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Nutrition Resources, Information and Guide
This page includes a number of articles on the role of nutrition in maintaining health and overcoming disease. You will find information about diets for weight loss and epilepsy, how to find an eating plan that's right for you, how nutrition affects our behaviour, the role of food enzymes and phytochemicals, dietary advice and supplement suggestions for coronary heart disease, macular degeneration, high blood pressure and more.If you want to know the function of any vitamin or mineral including the recommended daily amounts and the best food sources go to Vitamins and Minerals
If you are planning for a baby, are pregnant or have just given birth, you will find a full resource on what to eat before, during and after pregnancy for yourself and your child up to the age of five including vitamin advice at Healthy Eating in Pregnancy
Please do not read any of the following nutrition articles unless you have first read the Disclaimer
Why You Are Different From Every Other Person On Earth
Our dietary requirements are unique. Nutrition advice that might be good for some people could be bad for others. Find out why you might thrive on saturated fat and do poorly on vegetables, and what your anatomy and your ancestors have to do with it.
Enzymes - Why You MUST Preserve Them
Are food enzymes important? Yes, according to the late Edward Howell. He believed human beings were born with an enzyme potential that had to last a lifetime. Read how to preserve your enzymes for good health and a long life.
The Seizure Control Diet
The extraordinary 'ketogenic' diet. The treatment that substantially benefits - and can sometimes cure - child epilepsy. An article every parent with an epileptic child will want to read.
Macular Regeneration: How To Stabilise - Even Improve, Failing Vision
16,000 people a year are registered blind in the UK because of this condition. Discover the important role played by carotenoids and antioxidants. It could save your sight!
How To Prevent - Even Reverse, Coronary Heart Disease
80% of people with severe heart disease (atherosclerosis) have normal cholesterol levels and most people with high blood cholesterol do not die of heart disease. Find out how doctors who specialise in nutrition save their patients from the leading cause of death.
Food Allergy & Intolerance
Describes the difference between these 2 conditions, how they are tested for, and how identifying offending foods and eliminating them can bring relief from ibs, crohn’s disease, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis and more.
Nutritional Approaches to Osteoporosis
Now that you've been warned off HRT for preventing osteoporosis, you might be prescribed calcium. But should you take it? This article will tell you why preventing osteoporosis will take a lot more than calcium, which could do you more harm than good.
The Low Carbohydrate Diet
Best known today as The Atkins' Diet, the low carbohydrate approach to dieting has a long history. First written about in 1864, William Banting suffered the same ridicule then as Dr Atkins endured for three decades. However, after a century and a quarter, this approach is being taken seriously by the medical profession.
Water: Your Best Medicine
Discover 42 reasons why you need water and 12 reasons why you need salt. Do you have a disease condition that is really only a symptom of dehydration? Find out by reading the findings of the worlds leading water researcher, the late Dr. F. Batmanghelidj.
Water: Why We Need To Drink 8 Glasses A Day
Normally, about 2.5 litres of water is required daily for a fairly sedentary adult in a normal environment to replace the total loss of water that occurs though urine, faeces, skin and lungs. Are you replacing this amount? If not, you may run into these problems.
Bring Me Sunshine & Vitamin D
We are advised to "keep out of the sun". We are warned that "there is no such thing as a healthy tan." But is this true? Should we be afraid of the sun - afraid that it will give us skin cancer. Or is there another side to this story. A side that no-one is telling you about?
Nutritional Individuality & Metabolic Typing
One man's meat is another man's poison. There is no universal diet. So how do we determine what we should eat? This article explores a method for doing just that.
Nutrition & Behaviour
What should Governments do to combat yobbish behaviour? This article explores a novel approach.
Delaying Ageing & Optimising Health With Diet & Supplements
Why one of the world's greatest scientists believes everyone's health can benefit by improving their diets and taking nutritional supplements.
Herbs and Nutrients for Glycaemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes
This health problem is growing all the time. Maintaining balanced blood sugar is vital for good health. This article explores a number of natural non-drug options to keep blood sugar levels under control.
Phytochemicals - The Magic Ingredients in Fruits and Vegetables
Nutrition is much more than vitamins and minerals, protein and fats etc. Food contains many thousands of chemicals. Most of these are yet to be studied. But some are known to be vital to good health. This article gives a brief description of them and the foods they are found in.
Nutritional Solutions to High Blood Pressure
This is a very common disorder affecting millions of people. Yet most are unaware they have a problem. This article explores the alternatives to the drugs usually supplied for this condition.
Natural Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Many people are prescribed drugs by their doctor that treat the symptoms of IBS, but not the causes. There are, however, a range of non-drug solutions that can treat the disorder itself successfully.
Nutritional Solutions to Cancer
A brief review of the work of doctor, scientist and humanitarian Matthias Rath in the field of cancer. The article explores a number of nutrients that can directly kill cancer cells and prevent them from spreading to other parts of the body.
Vitamins and Minerals
The functions, recommended daily amounts, maximum amounts you should take in supplement form and best food sources of 35 vitamins and minerals from vitamin A to Zinc.
Some Personal History - Skip This If You MustMy own interest in nutrition started around 30 years ago. There were a couple of books on health in the family bookshelf. They were both by Barbara Cartland. She is of course better known as a romantic novelist and wrote hundreds of such books.
She had views on romance now considered old fashioned. Like all women should be virgins before they marry but no man should. Which begs the obvious question. Anyway, the titles of these books were Vitamins For Vitality published in 1959, and The Magic of Honey.
The former begins: " 'My doctor says he doesn't believe in vitamins! 'a woman said to me last week when I told her the title of this book.
'Your doctor is either out of date or a fool I replied."
With an opening like that, I just had to read on.
The book is rather dated as you would expect. And the writing style is no longer acceptable. Vitamin A is described as the glamour vitamin, and vitamin B is described as the happiness vitamin. Yuk.
Even so it's still full of wisdom. Surprisingly for back then, she discusses the importance of gut bacteria, and how the use of antibiotics destroys it with disasterous consequences, such as the growth of fungi throughout the digestive tract. 40 years on even the medical profession have caught on to the folly of overusing antibiotics.
In her book she recommended a multinutrient supplement called Gev-e-tabs, so I thought I'd give it a go. I was shocked by the size of the capsules. I thought there must be some mistake. Surely they were for horses. I couldn't swallow them and ended up giving them away.
Undeterred by the horse pills experience, in 1987 I took a 2 year course in nutrition at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, London. Over the last decade or so I have worked as a therapist, lectured to lay and professional audiences in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, and edit a newsletter for complementary health professionals.
All the articles that follow are written by myself unless otherwise stated.
Michael Sellar Dip ION
There is much discussion about nutrition these days. So you should be aware of the importance of eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, low fat meat and oily fish, and avoiding processed, refined, adulterated foods.
For at least 95% of people this would be excellent advice. If it was followed the NHS wouldn't be in such a mess.
But you're reading this as an individual. I don't know you. Maybe you are among the 5% that has unusual dietary requirements. So I can't tell you as an individual what you should eat. Only you can know this!
Most books on nutrition assume everybody is the same. But it ain't so. We're all different.
Let me give you an example.
Over the last decade or so we've all been told how bad fat is. Fat is blamed for everything. Heart disease. Cancer. Overweight. Rising petrol prices. You name it. Instead we should switch to carbohydrates - fruit, veg, grains etc.
Well let me tell you about a diet some children are put on by doctors.
When Fat Is Good 90% of the calories on this diet come from fat. You read that right. 90%.
What banana republic does this take place in?
The UK.
Have the doctors been struck off?
No. It's medically approved for children.
How overweight are these kids?
Normal weight.
Their cholesterol levels must be astronomical surely?
No. A tad higher than usual but nothing to worry about.
Give up? These kids have epilepsy. This diet controls their seizures.
You see the point I'm making? A typical meal of chicken, carrots, double cream and butter might turn your stomach. But to these kids and their families, it's just what the doctor ordered, so to speak.
You're still not convinced are you? You think that's a special case.
Surely we can make the general statement: fat is bad; fruits and vegetables are good?
Not really!
Some nutritionists believe our most common nutritional deficiency is .... fat!!!
The subject of fat requires a whole article to itself. You'll have to wait for that. So let's leave it and look at fruit and veg for now.
When Vegetables Are Bad In February 2002 professor McColl of Glasgow University warned us that eating vegetables could be the cause of the fastest growing cancer in the UK. He and his research team think nitrate fertilisers could be responsible for the trebling of throat cancer over the last 20 years. Scotland is the worst affected area in the UK.
Buying organic is not the answer. They are also loaded with nitrate.
Now the good professor might be completely off beam here. I can't see how Scotland can suffer the worst. It's not exactly a secret the Scots have a hands-off relationship with vegetables.
Let's take another example. This is fictional but could be real.
Brian has problems like asthma, rhinitis, nasal polyps, and nettle rash. Knowing I know something about nutrition, he's avoided me for years. But now he asks me for advice. I question him casually about his diet.
It's dreadful.
Nothing green to be found (apart from jelly babies). His fast food outlet has never heard of carrots or apples and wonders what animal they come from. He lives on meat, dairy and refined wheat products.
I persuade Brian to change his diet for the better. Plenty of fruit and vegetables. He promises to follow my directions to the letter.
A few weeks later we bump into each other. He looks terrible. He's feeling far worse. He withdraws my invitation to his daughter's wedding.
What went wrong?
I forgot to ask whether he is allergic to aspirin!
"It's funny you should mention that because when I was a child I suffered the same symptoms after my mother gave me aspirin. The doctors found I had this allergy, so I've always avoided aspirin."
So why did his symptoms get worse? Because the chemical found in aspirin (salicylate) occurs in high amounts in most fruits and vegetables, but is naturally low on his old diet. He was on a low salicylate diet without being aware of it.
My advice had the same effect as prescribing aspirin.
I should point out, before I get a lot of rude e-mails from my colleagues, this scenario could not happen in a one-to-one consultation with a nutritional therapist, because a proper case history is taken.
So you see most fruits and vegetables would not be good for someone like Brian.
I could also mention all the naturally occurring toxins, carcinogens and mutagens found in fruits and vegetables. But I won't. At least not for this article.
I could even point out how sensitive many people are to carbohydrates. They must limit their intake of fruits and vegetables because they play havoc with their blood sugar levels. But I'm not going to dwell on this either.
I might even mention the many people who have a toxic reaction to certain foods. Even healthy foods, like grapefruit, oranges, tomatoes, onions. In fact you could be intolerant to almost anything. You may never find out unless you're tested.
The point is you are an individual, with individual requirements. You may be a homo sapien like everyone else, but you are truly unique.
Where Did I Come From? No, I'm not discussing the birds and the bees here, though I agree, it's more fun than nutrition. I mean where did your ancestors originate? This would be useful to know. It might tell you what you're best adapted to eat.
If it's from Eskimos, a high protein diet might be best. If it's from Japan, a low animal fat diet would be a good idea. And if it's from the East End of London, you're well adapted to eating pie, mash and jellied eels!
Should I Drinka Pinta Milka Day? If you are Greek Cypriot there's an 85% chance you'll have trouble digesting milk because of a deficiency of lactase - the enzyme needed to digest it.
But if you originate from Denmark there's a 98% chance you'll have no problems digesting milk.
You are as different on the inside as on the outside. Giving general advice may be inappropriate to you.
You Are Special - You Are Unique Thanks to that great scientist Roger J Williams and his books Biochemical Individuality and You Are Extraordinary we know how our anatomical differences affect our personality, character and life. Here's some examples:
Normal stomachs vary enormously in shape and size. They may empty their contents rapidly or slowly.
Pepsin and hydrochloric acid, needed to break down protein, can vary a thousandfold. In fact a lot of normal, healthy people, have no stomach acid at all!
Some people have such a large oesophagus they've swallowed a whole set of false teeth (some people will do anything to get on You've Been Framed). Other people have difficulty swallowing a small tablet.
These kind of differences help explain the food choices we make, how much we eat, how frequently we eat, how rapidly or slowly we eat.
The weights of normal livers can vary fourfold. This may affect how well we convert nutrients into building material and energy (metabolism).
The weights of some endocrine (hormone producing) glands like the thyroid can vary sixfold. This will influence appetite, thirst and much else.
The blood supply to glands and organs also varies. This will affect their efficiency.
