All posts by Karen S. Vaughan

alternative-health

Vinegar, Muscle Cramps, Blood Sugar and Acids

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Vinegar is commonly infused with spices or her...
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The New York Times just published an article indicating that pickle juice (made of salt, vinegar and spices) was helpful at relieving muscle cramps. In a very small trial, 10 men exercised until dehydrated then were electrically stimulated until they cramped, and were given either pickle juice or water. Pickle juice relieved cramps significantly compared to distilled water. The trainers thought that the pickle juice replaced fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise. The researchers thought it was the vinegar. And many of the readers commented that vinegar alone had relieved cramps for them. (One even thought the vinegar in mustard did the same.) Which got me musing about the value of vinegar, and even acids in general.

Now one way you reduce muscle cramping is to take magnesium. Magnesium has substantially disappeared from the soil and hence the food supply due to industrial farming practices and subsequent erosion. In 1975 the USDA surveyed the level of nutrients in food, publishing the information in a book, Handbook of the Nutritional Contents of Food. Twenty years later they started publishing supplements, which were much less read, although Paul Bergner wrote about it in his excellent book,  Healing Power of Minerals, Special Nutrients, and Trace Elements. In the supplemental studies, magnesium had declined by about one third. We do not know how much the decline was before or after that time, but we do know that if we took the entire food supply grown in the United States, assuming none of it was wasted (about 40%) or fed to animals, there would not be enough magnesium for every American. But pickle juice has very little magnesium, or for that matter iron which also can relieve cramps.

Drinking vinegar or lemon juice in water is known to reduce blood sugar spikes, delaying gastric emptying, which is not exactly intuitive. We can understand that fiber might delay gastric emptying and prevent the insulin and blood sugar spikes that plague diabetics. But vinegar?

Making Quick Dill Pickles
Image by Chiot’s Run via Flickr

Researcher Carol Johnston from the University of Arizona recovered data from the 1940’s and found that 2 tablespoons of vinegar reduces blood sugar spikes at an equivalent rate to much diabetes medication. It works better with the insulin resistant, but also lowers blood sugar for diabetics. This confirms what Diabetes writer David Mendosa has been saying for years, and he points out that wine vinegar or white vinegar is more acidic, hence more effective than apple cider vinegar (although it may have other virtues.)  Lemon or lime juice works as well.

Now we know that magnesium is involved in lowering blood sugar spikes.  But again, the magnesium content of vinegar or lemon or lime juice is negligible.  (In fact magnesium and vinegar can be quite explosive.)  I had initially just considered the fact that the acid could stimulate bile production in the liver as the explanation.  However there is a chemical reason as well.

Magnesium like most minerals, is not well absorbed from foods or solid supplements.  Many of us lose stomach acidity after our 30s and do not break down minerals well.  (The symptoms of alkaline indigestion are identical to acid indigestion, so many people take the wrong medication when they take antacids- and that explains why many GERD sites recommend pickle juice for reflux.)  But most of us have some level of acidity which is necessary to extract magnesium (and other minerals) from foods.  And we need it because magnesium is one of the chemicals involved in most cellular reactions.

Chemically, acids have protons, a charged hydrogen ion.  When the ion goes into the blood stream, it has a temporary effect of lowering the pH level of the blood.  Blood pH is very tightly regulated, so the body then releases minerals to raise it.  Magnesium and calcium are activated, in charged form and become available to the muscles.

Lactic Acid fermented foods may have a similar effect, with the added benefits that the fermentation reduces carbohydrate content, the salt replaces electrolytes and the bacteria provide probiotic (good gut bacteria) benefits.  So you get muscle relaxation,  better digestion and lower blood sugar.  Eating the pickle may be as useful as drinking the juice.  Sauerkraut, kimchee, and Japanese pickled vegetables are useful sources of acidic fermented foods and water or coconut kefir are good fermented dairy-free beverages.  Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions will show you how to make your own fermented foods.  Sandor Katz’s book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods also shows you how to make pickled vegetables and has delicious recipes.  And marinades for meat or vegetables are other traditional ways of using acid.

But wait a minute.  Shouldn’t we eat alkalizing foods like vegetables and fruits?  Vinegar, lemon juice and pickle juice are acids.   The entire arena of which foods are alkalizing is inconsistent:  lemon juice is said to be alkalizing while vinegar is not and both are acids.  Even if you rechatacterize vinegar as alkalizing, which I think is appropriate, based upon its ability to set off complex reactions, the body uses acids and alkalies in different places and for different functions.  It is too simplistic to think that one is good and the other is better.  For instance baking soda was administered to enhance immune function successfully in the 1918 and 1919 flu epidemic and I have seen other information on its benefits. Additionally vegans commonly get UTIs from having urine that is too alkaline.  And the Bantu, who eat primarily meat, milk and blood so are acidic are healthier than their more alkaline grain and vegetable eating neighbors. (Grains could be part of the reason.)

Vinegar and LemonThe ideas we held that an acid-forming diet would acidify the blood and cause it to leach out calcium from our bones appears to have been wrong. The body regulates the acid/alkaline balance primarily through the amount of CO2 exhaled in the lungs and the acidity of urine. If the blood pH drops too low and becomes acid, the body will compensate by increasing breathing, expelling CO2,  so fewer hydrogen ions are free and the pH will rise back to normal. For too much alkalinity the opposite occurs.   Any shifts in acid/alkaline balance in the blood are minor and transient.  Some old studies showed that eating a high meat diet could stimulate the release of calcium in the urine, but that effect stops after a few weeks (and the initial studies were only a week or two long.)   Research currently in progress at Yale Medical School by Dr. Karl Insogna suggests that while the urine may release calcium, the intestinal uptake of calcium increases so your bones may suffer no net loss.  You can acidify your urine, but your blood keeps a tight rein on any changes.

So what about alkaline water?  I know a number of friends who swear by their alkaline water, insisting that they drink more of it.    Of course drinking more water will relieve a variety of ills in most cases.  The Kangan company which sells a machine to break down water into acid or alkaline phases, has some studies showing that it is beneficial.  There was a Korean study that found electrolyzed-reduced water inhibits acute ethanol-induced hangovers in rats, presuming that it scavenged free-radical particles.   However their control used distilled water which isn’t healthy.  Lots of the studies pair the reduced water with other substances.  But there seems to be potentially something there.  Whether it beats baking soda in water is unknown.  Or for that matter vinegar in water.

My take?  Both acid and alkalies in water are active physiologically.  Compared to distilled water, they have ions available to interact with the body chemistry.  People seem to have healthy lives on diets that are either acidic or alkali-rich so long as it is made up of real foods and free of allergens.  Drinking acidic water or pickle juice may work on making a small magnesium spike temporarily, but the body will reach acid base homeostasis.  There is a value to these spikes in relieving pain or slowing blood sugar spikes,  but it has less to do with changing your dynamic body chemistry than with interfering with specific functions.  Alkaline foods and liquids may help scavenge free radicals, reducing oxygenation, but oxygen is also helpful in improving body function.

Living Water
Living Water

Our religious traditions tend to have a special reverence for living water, that is water which has minerals dissolved in it making it slightly acidic or alkaline, charged with oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. It is the active molecules in that water which interact with chemicals in our bodies.  Living water and living food will serve us best, across the edible pH spectrum, providing we have some level of diversity.

Sources:

Miller, KC et. al.  “Reflex inhibition of electrically induced muscle cramps in hypohydrated humans” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 May;42(5):953-61.

