496 Miller’s Review [5 Nov 2018]

Vaccines have been thoroughly tested for safety, reactions are rare, and no published studies show vaccines cause harm. That is the position of the pharmaceutical industry, our governments, and their health organizations. But is it true?

A recent book by Neil Miller “Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies – 400 Important Scientific Papers Summarized for Parents and Researchers” (mentioned in last week's post "The Wakefield Study") summarizes research that your pediatrician or community health nurse won’t tell you about (and most likely are unaware of themselves). These studies are published in peer-reviewed medical journals and all 400 provide evidence questioning the safety or efficacy of vaccinations. Here are just a few examples.

Few studies compare vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. One such was published just last year comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated 3 to 5 month olds in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau during the introduction of DPT and oral polio vaccine in the early 1980s. The study found the death rate of all causes was a shocking five times higher in the DPT vaccinated group (keep in mind that these African infants may be malnourished and in a previously unvaccinated population so the results may not translate to North America). Previously a live measles vaccine was withdrawn after clinical trials in West Africa found that it, along with DPT, increased mortality 33% in children 4-60 months of age.

Since 1986 the American Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received over 500,000 reports of adverse reactions to vaccinations, with 30,000 added each year. A study of this data analyzed 38,000 severe reactions (involving hospitalization or death) and found a statistically significant increase in risk as the number of simultaneous vaccines given increased, from one right up to eight.

A CDC study found that the increased risk of autism for boys getting the MMR before age 36 months was 1.69 times higher than those who got their shot after 36 months; for African American boys the rate was 3.36 times higher. The data were manipulated to hide these findings and the study concluded there was no link.

To make informed decisions about your family’s health you need all the information. This book, Miller’s website, and other resources like the National Vaccine Information Center will complement the information you receive from your doctor or health nurse.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

495 The Wakefield “Study” [29 October 2018]

Almost everyone has heard of Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who wrote a fraudulent study in 1998 linking vaccines and autism. Wakefield was accused of falsifying data and having undisclosed financial conflicts of interest. In 2010 the Lancet retracted his paper and he lost his license to practice.

The conventional position is that vaccines have been thoroughly tested with no link ever found with any health problem including autism. The retraction of Wakefield’s study is considered further proof that any vaccine-autism link has been totally debunked.

But is all of that true?

First, the 1998 Lancet paper was not a “study”, it was a “case study”. A case study is merely a reporting of one or a group of patients with unusual symptoms. It does not make any claims or even propose a hypothesis. You can read the entire retracted paper here. The paper’s conclusion read “We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases [8 of 12], onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps and rubella immunization. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.”

As to the fraud charges, David Lewis, a research microbiologist with the National Whistleblowers Center in Washington, reviewed Wakefield’s files regarding the Lancet paper and concluded that Wakefield had not intentionally misinterpreted the data, and that the BMJ’s fraud theory was “more tabloid news than science”. Wakefield has written a book (2010) called “Callous Disregard” in which he tells his side of the story.

In any case, the Wakefield paper is hardly the only evidence for vaccine safety concerns. A recent book by Neil Miller “Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies – 400 Important Scientific Papers Summarized for Parents and Researchers” summarizes research that you won’t find on the CDC website. Many show increasing risk of adverse reactions with vaccinations at an earlier age and with multiple vaccinations (both of which were a concern of Wakefield’s). We’ll look at some of these next week.

Whether you think Wakefield is a discredited fraud or a demonized hero, you can’t fault him for asking for more research into such an important health issue.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

478 Autism [2 July 2018]

William J. Walsh devotes Chapter 7 of his book Nutrient Power – Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain to autism.

Two factors point to an epigenetic cause of autism. There is a definite genetic factor since the probability of a second twin having autism if the first one does is 60-90% for identical twins but less than 10% for fraternal twins. It’s not purely genetic, however, or the risk would be 100% for identical twins.

Secondly the increase in rates – from 3 per 10,000 in the 1940’s and 50’s, to more than 1 per 100 now – is too rapid to have a purely genetic cause. Improved diagnosis cannot explain all of the increase since it has continued to increase after 1990 when autism became well recognized. Furthermore, until 1960 nearly all cases exhibited symptoms from birth, but now about 80% are regressive where the child develops normally to age 1.5 or 2 with a sudden decline in functioning.

There must be some environmental change involved. Autism can best be explained by an epigenetic error during gestation which predisposes the child to autism, plus some environmental insult (the technical term) by age 3 which triggers the regression. As Walsh puts it: In essence, autism appears to be a gene programming disorder that develops in undermethylated persons who experience environmental insults that produce overwhelming oxidative stress.