The Answer Could Be In Your Blood In his book Biobalance Rudolf A Wiley gives some interesting examples of people's individual responses to foods.
For 15 years Ann had the following problems: chronic fatigue, poor attention span, frequent vaginal discharge, metallic taste in the mouth, poor memory, abdominal bloating, overweight.
All lab tests were normal. She was told there was nothing physically wrong with her!
Dr. Wiley recommended a diet which was the exact opposite of the "healthy" diet she'd been eating. She was told to eat sausage and eggs, well buttered toast, coffee with heavy cream for breakfast. Buttered, fried potatoes and beef for lunch. Liver, fried cauliflower and creamed spinach for dinner.
Although this diet looked dreadful and her friends thought she'd die, she felt so ill she was prepared to do anything.
Within a month she'd lost 15 pounds in weight and felt much better. Within 3 months she achieved her ideal weight for the first time in her adult life and all symptoms disappeared. Her blood fat levels and cholesterol remained normal.
Next he gives the example of Melissa who had a similar health profile to Ann, but she was put on a wholefood, near vegetarian diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables.
Yet after just one week on this diet, all her symptoms vanished. 3 years later she's still fine.
This was after 10 years of intensive psychotherapy!
You are no doubt wondering why two people with similar health problems were put on such different diets. The answer lies in the pH or level of alkinity of the blood. I'll discuss Dr. Wiley's system in a future article.
Peter J D'Adamo also believes the answer is in your blood. But it's not pH. In his book Eat Right 4 Your Type, he suggests you have no choice about what's best to eat (or what types of exercise you should do), because this is determined by your blood group. He gives 4 diets, 4 exercise programmes and 4 plans for healthy living according to whether you're an O,A,B or the very select AB. Your internal chemistry, the way you absorb nutrients and what foods your body handles well will be reflected in your blood type.
What Metabolic Type Are You? After Dr. William D Kelley cured himself of cancer with a mainly vegetarian diet (and much else) he put his wife on a strictly vegetarian diet when she became ill. When she nearly died from his 'cure' he realised how individual our responses can be. He went on to develop a system called metabolic typing.
This looks at both the efficiency of your metabolism and the tendencies towards dominance within your autonomic nervous system.
After much research he came up with 10 metabolic types. Once you know what your type is, you know what foods you function best on. For instance type 1's would do best on a mainly raw vegetarian diet. Type 2's must have meat to function at their best; like fatty lamb and beef.
You need to answer an incredible 3,200 questions. Blood and urine analysis is also undertaken. If you survive this experience you'll discover your metabolic type.
Kelley devised this system decades ago. It has since been modified and updated (and simplified I hope). I will look further at this system and report in a future article.
Body Typing Body Typing divides people into 25 types based on the idea that each person has a dominant gland or organ determined at birth.
Each body type has certain physical characteristics and psychological traits. And each has its own nutritional needs. By recognising which body type we are, we can eat according to the specific needs of our body.
A Sticky Doughnut Could Be Good! I thought this idea was original to me until I found someone else had thought of it first. I'll never become a guru this way.
Wally Heiby in his book, The Reverse Effect comes up with what he calls the Pleasure Concept.
Human beings are a combination of mind, body and spirit. We can influence our health by our beliefs and mental state.
Being positive, confident, outgoing, optimistic and happy; liking ourselves; feeling in control of life; setting realistic goals; having supportive friends; giving and receiving love; challenging work; pleasurable pastimes; all these and more are important.
Heiby believes, and I agree with him, that occasionally eating something that gives us pleasure but is a nutritional no-no, could be good for us. A chocolate eclair filled with whipped cream; a 99 with hundreds and thousands; a doughnut oozing with sticky jam; a Yorkie Bar.
The negative nutritional aspects can be outweighed by the pleasure of the experience. This feeling of pleasure has many positive effects on our biochemistry.
"I believe.....those more casual about their eating habits - even if life-shortening foods are consumed - will generally live longer than those eating only healthful foods, if the orientation of the latter is such that pleasure is reduced."
There is very little point eating healthy food if it makes you miserable. You are not benefiting your health at all. You may make it worse. Just as being unhappy and depressed reduces the efficiency of our immune systems.
"Eat healthful foods and avoid unhealthful ones, but only to the extent that such eating does not reduce the fun of living!"
Summing UpFor the vast majority of people, a nutrititious wholefood diet is best.
But your dietary needs may differ from everybody else. We are all different. There is no single diet that's best for everybody. Only you can know what's best for your body. Be your own expert!
Foods we think of as healthy may not be for you.
Foods we think of as unhealthy may not be for you.
Foods known to be unhealthy, may still be healthy for you.
The diet of your ancestors might help you know what you're best adapted to eat.
Your individual internal anatomy could determine your eating habits.
Methods to determine your individual needs have been devised, such as blood pH, blood type, metabolic typing and body typing.
Many of the ideas in this article will be explored further in future articles.
If you would like to visit a therapist who has been trained to find out your metabolic type then please visit Metabolic Typing Therapist
According to Democritus, a Greek alchemist writing in 400B.C., all that exists are atoms and a void. So where does life come from? What turns lifeless atoms into living structures? The answer is enzymes. Within the vast chemical universe, enzymes build life. They take atoms and promote purposeful, deliberate, step by step reactions to create large sophisticated complex molecules.
Every chemical transformation that takes place within the living world is the responsibility of enzymes. They carry out each chemical reaction within cells, and as such, they represent the "life force" of the cell. This "life force" has not been synthesised in any laboratory. It is seen as a kind of radiation if viewed by Kirlian Photography. If the enzymes are weakened, in short supply or not able to properly function, the health of each cell would be in jeapody, and hence the life of the whole being.
Dr. Edward Howell - Enzyme PioneerAccording to Dr. Howell (1898-1988), that is precisely what happens to human beings. After a lifetime of research he concluded that we do become enzyme deficient, and this leads to degenerative disease.
Howell believed we are all born with an enzyme potential which has to last a lifetime. They need to be preserved and not carelessly wasted. The way to do this is to make sure the metabolic enzymes which run our bodies are not diverted to the task of digesting food.
Food enzymes are found in raw living foods, or foods that are only lightly heated below 119 degress fahrenheit.
But do these food enzymes really matter? Saliva is rich in the enzyme amylase. This starts the breakdown of carbohydrates. And the pancreas secretes enzymes to digest carbohydrates, protein and fat. Any foods to escape digestion are worked on by enzymes in the intestines.
If food enzymes are of any value they need to digest food even after they are eaten.
The Food Enzyme StomachAccording to Howell this is exactly what happens. The stomach is actually divided into 2 parts. Food goes firstly into the upper part of the stomach where no acid or enzymes are secreted. Here it sits for up to an hour while the enzymes in the food, which were activated by chewing, and enhanced by the heat and moisture in the stomach, go to work on digesting what was eaten. Only after this predigestion does it move into the lower portion of the stomach where the pancreatic enzymes continue the digestive process.
If cooked food is eaten, nothing much will happen in the upper part of the stomach apart from the continuous action of salivary enzymes.
This is confirmed by Gray's Anatomy, the Bible of medical students: "...the stomach consists of 2 parts physiologically distinct. The cardiac portion of the stomach is a food reservoir in which salivary digestion continues; the pyloric portion is the seat of active gastric digestion." Howell called this cardiac portion the food enzyme stomach.
Some animals, who have never got round to cooking their food, have special sections for predigestion. The cheek pouches of monkeys and rodents. The crop of many birds. The first stomach of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Some animals bury or cover their food, allowing the enzymes to go to work.
Many native cultures around the world let meat and fish hang around for several days before eating, or expose foods to fungal enzymes before eating them.
Most wild animals have no salivary enzymes, and their digestive juices are weaker than man's. But in an experiment with wild dogs fed a high carbohydrate heat-treated diet, they developed salivary enzymes within a week.
So perhaps food enzymes were designed to play an important role in digestion.
But even if this is true, why worry? Surely the body can supply all the enzymes it needs without relying on the enzymes in food.
Enzymes Do Wear OutThis is the orthodox view. Enzymes aren't used up, and even if they were, the body can make all it needs. Howell thought this was an "outrageous" view to take. Enzymes can be found in the sweat and urine after some illnesses, and after strenuous activity, which suggests they do get used up.
Just because the body is capable of doing something, doesn't mean it can always do so efficiently. This is particularly true with ageing.
The Human Pancreas Is EnlargedAs a percentage of body weight the human pancreas is much larger than other animals. It seems that on a heat-treated enzyme-deficient diet the pancreas is overworked and enlarged. An organ which is overworked eventually becomes exhausted. Can an organ which only weighs 3 ounces supply the vast needs of the digestive system on its own? If it can't, it will have to raid the body to supply its needs. Since the body's organs work as a team, an overworked pancreas could have an adverse effect on other glands and their hormones.
Less Calories - Longer LifeUndernutrition without malnutrition is a very well researched method of extending lifespan in animals and insects. It has been promoted by noted gerontologist Roy Walford. It is believed but not confirmed that this applies to humans. So long as the animals receive all the nourishment they need, calorie restriction allows them to live much longer than animals allowed to eat as much as they want. Restricted animals are also highly resistant to degenerative diseases.
But how does dietary restriction work to achieve these results? The answer to this is not known for sure but this is what Dr. Walford has to say: "Restricted animals are chemically younger that their chronological age would indicate...The amount of different enzymes in tissues...are in many instances characteristic of the age of the animal (my italics). Enzymes are of critical importance in metabolism because they regulate the rates at which most cellular events are happening...The level of [the enzyme] adenosine triphosphatase in the liver of a normally fed rat reaches peak value at 200 days then gradually declines with further age. In restricted rats, the peak and beginning of decline do not occur until 600-700 days."
The Fatal ProcessThis is the term Howell used for cooking. Whether boiling, frying or baking, the enzymes in foods are killed off. We could be shortening our lives by what we do in the kitchen!
Of course enzymes aren't just killed off in the kitchen but in the processing of foods. Howell's main focus of attack was on sugar which he called "the greatest scourge that has ever been visited on man in the name of food."
Raw Foods & FastingIf Howell is correct in his view of an enzyme potential, then the use of raw foods, which preserves this potential, should be expected to overcome many health problems. This appears to be the case. In Europe in particular, where raw food therapies have a long tradition, highly nutritious raw food or mainly raw food diets have been used with success in many disease states. Therapeutic fasting preserves even more of the enzyme potential. This allows metabolic enzymes to go to work on rebuiling the body. This has also been applied with great success.
Howell did not advocate an all raw diet. He didn't think this would be palatable for many people. He suggested the use of digestive enzyme supplements with cooked foods.
Case Proven?We can hardly say that! Howell's theory of an enzyme potential we're born with which has to last a lifetime remains a fascinating theory. I cannot say whether he's right.
However, I believe giving the digestive system vast amounts of work to do each day is a great drain on the body's resources and cannot be good for our long-term health and life expectancy.
I would suggest the following to ease the burden on the digestive system and indeed on the rest of the body which has to assimilate and detoxify what has been eaten:
Don't overeat. This is about the worst dietary offense you can commit. Aim to eat just enough to satisfy you and no more.
Increase raw fruit and vegetable consumption. Decrease cooked, refined and adulterated foods, especially high calorie sugary/fatty foods.
Avoid foods which you like but you know don't agree with your digestive system.
Look at the principles behind food combining, where concentrated starches and protein are separated. This eases the digestive burden.
Drink plenty of water. Ideally drink half a pint of water about half and hour before meals. Water is important in the digestive process and helps metabolic enzymes function more efficiently.
All the above measures will help to preserve enzymes, take the load off the digestive system and ease the burden on every cell in the body.
If you would like to visit a nutritionist in Stoke Newington, north London or Central London please go to: London Nutrition Consultant
References to fasting as a treatment for epilepsy go back to Biblical times. But it wasn’t until 1921 when a paediatrician reported using it successfully in severe cases, that interest was reawakened.
In the same year it was proposed that the same metabolic effects created by fasting could be achieved with ketogenesis by utilising a very high fat, low carbohydrate (ketogenic) diet. In this way the benefits of fasting could be extended over time.
Ordinarily the body uses carbohydrates (glucose) as fuel. But if this is not available it will burn fat. Fat does not completely burn but leaves a residue or “ash” called ketones, made up of beta-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetate.