Liljeberg H, Bjorck I. “Delayed gastric emptying rate may explain improved glycaemia in healthy subjects to a starchy meal with added vinegar.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998  May;52(5):368-71.

Liljeberg HG, Lonner CH, Bjorck IM. “Sourdough fermentation or addition of organic acids or corresponding salts to bread improves nutritional properties of starch in healthy humans.” J Nutr. 1995 Jun;125 (6):1503-11.

Brighenti F, Castellani G, Benini L, Casiraghi MC, Leopardi E, Crovetti R, Testolin G. “Effect of neutralized and native vinegar on blood glucose and acetate responses to a mixed meal in healthy subjects.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Apr;49(4):242-7.

Related articles and sources:

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alternative-health, pregnancy

Self Care Products to Avoid While Pregnant

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Photography by ElvisHuang

If you are pregnant, you are probably being careful about the foods you eat.  But how about your deodorant, shampoo, hair gel or face creme?  Your skin absorbs chemicals through your pores, and those which affect your hormones, and those of your baby, known as endocrine disruptors, can be potent at parts per billion or even parts per trillion. Your exposure is higher than that.

You should avoid a number of products or types of products.  First, look at anything with “fragrance” as an ingredient, or at anything that foams, or at anything that might extract the plastic from the bottles.  In 2002, three-quarters of the 72 products tested by the Environmental Working Group contained phthalates, plasticizing chemicals linked to birth defects, obesity, feminizing infant boys, liver and kidney damage,  infertility and premature breast development in both boys and girls.  These include both brand name cosmetics like L’Oreal, Dove, Cover Girl and Revlon and some “natural” brands .

In a recent study, 145 preschoolers whose mother’s prenatal urine was high in two common phthalates, their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, such as trucks and play fighting.  Girls, OTOH are more likely to become more aggressive with prenatal and postnatal exposure to BPA which can leach from hard plastics, especially #7. We know that the reproduction of other species is compromised by these chemicals, so the results on people are potentially profound.

One thing that has affected all of us, from the developing embryo to the adult is a category of chemicals named obesogens by researcher Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine.   These chemicals mimic hormones and upset the body’s homeostasis and disrupt the endocrine system in a way that increases appetites and stores fats.  There is evidence that they also affect developing fetuses.  Levels have been increasing since the 1950s.

Be suspicious of products marketed as “natural,” “organic,” “dermatologist-tested,” or “hypoallergenic.” The FDA doesn’t have standards for those claims and doesn’t require companies to substantiate them.  Even “fragrance-free” doesn’t always mean that it is: the product may contain dangerous ingredients that mask odors.

Here are specifics of what to avoid and why.

  • Heavy Fragrances frequently contain phthlates as carriers but are usually hidden under the name ‘Fragrances”, “Perfume” or “Parfum”.   That name also covers byproducts like formaldehyde.   If you smell it, either there are either volatile chemicals being released or a cloud of particulates.  Either way will get chemicals into your bloodstream.  Better to go without fragrance, but if you want some, dilute a few drops of a safe essential oil in an ounce jojoba oil.  Be sparing though as essential oils are much stronger than found in nature and will show up in the liver.  A spritz of organic rosewater or another hydrosol is best.
  • Hair Care products contain a variety of chemicals including sodium laureth sulfate, PEG,plasticizers that cause foaming or creaminess, nanoparticles which add reflectivity and shine, phthalates and parabens.  Hairspray is full of chemicals that enter through breathing them and causes penis malformations in the baby.  Hair dyes include lead, p-phenylenediamine; toluene-2; 5-diamine; p-aminophenol.  Henna often contains heavy metals accumulated by the plant or added after.  During pregnancy you should go natural or just use the lemon juice in the sun routine.  Wash with pure castile soap and rinse with vinegar or lemon juice.
  • Tattoos and black henna temporary tatts should be avoided during and a few months before pregnancy.  Most reputable tattoo artists won’t work on pregnant women and it is illegal in many states.  Aside from concerns about hepatitis or blood borne diseases, the ink may contain chemicals which cause activity for several months.  There isn’t enough known about effects that the ink, which is partly absorbed into the body, may have on the baby.  Further, the electric needles may cause miscarriage by conducting electrical current into the body.  Some hospitals have policies prohibiting epidurals through tattoos.  If you want an epidural and have a tattoo on your back, it still would be best to contact the hospital about its policies.  Black henna contains para-phenylendiamine (PPD) which can cause neurological problems for the baby: use neutral henna and not too much.
  • Sunscreens and tanners commonly contain avobenzone, benzphenone, ethoxycinnamate, PABA  that are known free radical generators and are believed to damage DNA or lead to cancers.  Thy often contain phthalates and nanoparticles.  The spray-on tanners are especially bad because you can inhale the ingredients, getting them into your bloodstream faster.  Those include the suspected mutagen Dihydroxyacetone (DHA).  If you want a tan, go out in the sun between 11:00 and 1:00 with a little sesame oil to get your Vitamin D which will help your baby, reduce the chance of toxemia in pregnancy and build up for your breastmilk, then cover up after 20 minutes.  Your pregnancy glow should make up for the rest.
  • Antibacterial Soaps and waterless cleaners often contain triclosan with chemical structure similar to Agent Orange.  The EPA registers it as a pesticide and it is a carcinogen.  New research also shows that triclosan in tap water can react with residual chlorine from water disinfection to form myriad chlorinated byproducts, including chloroform, a human carcinogen.  Ordinary soap and water cleans hands better than antibacterial soap and doesn’t kill off the good bacteria that protect you and your baby. You can make a waterless handcleaner out of aloe vera gel and essential oils to carry with you.  For disinfectant, use soap and water or a drinkable alcohol like vodka.
  • Acne products may contain  benzol peroxide, beta hydroxyl acid, salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid, which are not safe.  Prescription acne medications cause deformity and you usually need to sign that you are using a reliable form of birth control like the pill. Fully 25-35% of babies born to mothers using Accutane in the first trimester have some pattern of birth defects.  Retin-A can be expected to be similar to Accutane due to its molecular structure. Tetracycline is an antibiotic given for acne which inhibits bone development and causes gray teeth in the baby. Pregnancy is likely to clear up your acne without these, but it isn’t worth putting your baby at risk.  Use the loofa facial discs with Basis soap and water or soaked in rosewater or witch hazel for exfoliation.
  • Nail polish contains a variety of noxious chemicals including dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, toluene, tosylamide formaldehyde resin (sometimes causes eyelid rashes when people scratch their face).  The women who work in nail salons where they breathe in fumes all day, are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, stillbirths, birth defects, and developmental issues as well as respiratory diseases, so protecting yourself helps them.  Although no studies have been published on birth defects among nail workers, a North Carolina study found an increased risk of spontaneous abortion among nail salon employees.  Instead, buff your nails or have them buffed in a well-ventilated salon and get your salon to only stock safer polishes.
  • Eye makeup often contains parabens (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben); nickel; cobalt; chromate especially in nanoparticle form.  Probably more irritating to you than your baby.
  • Chemical hair removers contain thioglycolic acid which is untested but smells so bad that you wouldn’t want to use it while pregnant.  Shave instead, using soap as a lubricant.

