So I cough and did valsava maneuver (like pooing exerted force) and took my calcium and magnesium supplements and Vitamin C. EKG graphs at the doctor’s office showed SVT Tachycardia. Dr Smith told me that I have to take a pill or get an ablation. I choose calcium and magnesium since 90% of our body cells need these minerals especially our heart and heart disease is common in my family.

I also have to consider taking care of my hyperthyroidism, stress, fatigue, avoiding caffeine, lack of sleep, lack of essential nutrients (Vitamin C and fish oils) and avoiding toxins.

Connie

Dr Carolyn Dean wrote – The Calcium Wars: Magnesium deficiency causes heart disease

It takes 18 different nutrients to make durable bones. However, the most important bone mineral is magnesium because it activates alkaline phosphatase, the enzyme required to ensure optimal bone cell activity, as well as a strong bone matrix.(2)

It is vitally important to understand that calcium and magnesium are in an endless and dynamic dance within our cells.(3) These two key metabolic minerals are actually biological antagonists, and through their opposing actions, activate many of the vital functions we take for granted. But when these minerals get out of balance, due to stress-induced magnesium loss, a whole series of problems and chronic diseases unfold – most notably Heart Disease, our Number 1 killer.

Allopathic medicine is slowly recognizing the following facts about calcium and magnesium:(4)

a. There are dozens of conditions, such as heart disease, arthritis, IBD, IBS, asthma, Alzheimer’s triggered by unchecked inflammation. Even cancer is now considered an inflammatory disease.(5)

b. All inflammation is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as the “fight or flight” response.(6)

c. The sympathetic nervous system is triggered by excess, unregulated calcium.(7) Calcium is pro-inflammatory.

d. Calcium is regulated and controlled by magnesium.(8) Magnesium is anti-inflammatory.

Let’s say that again. Calcium is regulated and controlled by magnesium. You’ve probably never heard that before. Most doctors don’t even know this foundational aspect of how our bodies actually work. I learned these critical mineral relationships in my 200 hours of biochemistry in medical school. But unfortunately our professors never translated that information into clinical application.

Here’s how magnesium carries out its crucial role in calcium metabolism. All three hormones that control the level and location of calcium in our body (PTH, Calcitonin and Hormone-D (which is Vitamin D) are activated by magnesium. Which means, if you don’t have enough magnesium, these hormones can’t do a proper job.(9)

Medicine is also beginning to see a common basis of magnesium deficiency in heart disease.(10) When all the dust settles on research for high cholesterol, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), Post Ventricular Contractions (PVCs), any kind of ischemia, myocardial infarct and sudden cardiac death, what they All have in common is that magnesium deficiency is the precursor to All of these cardiac conditions.(11) EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

Think of it this way. The heart is NOT an “organ,” but is actually a “muscle.” In fact, it’s the hardest working muscle in our body.

FACT: Every 24 hours our hearts beat 103,000+ times and pushes 20,000 pounds of blood around our body.

FACT: The highest concentration of magnesium in our body is in the heart ventricles, which are the muscles that “pump” all that blood.(12)

FACT: Muscles need lots of energy to create sustained movement, and expend more energy relaxing and filling up the ventricles – prior to the “pump!”(13)

FACT: Muscle energy in our body is solely in the form of Mg2-ATP (Magnesium-adenosine triphosphate).(14)

Our heart cells (and every cell in our body) must have magnesium present in plentiful amounts to create and metabolize the ATP necessary to run all of the cell’s activities. Any cell unable to create proper levels of energy becomes diseased and dies, and this is especially true of heart muscles cells. The litany of heart diseases noted above is what follows.

So, how does our heart run out of energy?

“Stress!” Pure and simple.(15) “Stress,” in all its many forms leads to magnesium use, and if not curtailed, magnesium loss. An accelerated MBR (Magnesium Burn Rate) leads to electrolyte dysfunction, which results in imbalances of our key minerals. The chronic loss of magnesium leads to a relentless increase of sodium and calcium which ultimately becomes the greatest form of cellular “Stress.” And how do we know this? Hans Selye, MD, PhD, ScD, who is regarded as the Father of Stress, taught the world about the devastating impact of stress on our cellular metabolism, as well as steps we can take to manage it.

In 1958 Selye published a 235-page book called The Chemical Prevention of Cardiac Necrosis(16) in which he proved that when electrolyte imbalance becomes great enough, the cell no longer has the ability to produce ATP. We now know ATP is primarily dependent on magnesium. So, cell death – cardiac necrosis is the result of a systemic shortage of magnesium. Selye showed that heart muscle cell death is followed by inflammation in order to clean up the debris from dying cells followed by fibrosis/calcification as the whole area contracts and scars down in order to isolate, repair and minimize the damage.

What Selye found in his research hasn’t changed in the intervening 50 years. Cardiac disease still follows these three key steps in cellular breakdown and repair. And these very same three cellular events precede all types of chronic disease, regardless of what organ, what gland or what tissue might be involved.

Chronic stress causes magnesium loss (lack of sleep)

Chronic stress causes magnesium loss, which then leads to cell death. And what factor accelerates this process? The cellular influx of excess, unregulated calcium(17) Period. If magnesium isn’t available, the mineral ion channels in cells are left wide open and calcium floods in.