The brain can use the former as an energy source. The latter is excreted in the urine and breath. It was theorised that seizures could be prevented if ketones built up in the blood to a certain level.
66% Substantially BenefitThe first study reported in 1925. Of 37 epileptic patients treated over 2½ years, 19 (51%) had over 90% seizure control, and 13 (35%) had 50-90%. Over the next decade or so a number of other studies reported positively. They showed that around one third of children had their seizures largely controlled. Another third saw a substantial improvement, and another third were not substantially benefited.
The ketogenic diet began to be used widely even without any understanding of how it worked. Even today, this is still not known.
As new anticonvulsant medications were developed in the 1940‘s, the ketogenic diet fell out of favour. It was forgotten for decades until the mid 1990’s with the case of Charlie Abraham.
“...after thousands of epileptic seizures, an incredible array of drugs, dozens of blood draws, eight hospitalisations, a mountain of EEG’s, MRI’s, CAT scans, and PET scans, one fruitless brain surgery, five paediatric neurologists in 3 cities...Charlie’s seizures were unchecked, his development “delayed” and he had a prognosis of continued seizures and progressive retardation.”
After 9 months and $100,000 of treatment, Charlie was treated at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, with the ketogenic diet, after which he was able to discard his medications and became virtually free of seizures.
Some Are Seizure FreeIn 1998 Johns Hopkins published the results of 150 consecutive cases. These were all children who averaged over 600 seizures a month and had tried more than 6 medications. Even in this extreme population, after one year 11 (7%) were seizure free, 30 (20%) had over 90% seizure control, 34 (23%) had between 50-90% control, and 8 (5%) had less than 50% control. 83 (55%) remained on the diet at one year, 67 (45%) had discontinued the diet.
Nearly half the children who start the diet will not continue with it because the benefits are not sufficient to make it worthwhile. The diet is extreme and rigid. For some it is too much of a sacrifice if seizures can be largely controlled with drugs.
Others go on the diet even with good control because of the toxicity and side effects of the medication. These can affect the child’s behaviour, mental clarity and alertness. Learning and intellectual development can be impaired. For one in five children, even with the most up to date medications, their epilepsy remains uncontrolled.
The diet can be used for babies only months old, although it is usually reserved for children over one and adolescents. It seems to be equally effective across this age group. It will probably help adults but there is little research or use in older age groups. It seems to be effective regardless of the type or frequency of the seizure.
What Do Children Eat?It is typically made up of 4 grams of fat for each gram of protein and carbohydrate combined (ketogenic ratio 4:1). So 80% of the diet by weight is fat and it makes up 90% of the calorie intake. A typical breakfast might be mushroom omelette with bacon. Hot chocolate made with 36 per cent cream.
Lunch might include celery stalks filled with peanut butter or cream cheese, lettuce with mayonnaise and a slice of tomato, and a caffeine-free diet soda.
Dinner might be hot dog with ketchup or mustard, lettuce and mayonnaise, a whipped cream sundae with a strawberry, and a diet soda.
Another aspect of the diet is the number of calories consumed. Too many reduces ketogenesis. The diet is based on 75% of the recommended daily allowance for a child of a particular age and weight. Since ketosis decreases appetite, hunger is usually not a problem.
Fluids are also restricted to 20% below normal maintenance, or around 60cc per kilogram of bodyweight to maintain minimal hydration, although it isn’t clear why. In practice it seems to improve seizure control. Ketosis also suppresses thirst.
Carbohydrate is broken down to glucose and is the most severely limited. Over half of ingested protein is also transformed into glucose and must be restricted to between 0.75 and 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight depending on age and growth. Protein needs to be adequate and no more.
The ketogenic diet is not nutritionally complete. A multivitamin and mineral supplement and a calcium supplement is required daily.
The diet is mathematically calculated and must be strictly adhered to. Even small variations can reduce ketosis and bring on seizures.
Starting The DietFour days of hopitalisation is required. The child is fasted for a few days to allow the body to use up its stores of glucose and glycogen. Then high fat meals are gradually introduced and the dose of some medications is adjusted.
During this period the dietician teaches the diet to the family and provides them with a number of meal plans specifically calculated for the child.
Over the next few weeks the body learns to adjust to this new way of eating. Parents need to buy a gram scale with one tenth of a gram increments. All food must be carefully weighed. Urine must be tested daily with dipsticks (ketostix) to confirm the required ketone level.
In the weeks ahead the diet will need fine tuning to optimise seizure control and reduce medication to a minimum.
Problems And MistakesThere are bound to be problems in the early days of the diet and mistakes made. Some of these are as follows.
The level of 4+ needs to be reached on the ketostix. This is the highest level they measure. While this confirms ketosis, a much higher level may be required for optimal control. It is the level of ketones in the brain which determines seizure control, not urine. So reaching the required level may not supply enough seizure control. It is hoped a finger prick blood test may become available. This should prove more accurate.
The most common mistake made is the measure of calories. Basal metabolic rates and activity levels can differ markedly from one child to the next. An overestimate of as little as 25-100 grams a day can upset ketosis. Restricting calories for those that are gaining weight can result in better ketosis and seizure control.
Some may lose weight and will require a very carefully controlled increase in the calorie level over several weeks so as not to provoke seizures.
Because ketosis suppresses the appetite, this brings about an interesting paradox. Reducing calories leads to better ketosis and thus reduced appetite. And vice versa. So the answer to children who complain of hunger may be to give them less to eat.
Many other adjustments may need to be made. This might involve fine tuning the meal plans, the carbohydrate level, the proportion of saturated to unsaturated fats, the ketogenic ratio, the time that foods are eaten (too long a period between meals will reduce ketosis), the fluid level, and the medication levels.
The Diet Is Challenging“I would not wish this diet on my worst enemy, but I would wish it on every child with uncontrolled seizures.”
Such a diet is not for the faint hearted. It requires an absolute commitment on the part of parents. They need to be very positive and persuasive in order to get and keep the child’s cooperation.
Pastas, pizzas, chips, sweets, biscuits, cakes and ice cream are out. Most children will not only be deprived of their favourite foods, but will be ‘different’ from the rest of their family and friends.
Every scrap of food has to be eaten, every last drop drunk, otherwise the precise calculations of the diet will be invalid. Every food label has to be scrutinised, even on branded goods in case the recipe has changed.
Every food item must be carefully weighed. Eating away from home, at school and on trips must be planned with vigilance. Well meaning members of the wider family, and friends must be persuaded not to give treats.
Even after control is established there may still be unexpected seizures. It may take a good deal of detective work to establish how this happened.
The child could have contracted an infection. This can reduce ketosis. A seizure could be triggered from carbohydrate in toothpaste, or even sorbitol in sun tan lotion! The diet presents a great challenge to families especially in the first few weeks and months.
Because of this, at Johns Hopkins, they have a “ketoteam” consisting of a doctor, nurse, dietician and counsellor. They also have a “ketocoach”, a volunteer parent who has been through it successfully. They estimate the average family will need 40 hours of telephone counselling alone in the first year.
In spite of all this, children appear to tolerate the diet well, especially when the benefits are apparent, and parents find ways to overcome difficulties. The diet today is actually far more palatable, appealing and varied than in the early days.
Isn’t The Diet Dangerous?A typical meal of chicken, carrots, double cream and butter might not seem healthy, but look again at what children are not allowed to eat. Children grow normally. Weight remains stable so long as calories are controlled. Supplements provide for nutritional shortfalls.
It’s true that blood lipid levels are raised. This may be a problem but probably isn’t, as I’ll shortly explain. Dietary fibre intake is low, so constipation can be a problem, but adjustments to the type of vegetables eaten can usually get around this.
The most common serious problem is kidney stones. Because of this, parents must use a urine dipstick to test for blood and specific gravity once a week.
The Diet Can Be A CureThe diet is effective for the majority of children who try it. Their seizures are eliminated or greatly reduced. They are able to reduce or discard their medications. As if that wasn’t enough, there is another amazing benefit.
After a few years, children can be weaned off the diet and return to eating normally. For children who became seizure and medication free on the diet, it means they are effectively cured. That is why higher blood lipids is not a problem. The diet is short term for most children.
For those who are not seizure free, the diet can be continued if seizures increase once the diet is stopped, or if increased medication is needed.
A recent study published in Pediatrics (Vol. 108 No. 4 898-905 October, 2001) followed up the 83 children from the earlier study who had remained on the diet for one year. After 3-6 years, 20 (24%) were free of all seizures. An additional 21 (25%) had a 90%-99% decrease. 29 (35%) were free of all medications. 28 (34%) were on only 1 medication. 15 (18%) remained on the diet.
The lead researcher said “we have got exceedingly impressive results.” And the British Epilepsy Association commented: “the study has shown there are significant beneficial and long standing improvements in seizure control.”
Treatment in the UKThe ketogenic diet is a proven method of controlling epilepsy. It substantially helps the majority of children with difficult-to-control seizures. Every paediatric physician should be aware of it, although they may not have the facilities to administer it. Hospitals that will oversee the diet are Glasgow’s Royal Hospital, Great Ormond Street, Chelsea & Westminster, Manchester Children’s Hospital, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary and Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The Central Middlesex Hospital in West London, together with Great Ormond Street and St Piers, Lingfield, Surrey, are conducting a study with 90 children, looking at two different versions of the diet.
For Further information read The Ketogenic Diet - A Treatment For Epilepsy by John M Freeman MD Demos Medical Publishing ISBN: 1-888799-39-0
The macula is found at the centre of the retina where incoming rays of light are focused. While it only has a diameter of 2 millimetres and occupies only 2% of the visual field, it contains 25% of the photoreceptor cells. These are what translate light energy into impulses which are carried along the optic nerve and into the brain.
The macula is highly metabolically active. It allows us to see what is straight in front of us, is necessary for detailed visual activities like reading and writing, and allows us to appreciate colour.
The macula is nourished by the retinal pigment epitheliumn (RPE) which lies under the retina. These cells deliver nutrients and clear metabolic waste.
The cells in the macula are very delicate and over many years deteriorate and may die off. This is called age related macular degeneration (ARMD). This form is called “dry” and is responsible for 90% of cases.
In 10% of cases the condition progresses. New blood vessels grow across the macula and can leak and scar it, causing sudden rapid loss of vision. This is the “wet” or “exudative” form.
Degeneration of the macula is the leading and fastest growing cause of severe vision loss in those over 55. It affects 15 million Americans. 16,000 people a year are registered blind in the UK because of it. Almost everyone over the age of 65 will have some changes in the macula.
Since the condition develops slowly, it is possible to stabilise or even to improve vision if caught early. Once it has advanced however, little can be done.
Symptoms Of ARMDThese include blurred or distorted vision, with objects appearing to have unusual shapes or sizes. Straight lines may appear crooked. Colour perception fades. There may be some sensitivity to light or see lights that aren’t there. As the condition progresses the central field becomes blank or is a dark blur. Vision is only clear in peripheral areas.
There are no effective conventional treatments, although drugs and laser surgery are sometimes used. Photodynamic therapy with the new drug Visudyne may help prevent blindness if caught in time.
The cause of ARMD is unknown but a number of possibilities have been put forward.
Retinal tissue is rich in fats. This makes them very vulnerable to free radical damage.
Sunlight is potentially harmful and can damage the retina over time by oxidising fats in the retina.
Melanin is the eyes’ protective pigment. This is needed in abundance to shield the maculae from excessive ultraviolet and blue light rays which do the damage. Light coloured eyes have less melanin than dark eyes so may be more at risk.
Another theory is that the antioxidant level in the RPE lessen, leaving it less able to remove waste products which accumulate and damage the maculae.
Whatever the cause, antioxidants play an important role.
Antioxidants Improve ARMDA number of studies suggest higher intakes of antioxidant nutrients and high blood levels of antioxidants offer macula protection.
In one study after 18 months those with ARMD who took antioxidant supplements consistently, were 2½ times more likely to improve on visual acuity testing and 4 times less likely to deteriorate in their worst eye than those who took them less consistently.
A trial involving 421 patients found those with high blood levels of antioxidants had 70% less risk for developing the disease than those with low blood levels.
Zinc is important for good vision because there are enzymes that function in the retina that depend on it. In fact zinc is more concentrated in the retina than in any other organ.