Ingredients to avoid:

  • Phthalates are not only found in fragrances, but in all kinds of products.  The same phthalates that cause permanent harm of the male reproductive system in laboratory studies are also found in nail polish, hair spray, deodorant, and fragrances – well known products like Revlon, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, and Procter & Gamble.   The laboratory found phthalates in Pantene Pro V “Healthy Hold” and Aqua Net hair sprays, Arrid and Degree deodorants, and fragrances like Poison by Christian Dior and Coty’s Healing Garden Pure Joy Body Treatment, to name just a few.  It is also found in plastic bottles and may leach into cosmetics in that way.  Hairsprays, spray body mists and powders are easily inhaled.  Although found in 100% of the bloodstreams in pregnant women in a recent Maine test, the FDA has declined to ban it.
  • Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl) are also ubiquitous, used as preservatives.  They are found in deodorants and antiperspirants, hair care products,  lotions and facial serums.  They have been found in breast cancer tumors and are suspected carcinogens.   Parabens, as xenoestrogens (chemicals which fit into estrogen receptors), may contribute to sterility in males. Estrogen-like activity causes hormone imbalance in females and early puberty.
  • Phenoxyethanol is a preservative found even in organic cosmetics, although it is restricted in Japan and banned in Europe.  It can also cause reproductive defects and nervous system damage. In cosmetics, concentrations are typically less than 1 percent, but may be cumulative and could affect a developing fetus.
  • Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: Petroleum plastics act as surfactants (wetting agents, solvents). EPA considers PG so toxic it requires protective gloves, clothing, goggles and disposal by burying. Because PG penetrates skin so quickly, EPA warns against skin contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. There is NO warning label on products where concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.
  • Nanoparticles, very tiny particles that can get into your blood stream through your skin are found in sunscreen, bronzers, hair gels, eyeshadow and mineral makeup.  They are new and untested.  In the way that fine grinding of flour lead to increases in heart disease and sensitization to gluten, the effects of nanoparticles may be profound and pregnant women should avoid them.  Especially avoid them in forms that sit on your skin or are sprayed into the air.
  • Dioxins are unlisted ingredients related to Agent Orange and can come from the breakdown of chlorophenols like triclosan,emulsifiers, PEGs and ethoxylated cleansers like Sodium Laureth Sulfate.  Pesticide.   And responsible for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): Detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in 90 percent of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation–even death. SLS may also damage skin’s immune system by causing layers to separate, inflame and age.
  • DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (Triethanolamine): are foam boosters which irritate  skin and eyes and  cause contact dermatitis. These compounds are easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs, even passing the blood brain barrier. Repeated use resulted in major increases of liver and kidney cancer.
  • Quaternium-15 is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative.
  • Cocamidopropyl betaine is found in some bath preparations.
  • 1,4 dioxane, which is not technically an ingredient, but a byproduct of the carcinogen ethylene oxide.  Ethylene oxide is used in a process called ethoxylation, which is used to make harsh ingredients milder.

You do not need to be totally without self care products.  Castile soap, Dr. Bronner’s or an organic shampoo bar can take care of cleaning your skin and hair.  Witch hazel, rosewater or hydrosols of sandalwood make good toners.  Buttermilk makes a great masque. Organic mayonnaise makes a luxurious face masque or hair conditioner.  Vinegar rinses, perhaps infused with a sprig of fresh rosemary work as conditioners for normal to oily hair.  There are also product lines like Garden of Eve’s Expectantly Lovely line which are designed to be safe to mother and baby.  And many organic lines are also safe, but do check the ingredients.

See Also:

Vitamin D Reduces Pre-Eclampsia in Pregnancy

How to Get Vitamin D from the Sun

Nursing Mothers, Infants and Vitamin D

Chemicals and Obesity: What if it Isn’t Your Fault? Obesity and Endocrine Disruptors

How to Make Waterless Handcleaner

Sources:
  1. Wikipedia  Endocrine disruptors, Plasticizer
  2. Ester John et. al. Spontaneous Abortion Among Cosmetologists
  3. Stacy Malkin  Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry
  4. Environmental Working Group.  Not Too Pretty:  Cosmetics and the FDA
  5. Endocrine Disruptors in the Workplace, Hair Spray, Folate Supplementation, and Risk of Hypospadias: Case–Control Study
  6. Don’t let your cosmetics cause health problems (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
  7. Acne Treatments During Pregnancy
  8. ScienceBlog Daily  Pilot study relates phthalate exposure to less masculine play by boys
  9. BISPHENOL A Plastic exposure in pregnancy linked to aggressive girls: study
  10. Jana Ballinger  “The Toxic 12” Beauty Ingredients
  11. Christine Lepisto 10 beauty ingredients that you must ditch during pregnancy
  12. Muddle, S. Tattoo or not to do? J Obstet Anesth. 2006 Jul;15(3):259-60. PMID: 1679846
  13. Kuczkowski KM. Labor analgesia for the parturient with lumbar tattoos: what does an obstetrician need to know? IArch Gynecol Obstet. 2006 Aug;274(5):310-2. Epub 2006 Feb 21.

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alternative-health

Niacin Outperforms Drug At Lowering Cholesterol

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In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a time release version of an inexpensive Vitamin B (Niacin- not niacinamide) was compared to a common cholesterol drug, ezetimibe (trade name Zetia), made by Merck.  The vitamin gave superior results.

In 2008, 9 million Americans were taking Zetia versus just 2.5 who were taking niacin, putting the majority at higher risk for stroke and spending more money for their treatment.

Niacin is easier on the blood vessel walls. Niacin had a beneficial effect on the plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the brain, while Zetia caused a slight worsening.  Nine patients taking  Zetia had heart attacks, stroke, or died from heart disease, versus just two patients taking niacin.

Niaspan, the niacin used in the study is a prescription product that has a special timed-release formulation, which may cut down on the hot flashes that are associated with niacin use.  It does still cause flushing in some people however.

Zetia reduced LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol by 20%.  But unlike Zetia,  niacin boosts HDL, or good cholesterol by 20%, as well as reducing LDL by 16%, total cholesterol by 10% and triglycerides by 28%.

The prescription version of niacin is Niaspan, a 500mg-1000mg version taken at two tablets in the evening.  The vitamin does cause flushing, but less so than straight niacin.  Niacinamide (also called nicotinamide or “no flush niacin”) does not work the same way, although it is often used as a substitute for niacin in multivitamins.

Niacin can cause blood sugar to rise, may be contraindicated for people with gout, bleeding, stomach ulcers, liver disease, kidney problems and shouldn’t be taken by heavy drinkers or people on blood thinners. IT has not been studied on pregnant or nursing women but most likely does get into the breastmilk and should be monitored.  The most common side effects include flushing, headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, increased cough, and itching.  It may interact with aspirin. I suspect that it may increase hot flashes for menopausal women due to the similarity of the symptoms and Chinese medicine interpretations, but Abbot has not mentioned that side effect.   If you take other cholesterol medication take it 4 hours apart.

While the form used in the study is only available by prescription, Natrol sells a 500mg time release niacin for $7.33 for 100 pills and there are likely many other vendors.  The Abbot Labs site says that there may be liver problems when changing to a long-term time release from a non or intermediate time release niacin, so if you are changing brands of niacin, spend a few days without it.  Start at 500mg once a day and go up slowly.  Do not exceed 2000mg.  Women may need lower doses than men.

If you are severely yin deficient this may make things worse and it should be combined with shatavari, or the Rhemannia 6 herbal formula (Liu wei di huang wan).  Speak with your acupuncturist or herbalist.

