Motherhealth Caregivers Bay Area In-Home Care Hollistic

Anti aging plants and herbs

Some of Motherhealth caregivers use whole foods/greens and herbs to help extend the life of some senior clients from 6 m to 4 more years.

Herbs that promote cell proliferation

Literature search about herbs that involve cell proliferation showed many research discussing the beneficial effects of herbs on stem cell proliferation, few reports focus on hair growth, stimulation of the immune system and other positive side of herbal remediation but there is lack of scientific research exploring possible deleterious effects of herbs on cell proliferation and possibly cancer development.

Angiogenesis/immune system

Natural and plant concentrates can likewise impel angiogenesis and fortify the immune system. Peripheral lymphocyte proliferation was found to be stimulated after treatment with Chinese medicinal herbal extracts (CHME).Nine CHMEs were experimentally tested; Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), Isatis root polysaccharide (IRPS), Epimedium flavone (EF), Propolis flavone (PF), Astragalosides (AS) and Ginsenosides (GS) were found to promote lymphocyte proliferation and antibody titer, while Epimedium polysaccharide (EPS) mainly stimulated cellular immune responses [48]. The results also suggested that Angelica and ChuanXiong have angiogenic effects, and may provide some mechanisms for the treatment of myocardial infarction and peripheral ischemia [49]. On the other hand, concanavalin a significantly stimulated proliferation of mice spleen cells from fed with 100 mg rosemary extract compared to control animals [50, 51]. Anther herbal extract, Hemidesmus indicus extract was found to significantly stimulate lymphocyte cell proliferation at 1 mg/ml concentration. The extract increased the IgG production from cultured PBLs, when used at 1 mg/ml concentration. It also increased the ADA activity of PBLs after 72 h in culture [52].

Specific nutrients found in plants and herbs that can Promote Stem Cell Proliferation.

When bone marrow stem cell activity is interfered with, diseases such as anemia (red blood cell deficit), neutropenia (specialized white blood cell deficit), or thrombocytopenia (platelet deficit) are often diagnosed. Scientists have long known that folic acid, vitamin B12, and iron (greens, liquid Fluradix supplement) are required for bone marrow stem cells to differentiate into mature red blood cells [53, 54]. Vitamin D has been shown to be crucial in the formation of immune cells, where carnosine has demonstrated a remarkable ability to rejuvenate cells approaching senescence and extend cellular life span [55, 56].

Concerns about herbal therapy

Albeit herbal remedies are wide spread, well accepted and considered safe by many of us, there are many concerns that should be taken into consideration. There are few reports discussed possible carcinogenic ingredients in some well-known accepted herbal remedies [18, 19]. A series of kidney failure cases were reported in 1993 after the ingestion of the weight-loss herb Aristolochia fangchi [20] which had been found to possess some carcinogenic activity [21, 22]. A medicinal plant Jussiaea repens (L) that is widely used to treat many ailments in many Asian countries has been reported to cause adverse effects on male rat reproductive system [23].

Regeneration, repair and wound healing

Adult stem cells can be found in virtually all adult tissues. It is suggested that the utilization of herbal extracts to stimulate endogenous stem cells to promote rejuvenating and regeneration could be accommodated as an alternative to stem cell transplantation. Natural compounds kenned to promote rejuvenating can be investigated on stem cells. To advance the clinical utilization of herbal stem cell therapy in a like manner to stem cell transplantation, it is very consequential to find substances that promote endogenous stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

It has been found that Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Radix (ALR) promoted the proliferation rate of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (m BMMSCs) up to 122.24% compared to untreated cells [24]. A dose-related effect of blueberry, green tea, catechin, carnosine, and vitamin D3 was observed on proliferation of human bone marrow as compared with human granulocyte- macrophage colony-stimulating factor (h GM-CSF). Furthermore, it has been shown that coalescences of nutrients engender a synergistic effect on hematopoietic progenitors by enhancing cell proliferation. This shows that nutrients can act to promote rejuvenating via an interaction with stem cell populations [25].

Poon and colleagues studied the effect of herbal extracts on bone fracture and osteoporosis, ethanol extracts of Gendarussa vulgaris and Drynaria quercifolia were investigated on rat bone marrow stromal cells and they found that Gendarussa vulgaris could enhance bone-cell proliferation [26]. Osteoblast-like cell proliferation was also been found to be stimulated by herbal extracts [27]. The C. brasiliense, I. pes-caprae and M. elaeagnoides extracts significantly increased cell proliferation in a dose- dependent induction of cell proliferation suggesting T-lymphocyte stimulation [28]. Numerous studies showed that herbal extracts can be used in the management of wound healing. A polyherbal formulation consisting of extracts of Wrightia tinctoria, Aloe vera, Curcuma longaand Terminalia chebula was used to study the fibroblast cell migration and proliferation using scratch wound assay technique. The results of this study indicate that the polyherbal formulation may be useful in effective management of superficial wounds [29]. Herbal extracts were also found to stimulation growth of skin cells. The polysaccharides of St. John’s herb were found to stimulate keratinocyte differentiation [30]. It has also been reported that hyperforin which is found in significant amounts in Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s wort) induced keratinocyte differentiation in vitro andskinhydration in vivo [31, 32]. Polysaccharides from Kiwi fruit (Actinidia chinensis L.) were also found to have a stimulating effect on human keratinocytes [33]. A mixture of herbal extracts and platelet rich plasma was found to induce dermal papilla cells proliferation [34, 35]. Other herbal extracts can stimulate keratinocyte cell proliferation and avail in wound rejuvenating [35, 36].