A double-blind trial gave 80mg of zinc or placebo to 151patients for 2 years. The maculae of the zinc group deteriorated 42% less than the placebo group.
An important study was published last year in the Archives of Ophthalmology. 3,640 patients with ARMD were divided into 4 groups. The first took antioxidants containing 500mg of vitamin C, 400 units of vitamin E, and 15mg of beta carotene. The second group took 80mg of zinc with 2mg of copper. The third group took a combination of both and the fourth group took placebo. They were evaluated over 6 years.
The third group had a 25% statistically significant reduction in the chance of developing advanced ARMD compared to the placebo group. The risk of central vision loss was reduced by 19%. There were also impressive reductions in risk for the 1st and 2nd groups. The journal’s editorial wrote: “these results demonstrate impressive efficacy.”
Dr. Wright’s Successful TreatmentA pioneer in the treatment of ARMD with antioxidants is Jonathan V Wright. He wrote a paper in the Journal of Nutritional Medicine back in 1990.
He describes the case of Dr. Bittner who reported substantial improvement in his own vision with selenium and vitamin E in 1977. Wright passed this information on to others. One person improved so much his ophthalmologist thought his initial diagnosis must be wrong. Wright went on to add zinc and then taurine to the protocol. Taurine is highly concentrated in the photoreceptor cells.
In 1986 he gave a patient zinc and selenium intravenously because of her malabsorption problems. Her eyesight improved during the procedure. This encouraged him to treat everyone with these minerals by IV initially, with vitamin E and taurine orally.
In December, 2000 Dr. Wright updated his experience in treating this disorder in Nutrition and Healing newsletter. ARMD can be halted or reversed 70% of the time. He has found poor stomach function or digestive disorders in nearly everyone with this condition, hence the need for IV treatment until the digestive system can be improved. He now includes all essential minerals, B complex vitamins and other key nutrients for the eyes. This includes amino acids and testosterone for tissue regrowth.
The Digestion & Thyroid LinkDr. Abel also believes that correcting the digestive system is vitally important in treating this disorder. In fact he says macular degeneration “is a disease of poor digestion.” This must be addressed first.
The late Dr. Gary Price Todd believed virtually everyone with ARMD had an underactive thyroid. He recommended using the Barnes test. After balancing the thyroid, nutritional support was provided. He found virtually all patients to be selenium deficient. 88% of his patients saw their vision improve significantly over a 2 year period.
Carotenoids To The RescueA 1994 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared the diets of people with ARMD with 500 others without eye problems. Higher carotenoids were associated with a lower risk of the disease. Those in the highest quintile of dietary carotene had a 43% reduced risk compared to those in the lowest quintile.
The Harvard researchers then looked at specific carotenoids. Beta carotene lowered the risk of ARMD by 41%. The carotenes lutein and zeaxanthin did even better. Those with the highest intake of 5.8mg a day had a 57% reduced risk.
The macula is dense in yellow pigments which are derived primarily from lutein and zeaxanthin. These neutralise harmful light wavelengths and stabilises the RPE.
The researchers found those who eat leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale and collards have a far lower risk of ARMD.
The journal’s editorial stated that “not all antioxidants are created equal” and goes on to say that the study “supports the role of specific antioxidants” in preventing ARMD.
High risk groups for ARMD include smokers, postmenopausal women and those with light-coloured eyes. These were found to have significantly less of these pigments in their retinas.
A review of studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1995 concluded that “the combination of evidence suggests that carotenoids and antioxidant vitamins may help to retard some of the destructive processes in the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium that lead to age-related degeneration of the macula.”
The richest source of lutein and zeaxanthin is egg yolks. Kale has 158mcg per gram. This is followed by turnip greens 84.4, collard greens 80.9 and spinach 70.4. Broccoli, courgettes, corn, peas and brussels sprouts also have reasonable amounts.
Don’t Forget BioflavonoidsThese nutrients are important for maintaining the health of the blood vessels and are an important part of any preventative or healing programme. Of particular importance is bilberry, which can enhance the microcirculation of the retina, and ginkgo biloba. But other vitamin C-rich fruits such as berries, grapes, plums, blackcurrants, cherries and apricots should be eaten regularly.
Fish Is Good TooA study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology found those consuming fish more than once a week were only half as likely to develop ARMD than those consuming it less than once a month.
Australian researchers found those that ate the most fish reduced the risk of advanced ARMD by half compared to those that ate it less than once a month, although it didn’t reduce the risk of the disease in its early stages.
Lack of omega3 fish oils appears to be a risk factor. 85% of patients over 70 saw an improvement in their vision with these fats. DHA is believed to improve the health of blood vessels leading to the retina, where it is also found in abundance.
Supplement RecommendationsRose and Rose in their book Save Your Sight give the following daily nutritional prescription for macular degeneration:
Vitamin C 2000 mg
Bioflavonoids 200-400 mg
Beta-carotene 15,00-25,000 IU
Vitamin A 10,000-25,000 IU for 3 months after diagnosis
Lutein & Zeaxanthin 6-10 mg
Magnesium 300-500 mg at bedtime
Fish Oils - Follow directions on bottle
Vitamin E 800 IU
Selenium 200 mcg
NAC 500 mg 2-3 times
Taurine 500-1000 mg between meals
Garlic 1000 mg odourless
Zinc 15-30 mg
CoQ10 30-200 mg
Hydrochloric Acid 250 mg if needed.
Optometrist Dr Abel makes these supplement recommendations:
Vitamin A 10,000 IU
Beta Carotene 5000-10,000 IU
Lutein 6-20 mg
Vitamin C 1000-3000 mg
Vitamin E 400 IU
Magnesium 500 mg
Bilberry 100 mg twice a day
Ginkgo Biloba extract
Garlic 100-1000 mg odourless
Flaxseed oil 1 tablespoon
Fish Oil DHA 500 mg
Selenium 50-200 mcg
Taurine 2 mg
Chromium 200 mcg
Zinc up to 30 mg
Digestive Enzymes as required
If you would like to visit a nutritionist in Stoke Newington, north London or Central London please go to: London Nutrition Consultant
According to scientist and doctor, Matthias Rath, who worked closely with nobel prize winning scientist Linus Pauling, the cause of coronary heart disease is not a mystery. It is quite simply caused by an insufficient supply of biological fuel i.e. chronic nutritional deficiency. These deficiencies within the vascular wall cells, which are the most mechanically stressed arteries, cause lesions and cracks to appear.
The body attempts to repair them by using cholesterol, lipoproteins, calcium, fibrin and cellular wastes. These are transported in the bloodstream and are used to cement the artery. Eventually these repair processes become insufficient, causing smooth muscle cells from the outermost cell layer of the artery to migrate to the interior and clump together to form a ‘tumour’. This stabilises the artery further.
If the problem of nutritional deficiencies is not addressed, it becomes a chronic problem with continual cracks and repair that goes on for decades. Over time the repair process overcompensates causing atherosclerotic deposits to build and narrow the artery. If the plaque gets disrupted, exposing its contents to the bloodstream, a chain of events leads to a clot, obstructing the flow of blood.
An Early Form Of Scurvy?How do we know nutrition has anything to do with this? There are a number of pointers both in terms of scientific research and clinical practice.
Rath’s main focus is on vitamin C. In his book ‘Why Animal Don’t Get Heart Attacks...But People Do’ he points out animals don’t develop atherosclerotic lesions of any significance. The reason, he believes, is because, with a few exceptions, they produce their own vitamin C. This stabilises the artery wall. With insufficient vitamin C, a scurvy-like condition comes about. Humans have a body reservoir of vitamin C 10-100 times lower than animals.
To prove low vitamin C levels on its own can cause atherosclerosis, he conducted an experiment with guinea pigs. These don’t produce their own vitamin C. He divided them into 2 groups. Both were kept on the same diet but one group received the equivalent of the Recommended Daily Amount for humans of 60 milligrams, while the other group received the equivalent of 5000mg. After only 5 weeks the 60mg group showed clear signs of diseased arteries while the arteries of the high ascorbate group remained healthy.
There have of course been a number of studies showing benefits of individual nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, B vitamins, magnesium, coQ10, fish oils etc. which lower cardiovascular disease risk.
Heart Disease Is ReversiblePerhaps the two most interesting studies were carried out by Dean Ornish and Rath himself. In the Ornish study, “Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease“, Journal of the American Medical Association 16/12/98, patients were put into 2 groups. The first were put on a low fat, wholefood, vegetarian diet including exercise, stress management and psychosocial support. The second had ‘usual’ care.
After 5 years the latter group had an average of 3 cardiac events per patient and saw and increase in artery narrowing by 2.3% representing a 27.7% worsening of their condition. The first group had only 1¼ cardiac events per patient and saw a decrease in narrowing by 1.75%, representing a relative improvement of 7.9%. This study clearly shows heart disease is reversible.
The Rath study was published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition 1996. “Nutritional Supplement Program Halts Progression of Early Coronary Atherosclerosis.” (The paper was sent to JAMA but they turned it down). 55 patients were scanned using an Ultrafast CT which measures calcium deposits in the artery walls. This was carried out over a year so the growth of the disease could be measured. Then they were given a broad spectrum supplement containing around 30 nutrients to take for a year. Scans were taken at 6 and 12 months.
After the first 6 months, growth was slowed a little. But after 12 months there was a considerable drop in the growth of atherosclerotic plaques. Before nutritional intervention the average growth was 44% a year. One year after intervention, growth had essentially stopped. In some patients, deposits reversed and disappeared. Again demonstrating heart disease is reversible.
The nutritional supplement Rath designed for this study had 4 objectives. Stabilise the artery wall. Decrease muscle tumours. Neutralise stickiness of fat molecules. Provide antioxidant protection.
Stabilise artery walls: collagen, elastin and other connective tissues give stability to artery walls. Vitamin C and 2 amino acids are needed in optimal amounts for their production. Exactly how much will vary for each person but 600mg a day can be considered a minimum requirement for vitamin C. Collagen has a particular need for the essential amino acid lysine and the non-essential amino acid proline. About a quarter of this vital structural component consists of these 2 amino acids. A person weighing 70kg has around ½kg of lysine stored in their body. Rath recommends at least 100mg a day of each as a supplement.
Decrease muscle cell tumours: muscle cells in the arteries form faulty collagen molecules in nutritional deficiency states. Optimal supplies of nutrients especially vitamin C and vitamin E inhibits this process. (minimum vitamin E requirement 130IU).
Neutralise stickiness: the most dangerous fat transport molecules are not LDL cholesterol but a variant called lipoprotein (a). Sticky protein molecules attach to LDL’s and accumulate inside artery walls. One aim of nutritional therapy is to neutralise this stickiness and prevent the attachment. The 2 primary nutrients for achieving this are again lysine and proline. By forming a protective layer around lipoprotein (a), further deposition of fatty molecules in the arteries is prevented. Those already deposited can be released, reversing the disease process. Blood levels of lipoprotein (a) can be decreased with high doses of B3 (nicotinic acid) and vitamin C.
Antioxidant protection: free radicals damage lipoproteins in the bloodstream, as well as tissue in the artery walls. A large number of nutrients and food factors have antioxidant activity and are an important part of any supplement programme.
HomocysteineWhile virtually everyone has heard of cholesterol, few have heard of this important risk factor. This by-product of methionine metabolism needs folic acid, B12, B6, and choline to regenerate it back to methionine, rendering it non-toxic. People with high levels have a risk 3.4 times greater than those with low levels. Homocysteine levels in heart disease patients are on average 31% higher than in those without active heart disease.
Vulnerable PlaquesIt is clear from both the Rath and Ornish studies that obstructive plaque is reversible. However, around 70% of heart attacks are caused by arteries that are only obstructed by about a third or so. The question is why? A growing number of researchers now believe coronary artery disease is an inflammatory process which makes plaque susceptible to rupture, choking off the blood supply to the heart.
Most plaques grow slowly characterised by small fissures that are healed and repaired again and again. Mature plaques may fill ¾ of blood vessels and cause angina. But they are fairly stable and pose little risk of a major rupture. A clot forming here may be more to do with the blood itself than the vessel wall. Inflammation is not noticeably at work.