The preceding overview gives you a new and biologically correct context for the emerging research that excess, unregulated calcium is bad for you.(18)

And how do we create a condition of calcium excess? Human biochemistry strongly favors holding onto as much calcium as possible. However, magnesium is flushed out through the urine or bowels when the body is under stress or in at times when you have saturated yourself with magnesium.(19) The likely reason is that early mankind lived near oceans with access to fish, seaweeds and thus plenty of magnesium, but with few calcium sources, like dairy and green leafy vegetables. Therefore enhancing calcium absorption and preventing magnesium excess were survival mechanisms that were encoded in our wiring millennia ago.

Research shows that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in the Paleolithic diet was 1:1, compared with a 5:1 to 15:1 ratio in present-day diets.(20) With an average of ten times more calcium than magnesium in our current diet, there is no doubt this will cause an imbalance in the minerals and electrolytes in the body.

A recent Framingham study in the Am J Clin Nutr (Dec, 2012) asked the question. Does increased calcium intake cause coronary artery calcification?(21)The study included only 1,278 people. They found that people in the study who took calcium did not develop coronary artery calcification. Thus they concluded: “Our study does not support the hypothesis that high calcium intake increases coronary artery calcification, which is an important measure of atherosclerosis burden. The evidence is not sufficient to modify current recommendations for calcium intake to protect skeletal health with respect to vascular calcification risk.”

We don’t agree with this conclusion and would like you to consider the following study flaws:
1. The researchers are assuming that coronary artery calcification is the only cause of heart disease.

2. People with high calcium and low levels of magnesium can suffer sudden death heart attacks due to electrical imbalance without having significant coronary artery calcification.

3. Some might consider the study chose a relatively young population with a mean age of 60 and the range from a low age of 36.

4. This is a very small sample size

5. But most importantly, the study completely ignores the metabolic impact of excess calcium on the mitochondria. Calcium inhibits the production of ATP. How? Calcium bumps out magnesium thus preventing the production of ATP within these critical metabolic factories inside the muscle cells.

A whole line up of studies found the opposite – that calcium supplements increase heart disease. A 2012 study in the journal Heart including almost 24,000 participants concluded that “…risk increased further among those who used only calcium supplements – with this group more than twice as likely to have a heart attack as those who didn’t take any supplements.”(22)

Progressive studies begun in 2008 out of the University of Auckland first showed “Calcium supplementation in healthy postmenopausal women is associated with upward trends in cardiovascular event rates. This potentially detrimental effect should be balanced against the likely benefits of calcium on bone.”(23)

The second study was a 2010 BMJ Meta Analysis on 15 clinical trials where subjects were given calcium supplements showed an increased risk of myocardial infarction of about 30%. The conclusion was “Given the modest benefits of calcium supplements on bone density and fracture prevention, a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the management of osteoporosis is warranted.(24)

The third study analyzed data from 16,718 women who were not taking calcium supplements at the start of the trial and found that those who later took combined calcium and vitamin D supplements were at an increased risk of cardiovascular events, especially heart attack.(25)

When the end point of these studies is so extreme – heart attack or death, we forget the daily problems of too much calcium, such as kidney stones, gall stones, heel spurs, breast calcifications and calcifications in fibromyalgic muscles. We also forget about the magnesium deficiency created by high calcium and the dozens of diseases that inevitably occur.

It is time for the “debate” over calcium to shift. For too long, medicine and especially cardiology has been steeped in Newtonian physics with everyone worrying about blockages in the plumbing – the body as a bag of chemicals with deteriorating parts. But in fact, all other branches of science are steeped in Quantum physics with a keen focus on energy creation and transformation.

It is no longer a question of whether calcium causes “calcification” – it does but it’s not just the blockage that matters, it’s the fact that excess calcium reduces magnesium. What we do know, and what is well established in the literature is that all forms of cardiac disease are a direct reflection of the heart muscle’s fundamental inability to satisfy its relentless need for energy. Here’s how Cardiologist, Dr. Stephen Sinatra states the problem.

WHO Report on calcium and magnesium in water and heart health

“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, Is a great equalizer of the conditions of men.” – Horace Mann, 1848. At the time of his remarks I couldn’t read — couldn’t write. Any atte…

Source: Donovan Livingston’s Student Speech – million views

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/16/05/lift

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/graduation-speech-harvard-calling-most-powerful-ll-ever-142752931–abc-news-lifestyle.html

“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin,
Is a great equalizer of the conditions of men.” – Horace Mann, 1848.
At the time of his remarks I couldn’t read — couldn’t write.
Any attempt to do so, punishable by death.
For generations we have known of knowledge’s infinite power.
Yet somehow, we’ve never questioned the keeper of the keys —
The guardians of information.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen more dividing and conquering
In this order of operations — a heinous miscalculation of reality.
For some, the only difference between a classroom and a plantation is time.
How many times must we be made to feel like quotas —
Like tokens in coined phrases? —
“Diversity. Inclusion”
There are days I feel like one, like only —
A lonely blossom in a briar patch of broken promises.
But I’ve always been a thorn in the side of injustice.