Like schizophrenia and depression, autism has distinct chemical abnormalities. These include: deficiencies of zinc, magnesium, selenium, vitamins A and B6; elevated copper, mercury, lead and other toxic metals; elevated urinary pyrroles; undermethylation; and low glutathione levels. Gastro-intestinal disorders are very common, usually with dysbiosis (unhealthy gut bacteria).

Walsh rejects the belief that autism is incurable. In his experience, aggressive bionutrient therapy by age 4 provides the most complete recovery, but progress can be made at any age (he reported a 17 year old girl who started speaking after two months of treatment). Without treatment the conditions often remain permanent and very disabling. The objective of bionutrient therapy is to restore the biochemical imbalances, reduce oxidative stress, and heal the digestive tract. Again this therapy is best done under the supervision of experienced professionals.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

469 CFS – the Cover-Up [30 April 2018]

Last week I explained how Dr. Judy Mikovits discovered a likely viral cause for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and I hinted at a cover-up. What happened and why?

Shortly after the publication of her 2009 Science paper, Dr. Mikovits turned her attention to autism. She became curious about a possible connection between CFS and autism when her preliminary data found a higher than expected number of children with autism among CFS patients and families. She speculated (publicly) that if children were asymptomatic carriers of the XMRV virus, a vaccination could trigger the sudden development of the disease. Retroviruses like to hide in the B and T lymphocytes, the very cells that vaccinations are designed to stimulate. This effect is well known for the HIV virus – babies born to HIV positive mothers must be treated with anti-viral drugs before their first vaccination.

In September 2011 Mikovits was suddenly fired from her position as Research Director at Whittemore Peterson Institute. A few weeks later she was arrested and her home searched (without a warrant), accused of stealing her research notebooks (which she was required by federal law to maintain and protect). She was held for five days in jail without bail or a formal charge ever being laid.

The Science study was retracted in September 2011 and an editorial was published discrediting her work (which included the police mugshot from her arrest). The CDC quickly initiated a follow-up study to confirm her findings. Mikovits protested that it was deliberately designed – in choice of subjects, handling of blood samples, and in the narrow control standard – to avoid finding a retrovirus in CFS patients. The best way to test for contamination would be to retest the same patients using her meticulous methodology, but this was not done. She was disappointed but not surprised when the studies found no correlation and concluded (erroneously she believes) that her previous study samples were contaminated. Another study had already confirmed her findings but it too was discredited and later retracted.

This raises the question: why would research institutions not want to find a viral cause of CFS? Possibly fear of public panic or class action lawsuits. But I suspect the reason is that it offers a plausible explanation for the connection between vaccinations and autism. What happened to Dr. Mikovits was, in her own words, “… a clear message to anyone in research who dared stand by data that revealed an inconvenient truth about corruption in public health.”

Sources

Book: Plague – One Scientist’s Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Autism, and Other Diseases. Kent Heckenlively and Judy Mikovits, 2014

Hillary Johnson, Discover magazine March 2013 Chasing the Shadow Virus

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

468 A Viral Cause for CFS? [23 Apr 2018]

Last week I described chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and wrote that officially there is no known cause or cure. But is that true?

In their 2014 book Plague – One Scientist’s Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Autism, and Other Diseases, Kent Heckenlively and Judy Mikovits tell the story of the discovery and cover-up of a possible cause (and cure) for chronic fatigue syndrome.

In 2006 Judy Mikovits, a virus research scientist with 30 years’ experience in studying HIV/AIDS, accepted a position in Nevada to study chronic fatigue syndrome. She immediately noticed several similarities between CFS and AIDS and began to suspect a viral cause. In both diseases an impaired immune system allows a wide variety of “opportunistic” infections; both have a high incidence of normally rare cancers; and both show abnormal brain scans and have similar biomarkers such as high cytokine production. Mikovits discovered a retrovirus infection in 67% of CFS sufferers and in 4% of healthy controls. She published her findings in 2009 in the prestigious journal Science.

This particular virus, called XMRV, is a mouse retrovirus, meaning that it originated in mice but had mutated and could now infect humans. XMRV had been associated with prostate cancer since 2006 (but has since been dismissed as a causative factor). The first CFS outbreak in the USA occurred in 1934-5 among the doctors and staff of the Los Angeles County Hospital after receiving a polio vaccine grown on mouse tissue. In the late 1970’s and early ’80’s pockets of CFS began showing up in cities across the country and then around the world. Today an estimated 20 million people world-wide suffer from the condition.

Patients and their families were hopeful that this discovery would lead to a cure or at least a more effective treatment. Alas this was not to be. For various reasons (to be covered next week) the medical research community turned on Mikovits, discredited her and her research, and reverted to the “no known cause” for CFS. The situation has not changed since, leaving at least one more generation of CFS patients to suffer needlessly.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

456 Cognitive Dissonance [29 January 2018]

An article on the Vitamin D Council’s website inspired this column. It begins with two quotes. “All progress requires change; those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” (George Bernard Shaw) and “Science progresses one funeral at a time” (Max Planck).

