HealthBeat News

Category: Heart and Circulation

  • More Good News About Fish Oil – For Diabetes and Weight Loss

    Evidence supporting the benefit of Omega-3 fatty acids, especially those found in Fish Oil, continues to mount. We have written about this before in HealthBeat articles – and Fish Oil is becoming important enough that the Drug Companies are scrambling to find ways to market their versions of this fairly simple substance at obscene prices.

    The following article came across my desk the other day – it will be of great interest to diabetics and those needing to trim some abdominal inches.

    Key Points in this article include:

    • Omega-3 fish oil produced beneficial changes to diabetic women’s bodies.
    • Fish oil reduced fat mass, the size of abdominal fat cells, and expression of pro-inflammatory genes in abdominal fat.
    • Results add to prior findings of anti-diabetic effects from omega-3s.

    Fish Oil Trims Diabetics’ Belly and Blood Fat

    Omega-3s also improved genetic and blood-fat profiles in small clinical study
    by Craig Weatherby

    Evidence that omega-3s and vitamin D may play helpful roles in type 2 (adult onset) diabetes continues to mount.

    Evidence also continues to accumulate that the shortage of omega-3s – and excess of omega-6s – in Western diets exacerbates the growing epidemic of metabolic syndrome and its twin spawn: heart disease and diabetes.(Those excess omega-6s come from vegetable oils, the prepared and packaged foods made with those oils, and meats and poultry raised on grains instead of grass.)

    The results of a small clinical trial from France lend weight to the hypothesis that diets high in omega-3s may help deter or ameliorate diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

    Belly fat and diabetes risk: A case of apples versus pears

    Compared with pear-shaped people – whose fat is centered on the hips and thighs – apple-shaped people with body fat centered on the abdomen are at greater risk of metabolic syndrome, heart disease and diabetes.

    This appears to be a function of the fact that fat cells (adipocytes) in the abdomen possess properties different from adipocytes found in the lower body.

    For one thing, abdominal adipocytes generate pro-inflammatory chemicals associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, heart disease and diabetes.

    In addition to anti-inflammatory impacts, omega-3s exert some of the same effects�produced by the leading diabetes drugs, called PPAR agents.

    The results of a clinical trial from France add to the good news, and are most welcome, given the need for nutritional tactics to deter metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.

    French trial shows belly fat loss from fish oil

    Last month, researchers from INSERM – France’s counterpart to the US National Institutes of Health – published the results of a small, controlled clinical trial designed to test the effects of fish oil (Kabir M et al. 2007).

    They recruited 27 women with diabetes and randomly assigned them to receive either fish oil (providing 1.8 grams of omega-3s per day) or a placebo (paraffin oil) for two months.

    At the end of the study, the women in the omega-3 showed significant reductions in their total fat mass and the diameter of the fat cells beneath the surface of their abdominal skin.

    No such benefits were detected in the placebo group.

    In addition, the omega-3 group showed reduced blood fat (triglyceride) levels and a lower ratio of triglycerides to HDL ("good") cholesterol: changes that reduce the risk that plaque will form in arteries.

    Finally, the omega-3 group enjoyed reductions in a subset of inflammation-related genes in their belly fat.

    The fish oil group showed no improvements in measures of insulin sensitivity, but omega-3s have never been associated with such changes, per se.

    Omega-3s appear able to stabilize blood sugar levels, but they do it by means other than insulin sensitization, which remain unclear.

    NOTE: Fish oil supplements can temporarily worsen blood sugar control in diabetics. Diabetics who take fish oil for the first time should consult their physician, and monitor their blood sugar more closely for a few weeks.