Disruptive. Talkative. A distraction.
With a passion that transcends the confines of my consciousness —
Beyond your curriculum, beyond your standards.
I stand here, a manifestation of love and pain,
With veins pumping revolution.
I am the strange fruit that grew too ripe for the poplar tree.
I am a DREAM Act, Dream Deferred incarnate.
I am a movement – an amalgam of memories America would care to forget
My past, alone won’t allow me to sit still.
So my body, like the mind
Cannot be contained.

As educators, rather than raising your voices
Over the rustling of our chains,
Take them off. Un-cuff us.
Unencumbered by the lumbering weight
Of poverty and privilege,
Policy and ignorance.

I was in the 7th grade, when Ms. Parker told me,
“Donovan, we can put your excess energy to good use!”
And she introduced me to the sound of my own voice.
She gave me a stage. A platform.
She told me that our stories are ladders
That make it easier for us to touch the stars.
So climb and grab them.
Keep climbing. Grab them.
Spill your emotions in the big dipper and pour out your soul.
Light up the world with your luminous allure.

To educate requires Galileo-like patience.
Today, when I look my students in the eyes, all I see are constellations.
If you take the time to connect the dots,
You can plot the true shape of their genius —
Shining in their darkest hour.

I look each of my students in the eyes,
And see the same light that aligned Orion’s Belt
And the pyramids of Giza.
I see the same twinkle
That guided Harriet to freedom.
I see them. Beneath their masks and mischief,
Exists an authentic frustration;
An enslavement to your standardized assessments.

At the core, none of us were meant to be common.
We were born to be comets,
Darting across space and time —
Leaving our mark as we crash into everything.
A crater is a reminder that something amazing happened here —
An indelible impact that shook up the world.
Are we not astronomers — looking for the next shooting star?
I teach in hopes of turning content, into rocket ships —
Tribulations into telescopes,
So a child can see their potential from right where they stand.
An injustice is telling them they are stars
Without acknowledging night that surrounds them.
Injustice is telling them education is the key
While you continue to change the locks.

Education is no equalizer —
Rather, it is the sleep that precedes the American Dream.
So wake up — wake up! Lift your voices
Until you’ve patched every hole in a child’s broken sky.
Wake up every child so they know of their celestial potential.
I’ve been a Black hole in the classroom for far too long;
Absorbing everything, without allowing my light escape.
But those days are done. I belong among the stars.
And so do you. And so do they.
Together, we can inspire galaxies of greatness
For generations to come.
No, sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning.
Lift off.

By Cherie Calbom, M.S. and Brian Shilhavy Many Americans suffer from symptoms such as cold hands and feet, low body temperature, sensitivity to cold, a feeling of always being chilled, headaches, i…

Source: Coconut Oil, Thyroid Health and Losing Weight

By Cherie Calbom, M.S. and Brian Shilhavy

Many Americans suffer from symptoms such as cold hands and feet, low body temperature, sensitivity to cold, a feeling of always being chilled, headaches, insomnia, dry skin, puffy eyes, hair loss, brittle nails, joint aches, constipation, mental dullness, fatigue, frequent infections, hoarse voice, ringing in the ears, dizziness, loss of libido, and weight gain, which is sometimes uncontrollable.

Approximately 65 percent of the U.S. population is overweight; 27 percent is clinically obese. Research is pointing to the fact that an underactive thyroid might be the number one cause of weight problems, especially among women.

The Truth About Fats and Oils

Many dietary oils can negatively affect thyroid health. We cook with them almost every day and they are plentiful in commercially prepared foods. Expeller-pressed or solvent-extracted oils only became a major part of the American diet in the last century. It is possible they are among the worst offenders when it comes to the thyroid. They are known as vegetable oils or polyunsaturated oils. The most common source of these oils used in commercially prepared foods is the soybean.

Large-scale cultivation of soybeans in the United States began after World War II and quickly increased to 140 billion pounds per year. Most of the crops are produced for animal feed and soy oil for hydrogenated fats, such as margarine and shortening. Today, it is nearly impossible to eat at restaurants or buy packaged foods that don’t have soy oil in the ingredients. Often labels simply state “vegetable oil.”

Ray Peat Ph.D., a physiologist who has worked with progesterone and related hormones since 1968, says that the sudden surge of polyunsaturated oils into the food chain post World War II has caused many changes in hormones. He writes:

“Their [polyunsaturated oils] best understood effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When the thyroid hormone is deficient, the body is generally exposed to increased levels of estrogen. The thyroid hormone is essential for making the ‘protective hormones’ progesterone and pregnenolone, so these hormones are lowered when anything interferes with the function of the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required for using and eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to be raised by anything that blocks the thyroid function.”

There is a growing body of research concerning soy’s detrimental effect on the thyroid gland. Much of this research centers on the phytoestrogens (“phyto” means plant) that are found in soy. In the 1960s when soy was introduced into infant formulas, it was shown that soy was goitrogenic and caused goiters in babies. When iodine was supplemented, the incidence of goiter reduced dramatically.

However, a retrospective epidemiological study by Fort, et al. showed that teenage children with a diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disease were significantly more likely to have received soy formula as infants (18 out of 59 children; 31 percent) when compared to healthy siblings (nine out of 76, 12 percent) or control group children (seven out of 54; 13 percent).