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort or psychological stress occurring when new information conflicts with long held beliefs. To relieve the tension people usually reject or ignore the new information in favor of the original belief.

The article’s author, founder and current medical director of the Vitamin D Council, John Cannell, is expressing his frustration at the lag time for medical discoveries to be put into the practice of saving lives. Specifically he mentions Vitamin D as a treatment for preeclampsia of pregnancy and autism. There are more than one hundred peer-reviewed published studies showing the effectiveness (and safety) of vitamin D for each of these two conditions (and many more) which are being ignored by the medical industry. Almost without exception these studies end with a call for more and larger studies before making any recommendations. This is especially true for pregnancy. But how much grant money and how many dead women are required? Are the 46,000 deaths from preeclampsia in 2015 not enough?

We know from many studies that optimum vitamin D levels in pregnant mothers reduce the risk of their baby developing autism. Why aren’t all pregnant women tested for vitamin D in their first trimester and supplemented when indicated to bring their levels up? There is no risk in doing so and a terrible risk in not.

Cannell blames the lag time on cognitive dissonance. Those in the medical industry responsible for developing and carrying out treatment protocols can’t fit the growing pile of new information on natural health products with what they have been taught to believe, so they ignore it. And all we can do is wait for their funerals.

The notion that natural health products are somehow “unscientific” makes it easier to ignore them. Why synthetic chemicals should be considered more scientific than vitamins and minerals is perplexing. The problem as I see it is not that they are “natural” but rather that they are not patentable. Without the profit from patent protection few corporations are willing to cover the cost of getting these products approved. I see a strong role here for governments and charities to fund the necessary research, since it is the people, and governments paying for health care, who will benefit from safer, more effective, and less expensive treatments.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

426 Helminthic Therapy [26 June 2017]

We have come to understand and accept that the vast majority of bacteria and some yeast [see #387] living in and on our bodies are either benign (harmless) or actually beneficial (helpful) to our health. Chapter 5, “Old Friends, New Treatment: Helminthic Therapy in Autism” by Judith Chinitz, in “Bugs, Bowels, and Behavior” extends the range of beneficial microorganisms to include parasitic worms. Now that’s a stretch!

These Pickles cartoons (#1, #2) illustrate most people's perceptions of worms.

Helminths is the name for parasitic worms including whipworms, hookworms, tapeworms and pinworms. Our immune systems developed during a time when exposure to parasites was much greater than in today’s developed countries with our modern hygiene. The theory is that these parasites are necessary for the proper development of our immune systems.

The theory was first published in 1999 by Dr. Joel Weinstock who reported successfully treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with eggs of a harmless parasitic worm, a whipworm that lives in pigs but not humans. Six patients with IBD were given the “helminth therapy”; five went into remission and the sixth improved dramatically.

Weinstock and other researchers have since discovered that when our immune system develops in the absence of helminths, the Type2 T helper cells (Th2) which normally control parasites instead begins to react to pollen and other allergens causing allergies, or begins to attack our own bodies causing auto-immune disease. The presence of helminths is also required for the normal development of the regulatory system which controls the Th1 and Th2 systems, preventing runaway inflammation.

As we have seen, inflammation is a significant part of the autism syndrome. To date no studies have been done on ASD with helminthic therapy but many desperate parents haven’t waited and persuaded their doctors to give it a try. Results have been very encouraging with reports of significantly improved gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms.

This 2015 National Institutes of Health article gives a good overview of helminth therapy in the USA.

I won’t be too surprised if someday helminthic therapy will become an accepted treatment for inflammatory diseases, just like fecal transplants [#243] have for IBD.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

425 Autism and Gut Bacteria [19 June 2017]

Of all neurological conditions, autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as the family of related conditions is now called, has the strongest (and best studied) association with the gut microbiome. I’m reading a book called “Bugs, Bowels, and Behavior”, which despite its cute title is a collection of 15 fairly technical medical articles by various researchers published in 2013.

