Research and News March 2017

Colon and rectal cancers on the rise in younger people
Colon and rectal cancers have always been considered rare in those under 55 years old, but new data from the American Cancer Society shows that rates have been increasing sharply for every generation born since 1950. Current colonoscopy screening approaches, widely used in older populations, can help identify precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they develop into cancer. But regular colonoscopies aren’t considered practical for younger populations. Everyone can reduce their risk for colon cancer by eating more whole, plant foods, less processed foods (especially processed meats), reducing alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying active. Functional Medicine can help personalize what cancer prevention measures are most relevant to you, specifically. Everyone should know, too, that chronic digestive issues, and blood in stool, should always be investigated.

Sperm quality improved by antioxidants from walnuts
Lipid peroxidation is a form of oxidative stress that can damage sperm cells, which are especially high in vulnerable polyunsaturated fatty acids. In human males, 75 grams of walnuts per day (about ¾ cup) has been shown to improve sperm vitality, motility and morphology. In animals, equivalent intake of walnuts has been shown to similarly improve sperm parameters. The protective effects are suspected to be a combination of antioxidants derived from walnuts, and possibly the provision of additional polyunsaturated fatty acids to replace those that are damaged.

Twice weekly Iyengar yoga for depression
90 minutes of yoga classes two or three times per week, along with at-home practice has been shown to be effective at significantly reducing depressive symptoms. Yoga specifically targets the parasympathetic and gamma aminobutyric acid systems, without side effects and drug interactions. If you’re battling depression, there are many potential underlying causes and contributors ranging from dietary deficiencies, to neurotoxicants, gut imbalances and more.

New therapy option for extreme asthma/IgE cases
We work with a lot of allergy cases in our clinic – ranging from food reactivities, environmental/seasonal reactivities, atopic dermatitis, asthma, to eosinophilic esophagitis and gastroenteritis. While we have a number of tools to help restore immune balance, we are always on the lookout for new ways to help patients. We are keeping our eye on this new therapy, IgEnio, recently available in Europe, that reduces the level of IgE antibodies in asthma patients whose condition was not well managed despite medication and steroid use. Interesting!

Insecticides and Children’s Behavior
This new research connects commonly-used, ‘safe’ insecticides with altered behavior (including ADHD) in children up to age 6. Prethroid insecticides have been increasingly used as a ‘safe’ alternative to organophosphate insecticides, but this study suggests that they may still have adverse health effects.

Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen 2017 Updates
Strawberries still top the Dirty Dozen list, along with spinach, nectarines and apples making them the highest priority to buy organic. By weight, spinach had around twice as much pesticide residue than any other crop. Pears and potatoes were new additions to the Dirty Dozen this year, displacing cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Hot peppers, while not on the Dirty Dozen are on the Dirty Dozen PLUS™ list since they were found to contain highly neurotoxic insecticides banned from use on other crops but still allowed on hot peppers. People who eat organic produce ingest fewer pesticides.

E-Cigs Carcinogenic at High Power
Scientists at the Portland State University have discovered that e-cigarettes emit significant levels of cancer-causing benzene, when used at high power. Benzene exposure is linked to many diseases including leukemia and bone marrow failure. Benzene emission varies by type of E-cig device, with EVOD devices found to emit the highest benzene levels.

Curcumin May Reduce Risks of Oral Steroid Medication
In our practice, we are often very successful at reducing or eliminating the need for oral steroid medications. But in the cases where glucocorticoids (or other medications) are still required, we like to mitigate the medication side effect risks as much as possible. We know that long-term glucocorticoid (oral steroid) treatment has deleterious effects on bone health. Curcumin, derived from turmeric spice, is one intervention that early research shows may protect against bone loss from long-term glucocorticoid use.

Lactobacillus Probiotics for Depression
Gut and brain are intimately connected, making the gut a significant piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing depression. In this animal research model, scientists were able to show that a loss of  Lactobacillus microbes in the gut led to the onset of depressive symptoms, and that restoring Lactobacillus levels through probiotics reversed those symptoms. For those FxMed geeks out there—the mechanism uncovered by the researchers was that low Lactobacillus increased levels of kynurenine, known to drive depression via NMDA receptor signaling.

How Does Your Diet and Activity Regime Compare with the Healthiest-Heart Tribe’s?
The Tsimane tribe in Bolivia have some of the healthiest hearts out there, as measured by their levels of coronary artery calcium (CAC, a sign of clogged blood vessels). At age 75, two-thirds of Tsimane are still CAC-free, compared with only 20% of Americans. Their diet isn’t Paleo, as you might expect, since they get over 70% of their calories from complex carbohydrates such as rice, maize, manioc and plantains. They complement this with around 25% of calories from wild game and freshwater fish, and topped up with foraged fruits and nuts. They also get 15,000-17,000 steps in every day, even the over-60s. There are likely other factors such as their microbiome and stress levels that play a role in maintaining those magnificent hearts.

Don’t Let Your Gluten-Free Diet Put You At Risk For Diabetes
Gluten-free diets can be successfully therapeutic for several conditions, but ONLY if implemented in a healthy way. Beware—if you’re loading up on highly-processed, high-glycemic, low fiber gluten-free substitute meals, snacks and treats, you can be undermining your health efforts by pushing up inflammation and blood sugar. This recent study shows that many gluten-free followers are getting this wrong, and increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes (and more).

Massive success for deadly sepsis treatment using nutraceuticals and low dose steroids
Sepsis kills more people in hospitals than any other disease. However, a protocol of intravenous vitamin C, vitamin B1 and low dose steroids has shown massive success in this difficult-to-treat condition, reducing mortality from sepsis from over 40% to 8.5%. Of those 8.5% in the group studied, none died from the sepsis itself, rather from their underlying condition. The research findings are published in the peer-reviewed journal, CHEST.

Why do some people eat non-food items?
Pica itself isn’t new, but it isn’t widely known. Pica is a relatively rare disorder where individuals are drawn to consuming non-food items such as ice, wood, dirt, hair, metal, stones, paint, ash or soap. Health consequences can be serious if the items ingested contain toxins or cause gastrointestinal obstruction. It is also a sign of mineral or vitamin deficiencies and can be corrected by replacing those nutrients.

How global warming may increase your risk for diabetes
The number of people with diabetes has quadrupled since 1980. There are many reasons for this, many of which are quite easily addressable and reversible, actually. But now a new study links global warming with increased risk for Type 2 diabetes. Seems crazy! This study suggests, however, that warmer temperatures make it harder for people to exercise and this is how diabetes risk increases. What do you think? If you live in a hotter climate, how do you keep exercising?