Immunomodulatory activities

Ethanol extracts of Allium sativum (garlic), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Plantago major (plantain) and Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) were assessed for their effects on cellular immunity in laying hens. Certain extracts definitely enhanced the fowl innate and/or specific cell immunity and may therefore amend host resistance in poultry. Considering the chicken as an important non-mammalian model that also serves as an available laboratory approach for some human diseases, herbs exerting immunomodulatory properties may find pertinent clinical applications [37].

Radioprotection

Many herbal extracts have been reported to have a radio protective potential. The results obtained from an in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that several botanicals such as Gingko biloba, Centella asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Ocimum sanctum, Panax ginseng, Podophyllum hexandrum, Amaranthus paniculatus, Emblica officinalis, Phyllanthus amarus, Piper longum, Tinospora cordifoila, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Syzygium cumini, Zingiber officinale, Ageratum conyzoides, Aegle marmelos and Aphanamixis polystachya protect against radiation-induced lethality, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage [38]. Sah and colleagues showed that some herbal extracts exhibitant thermo- radiation properties.

It was found cells exposed to Selaginella extract (SE) for 1 h afforded complete protection against heat- induced growth suppression. SE may possess anti-stress and antioxidant activities that could be responsible for the observed effects. Chemical analysis shows that (SE) contains hexoses and proteins. Taken together, S. bryopteris extract may help in stress- induced complications including those due to heat shock [39].

Herbal and plant extracts that might cause cancer

Some herbs and plants have been found to have deleterious effects on certain cancer cell lines. Croton oil has been long known to induce inflammation and carcinogenesis in different types of cells [40-42]. Moreover, herbal extracts such as Lycium shawii leaves extract was found to possess proliferative, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. Pure ingredients of these extracts were found to have significant proliferative activity when human embryonic kidney cells were used (HEK-293) [43]. It has also been reported that some herbal extracts can stimulate cancer cell proliferation while others can inhibit it. The proliferation of MCF7 cells was significantly increased following treatment with ecdysterone, saffcomin A, psoralen or isopsoralen [44]. Astragalus plant, which has been consumed by humans for over a thousand years and is available in any vitamins shop, has a single molecule called TA-65 which has been found to activate the telomerase enzyme hence stimulating proliferation and fighting aging [45].

Therefore, theoretically, TA-65 could stimulate unwanted growth and cell overpopulation. It is also reported that Chinese herbal extracts showed neuro proliferation properties in vitro and in vivo [46]. More specifically, Rhizome Chuanxiong, Radix Scutellaria and Radix Phellodendri could promote the proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in a concentration-dependent manner. Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells (osteosarcoma cell line), an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation was noticed [47].

Aristolochic acids (AAs) are primarily found in different species of the genus Aristolochia (e.g. Aristolochia clematitis, Aristolochia fangchi and Aristolochia manshuriensis), but have also been described in certain Asarum species (International Agency for Research on Cancer (2002).

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Motherhealth Caregivers 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com

Caring for clients with anxiety disorders, the brain in the gut

Most geriatric and family practice doctors prescribe anti-anxiety and anti-depressent meds from Gabapentin to other narcotics with serious side effects as exhibit more Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

One client of mine told her doctor that she does not need anti-depressant med and only need to sleep more or a low dose of a sleeping aid pill. She took melatonin from her own research, an anti-aging supplement.

Many seniors in care homes or living alone in bay area homes are set on their ways. They use the same recliner chair, bed, watch the same TV classic show, listen to the same music and so on. They do not want a lot of changes in their daily routines.

At times, when they could not sleep, they may have constipation and disturbed digestive system (see the section below on – The brain in the gut).

So when caring for seniors, ensure that changes are introduced slowly in their daily routines only when necessary and with their full cooperation and approval. Ensure that they are in a warm environment, cared for with proper meals and changed dry clothes, fed warm food, and just observing their daily needs and assist them with care and love.

Most of my caregivers at Motherhealth caregivers do bring love and care to be effective in their caregiving. They take these seniors as if they are part of their family.

The Enteric Nervous System – The Brain in the Gut

The gut has a mind of its own, the “enteric nervous system”. Just like the larger brain in the head, researchers say, this system sends and receives impulses, records experiences and respond to emotions. Its nerve cells are bathed and influenced by the same neurotransmitters. The gut can upset the brain just as the brain can upset the gut.

The gut’s brain or the “enteric nervous system” is located in the sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Considered a single entity, it is a network of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages between neurons, support cells like those found in the brain proper and a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings.

The gut’s brain is reported to play a major role in human happiness and misery. Many gastrointestinal disorders like colitis and irritable bowel syndrome originate from problems within the gut’s brain. Also, it is now known that most ulcers are caused by a bacterium not by hidden anger at one’s mother.

Details of how the enteric nervous system mirrors the central nervous system have been emerging in recent years, according to Dr. Michael Gershon, professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He is one of the founders of a new field of medicine called “neurogastroenterology.”