The findings they report show a strong correlation to digestive and particularly gut bacterial problems. Many of the articles propose that gut dysbiosis (unbalanced intestinal bacterial populations) is the root cause of the neurological and immunological symptoms observed in ASD. They report that children (and adults) with ASD are more likely to have:
• Gastrointestinal dysfunction (70%) – the severity of GI symptoms correlates with the severity of ASD symptoms
• Increased intestinal permeability – allowing poorly digested protein to enter the bloodstream where it triggers allergies and auto-immune reactions
• Deficiencies in disaccharide enzymes, especially lactase, in the duodenum – meaning they are unable to properly digest milk sugar and other carbohydrates
• Elevated bowel populations of Clostridia bacteria – a nasty family that includes C. difficile and the pathogens that cause tetanus and botulism; Vancomycin, an antibiotic effective in controlling Clostridia, temporarily improves ASD symptoms
• Very low levels of the antioxidant glutathione and its amino acid precursor cysteine, believed due to high populations of Desulfovibrio bacteria in the gut, resulting in high levels of oxidative stress and inflammation in neurons (nerve cells) throughout the body and brain, and making the children highly susceptible to mercury toxicity
• High levels of TNF-a, a marker for inflammation, in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue; a drug that blocks TNF-a reversed ASD symptoms

Furthermore, regressive autism frequently occurs following several rounds of antibiotics. Improvements in ASD symptoms have been noted in some cases using probiotics and fecal transplants [see #243]. A diet that supports healthy intestinal bacteria [see #424] would be critical to maintaining such improvements.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

422 The Brain-Gut Axis [29 May 2017]

Last week we looked at how our gut microbiome affects our immune system. This week we’ll discuss how it affects our brain, mood and memory. I last wrote about this topic two years ago [#320]. The network of neurons and chemical pathways connecting the digestive tract and the central nervous system is called the Brain-Gut Axis.

The brain uses this axis to monitor the digestive tract for hunger, stress, and the presence of pathogens; and to control aspects of it, including transit speed, production of mucous lining the colon, and the secretion of stomach acid, bile and pancreatic enzymes. But the signaling goes both ways – the condition of the digestive tract, including the bacteria living in it, also influences the brain.

Justin and Erica Sonnenburg in their 2015 book The Good Gut devote a chapter to this connection and share findings from some of their animal experiments. Lab mice specially raised to have a bacteria-free gut lacked the caution that helps wild mice avoid predators, and scored lower in memory tests than mice with normal gut microbes. Other experiments showed that transplanting gut bacteria from anxious mice to calm mice increased their anxiety (and vice versa) along with measurable changes in their brain biochemistry.

One way that the gut bacteria influence the nervous system is by the chemicals they produce which get absorbed into the bloodstream. Some of these chemicals have a beneficial effect like the short chain fatty acids mentioned last week. An estimated 90% of our serotonin, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter, is produced in our gut with the help of certain bacteria. Other bacteria-produced chemicals are toxic and have undesirable effects. An example is EPS, which was found to be greatly elevated in mice with autistic-like behavior; the behavior improved when different bacteria were introduced which normalized the EPS levels.

Research holds the promise of modifying our microbiome in the treatment of not only inflammation related chronic diseases like MS and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), but also mood disorders like stress, anxiety, depression, and even neurological conditions like autism, ADHD, OCD, and schizophrenia. This is one field of research that I plan to keep an eye on. More next week.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

404 Vitamin D News [23 Jan 2017]

The days are slowly getting longer but we are still months away from even beginning to get any vitamin D from sunlight which will start mid-April. This week I will share several news items about this critical vitamin.

A large multi-ethnic cohort study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that maternal vitamin D deficiency (less than 25 nmol/L) during pregnancy was associated with a 3.8 times higher rate of autism-related traits in the children at 6 years of age. Other studies have shown vitamin D deficiency to nearly double the risk of premature birth.

An animal study published in Frontiers in Physiology suggests that vitamin D could play a role in preventing Metabolic Syndrome by modulating gut microbiota. Previous studies have shown an association between D deficiency and obesity, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), all part of Metabolic Syndrome. Mice fed a high fat, low D diet developed unhealthy gut flora, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, NAFLD, and elevated levels of inflammatory markers compared to the high fat, adequate D diet group.

In a randomized clinical trial, relapse rates for Crohn’s Disease patients were 33% for those receiving 10,000 IU vitamin D and 69% for those taking 1,000 IU. This strongly suggests that Crohn’s sufferers do better with higher D levels.

In a randomized controlled trial published in the journal Medicine, 120 adults with fatigue and vitamin deficiency (less than 50 nmol/L) received either a single dose of 100,000 IU vitamin D or placebo. The vitamin D group reported more significant improvement of fatigue than the placebo group.

Finally, William Grant of the Vitamin D Council calculated the benefits of raising the vitamin D levels of all Canadians to at least 100nmol/L. Levels currently vary with age and season but average 61 nmol/L with 92% (summer) and 96% (winter) below the target level. Based on published studies, Grant estimated reductions in incidences of cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, MS, respiratory infections and musculoskeletal disorders. He then calculated a reduction in annual premature deaths of 23,000 and a saving of $12 billion per year. New evidence of stronger effects of D on the risk of Alzheimer’s and clinical depression would push these numbers even higher. What are we waiting for??