By contrast, unstable, vulnerable plaques are younger, soft, fatty, and covered with a thinner fibrous cap. The artery may only narrow by 30% causing no symptoms and may not be spotted on an angiogram. If these rupture they will cause a heart attack. The body tends to respond to vulnerable plaque like an infection. Inflammation is at work here.
Researchers believe macrophages - immune cells - which enter the artery to clear away deposits, get overwhelmed and die off, adding to the plaque. When they do, they release chemicals that are both toxic to the fibrous cap and increase the tendency for blood to clot.
Tests for inflammation and infection could give a much clearer indication of heart problems than cholesterol testing, where 80% of people with severe atherosclerosis have normal cholesterol levels and most people with high blood cholesterol do not die of heart disease.
Markers for InflammationThere are several inflammatory markers. Fibrinogen can induce coronary thrombosis through platelet aggregation, excess coagulation and blood thickening. Those with high levels are more than twice as likely to die of a heart attack. It can be reduced by DHEA, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A, beta carotene, fish oils and nettle leaf extract. Platelet aggregation inhibitors, which lowers the risk that fibrinogen will cause a clot, are green tea, ginkgo, garlic and vitamin E.
C-reactive protein increases the risk of fibrous cap rupture and abnormal clotting. Those with high levels have nearly a threefold risk. Some of the same nutrients that lower fibrinogen are likely to be effective especially fish oils, GLA, and vitamin K. MSM at extremely high doses may be effective.
Another important new treatment for inflammation is systemic enzyme therapy. These enzymes help control inflammatory processes by lowering elevated C-reactive proteins and mitigating high levels of fibrinogen. They provide the benefits of anti-inflammatory medication without risks and side effects associated with the long-term use of aspirin and non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs.
Systemic enzymes also boost the immune system and fight bacterial and viral infections. Infectious agents such as chlamydia, cytomegalovirus and herpes, have been implicated in heart disease.
Systemic Enzymes are available as a supplement called Wobenzyme or Protenzyme. (For further information on Systemic Enzymes see my article "Therapeutic Properties of Systemic Oral Enzymes - effective treatment for sports injuries, arthritis, heart disease and cancer" in Positive Health Magazine Issue 71 December, 2001)
Beyond ChelationDr. Garry Gordon, one of the fathers of chelation therapy, believes new research justifies concentrating on the health of the blood rather than the arteries, something he has been doing for decades in any case.
By manipulating the molecular environment of the bloodstream using a nutritional formula based on the life’s work of Dr. Lester Morrison, he has been able to improve blood flow in his heart disease patients. 95% of those previously recommended for surgery were able to avoid it altogether. The formula consists of 9 tablets containing over 60 ingredients. He calls it Beyond Chelation (not sold in UK).
“Those of my patients taking the comprehensive 9 pill packets of Beyond Chelation combined with 3 to 5 Wobenzym N [Protenzyme] twice daily are conveniently addressing all of the newly recognized molecular mechanisms of heart disease - from controlling homocysteine and elevated cholesterol or triglycerides, to lowering C-reactive protein, which is clearly becoming one of the MOST significant tests in cardiology!”
ConclusionWhile we may still be unclear as to the underlying cause of coronary heart disease, effective treatment is available. As well as dietary manipulation, exercise, and stress management, nutritional supplementation can support the immune system, chelate, detoxify, combat inflammation, infection, oxidation, excess lipids and excess homocysteine. With such powerful tools, who needs drugs and surgery?
If you would like to visit a nutritionist in Stoke Newington, north London or Central London please go to: London Nutrition Consultant
An allergy is any reaction to a food or something in the environment that gives rise to an immune response. Originally, there had to be a positive skin prick test before a diagnosis of allergy could be given.
For a food to be described as an allergen (an allergy causing substance), there had to be a fairly immediate and violent reaction to it, involving swelling of the lips and mouth, vomiting, and in the most serious cases, anaphylactic shock. This is now described as classical food allergy.
In the 1960’s, immunoglobulin E (IgE) was discovered. This antibody was shown to be the main culprit in allergy. A way of measuring the level of these antibodies to a specific allergen was soon developed called a radioallergosorbent test (RAST). Some doctors only accept a positive skin prick test or RAST as proof of allergy.
The problem with this is that not everybody fits into this neat category. It is possible for there to be an immune reaction that doesn’t involve IgE. The results of these tests would be negative in such cases. It is possible for there to be no immune system involvement at all, although chemical messengers are released in the same way as if there was an overproduction of IgE.
It is possible to have reactions to food that are quite different from classical allergy yet give rise to a wide range of symptoms. These are usually called food intolerances.
There are 5 classes (isotypes) of antibodies. IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM. Unlike the other isotypes, IgE molecules attach themselves to mast cells, (connective-tissue cells similar to basophils except that they do not circulate in the blood). The main purpose of IgE is to protect the body against invasion by parasites, and so most mast cells, although found all over the body, are more common around the nasal passages, bronchi, and intestines. Up to 100,000 IgE molecules can reside on the surface of each cell.
When the allergen enters the bloodstream, it attaches itself to the antibody. It has to cross link two or more antibodies to trigger the mast cell to explode, discharging histamines and other chemicals. Each of these chemicals has an effect on other tissues, producing inflammation and smooth muscle contraction.
Although the body should only be making IgE in response to parasitic invasion, for some reason the mechanism goes wrong and innocuous substances come under attack. And just to complicate things, although allergy prone people would be expected to have a higher IgE level in the blood, not all do. And some people who have higher levels in the blood are symptom free.
To act as an antigen, i.e. to give rise to antibodies, the molecule has to be above a certain size. Most antigens are proteins. Smaller molecules are thought to be able to combine with proteins. Certain foods are more allergenic than others, though it isn’t clear why.
Although food allergens would be expected to cause symptoms in the mouth, they can be responsible for asthma or eczema. Similarly, inhalant allergens can cause skin problems.
Where allergies are inherited the term atopic is used. Faulty genetic information is known to be responsible in these cases, although other factors are also at work.
Although most allergies begin at an early age, the initial exposure to the allergen cannot cause symptoms because no antibodies have yet been formed.
A reaction might occur on initial exposure to a food if molecules have passed from mother to baby before birth or during breastfeeding. The symptoms of allergy often disappear as the child grows although some believe that symptoms are merely suppressed and recur possibly in a different form in adulthood. Food allergies can be responsible for any of the classic allergy diseases: asthma, eczema, hay fever, urticaria, and rhinitis.
Immune ComplexesNot all food allergies are caused by IgE. It is not unusual for food molecules to enter the bloodstream after a meal. Peyers Patches - part of the immune system that lies in the wall of the intestines - samples the gut contents and communicates how the rest of the immune system should respond. Since food is not a threat to the body, non-inflammatory IgA antibodies are formed and link up with any food molecule antigens that are absorbed.
These immune complexes are normally cleared by phagocytes in a few hours. It is believed, although not proven, that in allergic people the gut wall may be more leaky than usual, creating a large number of immune complexes that are difficult to clear and end up deposited in blood vessels, causing pain in the joints, skin rashes, and kidney damage.
False Food AllergySome food molecules are able to fool the mast cells into exploding and thereby releasing histamine and other chemicals even though no IgE antibodies have been formed to the food.
Several groups of compounds found in food are known to have this effect. These are lectins, found in peanuts, beans, peas and lentils; peptides, found in fish, prawns, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, pork, egg-white, tomatoes, strawberries, alcohol and chocolate.
Other chemicals that can do the same are found in buckwheat, sunflower seeds, mango, mustard, fresh pineapple and papaya. A modified RAST is able to distinguish between true and false food allergies. Magnesium deficiency affects around half the sufferers of false food allergy. This mineral is known to affect sensitivity to and release of histamine.
HistamineA leaky gut will allow more histamine, which is formed in foods by the action of certain bacteria, to get into the bloodstream. This can give rise to headaches, rashes, sickness and diarrhoea. The chief culprits are fresh mackerel and tuna, tinned fish, well ripened cheeses, sauerkraut, continental sausages, many alcoholic drinks. People with chronic urticaria are particularly susceptible to histamine in foods.
Food IntoleranceIntolerance differs from allergy in a number of ways. With allergy the immune system is considered to be involved. With intolerance the immune system has not been shown to be involved, although that doesn’t preclude the possibility.
Allergic reactions are fairly immediate. With intolerance the reaction can be many hours or even days later.
People can be allergic to foods that are rarely eaten. The intolerant patient reacts to foods that are eaten regularly. Even the tiniest smear of an offending food can provoke an allergic reaction. Larger amounts are needed to provoke intolerance.
Allergic people may remain that way for life. Intolerant people may become tolerant to the food eventually if it is avoided for a long time.
Allergic people do not crave the offending foods. The intolerant person often does. The allergic person has a limited range of symptoms. With intolerance, the symptoms can be many and varied, can come and go, and vary in intensity.
Allergies are confirmed by skin prick and RAST. Intolerances are confirmed by an elimination diet, although a number of other tests have been devised.
Why Does It Occur?This is unknown, but some believe it is a failure of the body to adapt to the change in diet over the last 10,000 years. From eating a variety of wild plants and animals, man started to farm, cultivating wheat, keeping hens and cattle for beef and dairy foods. In evolutionary terms this is a very small amount of time. Others believe that it is more a problem of improper weaning.
How common the problem of food allergy and intolerance is, varies greatly from conservative orthodox doctors who consider the problem to be quite rare, to others who suggest that virtually everybody is intolerant to one or more foods even if they are not aware of it.
Those that believe the problem to be quite common suggest that the symptoms of food allergy and intolerance are extremely wide ranging. Over 100 symptoms have been put into physiological categories by Dr. Mandell, author of Dr. Mandell’s 5-Day Allergy Relief System. The most common symptoms are gastrointestinal in nature: diarrhoea, constipation, wind etc. Others include headaches, fatigue, depression, anxiety, hyperactivity in children, recurrent mouth ulcers, muscle aches, ulcers, nausea, joint pains, and water retention.
Irritable Bowel SyndromeThis is one of the most common gastrointestinal problems. Symptoms include: absence of a regular pattern of bowel movements; frequent diarrhoea, constipation, or alternating bouts of each; bloating or swollen abdomen; abdominal pain or cramps; excessive gas. Related symptoms may include fatigue, depression and anxiety.
A number of studies have implicated foods. One study showed that improvement was most likely where diarrhoea was the most dominant symptom. 9 out of 17 patients improved significantly on a two week elimination diet of lamb, fresh white fish, cabbage, carrots, peas, ‘Ryvita’, milk-free margarine and black tea.
14 out of 21 patients eating only lamb, pears and distilled or spring water for one week reacted to specific foods introduced one at a time. Wheat was the most common culprit.
A large study of 188 patients found that 65% of them benefited on an elimination diet, and could identify the offending foods when they were reintroduced. The commonest offender was wheat.
Crohn’s DiseaseDr. Hunter of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge reports that 80% of his patients recovered on an elimination diet. They reacted to specific foods when reintroduced. Of those, 80% have stayed well by keeping away from the foods they reacted to. Another trial has confirmed the good effects of eliminating the intolerant foods with a long term recovery rate of 50%.
MigraineDuring a migraine attack, the blood platelets clump together, releasing a large amount of serotonin causing the blood vessels in the brain and throughout the body to constrict. The body counteracts the effects of this, but this causes the blood vessels to dilate more than normal.
Until recently, the most popular theory to explain what caused the platelets to clump together in the first place was that tyramine and phenylethylamine found in the brain and in certain foods are not broken down properly by the platelets in migraine sufferers. The foods rich in these amines being chocolate, red wine and cheese. However only a small percentage of sufferers are affected by these foods.
When a broad dietary approach is used a success rate of 80-90% has been achieved. Many studies convincingly demonstrate the benefits of eliminating intolerant foods. In a 1979 study of 52 migraine patients, 85% became headache free after eliminating wheat, oranges, eggs, tea, coffee, chocolate, milk, beef, corn, cane sugar and bakers yeast.
A study published in The Lancet in 1983 involved 88 children with severe and frequent migraine. 78 of them recovered completely on an elimination diet and another 4 ‘improved greatly’. Only 6 children did not respond. 8 continued to remain well even when foods were reintroduced into their diet. 74 children were shown to be affected by particular foods. 40 children were retested double blind, 35 of whom reacted to a tin of food containing the suspect food but not by the placebo. A most impressive result. This particular group of children also suffered from many other problems such as epileptic fits, hyperactivity, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, mouth ulcers etc. In the majority of children these problems cleared up as well.