The gut contains 100 million neurons – more than the spinal cord. Major neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, norephinephrine and nitric oxide are in the gut. Also two dozen small brain proteins, called neuropeptides are there along with the major cells of the immune system. Enkephalins (a member of the endorphins family) are also in the gut. The gut also is a rich source of benzodiazepines – the family of psychoactive chemicals that includes such ever popular drugs as valium and xanax.

In evolutionary terms, it makes sense that the body has two brains, said Dr. David Wingate, a professor of gastrointestinal science at the University of London and a consultant at Royal London Hospital. “The first nervous systems were in tubular animals that stuck to rocks and waited for food to pass by,” according to Dr. Wingate. The limbic system is often referred to as the “reptile brain.” “As life evolved, animals needed a more complex brain for finding food and sex and so developed a central nervous system. But the gut’s nervous system was too important to put inside the newborn head with long connections going down to the body,” says Wingate. Offspring need to eat and digest food at birth. Therefore, nature seems to have preserved the enteric nervous system as an independent circuit inside higher animals. It is only loosely connected to the central nervous system and can mostly function alone, without instructions from topside.

This is indeed the picture seen by developmental biologists. A clump of tissue called the neural crest forms early in embryo genesis. One section turns into the central nervous system. Another piece migrates to become the enteric nervous system. According to Dr. Gershon, it is only later that the two systems are connected via a cable called the vagus nerve.

The brain sends signals to the gut by talking to a small number of “command neurons,” which in turn send signals to gut interneurons that carry messages up and down the pike. Both command neurons and interneurons are spread throughout two layers of gut tissue called the “myenteric plexus and the submuscosal plexus.” Command neurons control the pattern of activity in the gut. The vagus nerve only alters the volume by changing its rates of firing.

The plexuses also contain glial cells that nourish neurons, mast cells involved in immune responses, and a “blood brain barrier” that keeps harmful substances away from important neurons. They have sensors for sugar, protein, acidity and other chemical factors that might monitor the progress of digestions, determining how the gut mixes and propels its contents.

As light is shed on the circuitry between the two brains, researchers are beginning to understand why people act and feel the way they do. When the central brain encounters a frightening situation, it releases stress hormones that prepare the body to fight or flee. The stomach contains many sensory nerves that are stimulated by this chemical surge – hence the “butterflies.” On the battlefield, the higher brain tells the gut brain to shut down. A frightened running animal does not stop to defecate, according to Dr. Gershon.

Fear also causes the vagus nerve to “turn up the volume” on serotonin circuits in the gut. Thus over stimulated, the gut goes into higher gear and diarrhea results. Similarly, people sometimes “choke” with emotion. When nerves in the esophagus are highly stimulated, people have trouble swallowing.

Even the so-called “Maalox moment” of advertising can be explained by the interaction of the two brains, according to Dr. Jackie D. Wood, chairman of the department of physiology at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Stress signals from the head’s brain can alter nerve function between the stomach and esophagus, resulting in heartburn.

In cases of extreme stress, Dr. Wood say that the higher brain seems to protect the gut by sending signals to immunological mast cells in the plexus. The mast cells secrete histamine, prostaglandin and other agents that help produce inflammation. This is protective. By inflaming the gut, the brain is priming the gut for surveillance. If the barrier breaks then the gut is ready to do repairs. Unfortunately, the chemicals that get released also cause diarrhea and cramping.

There also is an interaction between the gut brain and drugs. According to Dr. Gershon, “when you make a drug to have psychic effects on the brain, it’s very likely to have an effect on the gut that you didn’t think about.” He also believes that some drugs developed for the brain could have uses in the gut. For example, the gut is loaded with the neurotransmitter serotonin. According to Gershon, when pressure receptors in the gut’s lining are stimulated, serotonin is released and starts the reflexive motion of peristalsis. A quarter of the people taking Prozac or similar antidepressants have gastrointestinal problems like nausea, diarrhea and constipation. These drugs act on serotonin, preventing its uptake by target cells so that it remains more abundant in the central nervous system.

Gershon also is conducting a study of the side effects of Prozac on the gut. Prozac in small doses can treat chronic constipation. Prozac in larger doses can cause constipation – where the colon actually freezes up. Moreover, because Prozac stimulates sensory nerves, it also can cause nausea.

Some antibiotics like erythromycin act on gut receptors to produce ascillations. People experience cramps and nausea. Drugs like morphine and heroin attach to the gut’s opiate receptors, producing constipation. Both brains can be addicted to opiates.

Victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases suffer from constipation. The nerves in their gut are as sick as the nerve cells in their brains. Just as the central brain affects the gut, the gut’s brain can talk back to the head. Most of the gut sensations that enter conscious awareness are negative things like pain and bloatedness.

The question has been raised: Why does the human gut contain receptors for benzodiazepine, a drug that relieves anxiety? This suggests that the body produces its own internal source of the drug. According to Dr. Anthony Basile, a neurochemist in the Neuroscience Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, an Italian scientist made a startling discovery. Patients with liver failure fall into a deep coma. The coma can be reversed, in minutes, by giving the patient a drug that blocks benzodiazepine. When the liver fails, substances usually broken down by the liver get to the brain. Some are bad, like ammonia and mercaptan, which are “smelly compounds that skunks spray on you,” says Dr. Basile. But a series of compounds are also identical to benzodiazepine. “We don’t know if they come from the gut itself, from bacteria in the gut or from food, but when the liver fails, the gut’s benzodiazepine goes straight to the brain, knocking the patient unconscious, says Dr. Basile.