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

401 Sulforaphane [2 January 2017]

Sulforaphane is a beneficial compound found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. I just learned about it watching a 46 minute video by Dr. Rhonda Patrick titled “Sulforaphane and its Effects on Cancer, Mortality, Aging, Brain and Behavior, Heart Disease and More”.

I mentioned the health benefits of broccoli in my very first column back in March 2009 [#001]; recommended eating your broccoli raw in September 2012 [#184]; and encouraged chewing your broccoli to produce sulforaphane in November 2014 [#293]. This column adds information from recent research on the beneficial compounds found in cruciferous vegetables.

Studies show that risk of death from all causes (other than accidents) is reduced by 16% in those eating more vegetables of all kinds, and by 22% for those eating more cruciferous vegetables. The life-saving ingredient in the vegetables is believed to be a group of compounds called isothiocyanates of which sulforaphane is the best known. Sulforaphane indirectly regulates over 200 genes responsible for increasing antioxidant activity and reducing inflammation, important with all chronic degenerative disease. This translates into reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and aging, and improved brain function.

For example, studies have found that sulforaphane reduces the risk of prostate cancer by 41%, bladder cancer by 51%, lung cancer in smokers by 55%, and breast cancer by 20-40%. And if you already have cancer, taking sulforaphane will slow the progression of the disease. Sulforaphane also aids in the detoxification and excretion of carcinogens such as benzene (from auto exhaust and tobacco smoke).

Most of the all-cause mortality reduction found in the cruciferous study was due to fewer cardiovascular deaths. Sulforaphane reduced triglycerides and oxidized blood lipids, lowering the atherogenic index (risk of plaque formation) by 52%.

Sulforaphane crosses the blood-brain barrier where it reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, implicated in most neurodegenerative diseases and in traumatic brain injury. Sulforaphane has been shown to improve behavior with autism and schizophrenia, and improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, and shows promise for depression and anxiety.

All cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane but the best source is fresh broccoli sprouts. The vegetables and sprouts don’t actually contain sulforaphane – they contain its precursor glucoraphanin along with the enzyme myrosinase which converts it to sulforaphane. Crushing or chewing the food mixes the enzyme and glucoraphanin, initiating the conversion process. High heat, as in prolonged boiling, destroys the myrosinase enzyme.

Some glucoraphanin is converted, in the presence of epithiospecifier protein (ESP), to an inactive form of sulforaphane. ESP is inactivated by heating. To maximize the sulforaphane production you want to heat the food enough to destroy the ESP but not the myrosinase. This can be achieved by steaming vegetables for 3-4 minutes or by soaking the vegetables in hot water at 60C, or sprouts at 70C, for 10 minutes. Patrick demonstrates heating sprouts in this video.

Remember to chew the vegetables and sprouts well. About 100g of sprouts provides 40mg of sulforaphane, an optimal amount.

My NY’s resolution is to grow and eat broccoli sprouts. Want to join me?

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

362 Vitamin D & Pregnancy #1 [March 21 2016]

In April 2012 (#160) I reported on a study showing that maternal supplementation of 4,000 IU vitamin D daily was still too low to achieve sufficiency (20ng/ml) in all newborns. Recent findings show how important maternal D levels are to the developing fetus.

Rhonda Patrick, PhD, was interviewed on mercola.com (14 March 2016) on the role of D in the developing fetal brain. One of the more than 1,000 physiological processes regulated by vitamin D is the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) which converts the amino acid tryptophan into serotonin. Patrick discovered we have two different TPH genes – one in the brain and another in the gut which work independently – the serotonin they produce does not cross the blood-brain barrier. About 90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut, where it enables blood platelets to begin the clotting process that heals our cuts and bruises. The 10% of serotonin produced in the brain lifts our mood, enables impulse control, calms anxiety, and boosts memory.

Vitamin D regulates genes by attaching to the vitamin D receptor and either activating or deactivating the gene, depending on the receptor. Curiously vitamin D regulates the two different TPH genes in opposite ways. In the brain it turns the gene on, causing it to produce more TPH and therefore more serotonin. This is good. Insufficient serotonin in the brain results in impulsive behavior, depression, anxiety, and the inability to filter sensory stimuli (think ADHD).

In the gut, however, vitamin D turns the TPH gene off or slows it down. This is also good – we need some serotonin in the gut but not too much. Excess serotonin in the gut activates T cells which causes inflammation that can lead to inflammatory bowel disease. Vitamin D helps control this and clinically has been found to reduce inflammation in diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

In the developing fetus serotonin plays a much more important role. It acts as a brain morphogen, shaping the structure and wiring of the neurons in the developing brain. The fetus is completely dependent on the mother’s vitamin D levels for serotonin production. A maternal deficiency in vitamin D can have severe consequences for the fetal brain development, including autism. Low maternal D and serotonin levels have been linked to autism by many different researchers. More on this next week.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

349 Three Vitamin D Studies [14 Dec 2015]

The Vitamin D Council recently reported on three important studies on Vitamin D published in 2015.