Rheumatoid ArthritisIt is thought that around a third of patients can stay symptom free by avoiding the foods they are sensitive to. In one study 33 out of 45 patients considered their condition to be ‘better’ or ‘much better’ following dietary therapy.
Multiple SclerosisChocolate has been implicated in some sufferers. Cutting it out of the diet has stopped any further decline. The other main incriminating products are milk, tannin, caffeine, and yeast.
Mental SymptomsThere are many well documented cases of serious mental disorders, the root of which has been found to be food sensitivities. Symptoms reported apart from anxiety and depression include poor concentration, poor memory, confusion, mental exhaustion and fatigue, irritability, violent mood swings and aggression.
As early as 1954, Dr. Speer described ‘allergic tension fatigue syndrome’ in children. The most commonly implicated foods being milk, wheat, egg, beef, corn, cane sugar and chocolate. In adults the term ‘cerebral allergy’ has been used.
OverweightSome practitioners believe that excess weight has more to do with water retention than fat. Food intolerance is said to cause the peripheral arterial capillaries to leak fluid. There is no doubt that many people are able to lose weight once the foods that they react to are eliminated.
Testing For Food IntolerancesSome practitioners start off their patients with just turkey and pears or turkey, pears and rice. Others allow the patient to eat a dozen or so foods not often eaten. An alternative is to eat a diet of rare foods; exotic and unusual foods that the patient may never have eaten before. Another alternative is a rotation diet. Allowed foods are separated into groups of four. The foods in each group are the only ones eaten each day, so there is a four day separation between each type of food. Another alternative is to leave out the most common foods that people react to only.
There is always the problem of compliance when dealing with suspected food intolerances in this way. An alternative is to use blood tests.
There are two blood tests available that have a reasonable degree of accuracy. The first is the cytotoxic test which observes whether white blood cells react with each food extract. This is considered to be up to 80% accurate under best conditions.
The problem in the past has been that it needed to be carried out under strict conditions with an expert operator and was rather subjective. Now however these drawbacks have been eliminated with the new automated version that is now available using a haematology analyser.
The second is called the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay. This measures the IgG antibody reactions to each food. It is claimed to be 95% reproducible.
If you are interested in food allergy or food intolerance testing please visit Tests: Food Allergy & Intolerance
Fractures caused by thinning and brittle bones affects one in three women and one in twelve men. They are responsible for 200,000 breaks per year in the UK. That means someone suffers a fracture every 2½ minutes. This includes 70,000 hip fractures, 50,000 wrist fractures and 40,000 spinal fractures. Every day 40 people die as a result of it, making it a leading cause of death.
Bone mass peaks at around age 35. From then it’s downhill all the way, especially for women whose bone mass is 10% - 15% less than men’s at skeletal maturity and then suffer with accelerated bone loss for 8 - 10 years around the menopause when hormone levels decline.
Many women who might have relied on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to safeguard them against this debilitating condition can now no longer do so. On December 3rd, 2003, doctors were ordered by the government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to no longer routinely prescribe HRT for osteoporosis. This is because of the increased risk of blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and cancer.
Another class of drugs called bisphosphonates appear to work well in remineralising bone and have a narrow target of action, but since it isn’t clear exactly how they work, it is hoped doctors remain cautious in their prescribing until more is known.
In terms of nutrition, conventional medicine is well aware of the importance of calcium and even go so far as to suggest it is taken with vitamin D to improve its absorption. However that appears to be the extent of their nutritional knowledge. I think we can do better than that.
Although bone strength in the main is thought to be genetically determined, it is made up of proteins, many minerals and various cofactors and these certainly influence bone formation.
In osteoporosis, bone mass, expressed as bone mineral density (BMD), declines. Bone quality, structure and turnover are also important but are difficult to measure.
In recent years there has been a growing understanding of the importance of maximising peak bone mass in the early decades of life. As one eminent endocrinologist put it, “senile osteoporosis is a paediatric disease.” This is particularly disturbing when you consider the quality of young people’s diets. The problem of osteoporosis is reaching epidemic proportions. Around 30 million Americans are believed to be afflicted. Figures for the UK are put at 3 million though I suspect it is much higher.
Early SignsAccording to the late John R Lee these are:
Sudden insomnia and restlessness
Nightly leg and foot cramps
Persistent low back pain
Gum disease, loose teeth
Risk is Higher if:Female
Family history
Caucasian
Thin
Short
Early menopause
Low calcium intake
Don’t exercise
Smoke cigarettes
Drink more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day
On chronic steroid therapy
On chronic anticonvulsant therapy
Taking drugs that cause dizziness
Are hyperthyroid
Eat too much animal protein
Use antacids regularly
Drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day
The Nutritional StrategyAlthough risk of developing fractures is related to BMD, it is also influenced by the protein matrix and other support structures in bone. Cells that form bone (osteoblasts) do this by making long protein chains that consist mainly of collagen. It is also influenced by the accumulation of micro-fractures from mild traumas over time. To prevent fractures the mineral mass must be preserved, and the protein matrix and support structures must be maintained. Optimal repair mechanisms must be ensured.
Calcium99% of this mineral is found in the bones. Calcium is deposited in bone and withdrawn as needed largely by the actions of calcitonin and parathyroid hormone. The balance between these two are regulated by oestrogen and other substances especially magnesium.
Studies demonstrate a positive effect of calcium on BMD. Higher intakes are associated with higher bone mass at almost all measured skeletal sites. It is believed that variations in calcium nutrition early in life could account for a 5% to 10% difference in peak adult bone mass. This could make a tremendous difference to the number of fractures that occur later in life.
Studies on calcium supplements taken in the early postmenopausal period show only very small effects on BMD but they could still be important. At least 4 studies show a reduction of about 30% in fracture risk in postmenopausal women taking a 1000mg supplement per day.
National surveys indicate calcium intake to be lower than recommended. Mean intake of calcium in females over 9 years of age is only 657mg/day. Between ages 9 and 18 it should be 1300mg, between 19 and 50 recommended intake is 1000mg thereafter 1200mg.
However osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency disease and people’s requirements will depend on their overall diet and lifestyle. Taking a calcium supplement alone is not recommended. It won’t necessarily be absorbed into the bone. Instead it may remain in the blood and end up in the tissues causing its own health problems. While absorption is improved with vitamin D, it also has close relationships with magnesium and phosphorus.
While milk and dairy products are high in calcium they are also high in phosphorus and low in magnesium. Human milk has only a quarter of the calcium of cow’s milk yet, according to Frank Oski MD author of Don’t Drink Your Milk, the infant will absorb more calcium. This is because cow’s milk is rich in phosphorus which interferes with calcium absorption.
He goes on to state that Taiwanese and citizens of Guana only ingest 13mg and 8mg respectively of calcium from drinking milk. “These non-American people are neither toothless nor lying about immoblized because of repeated bone fractures.” He believes there are many good sources of calcium that are a better choice than milk.
PhosphorusCalcium combines with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate. Together they are incorporated into bone. 85% of the body’s phosphorus is bound to the bone. Intake has risen markedly over recent years with increased phosphate salts used in food additives, carbonated drinks and cola beverages. Red meat has a phosphorus to calcium ratio of 20 to 1. Dietary intakes range from 1000mg - 1500mg per day, well above the 700mg recommended.
Such excessive amounts could be detrimental to bone by depressing serum calcium and elevating parathyroid hormone. This hasn’t been proven scientifically though.
MagnesiumTwo-thirds of the body’s magnesium is found in the bones. It plays a crucial role in calcium and bone metabolism. Deficiency causes decreased bone strength and volume and poor development. A positive association with BMD has been demonstrated in many population studies. Even if calcium intake is adequate, without sufficient magnesium, parathyroid hormone will be stimulated and calcium withdrawn from the bones.
StrontiumThis mineral is immediately below calcium in the periodic table and can act in a similar way.
In the early part of the 20th century studies showed strontium to be effective in stimulating rapid formation of bone and that strontium and calcium were superior to calcium alone in mineralizing bone.
In 1959 the Mayo clinic treated 22 patients with severe, painful osteoporosis, giving them 1,700mg of strontium daily. 18 markedly improved and 4 moderately so.
Conventional medicine has recently got very excited about strontium or rather strontium ranelate. Ranelic acid is a synthetic substance which has allowed drug companies to patent this compound as a treatment for osteoporosis, even though ranelic acid plays no part.
Recent trials have been very promising. In one there was a 41% reduction in vertebral fracture risk with BMD increasing by an astonishing 11.4% over 3 years.
In another there was an increase in lumbar BMD of 3% per year with a significant decrease in additional fractures compared to placebo.
Even postmenopausal women who didn’t have osteoporosis saw an increase in BMD with strontium and calcium alone.
Best food sources of strontium are spices, seafood, whole grains, root and leafy vegetables, and legumes.
BoronBoron is important in retaining calcium. According to Dr Rex Newnham, a world authority on boron, both vitamin D and the parathyroid gland depend on this mineral. The parathyroid contains more boron than any other part of the body. He said boron “will help broken bones mend in about half the normal time.”
As if that wasn’t remarkable enough, just 3mg a day raised oestrogen levels as much as HRT in one study (FASEB J 1987 Nov;1 (5):394-7). But unlike HRT it did this safely, without exposing the body to dangerous amounts of this hormone. It also reduced calcium excretion by 44%.
ManganeseManganese is required to mineralise the bone and to synthesise connective tissue in bone and cartilage. Blood manganese levels in osteoporotic women were found to be only 25% of controls. Dr Richard Passwater found that deficiencies lead to abnormal bone and cartilage growth and degeneration of vertebral discs.
SiliconSilicon is biochemically very rigid and is therefore only used by the body at calcification sites of bones and other structures. The connective tissue matrix is strengthened by it, as it crosslinks collagen strands. Rats on a silicon free diet suffered bone deformity.
ZincEssential for protein synthesis, for its strength and elasticity, zinc is necessary if bones are to form normally. It plays an important role in connective tissue metabolism. It also enhances the biochemical actions of vitamin D. Levels were low in elderly patients with osteoporosis.
CopperCopper works in conjunction with zinc. Depletion leads to bone defects and calcium loss. Helps to strengthen connective tissue by crosslinking collagen strands.
IronIron may play an important role in bone formation acting as a cofactor for enzymes involved in collagen synthesis. Deficiency may play a role in bone fragility.
The Role of VitaminsVitamin D
Vitamin D facilitates active calcium absorption in the intestines. It is also involved in bone turnover. Vitamin D status declines with age because of lower exposure to sunlight, decreased ability to activate precursors in the skin, decreased ability of the kidney and liver to hydroxylate it, reduced dietary intake and poorer absorption, as well as drug use, so deficiency in the aged is not uncommon.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is now receiving attention because of its role in bone metabolism. It is required to synthesise osteocalcin, a protein found uniquely and in large amounts in bone. This makes vitamin K essential for bone formation, remodelling and repair.
The usual diet contains considerably more of the vitamin than is required, although since this nutrient is obtained primarily from green vegetables, one has to wonder about the wisdom of that.
Several population studies show low dietary or circulating vitamin K is associated with low BMD or increased fractures.
16 patients with osteoporosis had mean serum vitamin K concentrations at only 35% of the level of age-matched controls.
Other studies show vitamin K reduces urinary calcium excretion and improves the bone turnover profile.
Vitamin C
Bone health can certainly be added to the long list of conditions that this vitamin can treat. It is required for collagen crosslinking. In scurvy the collageneous structure of the bone is weakened. Vitamin C may also protect the skeleton from oxidative stress especially for cigarette smokers. Smoking greatly increases the risk of hip fracture. High intakes of vitamin C together with vitamin E significantly decreased the risk of fracture for smokers in one study.
Vitamin A
This vitamin is important in the bone remodelling process. Deficiencies are known to be detrimental to bone health.
Folic Acid
The importance of this nutrient is related to offering protection from homocysteine. People with a genetic disorder in which large amounts of homocysteine accumulate also develop severe osteoporosis at an early age. Studies suggest menopause is associated with an increased requirement for folic acid because of decreased efficiency at converting homocysteine to less toxic compounds. For this reason other nutrients that offer protection from homocysteine such as vitamin B6 and B12 may also be important.