The payoff for exploring gut and head brain interactions is enormous, according to Dr. Wood. Many people are allergic to certain foods like shellfish. This is because mast cells in the gut mysteriously become sensitized to antigens in the food. The next time the antigen shows up in the gut, the mast cells call up a program, releasing chemical modulators that try to eliminate the threat. The allergic person gets diarrhea and cramps.

Many autoimmune diseases like Krohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis may involve the gut’s brain, according to Dr. Wood. The consequences can be horrible, as in “Chagas disease,” which is caused by a parasite found in South America. Those infected develop an autoimmune response to neurons in their gut. Their immune systems slowly destroy their own gut neurons. When enough neurons die, the intestines literally explode.

A big question remains. Can the gut’s brain learn? Does it “think” for itself? Dr. Gershon tells a story about an old Army sergeant, a male nurse in charge of a group of paraplegics. With their lower spinal cords destroyed, the patients would get impacted. “At 10am every morning, the patients got enemas. Then the sergeant was rotated off the ward. His replacement decided to give enemas only after compactions occurred. But at 10 the next morning everyone on the ward had a bowel movement at the same time, without enemas.” Had the sergeant trained those colons?

The human gut has long been seen as a repository of good and bad feelings. Perhaps emotional states from the head’s brain are mirrored in the gut’s brain, where they are felt by those who pay attention to them.
Reference: Taken from “A contemporary view of selected subjects from the pages of The New York Times, January 23, 1996. Printed in Themes of the Times: General Psychology, Fall 1996. Distributed Exclusively by Prentice-Hall Publishing Company.

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Motherhealth Inc Caregivers for bay area homebound seniors 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com

http://www.clubalthea.com

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General Comments:

Since older adults are set on their ways, it is also difficult to change their perspectives and political views. For Bernie Sanders to win, all those 18 to 35 yrs old must vote with full research of political issues and truthful news.

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Hair growth in 90 yr old taking Angelica, astralagus and aloe vera

Taking care of my senior clients in the bay area have taught me a lot of lessons. One client of mine had been giving her 90 yr old husband suffering from gout with a combo of Angelica (dried), Astralagus (dried) and Alove vera (fresh added in drinks). After many months, her hubby is now growing hair.

The immune boosting herbs, Angelica and Astralagus, reduce sinility or reverses the aging process, enhances the immune system and promote Bone Marrow Stromal Cell growth. Aloe vera helps in maintaining the alkalinity of the blood/body.

The following are three scientific studies about these herbs:

Angelica and Astragalus, Chinese herbal medicine, are used as immunostimulants for enriching the blood, anti-tumor and antioxidation effects. However, the synergistic mechanisms of antioxidant effect have long been the object of intensive study. We investigated the deferring senile effect of AAP on aging mice by determination of the contents of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in brain, hydroxyproline (Hyp) in skin, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in serum, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and xanthine oxidase (XOD) in liver tissue and immunity organs index.
The obtained results showed that AAP decreased significantly the content of MAO and H2O2, and enhanced the concentrations of Hyp, GSH-PX and XOD in vivo. No significant differences were found when compared with those of vitamin E. Additionally, AAP could increase immunity organs index. These results demonstrated that AAP had significant deferring senile effect on the aging mice. These changes may be the important mechanisms to prevent mice from aging [Human Health and Biomedical Engineering (HHBE), 2011 International Conference].
Astragalus with Angelica or used separately could promote BMSC proliferation. The mechanism might induce the VEGF protein expression in BMSC. And the independent use of Angelica has no above effect [PubMed].
Combined extract of Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis (A&A) is a traditional antifibrotic agent in China. The present investigation aimed to determine whether an ACEi (Enalapril) and A&A together have a better antifibrotic effect in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) than monotherapy with either agent. Transforming growth factor-beta1, fibroblast activation, collagen deposition, macrophage accumulation and tubular cell apoptosis were all decreased.
The combination of the two drugs was significantly more effective than Enalapril alone in reducing tumor necrosis factor-alpha, collagen accumulation, activation of fibroblasts, and tubular cell apoptosis. In conclusion, Enalapril with A&A significantly decreased tubulointerstitial fibrosis to a greater extent than treatment with Enalapril alone.

Healthy fiber and Antibiotics, the good and bad

One of my senior client who is 91 yrs old loves pork and have a gout. He walks well and appears healthy but with lots of medications. He has a problem with digesting fats and was put in low salt diet by his doctor. So, I added more fiber in his diet, added pinch of sea salt in his soup and ensured that he is not over medicated especially with antibiotics.

Healthy fiber can help all of us in losing weight as it encapsulates the fat and sugar out of our bodies.

From Dr Mercola:

Your gut microbiome also exerts a powerful influence on your weight. Gut microbes known as Firmicutes have been detected in higher numbers in obese individuals, who also may have 90 percent less of a bacteria called bacteroidetes than lean people.⁷In a Medscape interview⁸ published in April, 2015, Dr Martin Blaser, who heads up the Human Microbiome Center at New York University, discussed the links between your gut microbiome, obesity, and chronic disease.