Alzheimer’s: An 8 year study of 382 elderly participants was published in JAMA in September. It found that low D levels in older adults was associated with accelerated declines in cognitive ability of up to three times faster.

Autism: A meta-analysis of 11 studies from the Netherlands was published in October in Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry. The researchers reported that 8 of the 11 studies found lower D levels in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ADS) than other children. The report reviewed the many ways that vitamin D is involved in brain development and function, and showed that low D levels causes brain malfunctions similar to those occurring with autism. The researchers concluded that lower vitamin D levels might be a risk factor for ASD.

A case study of a 32 month old boy with ASD and vitamin D deficiency published in January 2015 in Pediatrics reported that his “core symptoms of autism improved significantly after vitamin D supplementation”. So it appears that vitamin D may also play an important role in the treatment of ASD.

Breast cancer survival: A four-year study looked at women diagnosed with breast cancer and found that higher D levels significantly increased their survival time. A previous study from 2011 by the same researcher found that vitamin D levels of 125 nmol/L (50 ng/ml in the USA), which required supplementation of 4,000 IU per day to achieve, nearly doubled survival times. An earlier study by Lappe et al, 2007, in Am J Clin Nutr found a 77% reduction in risk of all cancers for the group taking 1100 IU D3 and 1500 mg calcium.

While the best way to increase our vitamin D is from safe sun exposure, that doesn’t work in Canada from September to April leaving supplementation as our only option. Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council recommends supplementing with 5,000 IU daily (which is what I take) to maintain natural levels of 100-125 nmol/L. Even this is considered conservative by some. Dr. Joseph Mercola, who has studied vitamin D extensively, considers anything below 125 to be deficient and recommends 125-175 for optimum health and up to 250 for fighting cancer or heart disease. To achieve these levels, however, requires much higher supplementation – due to the law of diminishing returns – so is impractical for most of us. Winter supplementation of vitamin D of 4,000-5,000 IU seems optimal.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

320 Our Gut Microbiome & Our Brain [25 May 2015]

Last fall (#287 & #288) I discussed how our gut microbiome (the bacteria in our intestines) affect our health in many ways, and how it in turn is affected by our diet and lifestyle choices.

In his new 2015 book Brain Maker, the Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect your Brain – For Life, neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter expands on this idea with new research into the relationship between our microbiome and our brain health. The book discusses the gut microbiome’s effect on: inflammation; mood disorders like depression; diabetes and obesity; and neurological disorders like autism, ADHD, Parkinson’s, MS and Alzheimer’s.

These bacteria living in our digestive tract make up 99% of the DNA in our bodies, and affect our health in several ways:
• manufacture neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin, and vitamins like B12;
• maintain the integrity of the gut lining preventing “leaky gut syndrome”; and
• control switches that can turn our own genes on or off.

Leaky gut and inflammation seems to be the keys to the common brain disorders mentioned above. Gut permeability can be measured by measuring levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibodies – higher blood levels indicate a leaky gut. Strong correlations have been found between LPS levels and many of these chronic disorders, including diabetes. Correlation of course doesn’t necessarily mean causation, but Dr. Perlmutter made some interesting observations after correcting gut flora with fecal transplants (see #243) in a few case studies: Carlos, a 43 year old man with MS who could barely walk with two canes, could now walk unaided; and Jason, a 10 year old boy with severe autism showed remarkable improvements.

While our own DNA has changed little in thousands of years, we can change the 99% of the DNA in our bodies that are found in the gut microbiome in a matter of days – and in so doing significantly reduce our risk for these neurological conditions – simply by changing our diets. More about this in a future article.

Sources: Dr. Perlmutter interview (1 hour)

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

300 Medicate or Nutrate? [5 Jan 2015)

For my 300th article (and the first for 2015) I’m going to follow up on #297 from Dec 8 on mental health.

Dr. Julia Rucklidge in her TEDx talk suggested we reconsider our current treatment approach to mental illness – psychiatric medication first, followed by psychological therapies, with nutrition as an afterthought (if considered at all). Instead she proposes the first priority be lifestyle factors (healthy eating, exercise, supplements) and when necessary psychological treatment, and save medications for when these approaches prove insufficient.

Anthony Stephan, founder of TrueHope, argues that it’s better to nutrate our brains than to medicate them. He prefers to call mental illness “nutritional deficiency mood disorders” and believes that given sufficient nutrients the body can heal itself.