When healthy individuals without any previous thyroid disease were fed 30 grams of pickled soybeans per day for one month, Ishizuki, et al. reported goiter and elevated individual thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (although still within the normal range) in thirty-seven healthy, iodine-sufficient adults.

One month after stopping soybean consumption, individual TSH values decreased to the original levels and goiters were reduced in size.

For more information about the effects of soy in the modern diet, see the Weston A. Price foundation Web site.¹

Coconut Oil: A Healthy Choice

Traditionally, polyunsaturated oils such as soybean oil have been used for livestock feed because they cause the animals to gain weight. These oils are made up of what is known as long-chain fatty acids—the kind of fatty acids that promote weight gain.

Coconut oil, on the other hand, is a saturated fat made up primarily of medium-chain fatty acids. Also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), medium-chain fatty acids are known to increase metabolism and promote weight loss. Coconut oil can also raise basal body temperatures while increasing metabolism. This is good news for people who suffer with low thyroid function. There have been scores of testimonies to this effect.

One happy individual writes:

“I am just now jumping on the coconut oil bandwagon (about three weeks now) and I’m really starting to feel GREAT! I have suffered from severe migraines for the past 25 years, the last 15 becoming increasingly severe, coinciding with the addition of soy and the ‘low-fat mentality’ to my diet. Nothing helped! I should be experiencing my pre-menstrual migraine by now and instead I feel like I could climb Mt. Everest! Also I wondered if it decreased the waist to hip ratio because mine has gone from 7.2 all my life to 7 (or something like that). I think I had the sluggish thyroid too, with a low body temperature of between 96 and 96.8. Now it’s starting to climb for the first time in years.

Thank you … Sincerely, V. Potter”

For more stories and information, see the coconut-info discussion group.²

How MCTs Promote Weight Loss

Several studies have shown that MCTs promote weight loss. One study showed that rats fed long-chain fatty acids (LCTs) stored body fat, while rats fed MCTs reduced body fat and improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance… In March 2003, this same journal published findings that medium-chain triglycerides increase energy expenditure and decrease adiposity in overweight men. The study was conducted with twenty-four healthy, overweight men with body mass indexes between 25 and 31 kg/m. They consumed diets rich in MCT or LCT for 28 days, each in a crossover randomized controlled trial. Those consuming MCTs lost more weight and had more energy than those consuming LCTs (in this case olive oil).

An earlier study in 2002, The Journal of Nutrition came to the same conclusion. They reported that MCTs are more readily oxidized in the liver than LCTs, which leads to more energy and less weight gain. The study concluded that MCTs increase energy expenditure, may result in faster satiety, and facilitate weight control when included in the diet as a replacement for fats containing LCTs.

Scores of people have discovered the benefits of MCTs firsthand. Sharon writes the following to the coconut discussion group:

“I have had the same problem with sluggish metabolism and weight gain since having children. Even a no-calorie diet (fast) for 5 days did not work. As soon as I started taking Virgin Coconut Oil, the fat began to melt and I have lost 20 pounds. Over the same period of time, my 13-year-old daughter who was very chubby and very worried about it, but could not bring up the self-control to renounce some of her favorite fatty foods, lost about 10 pounds. She now has the perfect figure, to her great joy! Pants she was bulging out of a year ago hang loose on her!”

Coconut Oil and Oxidative Stress

One of the reasons the long-chain fatty acids in vegetable oils are so damaging to the thyroid is that they oxidize quickly and become rancid. Food manufacturers know about this propensity towards rancidity and, therefore, highly refine their vegetable oils. Considerable research has shown that trans fatty acids, present when vegetable oils are highly refined (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated), are especially damaging to cell tissue and can have a negative effect on the thyroid as well as health in general.

Because the longer chain fatty acids are deposited in cells more often as rancid and oxidizing fat, impairment of the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to T3 occurs, which is symptomatic of hypothyroidism. To create the enzymes needed to convert fats to energy, T4 must be converted to T3.

Dr. Ray Peat says:

“When the oils are stored in our tissues, they are much warmer, and more directly exposed to oxygen than they would be in the seeds, and so their tendency to oxidize is very great. These oxidative processes can damage enzymes and other parts of cells, and especially their ability to produce energy. The enzymes which break down proteins are inhibited by unsaturated fats; these enzymes are needed not only for digestion, but also for production of thyroid hormones, clot removal, immunity, and the general adaptability of cells.

The risks of abnormal blood clotting, inflammation, immune deficiency, shock, aging, obesity, and cancer are increased. Thyroid [hormones] and progesterone are decreased.

Since the unsaturated oils block protein digestion in the stomach, we can be malnourished even while ‘eating well.’ There are many changes in hormones caused by unsaturated fats. Their best understood effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone.

Coconut oil is unique in its ability to prevent weight-gain or cure obesity, by stimulating metabolism. It is quickly metabolized, and functions in some ways as an antioxidant.”

Because coconut oil is saturated and very stable (unrefined coconut oil has a shelf life of about three to five years at room temperature), the body is not burdened with oxidative stress as it is with the vegetable oils. Coconut oil does not require the enzyme stress that vegetable oils do, preventing T4 to T3 hormone conversion, not only because it is a stable oil, but also because it is processed differently in the body and does not need to be broken down by enzyme dependent processes as do long-chain fatty acids.