As noted by Dr. Blaser:

“The basic idea is that the microbiome is ancient. The organisms that we carry are not random; they have been selected over eons of evolution. They are important for our physiology, and there is a lot of evidence for that. My big point is that they are changing. As a result of the change, there are health consequences …

I believe that there is a general paradigm that we are losing important organisms early in life, and that is fueling some of the diseases that are epidemic today.”

In his book, “Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues,” Dr. Blaser attributes rising obesity and disease rates to factors that have altered the microbial composition of our microbiome. This includes:

Increased rates of C-sections

Excessive use of antibiotics in medicine

Inappropriate use of antibiotics in food production. As noted by Dr. Blaser: “Farmers found that they could increase the growth of their livestock by giving them low doses of antibiotics … the earlier in life they gave the antibiotics, the more profound the effect—and that is what we are doing to our kids”

Dietary changes, switching to diets low in fat and high in carbohydrates

Switching from breast milk to infant formula. This dietary change, he believes, is the most adverse of all

Moreover, he believes the effects are “cumulative over time and cumulative across generations,” noting that:“We’ve done studies in mice in which we can show that giving mice antibiotics early in life makes them fat. Putting mice on a high-fat diet makes them fat, and putting them on both together makes them very fat, suggesting the idea of additive risk.”

How Gut Bacteria Helps Regulate Your Appetite

Recent research has shed even more light on the links between gut bacteria and weight problems. Here, the researchers decided to investigate the possibility that bacterial proteins might act directly on appetite-controlling pathways. The hypothesis was that since bacterial survival depends on maintaining a stable environment, the bacteria must have some way of communicating their nutritional needs to the host.

Indeed, this is what they discovered. In essence, it appears gut bacteria play a role in appetite regulation by multiplying in response to nutrients, and stimulating the release of satiety hormones. The research also suggests bacteria produce proteins that can linger in your blood for a longer period of time, thereby modulating satiety pathways in your brain.

As reported by Medical News Today:⁹

“The researchers studied the growth dynamics of E. coli K12 … when exposed to regular nutrient supply …After 20 minutes of consuming nutrients and expanding numbers, it was found that E. coli bacteria from the gut produce different kinds of proteins than they do before feeding. The 20-minute mark coincides with the time taken for a person to begin feeling full or tired after a meal …

[T]he researchers began to profile the bacterial proteins before and after feeding … ‘Full’ bacterial proteins were found to stimulate the release of … a hormone associated with feeling full while “hungry” bacterial hormones did not …

The investigators next tested for the presence of one of the ‘full’ bacterial proteins, called ClpB. Levels of CLpB in mice and rats 20 minutes after eating … did correlate with ClpB DNA production in the gut, suggesting a mechanism linking gut bacterial composition with the host control of appetite.

The researchers also found that ClpB increased production of appetite-reducing neurons. Evidently, bacterial proteins produced by satiated E. coli influence the release of gut-brain signals, as well as activating appetite-regulated neurons in the brain.”

Another recent study¹⁰ found that probiotics helped protect against weight gain. The probiotic product in question was a commercial product simply referred to as VSL#3, containing multiple bacterial strains, includingLactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum. After four weeks, men who consumed this probiotic mix gained less weight and fat compared to those who received a placebo.

A Course of Antibiotics Can Alter Your Gut Microbiome for Up to a Year

It’s really important to understand the impact antibiotics have on your overall health, as they’re indiscriminate killers, wiping out not just the disease-causing bacteria but the beneficial bacteria too. Recent research demonstrates that when you take a course of antibiotics, your gut microbiome may be adversely affected for up to a year afterwards, depending on the antibiotic you’re taking.

Such dramatic shifts in your microbiome can also allow pathogens such as the deadly Clostridium difficile to gain a strong foothold, as evidenced in a recent animal study.¹¹ This is a significant reason for limiting antibiotics to severe infections only, as a healthy gut microbiome is part of your immune function, serving as a primary defense against all disease.

The randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial,^12,^13,^14,¹⁵ which took place in Sweden and Great Britain, evaluated the effects of four commonly-prescribed antibiotics: clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, minocycline, and amoxicillin.

The bacteria in the participants’ oral and gut microbiomes were analyzed before the experiment, right after finishing the one-week long course of antibiotics, and again one, two, four, and 12 months afterward. While the oral microbiome normalized fairly quickly, the gut microbiome typically did not.

As reported by The Atlantic:¹⁶

“People who took clindamycin and ciprofloxacin saw a decrease in types of bacteria that produce butyrate, a fatty acid that lowers oxidative stress and inflammation in the intestines.

The reduced microbiome diversity for clindamycin-takers lasted up to four months; for some who took ciprofloxacin, it was still going on at the 12-month check-up. Amoxicillin, on the plus side, seemed to have no significant effect on either the oral or gut microbiome, and minocycline-takers were back to normal at the one-month check-up.”

Antibiotics Also Raise Your Risk of Antibiotic-Resistant Disease

But that’s not all. The study also demonstrated that when you take an antibiotic, you may also raise your risk of antibiotic-resistant disease. Antibiotic resistance genes were found in both British and Swedish participants at the outset of the study, although the British had on average a 1.13-times-higher load of antibiotic resistance genes than the Swedes.