If you are on a statin, there is no extra benefit to taking niacin or vice versa.  Incidentally the anti-inflammatory effect of two cups of coffee a day or a half pint of blueberries is the same as a statin, but the latter do not deplete your muscles of Coenzyme Q10.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDiseaseNews/cheap-niacin-beats-pricier-zetia-heart-patients/story?id=9092855

http://blogs.healthfreedomalliance.org/blog/2010/02/05/vitamin-proves-better-then-big-pharma-drug/

http://rxabbott.com/pdf/niaspan.pdf

http://www.niaspan.com/AboutNiaspan/Default.aspx#isi

See Also:

Coffee Beats Statin in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

Vitamin D, Niacin and Red Yeast Rice

Herbs and Hypertension

alternative-health

Vinegar or Acid Food Helps Blood Sugar Go Down

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David Mendosa has for some time been suggesting that using lemon juice or vinegar will benefit blood sugar spikes.  Lemon juice, vinegar, even lactic acid fermented foods as suggested in Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions, will lower blood sugar spikes.  And the fermentation process by lactic acid bacteria lowers carbohydrates in the food that was fermented, which is why plain yogurt is less harmful than the same amount of unfermented milk.  And it adds probiotics to boot, which helps you digest better.

Researcher Carol Johnston f rom the University of Arizona recovered data from the 1940’s and found that 2 tablespoons of vinegar reduces blood sugar spikes at an equivalent rate to much diabetes medication.  It works better with the insulin resistant, but also lowers blood sugar for diabetics.   And it even caused weight loss.

Herbalist David Winston has for years taught that taking bitters before meals will stimulate the liver to produce bile, the gall bladder to release it and the digestive juices to be produced.  It is the taste of the bitters that signals the body from the tongue- taste is more than an aesthetic experience.  What I suggest is that you take a half lime, bite into the bitter peel and squeeze the juice into your water before dinner, which gives you both essential tastes.  Bitterness requires a much smaller amount than sourness to do its work.

Alternatively you can make a salad of bitter greens like radicchio or endive and then dress it with vinegar.  Or take some bitters and eat a pickle before meals.  (The Italians say salt should start a meal to enhance digestion, so you get a two-fer here as well.)

Johnston believes that drinking vinegar is too difficult.  I have found several ways around that since I believe that taste, not just chemical reaction, is involved.  For instance, I mix the unsweetened juice concentrates of blueberry or tart cherry with apple cider vinegar, which makes a decent tasting sour drink.  Balsamic vinegar is also less objectionable, although you must account for the extra carbs as with the juice concentrations.  (Or make your own balsamic vinegar by soaking white pine needles in an equal amount of apple cider vinegar and let sit for a month before using it.)
From Diabetes in Control:

A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Sugar Go Down
2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal even as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal.
A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Sugar Go Down
Carol Johnston is a professor of nutrition at Arizona State University’s East campus. When she started developing menus to help prevent and control diabetes, she began with a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The diet worked amazingly well, but it involved major changes from the way people usually eat. Johnston feared they would give up and start downing Twinkies in no time. She wondered if there was an alternative.

Johnston struck gold while reading through some older studies on diabetes. Actually, she struck vinegar.

Her studies indicate that 2 tablespoons of vinegar before a meal—perhaps, as part of a vinaigrette salad dressing—will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal. In people with type 2 diabetes, these spikes can be excessive and can foster complications, including heart disease

In Johnston’s initial study, about one-third of the 29 volunteers had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, another third had signs that they could become diabetic, and the rest were healthy. The scientists gave each participant the vinegar dose or a placebo to drink immediately before they ate a high-carbohydrate breakfast consisting of orange juice, a bagel, and butter. A week later, each volunteer came back for the opposite premeal treatment and then the same breakfast. After both meals, the researchers sampled blood from the participants.

Although all three groups in the study had better blood readings after meals begun with vinegar cocktails, the people with signs of future diabetes—prediabetic symptoms—reaped the biggest gains. For instance, vinegar cut their blood-glucose rise in the first hour after a meal by about half, compared with readings after a placebo premeal drink.


A few tablespoons of vinegar prior to a meal—such as part of an oil-and-vinegar salad dressing—could benefit people with diabetes or at high risk of developing the disease.PhotoDisc

In contrast, blood-glucose concentrations were only about 25 percent better after people with diabetes drank vinegar. In addition, people with prediabetic symptoms ended up with lower blood glucose than even healthy volunteers, after both groups drank vinegar.

In these tests, vinegar had an effect on volunteers’ blood comparable to what might be expected from antidiabetes drugs, such as metformin, the researchers reported January in Diabetes Care. A follow-up study has now turned up an added—and totally unexpected—benefit from vinegar: moderate weight loss.

Both findings should come as welcome news during this season when sweet and caloric treats taunt diabetics, who face true health risks from indulging in too many carbs.

Johnston was looking for possible diet modifications that would make meals less risky for people with diabetes. While reviewing research published earlier by others, she ran across reports from about 2 decades ago that suggesting that vinegar limits glucose and insulin spikes in a person’s blood after a meal.

A few research groups had conducted limited follow-up trials. For instance, Johnston points to a 2001 paper in which researchers at Lund University in Sweden evaluated pickles—cucumbers preserved in vinegar—as a dietary supplement to lower the blood-sugar rise in healthy people after a meal. The Swedish team, led by Elin M. Östman, reported that pickles dramatically blunted the blood-sugar spike after a high-carb breakfast. Fresh cukes didn’t.

“I became really intrigued,” Johnston says, because adding vinegar to the diet would be simple “and wouldn’t require counting how many carbs you ate.” At first, she attempted to replicate findings by others, focusing specifically on people with diabetes or prediabetic symptoms.

When these individuals showed clear benefits from vinegar after a single meal, Johnston’ group initiated a trial to evaluate longer-term effects. It also explored vinegar’ effect on cholesterol concentrations in blood. The Arizona State scientists had hypothesized that by preventing digestion of carbs in the stomach, vinegar might cause carbohydrate molecules to instead ferment in the colon, a process that signals the liver to synthesize less cholesterol.

So, in one trial, Johnston had half of the volunteers take a 2-tablespoon dose of vinegar prior to each of two meals daily for 4 weeks. The others were told to avoid vinegar. All were weighed before and after the trial.

As it turns out, cholesterol values didn’t change in either group. To Johnston’ surprise, however, “here was actually about a 2-pound weight loss, on average, over the 4 weeks in the vinegar group.” In fact, unlike the control group, none in the vinegar cohort gained any weight, and a few people lost up to 4 pounds. Average weight remained constant in the group not drinking vinegar.

Johnston would now like to repeat the trial in a larger group of individuals to confirm the finding, but that study is currently on hold.

Why? To no one’s astonishment, the study volunteers didn’t like drinking vinegar straight—even flavored, apple-cider vinegar. Indeed, Johnston says, “I would prefer eating pickled foods or getting . . . vinegar in a salad dressing.”

Now, the scientists are developing a less objectionable, encapsulated form of vinegar and testing its efficacy. Although there are commercially available vinegar dietary supplements, Johnston notes that they “don’t appear to contain acetic acid,” and based on studies by others, she suspects that’s the antidiabetic ingredient in the vinegar.
Diabetes Care Jan, 2005

Sources:

Diabetes in Control.  A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Blood Sugar Go Down

David Mendosa. Acidic Foods: Another Way to Control Your Blood Sugar

Liljeberg H, Bjorck I. “Delayed gastric emptying rate may explain improved glycaemia in healthy subjects to a starchy meal with added vinegar.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998 May;52(5):368-71.

Liljeberg HG, Lonner CH, Bjorck IM. “Sourdough fermentation or addition of organic acids or corresponding salts to bread improves nutritional properties of starch in healthy humans.” J Nutr. 1995 Jun;125(6):1503-11.