Also, since the liver is the main place where damage occurs from oxidized and rancid oils that cause cell membrane damage, and since the liver is where much of the conversion of T4 to T3 takes place, eliminating long-chain fatty acids from the diet and replacing them with medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil can, in time, help in rebuilding cell membranes and increasing enzyme production that will assist in promoting the conversion of T4 to T3 hormones.

More research in this area is necessary. In the meantime, those switching from polyunsaturated oils to coconut oil are reporting many positive results. For example, Donna has experienced encouraging improvements in her thyroid health. She writes:

“I’ve been on coconut oil since September 2002 and, although, that doesn’t seem like long, it has changed my life and the lives of my family and friends. My weight actually went UP when I started on coconut oil but I felt so GREAT! Being hypothyroid, I was on Synthroid and Cytomel and had been for years, but with inconsistent results and feeling worse. Other changes besides the addition of coconut oil were the complete removal of soy (and that is a major challenge in itself!), all trans fatty acids, no refined sugar, and organ cleanses seasonally.

My thyroid meds were discontinued with my doctor’s knowledge as I was getting too energetic and having trouble sleeping! [Imagine], from being a ‘sleepaholic’ couch potato that was cold! My weight stayed steady until the last three weeks and it has now started the downward move. My goal was health and just believed the weight would come off when I found the right diet and exercise routine that my life was comfortable with. I’ve tried removing the coconut oil but my energy drops and I don’t feel as good. Donna”

Lori writes:

“I have been taking VCO [virgin coconut oil] for about two to three months. Before the VCO, my thyroid results were borderline low. After two months of one tablespoon a day[of coconut oil], they are now mid-normal range. They have never been this high. I do NOT take any thyroid. ALSO my cholesterol is still the same as well as my LDL. BUT my HDL [the good cholesterol] rose 10 whole points from 43 to 53! This is a miracle for me. Lori”

Coconut oil has helped scores of women who are menopausal. Several women who were post-menopausal suddenly began having their menstrual cycles start again, which is evidence that coconut oil does indeed increase hormone production.

Another happy lady writes:

“I have experienced the same problems as you. Body temperature not going above 97 degrees, cold hands and feet, can’t lose weight, fatigued, slow heart rate, can’t sleep some nights, dry skin, etc…. My doctor did the same test and it came back normal. I am also 46 and perimenopausal. My Naturopath symptomatically diagnosed me with hypothyroidism.

She explained the blood tests currently used by allopathic medicine are not sensitive enough. I started on the [coconut] oil 5 weeks ago.

In the first week, I noticed my body temperature had risen and my resting heart rate had gone from 49 to 88 beats per minute. This has since settled to 66. My energy is now really high and I am slowly losing the weight–three pounds in the past five weeks. I also had been taking flaxseed oil and gamma linoleic acid oil but have stopped eating every other oil but what Raymond Peat recommends, which is coconut oil, olive oil and butter (obviously using the last two very sparingly). I take 3 tablespoons of coconut oil daily. I have discussed this with my Naturopath and have given her all the written material on it. She’s very open to knowing more about it. Cindy”

These testimonies are from the coconut-info discussion group.³

Hypothyroidism Reaching Epidemic Proportions

In 1995, researchers studied 25,862 participants at the Colorado statewide health fair. They discovered that among patients not taking thyroid medication, 8.9 percent were hypothyroid (underactive thyroid) and 1.1 percent were hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid). This indicates 9.9 percent of the population had a thyroid problem that had most likely gone unrecognized. These figures suggest that nationally, there may be as many as 13 million Americans with an undiagnosed thyroid problem.

In her book Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You… That You Need to Know, Mary Shomon quotes endocrinologist Kenneth Blanchard, M.D., of Lower Newton Falls, Massachusetts as saying:

“The key thing is … doctors are always told that TSH is the test that gives us a yes or no answer. And, in fact, I think that’s fundamentally wrong. The pituitary TSH is controlled not just by how much T4 and T3 is in circulation, but T4 is getting converted to T3 at the pituitary level. Excess T3 generated at the pituitary level can falsely suppress TSH.”

Hence, many people who are simply tested for TSH levels and are found to be within “normal” range are, in fact, suffering from thyroid problems that are going undetected.

Ridha Arem, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Baylor College of Medicine, agrees. He says that hypothyroidism may exist despite “normal range” TSH levels. In his book The Thyroid Solution, he says:

“Many people may be suffering from minute imbalances that have not yet resulted in abnormal blood tests. If we included people with low-grade hypothyroidism whose blood tests are normal, the frequency of hypothyroidism would no doubt exceed 10 percent of the population. What is of special concern, though, is that many people whose test results are dismissed as normal could continue to have symptoms of an under active thyroid. Their moods, emotions, and overall well-being are affected by this imbalance, yet they are not receiving the care they need to get to the root of their problems. Even if the TSH level is in the lower segment of normal range, a person may still be suffering from low-grade hypothyroidism.”

Thus, if we were to include those who may be suffering from “low-grade hypothyroidism,” the number could well be double the 13 million estimate.