    Sources

    1. Delarue J, LeFoll C, Corporeau C, Lucas D. N-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: a nutritional tool to prevent insulin resistance associated to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Reprod Nutr Dev. 2004 May-Jun;44(3):289-99. Review.
    2. Kabir M, Skurnik G, Naour N, Pechtner V, Meugnier E, Rome S, Quignard-Boulange A, Vidal H, Slama G, Clement K, Guerre-Millo M, Rizkalla SW. Treatment for 2 mo with n 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces adiposity and some atherogenic factors but does not improve insulin sensitivity in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1670-9.
    3. Luo J, Rizkalla SW, Vidal H, Oppert JM, Colas C, Boussairi A, Guerre-Millo M, Chapuis AS, Chevalier A, Durand G, Slama G. Moderate intake of n-3 fatty acids for 2 months has no detrimental effect on glucose metabolism and could ameliorate the lipid profile in type 2 diabetic men. Results of a controlled study. Diabetes Care. 1998 May;21(5):717-24.
      Mostad IL, Bjerve KS, Bjorgaas MR, Lydersen S, Grill V. Effects of n-3 fatty acids in subjects with type 2 diabetes: reduction of insulin sensitivity and time-dependent alteration from carbohydrate to fat oxidation. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Sep;84(3):540-50. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1668.
    4. Rivellese AA, Maffettone A, Iovine C, Di Marino L, Annuzzi G, Mancini M, Riccardi G. Long-term effects of fish oil on insulin resistance and plasma lipoproteins in NIDDM patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Diabetes Care. 1996 Nov;19(11):1207-13.
    5. Rodriguez-Cruz M, Tovar AR, del Prado M, Torres N. [Molecular mechanisms of action and health benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids]. Rev Invest Clin. 2005 May-Jun;57(3):457-72. Review. Spanish.
    6. Yamamoto K, Itoh T, Abe D, Shimizu M, Kanda T, Koyama T, Nishikawa M, Tamai T, Ooizumi H, Yamada S. Identification of putative metabolites of docosahexaenoic acid as potent PPARgamma agonists and antidiabetic agents. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2005 Feb 1;15(3):517-22.

  • A Response To “Blood Pressure Meds – Are the side effects worth it?”

    It never ceases to amaze me; the side effects from prescription drugs that people are willing to put up with – even consider to be a “benefit.” Here is an example:

    Iggy writes:

    I take Hytrin, mainly for my prostate, but my blood pressure was occasionally a little high. Fortunately, my only side effect has been that I sleep much better. Now 7 or 8 hours, compared to 3 or 4 before.
    I believe I will add hawthorn to my supplement regimen as you recommend. I’ll be 69 in May.

    Nurse Mark replies:

    I have to congratulate Iggy on making it all the way to 69 years, in spite of the best efforts of conventional medicine.

    The following is information taken directly from the government website MEDLINE regarding the drug Hytrin, aka terazosin:

    Terazosin is used in men to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), which include difficulty urinating (hesitation, dribbling, weak stream, and incomplete bladder emptying), painful urination, and urinary frequency and urgency. It also is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure. Terazosin is in a class of medications called alpha-blockers. It relieves the symptoms of BPH by relaxing the muscles of the bladder and prostate. It lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily through the body.

    Terazosin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms or those listed in the SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section are severe or do not go away:

    • weakness
    • tiredness
    • stuffy or runny nose
    • back pain
    • nausea
    • weight gain
    • decreased sexual ability
    • blurred vision
    • swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
    • pain, burning, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet

    Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

    • hives
    • rash
    • itching
    • shortness of breath
    • rapid, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
    • painful erection of the penis that lasts for hours

    Terazosin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.

    A few comments:

    Terazosin looks to me for all the world like “A drug in search of an indication” – really not all that good at anything, but not dangerous enough to not be sold for something, so the drug companies are promoting it for anything and everything that they can think of. Therefore, any condition which might respond to increased small-vessel blood flow is “an indication” – fair game for a trial of this drug. I’m sure that Iggy is sleeping better – two of the top side effects are weakness and tiredness.

    Hawthorn, which works by dilating (opening) coronary and peripheral blood vessels and improving oxygen utilization in the heart muscle is a great choice for Iggy, though if he uses it and then complains to his doctor then that his blood pressure is becoming too low, he will most likely be told to stop the Hawthorn so that he can continue to use the Big Pharma Drug!

    Further, the proanthocyanidins (PCO’s) in Hawthorn have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and decrease the size of cholesterol-containing plaques in the arteries. This will not be popular with conventional medicine either, as it might cut into the profits they rake in from their expensive statin drugs…

    For improved sleep, Iggy might want to try a more natural solution in the form of Melatonin taken before bed – it is an excellent antioxidant that should be part of any anti-aging and longevity program, and oh, by the way, it helps most people sleep better.