Brighenti F, Castellani G, Benini L, Casiraghi MC, Leopardi E, Crovetti R, Testolin G. “Effect of neutralized and native vinegar on blood glucose and acetate responses to a mixed meal in healthy subjects.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Apr;49(4):242-7.

……………………….

See Also:

Fermented Blueberry Drink Prevents Diabetes

Our Symbionts, Ourselves

Natural Remedies for Indigestion

How to Make Miso

See Also:

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alternative-health

Fewer Serious or Lethal Prostate Cancers in Male Coffee Drinkers

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I have been writing for some time about the positive benefits of coffee.  Coffee is not caffeine, it is a complex aqueous herbal beverage with flavanoids, bitters, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, polysaccharides, ogliosaccharides, essential oils, 5% of the daily magnesium and 2% of the daily potassium needs, plus vitamin E and niacin.  There is also caffeine, which varies range from 58 to 75 mg in a typical espresso, and from 70 to 130 mg in a small coffee. In boiled but not filtered coffee there are also the cholesterol-raising kahweol and cafestol. We know that the chlorogenic acid is significantly anti-inflammatory and two cups a day reduces C Reactive protein by approximately the same amount as a statin drug.

Life Extension Email December 11, 2009

Less advanced and lethal prostate cancers in male coffee drinkers

The American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference held December 6-9, 2009 in Houston was the site of a presentation of the finding that men with a high daily intake of coffee have a significantly lower risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer. The beverage contains antioxidants and minerals as well as caffeine, all of which could impact cancer risk.

Postdoctoral fellow Kathryn M. Wilson, PhD of Harvard School of Public
Health and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School’s Channing Laboratory and McGill University in Montreal evaluated data from nearly 50,000 participants in the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study. Regular and decaffeinated coffee intake was assessed for 1986 and every four years thereafter until 2006. During this time period, 4,975 men developed prostate cancer.

While coffee drinking appeared to have a small protective effect on the
overall risk of prostate cancer, with those who consumed 6 or more cups per day having a 19 percent lower risk compared with those who did not drink coffee, when advanced and fatal cancers were separately analyzed, the risk of each was 59 percent lower in men who consumed the most coffee, and among men who had never smoked, the risk was 89 percent lower. Similar results were observed for both regular and decaffeinated coffee. “Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes,” noted Dr Wilson. “We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced versus localized cancers or high-grade versus low-grade cancers.”

“Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies,” she remarked.

In an analysis involving a subset of the current study’s subjects for whom blood samples were collected between 1993 and 1995, greater coffee intake was found to be associated with higher levels of testosterone and serum hormone binding globulin and with lower plasma levels of C-peptide.

“The strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers is potentially important and should be confirmed in other populations,” the authors conclude. “The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee and may be mediated through effects on insulin metabolism and/or sex hormone levels.”
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See Related Posts:

Coffee Herbs

November Herbal Blog Party on Morning Wake Up Beverages

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimer’s

Simple Ways to Support Brain Function

Health Myths About Hydration

Coffee Beats Statins in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

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alternative-health

Baking Soda, the Immune System and the Flu

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Baking soda alkalizes the body and may prevent disease:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks.”

The article below by Mark Sirius, OMD who has written a book on sodium bicarbonate,  is drawn from the booklet that Arm and Hammer wrote on baking soda and disease.  It also includes information on when best to take it.  I suggest taking the baking soda on an empty stomach, as most people over the age of 30 have low stomach acid, even if they think they get acid reflux or acid stomach (which has the same symptoms but is worse with antacids.)

Mercola suggests using Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum-Free Baking Soda instead of Arm and Hammer.  According to the product ingredients, only bicarbonate of soda is included in any baking soda.  (Baking powder does sometimes contain aluminum salts.)

Mercola’s site also contains articles referencing baking soda as a

Few people realize that baking soda also has potent medicinal properties. Taken internally, it helps maintain the pH balance in your bloodstream without resorting to taking calcium from bones. This is likely the basic premise behind its recommended uses against both colds and influenza symptoms, and even cancer.

Alkalinized water is also suggested as a way of alkalizing the body as is eating a diet high in vegetables and fruits.  But if you don’t get enough and can stomach the taste, then using baking soda is an inexpensive idea.

Bicarbonate Treatment for Swine Flu (1924)

Using Bicarbonate Against the Swine Flu

by Mark Sircus, OMD

image

Over 150 years ago Dr. Austin Church formed a business to produce and distribute Baking Soda. ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda is derived from a natural occurring mineral called trona. It is 100% pure, safe, and natural. Baking Soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate) is a substance that is found naturally in all living things. Its purpose is to maintain pH balance in the bloodstream, which is necessary to sustain life. Due to its chemical and physical properties, sodium bicarbonate has unique medicinal capabilities that every healthcare practitioner, doctor and patient needs to know about.

The only problem is that Arm & Hammer Baking Soda can replace many more expensive medicines and this does not make the medical industrial complex happy.

In today’s modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense and approved as a drug. But this was not always the case and as we can see in the information in this chapter, which is from a 1924 booklet, [1] published by the Arm & Hammer Soda Company. On page 12 the company starts off saying, “The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks. I have since that time treated all cases of ‘Cold,’ Influenza and LaGripe by first giving generous doses of Bicarbonate of Soda, and in many, many instances within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated. Further, within my own household, before Woman’s Clubs and Parent-Teachers’ Associations, I have advocated the use of Bicarbonate of Soda as a preventive for “Colds,” with the result that now many reports are coming in stating that those who took “Soda” were not affected, while nearly every one around them had the “Flu.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:
During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals.

During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals.

During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured.

“Well the sodium bicarbonate cure for colds and sore throats.
A friend called as I was reading about it, I told her to try it.
She is rapt! Relief in a few hours, and she went to work the
following day! And she was miserable and could hardly talk,[2]
had just woken with it full on, and was planning on missing work.”

In order to secure the best results with Arm & Hammer Pure Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) when taken internally, certain simple rules must be observed. Materia Medica, pharmacology and Therapeutics (Bastedo, Page 88) clearly outlines these rules to follows:

“The effect of an alkali in the stomach will vary according to the nature of the stomach contents at the time of administration. In the resting period (after food is digested) sodium bicarbonate merely dissolves mucus and is absorbed as bicarbonate into the blood, to increase its alkalinity directly.

“In the digestive period it reduces the secretion of gastric juice, neutralizes a portion of the hydrochloric acid, liberates the carminative carbon dioxide gas, and is absorbed as sodium chloride.

“In cases of fermentation or ‘sour stomach’ it may neutralize the organic acids and so result in the opening of a spasmodically closed pylorus (the opening between the stomach and the small intestine); while at the same time it acts to overcome flatulency (accumulation of gas in the stomach and bowels).

“The time of administration must, therefore, be chosen with a definite purpose. Usually for hyperchlohydria (excess of acid) one hour or two hours after meals will be the period of harmful excess of acid.

“In continuous hyperacidity and in fermentative conditions a dose an hour before meals will tend to prepare the stomach for the next meal; or sometimes a dose will be necessary immediately after eating, because of abnormal acid or base having been present at the commencement of the meal. (For the average person one-half hour after meals is recommended).

“A dose at bedtime tends to check the early morning acidity, or a dose on arising cleans the stomach of acid and mucus before breakfast.”

Whenever taking a bicarbonate solution internally the soda should be dissolved on cold water.