Putting nutrition first makes sense to me. The brain makes up 2% of body mass but consumes 20% of our energy and uses a disproportionately high amount of our daily intake of nutrients. How can we expect it to function properly if our diets are depleted in essential nutrients? Kaplan & Rucklidge in their December 9, 2014 madinamerica.com article “Nutrient Boosting of Medications” put it more technically:

...psychiatric symptoms may be the result of inborn metabolic dysfunction associated with slowed metabolic activity caused by insufficient vitamin and mineral cofactors.

Note that nutrient dosages much higher than the RDA are usually required to compensate for these metabolic dysfunctions.

Research on micro-nutrition and mental illness (25 published studies to date) shows positive often dramatic improvements with a broad spectrum high dose nutrient supplementation on a variety of conditions: depression, bi-polar disorder, autism, ADHD, OCD, PTSD, stress, anxiety, mood & behavior, and addiction. Over the last 16 years TrueHope and its micronutrient supplement has helped tens of thousands of people with mental illness return to a normal life and either reduce or eliminate their psychiatric medications. Shouldn’t this be our primary treatment for mental illness: nutrate rather than medicate?

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

297 Mental Health Revolution [8 Dec 2014]

The discovery of the first anti-depressant in the 1950s ushered in a revolution in mental health. This and the families of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic drugs that followed not only provided results not possible before but did much to remove the stigma of mental illness. They showed that mental illness is a chemical imbalance, not a character flaw, and not the fault of the person experiencing it.

Unfortunately, recent research is finding that while these drugs have good short term results, the long term can be a different story. Dr. Julia Rucklidge, a clinical psychologist in New Zealand, expanded on this topic in a recent TEDx Talk. She reported huge rates of increases over the past few years in ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric illnesses in New Zealand and internationally, and then discussed the long term shortcomings of conventional treatments.

Rucklidge has spent the last ten years researching the effects of micro-nutrition on mental health. She and other researchers around the world, have found that the broad spectrum high dose supplement she works with consistently provides superior, often dramatic, results in the short term, without the long term side effects of conventional treatments, for many different conditions including: stress, anxiety, addictions, depression, ADHD, OCD, autism, and Bipolar Disorder. Links to these studies can be found on the TrueHope website. She explains that eating well is essential for mental health but for some people it is not sufficient to turn around a serious mental condition. She also cautioned that the number of nutrients (36) and the dosage used by the researchers are far higher than you would find in a regular multivitamin.

I first wrote about this program in January 2010 "A Discovery of Truehope". Listen to an interview with Truehope founder Anthony Stephan talking about the program and how it came to be.

Rucklidge sums it up this way:

“Poor nutrition is a significant and modifiable risk factor for the development of mental illness… Optimizing nutrition is a safe and viable way to avoid, treat or lessen mental illness.”

I think it’s time for the next revolution in mental health.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

283 EFAs & Learning Disabilities [1 Sept 2014]

A previous column (#194 Dec 2012) discussed the importance of essential fatty acids (EFAs), and DHA in particular, in brain development during pregnancy and the first 5 years. An earlier column (#28 Sept 2009) discussed EFAs as one of many nutrients important in treating children (and adults) with ADHD.

Efalex ® is an EFA formula containing evening primrose oil and tuna oil which provides 12 mg GLA and 60mg DHA (and several other EFAs). In the following eight studies, children with ADHD or other learning disabilities who took 8 capsules of this formula (or equivalent DHA) daily, compared with placebo, had:

• significant reductions in hyperactivity, improvement in attention and conduct, and reduction in oppositional defiance disorder, all in addition to improvements from standard medications (The Purdue Study, 2003)

• significant reduction in ADHD related symptoms including anxiousness/shyness, hyperactivity and reading problems in children with learning difficulties (The Beechlawn Study, 2002)

• significantly greater improvements in reading speed (70%), visual-motor speed (hand-eye coordination) (81%) and social interaction, in children with difficulties in reading and concentration or a diagnosis of ADHD (The Borlange Study, 2002)

• significantly better progress in reading in dyslexic children, especially for those who also had ADHD or visual symptoms when reading (The Royal Berkshire Hospital, 2002)

• improved motor skills (manual dexterity) and balance, and improved ability to throw and catch a ball, in children with dyspraxia (The Dyspraxia Study, 2000)

• significant improvements in reading speed (60%) and motor perceptual speed (23%) in children with dyslexia (The Falsterbo Study)

• significant reduction in number and severity of incidents and need for restraints, and significant improvements in nearly all Conner’s rating scales (a measure of ADHD), in boys aged 8-16 with severe behavior and emotional problems (The Cotswold Community Study)

• significant improvement of concentration, eye contact, language development and motor skills in children with autism.(The Autistic Open Pilot Study, 2008)