  • Deficient in Iodine, But Allergic – What to do?

    Our recent article on Iodine stirred plenty of interest – it truly is a forgotten and misunderstood mineral. One of the more prevalent medical myths is that of the “Allergy to Iodine” – a frequently asked question by both doctors and nurses – who should know better. What they are really asking is “are you sensitive to Providone/Povidone-iodine (Betadine) topical (skin) solutions or iodine-containing injectable contrast medias?”

    Marilyn B writes:

    I’ve had low thyroid all my life, but am allergic to iodine (the doctor gave me iodine drops and my jaws locked). I use iodized sea salt. I have just about every disease you mentioned in the next-to-last paragraph… arthritis (everywhere), fibromyalgia, lumps on my thyroid and low thyroid, ovarian cysts (hysterectomy), breast cysts, chronic bronchitis… what can a person who is allergic to iodine do?

    Nurse Mark replies:

    No-one is truly allergic to iodine, any more than one could be allergic to water – iodine is a trace mineral that is essential to life. It is naturally present throughout our bodies. Many people have reactions to other components of things that may contain iodine, and iodine has been unfairly implicated – it is important to be sure that one is not reactive or sensitive to other ingredients or components of preparations or products that also contain iodine.

    It is interesting to note that Marilyn describes using iodized sea salt. Iodine is iodine, and iodized means iodine has been added. Obviously, the problem that Marilyn experienced when given “iodine drops” (and we don’t know what these were nor how they were administered) was not due to the iodine but to some other ingredient or component of the “drops.”

    What can someone like Marilyn do? She can work with an iodine-savvy holistic physician like Dr. Myatt who will help her to correct the iodine deficiency that is causing so many problems. A skilled physician will get to the bottom of the “allergy” so that appropriate forms of iodine supplementation can be used and the deficiency is corrected.

     

  • Sex Hormone Balance: Serious Anti-Aging and Disease Prevention

    In both males and females, a decline or imbalance of the sex hormones is associated with a wide variety of health problems.

    Imbalanced or decreased sex hormones in women can cause:

    • Acne or oily skin
    • Bloating
    • Bone loss
    • Breast disease including cancer
    • Cancer (hormone-related: breast, ovary, uterus)
    • Decreased fertility
    • Depression
    • Endometriosis
    • Excess facial and body hair
    • Heart disease
    • Heavy or painful periods
    • Hot flashes
    • Irregular periods
    • Irritability
    • Loss of muscle mass
    • Loss of scalp hair
    • Low libido
    • Memory lapses
    • Menstrual irregularities
    • Mood swings
    • Nervousness
    • Night sweats
    • Osteoporosis
    • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
    • Poor concentration
    • Sleep disturbances
    • Tender or fibrocystic breasts
    • Urinary incontinence
    • Vaginal dryness
    • Weight gain

    Imbalanced or decreased sex hormones in men can cause:

    • Bone loss
    • Decreased mental clarity
    • Decreased muscle strength
    • Decreased stamina
    • Decreased urine flow
    • Depression
    • Erectile dysfunction
    • Heart disease
    • Hot flashes
    • Increased abdominal fat
    • Increased urge to urinate
    • Irritability
    • Low sex drive
    • Mood swings
    • Night sweats
    • Poor concentration
    • Sleep disturbances

    Youthful hormone balance, achieved with natural (“bio-identical”) hormone replacement therapy is considered a main-stay of anti-aging and longevity medicine.

    Best Test for Sex Hormone Balance

    The sex hormones can be tested in blood, saliva or urine. Urine provides the most accurate results, saliva is next best and blood testing is least accurate. Here’s why:

    The sex hormones are released in “pulsed” doses throughout a 24-hour period. One hour, the output may be high, the next hour it may be low. This is a normal pattern for both sex and adrenal hormone excretion.

    A blood sample gives us only a “photograph” of the hormones present at the time the blood is drawn. It tells us nothing about the 24-hour average of hormones (which is the real number we are concerned with). Blood testing is the least accurate measure of sex and adrenal hormones.

    Saliva, which reflects an “average” of the 24-hour hormone content of the blood, is the next most accurate.