This is all very valuable information coming from the horses own mouth, the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Company, which sells aluminum free baking soda. Clearly they knew what they had in their hands one hundred years ago; and its long use in medicine sustains the companies published medical views:

“Besides doing good in respiratory affections, bicarbonate of soda is of inestimable value in the treatment of Alimentary Intoxication, Pyelitis (inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney), Hyper-Acidity of Urine, Uric Acid disturbances, Rheumatism and Burns. An occasional three-day course of Bicarbonate of Soda increases the alkalinity of the blood, assists elimination and increases the resisting power of the body to all Infectious Diseases.”

Magnesium chloride is the only form of magnesium that has been reported to increase immune system strength though all forms of magnesium need to be counted in this regard. When one adds magnesium chloride to ones baths, puts it on the skin like suntan screen, or takes it orally with sodium bicarbonate one supercharges their defensive perimeter or what is called the anti-pathogen factor in Chinese Medicine. Add Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin C and some healthy sun exposure or Vitamin D and we have the heart of army we need to array against viral invaders. Magnesium Bicarbonate – Ultimate Mitochondrial Cocktail is the name of one of my chapters that explains why both these essential mineral ions need to be present in sufficient concentrations.

Testimonials:

(for more, see the article here)

Sources:

http://sodiumbicarbonate.imva.info/index.php/administration-methods/arm-hammer-soda-company/#arrive

And the article by Mercola

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chinese-herbal-medicine, diet

Natural Remedies for Indigestion

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stomach on FireThis is the season of holiday meals and parties, when indigestion raises its ugly head. There are a variety of causes and patterns, so not everyone will fit the same remedies. If you tend to feel excessive heat in your stomach and upward rising energy, go with cooling herbs like peppermint, gentian and artichoke leaf. If your stomach feels cold, unable to mount the fire to digest, then use something warming like ginger.

Untreated GERD (reflux) can cause erosions of the esophagus, so are quite dangerous. However most treatments are for high acid GERD while the majority suffers from low acid GERD. Killer indigestion may be associated with gallstones and should be monitored to prevent gallbladder disease. Excessive food and poor combinations can exacerbate gallbladder disease.

Usually people over 35 have low acid and people under 35 have too much acid. The symptoms are identical but you can take this quiz to see where you lie. When people who have low acid take a calcium carbonate antacid like Tums, it will make digestion worst. Proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec or Nexium also inhibit acid and should not be taken by older people who are more likely to suffer from hypochlorhydria. Similarly H2 Blockers like Zantac, Tagamet and Pepsid reduce acid production by blocking signals that tell the stomach to make acid. The long term use of these just blocks feedback from your body that your diet is not suiting your needs.

  • Dandelion greens
    Dandelion greens

    Start your meals with something bitter: bite down on a slice of lime in your water, have a salad with radicchio, endive or dandelion greens, or use an apertif/digestif like Angostura Bitters or Fernet Branca (best with a slice of ginger so it won’t be too energetically cold for your system). Bitters tell your liver to produce bile, your stomach to produce digestive juices and starts moving food down through the digestive tract.

  • Carminative spices
    Carminative spices

    Use spices. Common culinary spices are carminative, that is they are aromatic in a way that enhances digestion. Fennel, anise seed, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger (especially!) and basil all help your body digest food. You can also make teas with the spices. This is especially good for people who feel like food is just sitting in their stomach, but some aromatic herbs could be a bit much for people with strong reflux.

  • In a similar vein, sushi ginger isn’t just for sushi. The pickled ginger is easier to digest than raw ginger and is less heating. It is good for anyone who has recurrent nausea. You can find it by the jar at your neighborhood fish store, greengrocer, health food store in the macrobiotics section or Asian market. Just eat it with your meal.
  • Don’t eat too much. Your body can better digest small amounts.
  • Don’t eat too fast, and chew your food. This allows you to avoid overeating, which creates indigestion and mixes your food with enzymes from your saliva and digestive juices.
  • Valerian
    Valerian

    If you have a nervous stomach, chamomile with hops, catnip or valerian will help. Chamomile is also good for flatulent colic. Valerian and catnip are especially good for stress-based constipation.

  • While adding vinegar to a low acid stomach or baking soda to a high acid stomach will reduce symptoms of GERD, it won’t change the underlying condition.
  • Betaine hydrochloride, Ox Bile, may help break down fats especially if you have gall bladder disease. It can also retrain your stomach. To start, take 1 capsule fifteen minutes before your meal; the next meal take 2, 15 minutes before; the next meal take 3 as before. Keep doing this until you feel a peppery burning in your stomach,esophagus.Then back off one capsule.
  • Take care of your gut bacteria. If you have recently had antibiotics, take fermented foods like kefir, miso, full-fat yogurt, blue cheese, coconut kefir, kimchee, sauerkraut, olives and unpasteurized pickles. These help you digest. Probiotics help as well.
  • If your stomach is upset, rub a little essential oil of peppermint (cooling) or ginger (warming) over your stomach. The acupoint most useful for this is halfway between your sternum and belly button.
  • Acupuncture can stop indigestion. In a recent study of pregnant women with heartburn, average heartburn intensity fell by at least a half in 15 out of 20 (75%) women receiving acupuncture compared with seven out of 16 (44%) women not receiving it.
  • Bao he wan or Po Chai pills are remedies for food stagnation, when food seems to stagnate in your digestive tract. You usually take 24 tea pills a day of Bao he wan or a vial of Po Chai pills.
  • A high percentage of foods that cause problems are difficult to digest like beans or high sulfur vegetables like broccoli or cabbage. Milk products are difficult for most people to digest, whether they are allergic or not because the pasteurization crosslinks milk proteins.
  • High carbohydrate meals, especially those with sugar or flour are easily fermented by candida and can produce carbon dioxide. Avoid foods that can be fermented by yeast if you are prone to gas.
  • Avoid foods that create bloating, foggy headedness, skin rashes or digestive disturbances if you take too much. This is a sign that you may have a food allergy with signs that were too vague to identify.
  • To identify allergens, ask yourself what food would probably be allergenic for you and see what pops into your mind. It will probably be something you eat frequently or can’t imagine living without. Allergy tests are wildly inaccurate, with false positives and false negatives, so use total removal of allergenic foods like dairy, gluten, soy or corn for four to six weeks, then rechallenge and see if symptoms return.

The effect of Alcohol on Indigestion and Hangovers.

  • beer_mugAlcohol generally increases indigestion. Beer and sparkling wines are especially hard on the digestive tract.
  • If you are going to be drinking, take some food with fat first: butter, olive oil, cheese, even whole milk. The fat helps coat your stomach and the food helps slow the alcohol absorption.
  • Don’t drink too much. That should go without saying. But if you are worried about the effects of clear spirits or wine, then you are taking too much.
  • If you do, consider the Chinese digestive remedy Bao He Wan. It comes in tea pills, which are taken at a daily dose of 24 (Check your bottle for any alternative dosing.)
  • Raw egg yolks can help you recover faster. The jury is still out on adding hot sauce.

Sources:

David Winston, Materia Medica. Unpublished draft.

http://heartburn.about.com/od/medsremedies/a/h2blockers.htm

http://heartburn.about.com/od/medsremedies/a/protonpumpPPIs.htm

http://altmedicine.about.com/library/weekly/bl_quiz_hypochlorhydria.htm

Uncategorized, womens-medicine

Endometriosis and Chinese Medicine

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Endometriosis
Endometriosis of Abdominal Wall

Endometriosis is a painful condition where the tissue normally inside of the womb, the endometrium, is found in other parts of the body. The endometrial cells build up blood for pregnancy, which is shed during menstruation. However if this tissue is found outside of the womb, it can cause bleeding in areas where blood is not supposed to be shed and it can cause major pain and inflammation. Typically areas of endometrium are found near the ovaries or fallopian tubes, the anterior or posterior cul de sacs of the exterior uterus, the peritoneum of the pelvic wall, the sigmoid colon or ureters, but it can be found as far away as the diaphragm, the lungs or the nose. Surgical incisions can be populated with endometrial tissue as well.