Thyroid Cancer

The statistics on thyroid cancer in the United States also tell a disturbing tale. Since 1990, cancer statistics (see http://seer.cancer.gov/) show that the overall thyroid cancer incidence across all ages and races in the United States has been subject to a statistically significant annual increase of 1.4 percent, per annum. That increase was highest amongst females (1.6 percent per annum). Also worth noting is the fact that between 1975 and 1996 the incidence of thyroid cancer has risen 42.1 percent in the United States.

This increase was particularly notable in women and most recent figures as of 1996 show that the incidence of thyroid cancer has climbed to 8.0 per 100,000. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) notes that “the preponderance of thyroid cancer in females suggest that hormonal factors may mediate disease occurrence.”

Especially alarming is the rate of thyroid cancer among children. The NCI publication Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents: United States SEER Program 1975-1995 has reported that the most prevalent carcinoma in American children and adolescents younger than 20 years was thyroid carcinoma at 35.5 percent—more prevalent than the highly publicized melanomas (30.9 percent). Approximately 75 percent of the thyroid carcinomas occurred in adolescents 15 to 19 years of age.

What Is Causing This Epidemic?

While more research needs to be done, it is generally accepted that diet plays a major role in thyroid health. For decades, we have known that low iodine intake leads to low thyroid function and eventually to goiter. Iodized salt was intended to solve this problem, but it has not been the answer. There are a number of foods known as goitrogens that block iodine. Two goitrogens are quite prevalent in the American diet—peanuts, peanut butter and soybeans used most often in prepared foods as textured vegetable protein (a refined soy food) and soybean oil.

The rise of industrialization, corporate farming, and mass production of food has drastically changed our food supply from what our ancestors ate. Many studies show the detrimental effects of refined sugars and grains on our health. These foods are very taxing on the thyroid gland, and we consume them in large quantities.

Environmental stress such as chemical pollutants, pesticides, mercury, and fluoride are also tough on the thyroid. A growing body of evidence suggests that fluoride, which is prevalent in toothpaste and water treatment, may inhibit the functioning of the thyroid gland. Additionally, mercury may diminish thyroid function because it displaces the trace mineral selenium, and selenium is involved in conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3.

Correcting Thyroid Problems

Rather than simply taking thyroid medication, it is very important to identify the underlying causes of low thyroid. You may need to take medication until you have corrected the underlying problem, but simply taking thyroid hormone replacement drugs for a lifetime does not feed the thyroid or correct the problem. David Frahm, N.D. says, “instead of feeding the thyroid and bringing it back into full function in the body, they’re [medications] simply by-passing it.”

He says that this does help increase energy to some degree when the body is supplied with some of the hormones it is supposed to make on its own, but none of these drugs actually restore thyroid function. Since the thyroid makes a hormone called calcitonin that allows for absorption of calcium, people who just take thyroid hormone replacement drugs won’t fix the underlying problem and calcium absorption will be impaired. Often, these people will experience bone loss, and this is the best explanation as to why many people with hypothyroidism also experience osteoporosis.

Before discontinuing thyroid hormone replacement medication, always check with your doctor. In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do to feed your thyroid and improve its health. You may not have been diagnosed with hypothyroid, but you may experience a number of the symptoms associated with this condition that result from an undernourished thyroid gland. As you incorporate thyroid supporting solutions into your daily routine, watch for signals that your thyroid is beginning to improve such as rapid heartbeat and a rise in body temperature. Dr. David Frahm addresses such symptoms as a “healing crisis.” At this point, if you are taking thyroid medication, it would be wise to consult your physician for retesting.

Determining Low Thyroid

If you’ve read this article and some of the symptoms ring true for you, but you are not sure if you have low thyroid, take your body temperature for four mornings in a row before you get out of bed. Shake down a glass thermometer to below 95 degrees and place it by your bed before you go to sleep. Upon waking, place the thermometer in your armpit for a full ten minutes. It is important to move as little as possible during this time. Remain still with your eyes closed. Don’t get up for any reason.

After ten minutes, record the temperature and date. This should be done for four consecutive mornings. Individuals with normal functioning thyroids have a basal body temperature between 97.6 and 98.2. Basal body temperatures below this range may reflect hypothyroidism.

What You Can Do to Nourish Your Thyroid

A number of nutrients and foods have been shown to contribute to healthy thyroid function. As you incorporate these into your diet, you should notice an improvement in your thyroid health.

Eat Only Healthy Fats and Oils

A number of health professionals now recommend that we eat only coconut oil, virgin olive oil, and butter. It is best to eat olive oil and butter sparingly. Coconut oil can be used in place of butter on toast, for example. Coconut oil is one of the most stable oils because of its medium-chain triglycerides. It will not easily turn to trans fatty acids when heated, making it one of the best oils for cooking. Avoid all other cooking oils. Never eat margarine. And read every label on packaged foods. If vegetable oil or soybean oil is listed, don’t buy it.

Be aware that most commercial salad dressings contain soybean oil or another polyunsaturated oil. You could benefit from preparing your own salad dressings and taking them with you when you travel or eat out. If that is not possible, ask for lemon slices and olive oil and prepare your own on the spot. Restaurant fried foods are particularly worrisome because the oils used are heated to very high temperatures and often used over and over for deep-frying. They are loaded with trans fatty acids. Whenever you can, prepare your own healthy foods at home and control the ingredients.