    Because a 24-hour urine test “captures” both the highs and lows of hormone output for an entire 24-hour time period and averages them, this method of hormone testing is in my opinion the “Gold Standard” of hormone testing.

    I currently recommend urine hormone testing for any patient who has concerns of hormone balance (which should be everyone over age 35-40!). Saliva testing is next best but does not appear to be as accurate.

    What’s Your EQ?

    Do you know what your EQ — estrogen quotient — is? You should, because this may be the single most important piece of information for preventing breast and prostate cancer. Here’s why:

    Estriol (E3) is a “good” estrogen and higher levels of estriol are associated with less cancer risk. Estriol appears to block many of the effects of the carcinogenic estrogens, estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), and other related “pro-carcinogenic” estrogens. How do you find out if you have enough estriol to protect you from cancer? You calculate your EQ.

    Studies done in the 19060’s and 1970’s showed that women with an EQ above 1.0 had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. Many women today have EQ’s of less than 1.0, and breast cancer rates are on the rise. This is no coincidence.

    Although the EQ ratio has been best-studied in women, it appears that a similar ratio may be predictive for prostate cancer in men.

    I now recommend that my patients who have hormone testing done have the EQ performed at the same time. The results, if unfavorable, are easily improved with dietary changes, supplements, iodine therapy or other natural measures. Where cancer is concerned, “prevention” trumps “early detection” every time.

  • IODINE – The "Missing Mineral" for Thyroid, Heart, Immune and Cancer Protection

    Iodine is a non-metallic essential trace element in human nutrition. Currently considered in conventional medicine to be primarily a thyroid nutrient (thyroid hormones T4 and T3 are composed largely of iodine), Iodine is actually found in many organs and tissue in the body including salivary, parotid, submandibular and pituitary glands, pancreas, testis, breasts, prostate, ovary, adrenal gland, stomach, heart, thymus, and lung. (1,2,3).

    Iodine is required for normal thyroid hormone production, it’s best-known role. But iodine also plays an important role in immune function, cancer prevention (especially of breast, thyroid and prostate cancer), diabetes prevention and reversal, atrial fibrillation correction, overweight and obesity, "brain fog" (low energy), breast and ovarian cysts, liver detoxification and menopausal symptoms.

    Iodine is also an important anti-microbial and can often relieve skin, lung, GI tract and other infections when antibiotics fail. In fact, from 1900 to 1960’s, every US physician used iodine (as Lugol’s solution) to treat low and high thyroid conditions, infections and many other conditions with excellent results.

    Here’s the "short course" on iodine.

    • Studies show that we may need a LOT more iodine than the current RDI of 150 micrograms, and that many if not most Americans are iodine deficient.
    • Conventional doctors are "iodine-o-phobic" (afraid to recommend higher-than-RDA doses of iodine) because they are not familiar with the vast body of research showing that higher iodine levels are beneficial.
    • Low iodine levels are associated with higher rates of low and high thyroid function; breast and thyroid cancer (and possibly many other types of cancer); ovarian cysts (including polycystic ovaries); fibrocystic breast disease; heart arrhythmias; lung and other infections; fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue to name only a few.
    • Because very high doses of iodine can cause heart palpitations and excess thyroid function (both which resolve upon stopping supplementation), initial testing of iodine levels and monitoring by an holistic physician may be the safest way to take iodine.

    References

    1.) C. Spitzweg, W. Joba, W. Eisenmenger and A. E. Heufelder. "Analysis of Human Sodium Iodide Symporter Gene Expression in Extrathyroidal Tissues and Cloning of Its Complementary Deoxyribonucleic Acids from Salivary Gland, Mammary Gland, and Gastric Mucosa." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 83, No. 5 1746-1751. (1)"Iodine in medicine and pharmacy since its discovery-1811-1961," Proc R Soc Med, 1961:54:831-836.
    2.) Dai G, Levy O, Carrasco N. 1996 "Cloning and characterization of the thyroid iodide transporter." Nature. 379:458-460.
    3.) Smanik PA, Ryu K-Y, Theil KS, Mazzaferri EL, Jhiang SM. 1997 "Expression, exon-intron organization, and chromosome mapping of the human sodium iodide symporter." Endocrinology. 138:3555-3558.