The causes are largely unknown. In some cases, the endometrial cells may be shed along with the menstrual blood, only to migrate to areas where they can attach to other structures. It is widely believed in Europe, for example, that sexual intercourse during the menstrual period can cause the vaginal vault to expand, permitting endometrial cells to get into areas where they otherwise would not, pushed upward by the sexual act. In Chinese medicine, sexual intercourse is seen as an upward, yang act which should not take place during the powerful yin periods where the body is and should be focusing downwards.

Endometriosis
Endometriosis in the Abdominal Cavity

However in other cases there seems to be parallel development of extra-uterine endometrial cells. It seems highly unlikely that endometrial cells in the nose, which result in menstrual nosebleeds or in the lungs, have migrated from the womb. Since most cells in the human body can differentiate into any necessary structure, it is likely that the instructions for differentiation were incorrectly expressed. The process is estrogen dependent and may even persist beyond menopause.

Approximately 10 to 15% of women during their reproductive years are believed to suffer from endometriosis, including approximately 20-50% of those with primary infertility and 60% of those with pelvic pain. Current estimates are that 30-47% of women suffering from this disorder are infertile. A 1988 survey conducted in the US found significantly more hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma in women with endometriosis compared to the general population.  It seems to affect women with late pregnancies or no pregnancies worse, possibly because cysts can more easily build up.

Symptoms of endometriosis include pelvic pain, painful periods, pain between periods during bowel movements or other actions, painful sexual intercourse, nausea, dizziness, bleeding during menses in unlikely areas, blocked bowels, fever during menstruation and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Current research has demonstrated an association between endometriosis and certain types of cancers, notably ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and brain cancer but not endometrial cancer. Complications of endometriosis include:

Endometriosis with chocolate cyst

* Internal scarring which can lead to infertility
* Adhesions
* Pelvic cysts
* Chocolate cysts which are endometriomas filled with old blood
* Ruptured cysts where exit of the eggs from the ovaries is blocked
* Blocked bowel/bowel obstruction
* Infertility

Infertility can be related to scarring and anatomical distortions due to the endometriosis. However, endometriosis may also interfere in more subtle ways: cytokines and other chemical agents may be released that interfere with reproduction.

In Chinese medicine, endometriosis is seen as a kind of Blood or Phlegm stagnation. The main goal of treatment for endometriosis is to strongly move the blood to flush out stagnation. Herbs like dang gui, cyperus, red peony, safflower stamens, motherwort, ligusticum, persica seed, zeodary, red sage root and fennel seed may be used to strongly move blood. Pain killers like corydalis or Jamaica dogwood, frankincense and myrrh may be given.

ZeodaryThere are five basic patterns that accompany blood or phlegm stagnation:

  • Qi Stagnation and Blood or Phlegm Stasis.
  • Kidney Deficiency and Blood or Phlegm Stasis.
  • Cold Retention and Blood or Phlegm Stasis.
  • Qi Deficiency and Blood or Phlegm Stasis.
  • Heat Obstruction and Blood or Phlegm Stasis.

Xue fu zhu yu tangIn addition there may be patterns of Qi stagnation, Qi deficiency, Kidney deficiency, Cold stagnation or Heat stagnation. Different herbs are used for each condition. Common formulas, depending upon the pattern, include Shi xiao san, Shaofu zhuyu, Xue fu zhu yu tang, and Nei yi wan.

Western herbs that may help endometriosis focus on the liver, like dandelion and vitex.  This helps normalize the estrogen dominance along with dietary change.  In addition pain relief from Indian pipe, Jamaica dogwood or sweet melliot can be useful.  Angelica and saffron may be used to move the blood, along with nutgrass tubers and frankincense or myrrh.

uterine_massageUterine massage may be used to reduce stagnation in the pelvic area. This combines proper placement of the uterus, which can flop forward or backwards in its hammock of ligaments with flushing of the lymphatic ducts and blood vessels in the pelvis. Acupuncture is frequently used to move blood and treat the underlying pathology. Further acupuncture affects hormonal balance, which can help correct underlying conditions or at least moderate their effects.

Castor oil packs are a time tested way of getting relief from pelvic pain.  A cotton or wool flannel cloth is soaked in castor oil, to which a few drops of clary sage essential oil may be added.  The cloth is laid over the abdomen, covered by a piece of plastic to protect towels and bedding from oil stains, covered with a hot towel or a towel and heat source such as a hot water bottle or heating pad.  This is mostly palliative although it will enhance pelvic circulation.

Standard western treatment includes birth control pills which suppress but do not cure the condition, surgical removal of endometrial tissue although it frequently grows back, total hysterectomy and drugs.  Drug therapy for endometriosis is often unsatisfactory.  Most of the current drug therapy is aimed at altering the estrogen-based hormonal stimulus of the endometrial tissue, like progestins, testosterone or gonadatrophin-releasing hormone. The condition is not easy to treat with any modality, but treatment, diet and lifestyle changes can help manage it.

Diet plays a significant part in the treatment of endometriosis. This is one case where coffee is actually contraindicated. High fiber foods, sea vegetables, fruits and vegetables, and low levels of fish or lean pasture-raised meat are recommended.  Dairy and soy should be avoided since they are estrogenic and may be aggravating to autoimmune conditions.

Anti-inflammatory supplements such as curcumin or turmeric, fish oil, evening primrose oil, and clary sage can be taken. Vitamin D levels should be brought up so that blood levels of 25hydroxy D3 are 50-100. Calcium and magnesium levels should be balanced and magnesium increased.  You should also keep up antioxidants, flavanoids and adaptogenic herbs like astragalus, ginseng or holy basil.

Support groups and computer forums can offer significant support, as well as a group of people who have experienced different types of treatment.  Check out http://www.mdjunction.com/endometriosis

See also:

http://www.acupuncturebrooklyn.com/how-tos/how-to-use-a-castor-oil-pack-by-karen-vaughan on how to make a castor oil pack.
http://www.itmonline.org/journal/arts/endometriosis.htm for an exhaustive article on Chinese medicine and endometriosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endometriosis

http://www.articlesbase.com/women%27s-health-articles/endometriosis-part-208-ednometriosis-and-essential-oilclary-sage-818372.html

alternative-health, coffee, herbal-preparations

November Herbal Blog Party on Morning Wake Up Beverages

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coffee-cup-cupperTansy hosted November’s herbal blog party.   The subject was morning beverages…be it coffee, mate, or some herbal concoction.  Herbalists  share our  morning beverage rituals.   Here is the blogroll:

Karen Vaughan writes about the benefits of coffee and talks about mixing it with herbs

Lisl writes all about chai and includes a recipe for her favorite blend

Susan Lubbers writes about waking up with a holy cuppa…holy basil!

Chai massalaDarcey Blue French shares her chocamatamatelatte recipe

Kiva Rose writes of the wild woodlands morning brew, with a combination of herbs that you might never have thought of trying

Need a little caffeine in your morning ritual? Try Rosalee de la Foret’s suggestions for black tea

Tansy’s idea of a great caffeine free morning beverage: roasted root chai

Aquarian Bath’s secret to a great cup of earl grey tea

Stephany shares some great recipes for all sorts of moods!