Many people have improved their thyroid health, have lost weight, and increased their energy by including two to three tablespoons of virgin coconut oil in their diet. There are a number of ways to do this. Cooking with the oil is the obvious method and it tastes great with every food from sautéed onions or vegetables to eggs to baked dishes.

You may also want to add one or two extra tablespoons of the oil to your diet daily. Smoothies are one way to accomplish this. You could try my Low-Carb Coconut Smoothie. I have also developed 101 smoothie recipes available in The Ultimate Smoothie Book. You may also wish to try my Coconut Treats recipe.⁴

Consume Plenty of Iodine-Rich Foods

Iodine is most abundant in sea vegetables, fish, seafood, and eggs. You can find a variety of dried sea vegetables at most health food stores, Asian markets, and some grocery stores. Add a strip of kombu to soups or bean dishes; sprinkle black seaweed on salads or add to soup. Season foods with dulse or kelp powder in place of salt. Eat more fish, especially the smaller coldwater fish, such as salmon (avoid farm-raised), mackerel, halibut, sole, and snapper. Avoid the larger fish such as tuna and swordfish; they tend to be higher in mercury. Choose cage-free, hormone and antibiotic-free eggs; they’re healthier.

Take Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

A number of nutrients have been shown to contribute to thyroid health; they include zinc, selenium, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A. Margaret Ames, Ph.D. says in her paper “Thyroid Health: Do You Have Hypothyroidism?” that individuals with hypothyroidism have been shown to have an impaired ability to convert beta-carotene to vitamin A, so care should be taken to include supplementation of vitamin A in addition to beta carotene.” She also adds that selenium is involved in conversion of T4 to T3 and low selenium levels could lead to low T3 levels. Because mercury will displace selenium, I would suggest a heavy metal detoxification program especially if you have had mercury amalgam fillings, have eaten a lot of tuna, or have been exposed to mercury in any other manner.

Juicing Can Help

Vegetable juicing can be particularly helpful in restoring health to the thyroid as well as the entire body. Radishes and radish juice can be quite beneficial. A sulphur compound found in the radish is a regulator of thyroixine and calcitonin (a peptide hormone). When enough of this sulphur compound is circulating in the bloodstream, the thyroid is less apt to over- or under-produce these hormones. A steady diet of radishes and radish juice can be quite beneficial. Try my Thyroid Tonic, which is the juice of carrots or cucumber, celery, radishes, and lemon. To that you can add a dash of powdered kelp or dulse for a boost of iodine.

Cranberry is another helpful juice. Because the bogs of Massachusetts where cranberries are grown are near the sea, cranberries contain iodine—35 parts per billion according to The Journal of Biochemistry (79:409-11; 1928). You can juice cranberries with a low-sugar apple such as pippin or Granny Smith and add a squeeze of lemon for an absolutely delicious cranberry juice cocktail and, unlike the store-bought cranberry juice (except for cranberry concentrate), it will not have added sugar. For other juice recipes, see my book The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health (Avery, 1999).

Lifestyle Modifications

As we nourish our thyroid, we also want to avoid the foods and substances that can tax this important gland or interfere with nutrient absorption. Following are a few suggestions that can make an important difference in thyroid health. Additionally, there are some lifestyle interventions that can be very beneficial for the thyroid.

Avoid Goitrogens

Excessive ingestion of certain foods can block iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland; these include: turnips, cabbage, mustard, cassava root, pine nuts, millet, peanuts, and soybeans. Until your thyroid health is restored, you may want to avoid these foods completely. When your thyroid is healthy again and you no longer have symptoms, you could include them occasionally, but I recommend that you never eat them daily. The foods to watch out for most are soybean oil in salad dressing, textured vegetable protein used as a filler, and peanut butter. These products are included in many commercially packaged foods. It is interesting to note that in Asian cultures soy is only eaten in small quantities and in forms that have been fermented.

Omit All Refined Grains, Sugar, and Substances That Tax the Thyroid

Foods that are the most taxing on the thyroid are foods many Americans eat every day such as refined grains, sugar and sweets, caffeine (coffee, black tea, sodas, and chocolate), hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and alcohol. Avoid all refined grains such as white and wheat bread, rolls, biscuits, pancakes, pizza dough, pasta, and buns. The peanut butter sandwich is a perfect example of a really bad choice for the thyroid—refined grain bread and peanut butter—a goitrogen.

Avoid sugar in all forms such as white granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses, fructose, and brown rice syrup. Use stevia, an herbal sweetener, instead that can be found at most health food stores. Avoid desserts. In addition, emotional stress (anger, grief, guilt, anxiety, and fear) can be very taxing on the thyroid. Other things that are taxing include: giving birth, environmental stress such as industrial pollutants, pesticides (a clear case for buying organic foods!), heavy metals, Candida albicans (yeast overgrowth), and medical stress (radiation, X-rays, and drugs).

Limit Exposure to Fluoride and Mercury

It is beneficial to avoid fluoride and mercury as much as possible. To that end, a water filtration system that removes fluoride and other chemicals is worth the purchase. Buy toothpaste from a health food store that is fluoride free. Get mercury amalgam fillings removed from your mouth. And choose smaller coldwater fish such as salmon and halibut that usually have less mercury.