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

281 Disappearing Microbiota [18 August 2014]

I have written several columns on the many problems associated with dysbiosis (an unhealthy balance of bacteria in the digestive tract) and the benefits of probiotics.
• The obvious problems include digestive disorders like gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea [03].
• Upper respiratory infections like thrush, “strep throat”, sinus and ear infections can be prevented by introducing a particular strain of S. salivarius to the mouth [72].
• Infection by a bacterium H. pylori causes stomach ulcers [221].
• Dysbiosis can cause Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS) like colitis and Crohn’s which can lead to leaky gut syndrome and food allergies.
• Our immune system [78, 173] is affected by dysbiosis, causing autoimmune conditions like eczema, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
• The work of Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride [147, 172] links unhealthy gut bacteria to neurological and psychiatric disorders ranging from ADHD and autism to schizophrenia.
• Dysbiosis can even prevent weight loss.

Now microbiologist Martin Blaser takes this even further in his 2014 book Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. Modern scientific study of the human microbiome – the thousands of species of bacteria that coexist in or on our bodies – is revealing how critical it is for our health. Blaser writes

“The microbes that constitute your microbiome … play a critical role in your immunity as well as your ability to combat disease. In short, it is your microbiome that keeps you healthy.”

He then makes a convincing case that loss of many of these species is responsible for the recent worldwide proliferation of the “modern plagues” of obesity, childhood diabetes, asthma, hay fever, food allergies, esophageal reflux, certain cancers, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, autism, eczema, and others.

Blaser believes that the loss of diversity within the human microbiome is an even more serious problem than the antibiotic-resistant super bugs. He calls the problem the “disappearing microbiota” and warns of a coming “antibiotic winter” if the problem isn’t addressed.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

206 Folic Acid May Prevent Autism [4 March 2013]

A Norwegian study published in the February issue of JAMA provides mothers-to-be with an additional reason to take folic acid supplements, and to start even before becoming pregnant. It has been known for decades that folic acid (or folate), one of the B complex family of vitamins, is essential during pregnancy to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. This new study provides strong evidence that folic acid can also reduce the risk of childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The study looked at over 85,000 children in Norway. Children whose mothers had taken folic acid supplements prior to and during early pregnancy had a 39% lower risk of developing ASD (0.10% compared to 0.21%). A previous study from California, published June 2012 in the Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, found that supplementation with at least 600mcg folic acid during the first month of pregnancy lowered the chance of autism by 38%.

The main author of the Norwegian study, Dr. Pal Suren, is quoted in a Medscape article that while a causative relationship has not been proven, these results “support the current recommendations of taking folic acid supplements during pregnancy and emphasize the importance of starting early – preferably before conception”.

The timing of supplementation is critical. Starting folic acid supplementation in mid pregnancy did not lower the risk of ASD – it was already too late. And a study from Australia found that supplementing with folic acid in late pregnancy could increase the risk of childhood asthma. The current Health Canada recommendation is for 400 mcg to a maximum of 1mg of folic acid daily starting 3 months before conception and throughout the pregnancy. I suggest at least 600mcg and to stop after the first trimester. So if you are even thinking about becoming pregnant, start taking folic acid supplements right away – don’t wait for a positive test result. It won’t hurt you and it could give your baby a much healthier start in life.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. See this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

175 The GAPS Diet [23 July 2012]

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, in her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome, offers hope of a natural treatment for a wide variety of disorders including autism, asthma, allergies, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, and severe digestive disorders. If you think you or a family member might benefit from this program I recommend you get a copy of the book. You can see an outline of the program at www.gapsdiet.com, which I will further simplify here so you can get an idea of what all is involved.

There are three components to the program: diet, supplementation and detoxification. The GAPS diet is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet promoted by Elaine Gottschall in her book Breaking the Vicious Cycle – Intestinal Health Through Diet. Grains, dairy and processed foods are eliminated; certain meats, vegetables and fruit allowed. There is an Introduction Diet recommended to start with before going on the full GAPS diet.

Supplements include, of course, a therapeutic strength probiotic. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir are also used to help re-establish healthy bacteria in the gut. For essential fatty acids use a good seed or nut oil and a high-EPA fish oil. Digestive enzymes and Betaine HCl are used to aid digestion. Vitamin A as cod liver oil is recommended. Specific nutrients that are determined to be deficient may be supplemented but other supplements are discouraged.

Eliminating toxin sources is the first and most important step towards detoxification by avoiding chemicals in food, household and cosmetic products. Juicing is recommended to help the body detoxify by providing concentrated nutrients in an easily absorbed form.

This may sound quite formidable but the book explains it well and makes it easier with tips and recipes. Certified practitioners who could assist you with the program are listed on the website – there are 3 in Alberta. Keep in mind that this program is temporary and becomes less strict as the digestive and immune systems improve, although some elements may have to be continued for life.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.