The authors speculate that this may be a result of the fact that Sweden has significantly decreased use of antibiotics over the past 20 years, due to the Swedish Strategic Program for the Rational Use of Antimicrobial Agents and Surveillance of Resistance (STRAMA), launched in 1994. After exposure to antibiotics, the antibiotic resistance gene load increased across the board.

According to the authors:

“Among the antibiotics tested, exposure to amoxicillin resulted in the least discernible effects on the microbiome composition, while these samples had the highest number with antibiotic resistance-associated genes and the most classes that were increased in the predicted metagenomes and in the full metagenomes, respectively, a week after the exposure …

Clearly, even a single antibiotic treatment in healthy individuals contributes to the risk of resistance development and leads to long-lasting detrimental shifts in the gut microbiome.”

Antibiotics in Infancy Increases Risk for Obesity, Asthma, and Allergies

Similar research done on infants show that antibiotic treatment alters your baby’s gut microbiome for 2 months or longer, and shifts the balance to allow the potentially disease-causing Proteobacteria to become dominant. The study also found that treated infants had an increased risk for developing obesity, asthma, and allergies. As reported by the American Society for Microbiology:¹⁷

“In the study, 9 infants were treated with intravenous ampicillin/gentamicin within 48 hours of birth, and over the 2 month study period, their gastrointestinal flora were compared to that in 9 control infants. At 4 weeks, bacteria from the beneficial genera, the Bifidobacteria and the Lactobacilli, were significantly reduced, and although the numbers bounced back by the study’s end, the species diversity did not …

“This research suggests that the merits of administering broad spectrum antibiotics—those that kill many bacterial species—in infants should be reassessed, to examine the potential to use more targeted, narrow-spectrum antibiotics, for the shortest period possible,” says [co-author Catherine]Stanton.

Healthy Sources of Fiber

It’s easy to be fooled when it comes to fiber. Most processed grain products claim to supply you with fiber, but breads and cereals are far from ideal. Not only do cereal grains promote insulin and leptin resistance, which is at the heart of obesity and chronic disease, most are also contaminated with glyphosate.

For example, about 15 years ago, farmers began dousing non-organic wheat with glyphosate just before harvest—a process known as desiccation—which increases yield and kills rye grass.

As a result, most of the non-organic wheat supply is now heavily contaminated with glyphosate, which has been linked to celiac disease and other gut dysfunction. Needless to say, this is the exact converse of what you’re trying to achieve by adding fiber to your diet. Instead, focus on eating more vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

The following whole foods, for example, contain high levels of soluble and insoluble fiber. Psyllium in particular has been shown to improve glycemic control in people at risk for Type 2 diabetes.¹⁸

Organic psyllium seed husk, flax hemp, and chia seeds Berries Vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts

Root vegetables and tubers, including onions, sweet potatoes, and jicama Raw almonds Peas

Green beans Cauliflower Beans

Healthy Fiber Provides Fodder for Beneficial Gut Microbes

As you can see, many of the health benefits associated with fiber involve its impact on the microorganisms in your gut. Not only does soluble fiber serve as a prebiotic but it is also converted to short-chain fatty acids that are then converted to healthy ketones that feed your tissues.

Alterations of the human microbiome through inappropriate and unnatural diet changes (especially reverting away from breastfeeding infants, and avoiding fresh vegetables and other fiber-rich whole foods) appear to be part and parcel of rising disease rates. In essence, we’ve strayed too far from our natural diet, which promotes a healthy gut flora.

A major culprit is food processing, which removes many of the vital nutrients. Add to that the use of agricultural chemicals such as glyphosate, and decimated soil nutrients secondary to industrial agriculture , and it should be clear that what we’re eating today is very far indeed from what our ancestors ate even two or three generations ago. As a result, our microbiome is changing, and it’s changing for the worse.

Soluble fibers, such as psyllium, are ideal nourishment for beneficial bacteria that assist with digestion and absorption of your food, and play a significant role in your immune function. Opting for an organic version of psyllium will prevent exposure to pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers that are present in nearly all commercial psyllium products.

I also recommend choosing one that does not contain additives or sweeteners, as these tend to have a detrimental effect on your microbiome. Sugar feed potentially pathogenic microorganisms, which is the converse of what you’re trying to achieve.

Caring for clients with lung health issues

Clean air, water and food are the basics of good health. My senior client with lung health issues had been using a lot of strong household cleaning chemicals and had been over fatigued in the last months. Their corporate health insurance was dropped and they have to fill out long forms for another health insurance. She is now 86 and her husband, 91 yrs old. She was also the caregiver for him. Together, they have been married for more than 65 yrs.

The first time I saw her I noticed dry skin, heavy breathing and lack of water. Older adults sometimes forget to drink/sip warm water with pinch of sea salt, ginger and garlic to cleanse their body every hour especially when the body’s lungs are not in good health.

Checking out her lifestyle and house keeping, I noticed that she used a lot of chemical sprays. As I talked to her, I massaged her arms as she complained about some pain near the shoulder and reminded her of nose breathing and proper belly breaths. I am reminded of how my father complained of his back pain, a year before he died of lung cancer.