Cleansing Protocols

Many people have benefited greatly from various cleansing programs such as colon cleansing, the liver cleanse, gallbladder cleanse, kidney cleanse, and the heavy metal detox. My 7-Day Liver Cleanse may be particularly helpful because a well-functioning liver can really benefit your thyroid since much of the T4 is converted to T3 in the liver. A congested liver will not perform functions such as this efficiently.

Exercise

Exercise is particularly important in the healing of hypothyroidism. Exercise stimulates thyroid gland secretion and increases tissue sensitivity to thyroid hormones. Choose exercises that fit your energy level. You may start by walking and perhaps taking a stretch class. Weight-bearing exercise is particularly important to prevent osteoporosis. Work up to exercises such as step aerobics or fast walking that get your heart rate up—excellent for the cardiovascular system. Exercise has been shown to increase metabolic rate, an important aspect in weight loss. Jumping on a rebounder (mini trampoline) is very beneficial for the organs and lymphatic system. Whatever you do, get up and move. Your energy will improve as you do more exercising, even if it’s just for 15 minutes to begin.

In others, antibiotics, they do more harm than good. For instance, when antibiotics are used too much or for the wrong illnesses, the drugs only end up killing helpful microbes and spawning drug-re…

Source: Antibiotics stymy the birth of brain cells

In others, antibiotics, they do more harm than good. For instance, when antibiotics are used too much or for the wrong illnesses, the drugs only end up killing helpful microbes and spawning drug-resistant superbugs. To figure out the proper times to use antibiotics, doctors need to carefully weigh the risks and benefits of each situation. But, sadly, that calculation is extremely tricky—if not impossible—because scientists still aren’t sure what all of the risks are.

With two new studies, researchers added to the tally. In general, both studies found that when antibiotics kill off microbes in the gut, the immune system gets thrown out of balance and can cause unexpected health problems. In one of the studies, certain types of antibiotics appeared to spur an inflammatory condition in humans that can sabotage life-saving transplants. In the second study, a long course of antibiotics seemed to stymy the birth of brain cells in adult mice, which led to memory problems.

While the studies focus on disparate treatment situations, the studies both serve to highlight the unexpected risks of blasting the body’s complex microbial communities—and how careful doctors should be when using weapons of mass microbial destruction, such as antibiotics.

In the first study, researchers analyzed the records of 857 patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplants, a treatment generally used for blood and bone marrow cancers. Antibiotics are often given to prevent or treat infections that can arise from the transplant, but doctors select from a wide variety of types of antibiotics to give their patients. The researchers picked out 12 of the most common types of antibiotics used and looked to see if patient health varied depending on which antibiotic they took. They did.

Antibiotics lowered the number of certain immune cells, and set the stage for intestinal inflammation

Two drug combinations in particular—a regimen of piperacillin and tazobactam as well as a combo of imipenem and cilastatin—linked with patients having a higher risk of developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a life-threatening inflammatory condition in which the transplanted cells treat the recipient’s body as a foreign enemy and mount an attack.

Those antibiotic combinations are considered “broad spectrum,” meaning they can massacre many different types of microbes, particularly helpful anaerobic microbes. Studying the patients’ fecal samples from before and after the transplant, the researchers noted that the two antibiotic treatments led to significant disruptions in the patients’ gut microbiomes.

In follow-up mouse studies, the researchers recreated the results with the two antibiotics. They also noted that the drugs thinned the mucosal barrier in the rodents’ colons, lowered the number of certain immune cells, and set the stage for intestinal inflammation seen during GVHD.

While the authors don’t prove causation and would need to back up the results in further trials, they note that their results “suggest that selecting antibiotics with a more limited spectrum of activity (especially against anaerobes) could prevent microbiota injury and thus reduce GVHD in the colon and GVHD-associated mortality.” The study is published in the journal of Science Translational Medicine.

Antibiotics slow down in brain cell production (memory area)

In the second study in Cell Reports, researchers sprinkled broad spectrum antibiotics into the drinking water of mice for seven weeks. Then, based on previously-established connections between the gut, the immune system, and the brain, the researchers looked for changes in brain cell development the rodent’s noggins. In the hippocampus, which plays an important role in memory, there was a slow down in brain cell production in drugged mice compared to controls. And those drugged mice performed relatively poorly on memory tests.

When the researchers looked closer, they noted that the antibiotic-treated mice had fewer Ly6Chi monocytes—white blood cells recruited to inflamed tissue—in their bone marrow, blood, and brains. When researchers looked at mice with low levels of Ly6Chi monocytes that hadn’t been treated with antibiotics, they saw the same drop in brain cell production. And when the researchers added the cells back to the antibiotic-treated mice, they saw the rodent’s brains rebound. In cell experiments, the researchers noted that the monocytes can help brain cells develop.

Exercise and drinking a cocktail of helpful bacteria help in growing brain cells

Interestingly, mouse minds damaged by antibiotics could also be saved by exercise and drinking a cocktail of helpful bacteria. The findings, while only in mice and await validation in further trials, suggest so far that antibiotics may take a significant toll on the brain. The study also hints that future strategies to manipulate the microbiome could improve brain function.

Science Translational Medicine, 2016. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf2311 (About DOIs).

Cell Reports, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.074   (About DOIs).