Food and Food ComponentsA more alkaline based diet might contribute to better BMD. A recent study which looked at dietary intake and BMD in elderly subjects concluded that alkaline-producing dietary components, specifically potassium, magnesium, fruit and vegetables contribute to the maintenance of BMD.
Isoflavones, a type of phytooestrogen derived from soy beans, including genistein and daidzein, have been studied in postmenopausal osteoporosis and generally found to have a positive effect in maintaining bone density and reducing fractures.
ConclusionBone health depends on a sufficient supply of a wide range of nutrients that goes well beyond calcium and vitamin D. Such an approach is likely to be far more successful than current orthodox drug approaches which leave a lot to be desired.
If you would like to visit a nutritionist in Stoke Newington, north London or Central London please go to: London Nutrition Consultant
This article is dedicated to Robert C Atkins MD who died in April, 2003. Dr Atkins was at the forefront of the nutritional medicine movement, writing his first book on this subject, Dr Atkins’ Nutrition Breakthrough, over 20 years ago. However, he is best known by the public for his controversial low carbohydrate diet.
His diet is very much in the alternative medicine tradition in that it works well but is ignored and openly derided by conventional medicine because it lies outside their paradigm of thinking.
Ironically, few complementary therapists would welcome it either, because it is low in the kind of foods considered best for health and very high in protein. Certainly, most therapists dealing with weight loss would prefer an approach which concentrated on educating people to eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables with adequate exercise.
However, only one person in a hundred is able to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Bearing in mind obesity is a major health problem, any approach which allows people to eat luxuriously without hunger, should be investigated seriously and without prejudice.
The Banting DietLow carbohydrate diets are not new. William Banting wrote his Letter on Corpulence in 1864. Banting was a prosperous London coffin-maker, less than 5½ feet in height and weighing 15 stone. He couldn’t tie his shoelaces and could only walk downstairs backwards. Over the years he tried every imaginable way to lose weight without success.
In his sixties he developed an earache and was losing his hearing in one ear. For this reason only, he consulted William Harvey, a noted ear, nose and throat surgeon. As it happened, Harvey had a particular interest in diabetes and how the body handled the food elements. He theorised that sugar and starches caused weight gain, although medical thinking at the time was that weight loss could only be achieved by cutting back on food intake, with the emphasis on dietary fat. In other words, the same as today.
Since there was nothing organically wrong with Banting’s ear, he wondered if excess fat within the ear might be the cause.
He put Banting on an experimental diet. For each meal, including breakfast, he could eat up to 5 ounces of meat, fish or fowl. Vegetables were permitted but not potatoes, and just a little fruit. Sweets, flour and starch were not allowed. He could drink tea without milk or sugar and was allowed claret and sherry but not beer, champagne or port.
His calorie intake was thought to be high at 2,800 a day (estimated average requirement 2,350). Yet in 4 months he lost 20 pounds and after one year was 50 pounds lighter. His hearing was restored and he felt fitter, better and had greater mobility than he’d done in years.
Although the public were impressed, the medical profession was outraged at the suggestion you could eat fat to lose fat by a presumptuous layman with no scientific qualifications (even though he gave full credit to Harvey). The whole idea was considered ridiculous and dangerous. He was denounced as a charlatan. Harvey also suffered at the hands of his colleagues. After some years he recanted so he could continue his career in peace and quiet.
Many people followed his diet and lost weight. This success led one notable doctor to look into it seriously. However, he assumed meat to be lean. Allowed foods were considered low in carbohydrate and fat, thus missing the whole point of the diet. This modified Banting diet met with some approval from doctors interested in obesity, but Banting himself felt this was far inferior to his own.
Stefansson’s ExperienceThe anthropologist and explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson set out on an expedition to the Arctic in 1906. He missed a planned rendezvous and had to spend the winter months among the native Inuit of Tuktoyyaktut living on meat, fish and water. At first he tried to make the diet more palatable by broiling it, but this made him weak, dizzy and showing signs of malnutrition. Eating it the Eskimo way, he remained in good health.
In a later expedition he and Dr Karsten Anderson, although well equipped with food, chose to live on a primitive diet for 4 years. They only got ill when a key component was unavailable. For instance, when seal oil was missing and only lean protein was accessible. As soon as fat/oil was restored, so did their health. Stefansson wrote about their experiences in The Friendly Arctic in 1921.
As his ideas regarding nutrition were met with scepticism, he and Anderson took part in a strictly controlled experiment at Bellevue Hospital in 1928 under the supervision of the great biochemist, Eugene F. Du Bois. They spent one year on an all meat diet deriving 80% of calories from fat and 20% from protein. They were tested for signs of scurvy and other deficiency diseases; mineral deficiencies; effects on the heart, blood vessels and kidneys; and whether harmful bacteria grew in the gut. Their daily calorie intake varied between 2000 and 3100.
Stefansson started out a little overweight. This was quickly lost and then his weight remained stable. During the weight loss his metabolic rate rose by 8.9%. The research team reported no signs of deficiencies, reduced energy or damaged organs. His blood cholesterol was lower after a year than at the start. Bowel movements were normal. They remained mentally alert and physically active. The results were published, but scepticism remained. How could a diet unlimited in fat and high in calories, lower weight and maintain health?
Lose Weight & Gain Health on Meat, Fat & WaterIn 1944 Blake F Donaldson, a cardiologist, frustrated by failed attempts to get his patients to lose weight, adopted the low carbohydrate approach in a famous and highly successful experiment with obese patients at New York Hospital. He went on to write Strong Medicine in 1961 in which he explains how he treats obesity and a wide range of health disorders such as heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, with meat, fat and water.
“The ability to live well on meat and water is the common inheritance of mankind. It is only in the last eight thousand years since man turned to agriculture for a stable food supply that we have had trouble with eating.”
Du Pont Dieters Lose 22 PoundsA few years after Donaldson’s experiments, Dr Alfred Pennington was asked to supervise the slimming of 20 overweight executives at the Du Pont Corporation. Carbohydrates were restricted but fat, protein and calories were not.
The results were spectacular with each obese dieter losing an average of 22 pounds (range 9-54) in 3½ months. They reported feeling well, enjoying their meals, and not going hungry (hardly surprising on 3000 calories a day). Many reported feeling more energetic, none complained of fatigue, those with high blood pressure saw it drop in parallel with their weight.
After sifting through the scientific literature and the findings of this study, Pennington concluded that Harvey and Banting were right. Overweight is the result of the body’s inefficient handling of carbohydrates.
After this experience there was renewed interest in this form of dieting, being called The Holiday Diet.
A Calorie Is Not A CalorieIn the 1950’s two acclaimed scientists, Kekwick and Pawan provided irrefutable experimental evidence that a diet low in carbohydrates held a significant metabolic advantage over other diets. They demonstrated weight loss can vary on identical numbers of ingested calories. For instance one subject lost nothing on a 2000 calorie balanced diet, but lost over 9 pounds on a low carbohydrate diet of 2,800 calories.
Critics of low carbohydrate diets maintain that most of the weight loss comes from water, but Kekwick and Pawan showed this to be only a small part of the weight loss. They also identified a fat-mobilising substance from the urine of low carbohydrate dieters. This demonstrated that fat stores were being used as body fuel.
Another criticism is that on few carbohydrates the body goes into ketosis and this is dangerous. During the oxidation of fat, ketones (chemicals related to acetone) are produced. These occur in untreated diabetics since they are unable to handle sugar. They can accumulate until they become toxic. Kekwick and Pawan found that when the body is burning fat for fuel, ketones are only produced at 10% of the level of untreated diabetics. This is mild and not a complication of the diet.
Dr Atkins’ Diet RevolutionIn 1958 Dr Mackarness wrote Eat Fat & Grow Slim and in the 1960’s the low carbohydrate diet reappeared under the name The Air Force Diet.
Then in 1972 Dr Atkins’ book appeared, claiming that the overweight have a metabolic defect involving insulin. This can be circumvented by restricting carbohydrates. He wrote it after solving his own weight problems and treating ten thousand patients.
But the following year Dr Atkins got a rude awakening when the American Medical Association (AMA) attacked the diet.
“It said, in essence, that what I had been observing and documenting for nine years could not have happened. They denied that my patients lost weight, claiming that people only lose water on such a diet. They denied their improved state of health and laboratory findings by announcing that people would surely get worse.”
Once the gods at the AMA had spoken, no further research on the metabolic advantage of such a diet were carried out in the USA.
But the shocking rise in levels of obesity together with the failure of the approved low fat, high carbohydrate position has led to renewed interest.
Low Carbohydrate Diet Is VindicatedIn the May 22nd edition of the New England Journal of Medicine two studies were published. These were commented on in the British Medical Journal of May 31st under the heading Low Carbohydrate Diet Is Vindicated.
“The studies found that a high protein, low carbohydrate diet led to greater weight loss and improved blood lipid concentrations than the recommended high carbohydrate, low fat diet in healthy obese people as well as in obese patients with complicating conditions.”
In one of the studies, decreases in serum triglyceride concentrations and increases in HDL cholesterol were greater in the Atkins diet group.
In the other study serum triglyceride concentrations decreased by 20% in the low carbohydrate group, whether or not the patients were taking lipid lowering drugs, compared with 4% in the low fat group.
Professor Gary Foster of the University of Pennsylvania, who worked on one of the studies, said: “...our initial findings suggest that such diets may not have the adverse effects that were anticipated.”
"You would expect an increase in (bad) LDL cholesterol, but we didn’t see it. We didn’t expect the improvement in (good) HDL cholesterol and triglycerides to the degree we saw," he said.
ConclusionIf Banting and other people’s experiences were accepted as reality. If the findings and research of notable clinicians and scientists were taken seriously, we would not have wasted almost a century and a half in pursuing dogma.
No diet is right for everyone. And the low carbohydrate diet will neither appeal to everyone or be a good diet to follow for all people. Some people’s biochemistry will not be suited to it. It should however have been taken a lot more seriously by the medical profession.
Dr Atkins may no longer be with us, but thanks to his dogged determination, the low carbohydrate diet is now taken seriously and is here to stay.
If you want to lose weight and would like to visit a nutritionist in Stoke Newington, north London or Central London please go to: London Nutrition Consultant
The following information is taken from the writings and tape seminar of F. Batmanghelidj MD or Dr. Batman as he is affectionately known.
Born in 1931 in Iran, he studied medicine at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. He was a conventional doctor until his political imprisonment in post revolution Teheran. In a highly stressed environment and with water as the only ‘medicine’ available to him, he was astonished to discover that water alone was able to treat a range of conditions, including many with symptoms of heartburn and peptic ulcers.
After his release and escape to America he continued his research and concluded that medical science was concentrating in the wrong areas. Rather than merely being a solvent that holds important particles, it actually regulates all functions of the body including the solutes it dissolves and circulates.
If the thirst signals of the body are recognised and acted upon then the symptoms that reflect dehydration will be resolved. But if they are ignored for an extended period, a pathological condition might occur. Indeed he believes that “chronic and persistently increasing dehydration is the root cause of almost all currently encountered major diseases of the human body.” Water alone will probably not be able reverse the situation once a pathological condition is established. It is still a necessary but no longer a sufficient treatment.
Key Properties Of WaterIt has a hydrolytic role, being essential for all chemical reactions. The osmotic flow of water through cell membranes creates hydroelectric energy which is used in the manufacture of ATP. It is used as an adhesive material, maintaining the solid structures of the cell membrane. It is necessary to transmit brain signals. It distributes proteins and enzymes.
42 reasons why you need water:
1. to sustain life itself.
2. to maintain the life of every cell of the body. In dehydration some functions will have to be sacrificed.
3. it is the body’s main source of energy.
4. to generate electrical and magnetic energy inside each cell.
5. acts a bonding adhesive in the architectural design of the cell structure.
6. to prevent DNA damage and makes its repair mechanism more efficient.
7. to increase the efficiency of the immune system.
8. it is the main solvent for all foods, vitamins and minerals.
9. it is used to break down food into smaller particles and their eventual metabolism.
10. it energises food particles which are then able to supply the body with energy during digestion.