So the next morning, I brought eucalyptus oil, sea salt, magnesium EPSOM salt for foot soak, coconut oil, Vitamin C, organic apples, avocado, papaya, ginger, garlic, lemon grass, beef bone soup and fresh pineapple. I will be teaching the new caregiver on how to care for her, massage her to bring her back to good health.

Connie Dello Buono, Motherhealth Caregivers for bay area homebound seniors 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com

http://www.clubalthea.com

The following information are from Dr Mercola.

The Effects of Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide is found in your nose, so when you breathe through your nose, you carry a small portion of the gas into your lungs. As explained by Patrick, nitric oxide plays a significant role in homeostasis, or the maintaining of balance within your body. Nitric oxide is also:

A significant bronchodilator

An antibacterial agent that helps neutralize germs and bacteria

A vasodilator

This is one of the amazing aspects of Buteyko therapy that I noticed. As you breathe exclusively through your nose and abandon mouth breathing, your nose starts to water and you frequently have to blow it. But amazingly your nasal passages eventually expand quite dramatically and it becomes much easier to get all your air through your nose rather than your mouth. This is true even for high intensity exercises like Peak Fitness. It may take a few months to work up to it, but once you are there you will rarely if even need to breathe through your mouth again, even under the most extreme circumstances.

Asthmatics typically breathe through the mouth. They also tend to breathe heavier and have a higher respiratory rate than non-asthmatics. According to Patrick, there’s a feedback loop, in that the heavier breathing volume that’s coming into your lungs cause a disturbance of blood gasses, including the loss of carbon dioxide (CO2). Contrary to popular belief, carbon dioxide is not merely a waste gas. Although you breathe to get rid of excess CO2, it’s very important that your breathing volume is normal, in order to maintain a certain amount of CO2 in your lungs.

“If you’re breathing too heavily, you lose carbon dioxide, and smooth muscles surrounding your airways constrict. Another factor from an asthmatic point of view is dehydration of the inner walls of the airways. It’s a combination of these factors that cause the airways to constrict. Heavy breathing is causing the loss of carbon dioxide. And carbon dioxide also helps to relax smooth muscles surrounding your blood vessels. So, it’s not just the airways which constrict when you’re breathing too much, but it’s also the blood vessels.”

As your airway constricts, there is a natural reaction to breathe more intensely as a compensatory mechanism. However, this causes even greater loss of carbon dioxide, and cooling of your airway causes it to close even more. In other words, asthma symptoms feed back to the condition.

You can test this out by taking five or six big breaths in and out of your mouth. Most people will begin to experience some light-headedness or dizziness. While you might reason that taking bigger breaths through your mouth allows you to take more oxygen into your body, which should make you feel better, the opposite actually happens. This is because you’re getting rid of too much carbon dioxide from your lungs, which causes your blood vessels to constrict—hence the light-headedness. So, the heavier you breathe, the less oxygen that’s actually delivered throughout your body due to lack of carbon dioxide, which causes your blood vessels to constrict.

“Also, when you breathe too much, your red blood cells hold on to the oxygen and don’t deliver so readily to where it is needed throughout your body. It’s called the Bohr effect; discovered in 1904 by Christian Bohr,” Patrick says. “In order for oxygenation to take place, we need the presence of carbon dioxide. Heavy breathing causing the loss of CO2 is not only causing blood vessels to constrict, but it’s also causing a greater affinity of the red blood cells with oxygen.

… If you were to look at the basic premise of breathing, we should not hear our breathing during rest. We should see very little movement from the chest and tummy. Ideally, most of our breathing is diaphragmatic, but we shouldn’t see it. The mouth should be closed, breathing should be regular, and breathing should be effortless.”

Bacteria in our cells can be our friend and enemy

Microbes our enemy and friend

The human body hosts more than ten thousand different kinds of microbes. Most of these bacteria aren’t harmful – in fact, many of them actually aid the immune system.

Microbiota and the healthy brain

Within the first few days of life, humans are colonized by commensal intestinal microbiota. Review of recent findings show that microbiota are important in normal healthy brain function. There exists a relation between stress and microbiota, and how alterations in microbiota influence stress-related behaviors.

Bacteria and the CNS

New studies show that bacteria, including commensal, probiotic, and pathogenic bacteria, in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract can activate neural pathways and central nervous system (CNS) signaling systems. Ongoing and future animal and clinical studies aimed at understanding the microbiota–gut–brain axis may provide novel approaches for prevention and treatment of mental illness, including anxiety and depression.

The healthy balance of microbial cells in our body is affected by many factors including antibiotics, acidic meds,narcotics,alcohol,sugar and more.

The new insights into NEC suggest why the microbiome suddenly seems so important to almost everything in the medical and biological worlds, even our understanding of what it means to be human. We tend to think that we are exclusively a product of our own cells, upwards of ten trillion of them. But the microbes we harbor add another 100 trillion cells into the mix.

The creature we admire in the mirror every morning is thus about 10 percent human by cell count. By weight, the picture looks prettier (for once): Altogether an average adult’s commensal microbes weigh about three pounds, roughly as much as the human brain. And while our 21,000 or so human genes help make us who we are, our resident microbes possess another eight million or so genes, many of which collaborate behind the scenes handling food, tinkering with the immune system, turning human genes on and off, and otherwise helping us function. John Donne said “no man is an island,” and Jefferson Airplane said “He’s a peninsula,” but it now looks like he’s actually a metropolis.