Aartiana writes about her favorite morning infusions

See Related Posts:

Coffee Herbs

Caffeine Halts Progression of Alzheimer’s

Simple Ways to Support Brain Function

Health Myths About Hydration

Coffee Beats Statins in Reducing Diabetes Inflammation

Fewer Serious or Lethal Prostate Cancers in Male Coffee Drinkers

lifestyle, liver, obesity

Chemicals and Obesity: What if it isn’t all your fault?

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Fat babyAs someone who was around in the ’50s and ’60s when there was less obesity, I have to tell you that diets were not that good.  TV dinners, Wonder bread, instant mashed potatoes, fish-sticks and whole milk predominated and vegetables tended towards the overcooked.  Food was cooked in Crisco, full of trans fats, and cotton seed oils.  Fresh vegetables came in during the late 60s, but predominated on the coasts.  There was less soda and no high fructose corn syrup, and portion sizes were somewhat smaller, but the caloric difference may not be enough to explain why we have an epidemic of infant obesity today that we didn’t then.  And I doubt that the babies today are doing any less exercise, although their older siblings may be indoors on computers more instead of riding bikes.

While diets included a lot more fresh vegetables after the 1960s and mothers showed an increased willingness to breastfeed, obesity rates increased.  And not just in couch-potato adults or fast food addicts.  The  Harvard School of Public Health reported in 2006 that the prevalence of obesity in infants under 6 months had risen 73 percent since 1980.  You need to look at more than calories in and calories out when infants start showing up obese.

Plastic baby bottleOne thing that has affected all of us, from the developing embryo to the adult is a category of chemicals named obesogens by researcher Bruce Blumberg of the University of California, Irvine.   These chemicals mimic hormones and upset the body’s homeostasis and disrupt the endocrine system in a way that increases appetites and stores fats.  There is evidence that they also affect developing fetuses.  Levels have been increasing since the 1950s.

Paula Baillie-Hamilton, a doctor at Stirling University in Scotland wrote in a 1997 article in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, had risen in lockstep with the use of chemicals such as pesticides and plasticizers over the previous 40 years.

fatbabyThe obesogens have two previously unsuspected effects. They act on genes in the developing fetus and newborn to turn more precursor cells into fat cells, which stay with you for life. And they may alter metabolic rate, so that the body hoards calories rather than burning them.  If you have an active life style and eat well, you may avoid turning these on, but if you live the “normal” life of 21st century Americans you are likely to end up obese.

The chemicals are fat soluble, which makes them very difficult to excrete, since we evolved to detoxify the water-soluble poisons found in nature.   In what may be the only defensible use of  Olestra, researchers have used the fake fat to increase excretion of a broad variety of toxins.

The most important obesogens are found in common everyday life and are difficult to avoid unless you really try:

  • The “plasticizers” phthalates for instance, are ubiquitous.  An estimated 1 billion pounds are produced each year worldwide. The Environmental Working Group reports that phthalates are found in  toys, food packaging, hoses, raincoats, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, wall coverings, lubricants, adhesives, detergents, perfumes, nail polish,  hair spray and shampoo.  Even vinyl ICU hoses used for premature babies have been found to contain phthalates.
  • PCBs have  been added to plastics, inks, adhesives, paints, and flame retardants. as well as being used as coolants and lubricants in electric equipment.  PCBs are in the air and water, and many people are exposed to them through eating certain fish — especially those highest on the food chain.
  • Bisphenol A (or BPA) is found in hard plastics, including baby bottles, food-storage containers, water coolers, dental fillings, canned food tins and in sunglasses.

Gender bending chemicalsIt is estimated that 93 percent of the US population had bisphenol A, a chemical that can be found in canned goods, in hard, clear plastic items such as baby bottles and polycarbonate water bottles, in their body.  Mice fed Bisphenol-A during early devolopment in University of Missouri studies grew up to be fatter than those who weren’t.  Similar studies cited in a government report found fat, feminization of males and greater incidences of breast and prostate cancer.  The fat research was replicated in rats at Tufts University.  The industry group representing plastic manufacturers declares ” scientific evidence shows that bisphenol A . . . does not have any effect on body weight,” according to Steven Hentges, its vice president.

A trial in Maine found 100% of people studied had phthalates in their blood.

Blumberg also studied the antifungal agent tributyltin, used in marine paints to keep ship hulls free of barnacles.  Female mollusks exposed to the chemical were seen to grow male sex organs. Lab mice exposed to tiny levels of tributyltin during prenatal development became fatter adults than those not given the chemical.  “It predisposed them for life,” said Blumberg.  This chemical gets into sea water and then into the seafood we eat.

The mechanism by which babies born underweight are likely to be fatter later in life, may be like that where undernourished fetuses learn to use fat cells more efficiently  and that efficiency gets embedded in their physiology.  Researchers suspect the same thing may be taking place with chemical exposures.

cosmetics 2If you are pregnant, avoid plastics and pesticides.  Use glass or unlined steel water bottles.  Clean your house with vinegar or lemon slices.   Eat organic food.  Use organic soaps and shampoos free from phthalates and natural cosmetics.  Leave the area if someone is spraying for insects.  Walk away from traffic.  Take responsibility for the prenatal environment of your child.

Afterwards, breast feed as long as possible.  Use glass baby bottles instead of plastic.  Look for phthalate-free  and BPA-free plastics and cloth or wooden toys and teething aids.  Eat organic and use organic shampoos (or just pure soap and water) to clean with.

plastic toysSources below widget:

Look for books too!

Begley, Sharon.  Born to Be Big:  Early exposure to common chemicals may be programming kids to be fat. Newsweek.  9/11/09

Biello, David.  Consumer Alert:  Plastics in Baby Bottles May Pose Health Risk. Scientific American 4/21/08

Chen, JQ, Brown TR. Regulation of energy metabolism pathways by estrogens and estrogenic chemicals and potential implications in obesity associated with increased exposure to endocrine disruptors. Biochimica et biophysica acta. 2009 Jul;1793(7):1128-43. Epub 2009 Apr 5.

Daley, Beth.  Is Plastic Making Us Fat? http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/01/14/is_plastic_making_us_fat/?page=1 Boston Globe.1/14/2008

Grün F, Blumberg B.  Endocrine disrupters as obesogens Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2009 May 25;304(1-2):19-29. Epub 2009 Mar 9. Review.  PMID: 19433244 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Grün F, Blumberg B.  Minireview: the case for obesogens. Mol Endocrinol. 2009 Aug;23(8):1127-34. Epub 2009 Apr 16.    PMID: 19372238 [PubMed – in process]

Newbold RR, Padilla-Banks E, Snyder RJ, Jefferson WN.       Perinatal exposure to environmental estrogens and the development of obesity. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Jul;51(7):912-7

Newbold RR, Padilla-Banks E, Snyder RJ, Phillips TM, Jefferson WN.  Developmental exposure to endocrine disruptors and the obesity epidemic. Reprod Toxicol. 2007 Apr-May;23(3):290-6. Epub 2007 Jan 17,

National Toxicology Program.  NTP Brief on Bisphenol A.  4/14/08 http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol /BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf

See Also:

Acupuncturebrooklyn.com If You Are Into Herb, Health and Diet, Why Are You Fat?

Acupuncturebrooklyn.com A Calorie Is Not A Calorie: Why Calories Are Not All The Same

Acupuncturebrooklyn.com Self Care Products to Avoid While Pregnant