11. it increases the rate of absorption of essential substances in food.
12. it is used for transport of all substances inside the body.
13. it increases the efficiency of red blood cells in collecting oxygen in the lungs.
14. it clears toxic waste and delivers it to the liver and kidneys for disposal.
15. water is the main lubricant in the joint spaces to prevent arthritis and back pain.
16. it is used in the spinal discs to make them shock absorbent water cushions.
17. it is the best lubricating laxative.
18. water prevents heart attacks and strokes.
19. water prevents clogging of arteries in the heart.
20. it is essential for the cooling and heating of the body.
21. it gives us power and electrical energy for all brain functions especially thinking.
22. it prevents attention deficit disorder in both adults and children.
23. it increases efficiency at work.
24. it is a better pick-me-up than any other beverage.
25. it prevents stress, anxiety and depression.
26. it will restore normal sleep rhythm.
27. it prevents fatigue and gives the energy of youth.
28. it keeps the skin smooth.
29. it gives lustre and shine to the eyes and maintains vision.
30. it prevents glaucoma.
31. it normalises the blood manufacturing systems in the bone marrow.
32. it dilutes the blood and prevents it clotting during circulation.
33. it decreases premenstrual pains.
34. water and heartbeat create the dilution and waves that prevent sedimentation in the bloodstream.
35. because the body has no water storage capacity to draw on in dehydration.
36. to maintain sex hormone production.
37. to separate the sensation of thirst from hunger.
38. to lose weight without dieting.
39. to prevent toxic sediment deposit in the tissue spaces, joints, kidneys, liver, brain and skin.
40. it takes away the morning sickness of pregnancy.
41. water integrates mind and body functions.
42. it reverses addictive urges including caffeine, alcohol and some drugs.
Salt Is Important Too12 reasons why you need salt:
1. it helps regulate the water content of the body. It allows water to stay outside cells, balancing it with the water within.
2. it extracts excess acidity from cells, especially brain cells to maintain pH.
3. it’s needed to balance the sugar level in the blood.
4. it helps generate hydroelectric energy in all body cells.
5. it is vital to nerve cells communication and information processing.
6. it is needed for absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract.
7. it clears lungs of mucous plugs and sticky phlegm especially in asthmatics and cystic fibrosis.
8. it helps clean up catarrh and congestion of the sinuses.
9. it is a strong natural antihistamine.
10. it is essential for the prevention of muscle cramps.
11. it prevents excess saliva production.
12. it’s vital to making the structure of bones firm.
What Happens In Dehydration?Since the body has no water storage capacity, a drought management system is put into effect. Histamine is the master controller of this system and has various subordinate systems to help it. They will shunt water to where it is needed most and sacrifice other parts of the body whose immediate needs are less urgent.
Early Signals Of DehydrationWhen these systems become excessively active they can cause various pains and symptoms. These include dyspepsia, arthritic pain, angina, back pain, leg pain on walking, headaches, migraine, colitis pain, asthma and allergies.
There may also be more general perceptive feelings such as fatigue, feeling flushed, irritability, anxiety, feeling dejected, depressed, inadequate, feeling a “heavy head”, cravings for coffee, sodas and alcoholic drinks, and agoraphobia.
How Does Dehydration Establish Itself?Although a dry mouth is the most obvious manifestation of thirst, this is in fact the last outward sign of extreme dehydration. Saliva must be produced as a priority for eating.
The beverages most people rely upon contain dehydrating agents. The body gets fooled into thinking its need for water has been satisfied. The thirst mechanism gets skewed and can no longer be relied upon. This is especially so in ageing.
10 Symptoms Of DehydrationAsthma: raised levels of histamine bring about bronchial constriction to preserve water evaporation during breathing. Asthma is not a disease, merely a state of dehydration.
Allergies: histamine is required as a defence system against foreign material and infections. In prolonged dehydration excess histamine is released. As water intake is increased, histamine levels fall and the clinical picture improves.
Dyspeptic Pains: require nothing more than water unless ulcers are present. Water is needed in the mucous layer underneath the stomach wall where it contains sodium bicarbonate. This neutralises the acid. In a dehydrated state the mucous barrier is thin and inefficient. Acid is able to penetrate the stomach lining where it meets nerve endings, causing pain.
Arthritis: Cartilage - which is mainly water - normally receives water and nutrients through the bone, but in dehydration the bone marrow takes priority, so its needs are met from vessels that feed the joint capsules. The nerve-regulated shunting mechanisms and the swelling of the joint capsule, which is put under too much pressure, causes pain. The gliding properties of the cartilage also suffer from insufficient lubrication.
High Blood Pressure: this is an adaptation to water deficiency. In a dehydrated state there is a loss of blood volume of up to 8%. The body selectively closes down the lumen of blood vessels to compensate, causing a rise in pressure. Under these circumstances prescribing diuretics is “wrong to the point of scientific absurdity”
High cholesterol: cholesterol regulates the permeability of a cell membrane to water. In dehydration, excess cholesterol is manufactured to prevent loss of water from inside the cell. With adequate water intake this defence system is not required. Less cholesterol will be made and blood levels will drop to within or below the ‘normal’ range.
Stress, chronic fatigue and depression: water is our main source of energy. Dehydration can affect the efficiency of brain cells even though brain function takes priority for water over all other body systems. This can give rise to reduced brain chemical activity which may show itself as a diverse range of mental and emotional symptoms as well as fatigue.
Diabetes: dehydration can affect the brain’s neurotransmitters particularly serotonin whose production is decreased in diabetes. To maintain its volume and energy requirements it raises the level of glucose in circulation. Diabetics also need adequate salt, protein and exercise.
Angina: a signal of dehydration. Constriction causing chemicals from the lungs spill over into the circulation which in turn causes constriction of the walls of the heart arteries, producing pain.
Vertigo: dehydration affects the consistency of lymph fluid within the ear canals. The lymph becomes concentrated and is unable to synchronise with information coming from sight and movement. “Rehydration of the body will correct this problem, simply, permanently, and at no cost.”
Daily Requirements & When To TakeHalf your bodyweight in ounces. A person weighing 180 pounds should drink 90 ounces a day in 8 or 16oz portions spaced throughout the day. A minimum requirement is 2 quarts a day.
It should be taken first thing in the morning to correct loss of water throughout the night.
It should be taken before meals. The best time is 30 minutes before eating to hydrate the stomach and prepare it for food. However, a few minutes before food is acceptable, or even with food. Water does not dilute the digestive juices. The juices function much better when there is plenty of water around them.
Water should also be taken 2½ hours after meals to complete the process of digestion and correct dehydration caused by food breakdown.
Whether to take additional salt will depend on how much is already in the diet. If restricted, then half a teaspoon should be taken each day.
If you would like to visit a naturopath in Stoke Newington, Islington or Haringey in north London please go to: London Naturopath
Normally, approximately 2.5 litres of water is required daily for a fairly sedentary adult in a normal environment to replace the total loss of water that occurs though urine, faeces, skin and lungs.
To read the rest of this article please go to: Water - Why We Need To Drink 8 Glasses A Day
Until recently any discussion of vitamin D would have been confined to its promotion of calcium absorption in the gut and calcium transfer across cell membranes, thus contributing to strong bones and a healthy nervous system.
But in the last decade new findings suggest it plays a role in many important body systems. In fact most tissues and cells in the body, including heart, stomach, pancreas, brain, skin, gonads, and activated T and B lymphocytes, have vitamin D receptors. Vitamin D has also been found to regulate the action of a number of genes.
Vitamin D, calciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin. There are two types found in nature. Ergosterol, which is found in plants, gets converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) in the body. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is found in animal foods.
The vitamin is also derived from sunlight. During exposure, 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is present in the epidermis, is converted to previtamin D3, which in turn is isomerised by a thermally induced process to vitamin D3.
Previtamin D3 and Vitamin D3 are efficiently absorbed by sunlight and converted to a multitude of other sterols. So the skin can never generate quantities of vitamin D3 excessive enough to cause intoxication. That is why lifeguards and sun worshippers never suffer from vitamin D toxicity.
Vitamin D is biologically inactive. It is, in reality, a prohormone, so it must be converted first in the liver to the form 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D. This is the major circulating form of the vitamin. In the kidney it is converted to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or 1,25(OH)2D, which is the active hormone. This is also referred to as calcitrol.
Ultraviolet (UV) light is divided into 3 bands or wavelength ranges, which are referred to as UV-A, UV-B and UV-C.
The ultraviolet wavelength that stimulates our bodies to produce vitamin D is UV-B. It is also the primary cause of sunburn. However, it also induces special skin cells called melanocytes to produce melanin, which is protective.
The amount of UV-B reaching a given population will depend on latitude, altitude, season of the year, cloud cover and pollution.
Bone HealthVitamin D is required to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. With sufficient vitamin D the small intestine will absorb on average, 30% of dietary calcium. Without it the small intestine absorbs no more than 10-15%. During growth, lactation, and pregnancy, the efficiency increases to 80%. Deficiency during this period can result in the bone-deforming disease rickets.
Although bone growth stops in adults there is a constant state of bone turnover. Severe vitamin D deficiency in adults results in inadequate blood calcium which gives rise to secondary hyperparathyroidism. This can precipitate or exacerbate osteoporosis.
In deficiency states hormonal adjustment may maintain the serum calcium concentration within the normal range but it causes a loss of phosphorus in the urine. This, and the need for calcium to be diverted to the blood, prevents adequate mineralisation of the osteoid in the bone, which in turn results in osteomalacia (soft bones). The lack of structural support also increases the risk of fracture.
The mineral content of bones tested after birth and at age 9 were shown to be related to blood levels of vitamin D during late pregnancy. Researchers have argued on the basis of such research evidence that bone development in adults is related to vitamin D levels during pregnancy and early childhood.
Muscle Weakness & PainSpecific receptors for vitamin D have been identified in human muscle tissue. Studies have demonstrated that elderly persons with higher vitamin D serum levels have increased muscle strength and a lower number of falls.
Of 150 consecutive patients referred to a clinic for the evaluation of persistent, non-specific musculoskeletal pain, 93% had serum 25(OH)D levels indicative of vitamin D deficiency.
A clinical observation was reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine in April, 2000. Five patients had severe weakness and fatigue. They were confined to wheelchairs. Blood tests revealed all suffered from severe vitamin D deficiency. They received 50,000IU of vitamin D per week. All became mobile within six weeks.
In a study published in 2003, 122 elderly women were supplemented with 1200mg calcium plus 800IU of vitamin D or calcium alone for 3 months. The vitamin groups’ serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased by an average of 71% and they performed dramatically better in tests of muscle strength. They had a 49% reduced risk of falling compared to the calcium only group.
Autoimmune DiseasesVitamin D receptors are present in immune cells. Autoimmune responses are mediated by T cells. Calcitrol has been found to modulate T cell responses such that the autoimmune responses are diminished.
The commonest autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis have all been successfully prevented in mice that were prone to these diseases if they received calcitrol early in life. Incidence of autoimmune diseases tends to be rare near the equator where vitamin D is produced in abundance.
Type 1 Diabetes
In Type 1 diabetes, insulin producing beta-cells of the pancreas are the target of the inappropriate immune response.
In a recent study it was reported that the lower the vitamin D the less likely participants were to produce enough insulin or to show sufficient sensitivity to insulin. It was found that increasing a person's blood concentration of the vitamin from 25 nmol/l to about 75 nmol/l would "improve insulin sensitivity by 60%" which is a greater increase than many anti-diabetes drugs provide.
In another recent study it was shown that vitamin D deficiency is likely to be a major factor for the development of type one diabetes in children.
In a Finnish study, infants who received a vitamin D supplement in the first year of life had an 80% reduced risk of diabetes compared with non supplemented infants. And the risk was reduced by a further 80% if they took 2000IU a day compared with lower dosages.
Similar findings were found in an animal study. When a strain of mice who typically develop type 1 diabetes received 1,25(OH)2D throughout their life, their risk of developing the disease was reduced by 80%.
Multiple Sclerosis
In MS, the immune response targets are the myelin producing cells of the central nervous system.
Mother rats deprived of the vitamin before birth have offspring with damage to their brains. It shouldn’t be too surprising then that being born in the winter or spring, when vitamin D reserves are at their lowes |
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