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The modern microbiome era started in the late 1990s, when David Relman, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University, decided to get a sample of the microbes in his own mouth. It’s a simple process: A dentist scrapes a sort of elongated Q-tip across the outer surface of a tooth, or the gums, or the inside of a cheek. These samples typically look like nothing at all. (“You have to have a lot of faith in the invisible,” one dentistry professor advises.)

Stress and the Microbiota

There is now an expanding volume of evidence to support the view that commensal organisms within the gut play a role in early programming and later responsivity of the stress system. The gut is inhabited by 10¹³–10¹⁴ micro-organisms, which is ten times the number of cells in the human body and contains 150 times as many genes as our genome. It has long been recognised that gut pathogens such as Escherichia coli, if they enter the gut can activate the HPA.

However, animals raised in a germ-free environment show exaggerated HPA responses to psychological stress, which normalises with monocolonisation by certain bacterial species including Bifidobacterium infantis. Moreover, increased evidence suggests that animals treated with probiotics have a blunted HPA response.

Stress induces increased permeability of the gut

Stress induces increased permeability of the gut allowing bacteria and bacterial antigens to cross the epithelial barrier and activate a mucosal immune response, which in turn alters the composition of the microbiome and leads to enhanced HPA drive. Increasing data from patients with irritable bowel syndrome and major depression indicate that in these syndromes alteration of the HPA may be induced by increased gut permeability.

In the case of irritable bowel syndrome the increased permeability can respond to probiotic therapy. Detailed prospective studies in patients with mood disorders examining the gut microbiota, immune parameters and HPA activity are required to throw further light on this emerging area. It is however clear that the gut microbiota must be taken into account when considering the factors regulating the HPA.

Antibiotics can cause cell death

Recent studies have revealed that antibiotics can promote the formation of reactive oxygen species which contribute to cell death. In this study, we report that five different antibiotics known to stimulate production of reactive oxygen species inhibited growth ofEscherichia coli biofilm. We demonstrated that supression of biofilm formation was mainly a consequence of the increase in the extracellular concentration of indole, a signal molecule which suppresses growth of bacterial biofilm. Indole production was enhanced under antibiotic-mediated oxidative stress due to overexpression of tryptophanase (TnaA), which catalyzes synthesis of indole. We found that DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide), a hydrogen peroxide scavenger, or the lack of trypthophanase, which catalyzes production of indole, partly restored formation of E. coli biofilm in the presence of antibiotics. In conclusion, these findings confirmed that antibiotics which promote formation of ROS (reactive oxygen species) can inhibit development of E. colibiofilm in an indole-dependent process.

Narcotic pain meds shrinks the brain, CDC updates their guide

CDC Guide when prescribing meds

Insurance companies reimburse narcotic pain meds but not alternative safe wellness solutions such as herbs, supplements, yoga and others.

One third of pharma drugs are paid for by the US government.

Narcotic pain meds shrink the brain causing other neuro-degenerative disease such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Most US doctors when coaxed by patients about prescribing narcotic pain med will do so to appease the patient who might only have a bruise or pain score of less than 5.

Most pain in the elderly are caused by nerve pain with root causes in Diabetes, lack of Vitamin B12, anxiety, stress and lack of care.

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The US has a serious opioid problem.

An estimated 2.1 million Americans suffers from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers.

To combat that, the CDC has put together a draft of guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain.

The guidelines are designed to help family doctors and general practitioners who prescribe opioid painkillers, a category of medications that includes drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin.

The number of deaths related to overdosing on opioid pain relievers has been on the rise over the past decade, eclipsing deaths related to heroin overdoses.

The CDC’s guidelines, which will be open for public comment through January 13, give suggestions for how opioid painkillers should be prescribed. Importantly, the guidelines aren’t binding; they’re also not intended for doctors who treat people with chronic pain linked with diseases like advanced-stage cancer.

Here are some of the main takeaways for doctors:

Physicians should only prescribe opioid painkillers if and when the benefits, such as relief from painful surgical operations or injuries, outweigh the costs, such as potential physical dependence and addiction. Doctors and patients should re-evaluate pain-management plans every 3 months.
Physicians should set up goals for pain management with their patients to prevent extended treatment.
For patients just going on treatment, short-acting opioid painkillers should be used instead of long lasting or extended-release versions, and doctors should aim to start patients on the lowest-possible dosage.
Physicians should review the patient’s history of controlled substance prescriptions and use urine drug tests to look for the prescribed medications as well as other not-so-prescribed drugs.

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Call 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com , caring Motherhealth caregivers for homebound bay area seniors for holistic caregiving.

Comments:

My senior client with Parkinson who is addicted to Tramadol is in her doctor’s office asking for pain meds due to a small bruise on her knee. And her doctor prescribed Vicodin. As her caregiver, I discussed this prescription to her family and we ended up not giving the pain med for a small bruise.

Most patients will lie for the severity of pain just to get a pain med prescription. Most doctors have only pain meds to relieve the client’s minor health issue that is metabolic and anxiety related disorder.

408-854-1883 starts at $30 per hr home care

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