You probably already know that bacteria determine how healthy you are and how well you can fight off disease. You need enough of the beneficial kind and not too much of the harmful bacteria. But the answer to good health isn’t just to concentrate on reducing colonies of harmful microbes. They’re an indication of an infection, not its cause. The problem is much more complex.

We know that antibiotics are not the answer to a microbial overgrowth. They kill off some of the friendly bacteria as well as the pathogens. And they often mutate into antibiotic-resistant bugs that are difficult – or impossible – to completely eradicate. They create a pathogenic bug-friendly environment. You want the opposite.

The reason you’re not getting better, or keep getting sick, may have more to do with the terrain in which your pathogens live than the actual pathogens themselves. As long as you provide bacteria, fungi, and other microbes with a terrain, or environment, they can live in and thrive, you’ll never get completely rid of enough of them. In some cases a pathogen may reappear after having been suppressed. In other cases a different pathogen rears its ugly head.

I had this experience with parasites after a trip to China several years ago. I was extremely careful with everything I ate and drank. After I returned from my trip, I was feeling fine. No digestive problems. No signs of any parasites. But two years later, after a trip to Turkey, where I had been just as careful, I had severe intestinal problems that acted like they had been caused by parasites. My extreme discomfort started and ended every day at the same times, which can be a sign of parasite activity.

Stool tests revealed that, indeed, I had parasites. But they were not parasites from my trip to Turkey. To my surprise, these parasites were a species found in China that had lain dormant for two years. What had changed? The terrain in my large intestines.

After my trip to China, and before there were any symptoms, I had come down with a three-day flu that caused extreme intestinal inflammation. That inflammation altered the terrain where my parasites lived. I never became symptom-free until I improved the terrain in my gut.

You may successfully eradicate a parasite, but an illness or a medication can create an inflammation in its terrain that allows another dormant parasite to “wake up” and cause more problems ... ad infinitum. No wonder so many people get symptom after symptom without ever getting well.

Your inherited history

Your terrain is a reflection of the history you’ve inherited. It encompasses everything that has happened to you throughout your life beginning with your genetics. Your genetics reveal tendencies – conditions to which you should pay attention rather than ignore. These tendencies may be anything from inheriting a leaky heart valve to carrying the gene that puts you at an increased risk for breast cancer. This doesn’t mean that you will get heart disease or cancer. It simply points to a tendency that could lead to an illness or sub-optimal health.

The cells in your body contain DNA. That’s where your body stores its genetic information. A recent study from Lund University in Sweden found that you can actually change your DNA with exercise.

These Swedish researchers took two-dozen healthy men who were slightly overweight and asked them to take three aerobics classes a week. Other than this increased exercising, they didn’t make any other changes to their diets or activities.

The researchers examined changes in methyl groups in the mens’ fat cells. These methyl groups turn genes on and off. Surprisingly, there were changes in 7,000 genes – a full 35% of their genetic makeup! These scientists were specifically interested in the genes linked to type-2 diabetes and obesity and found changes there, as well. By turning off certain genes, they were able to change the fat storage in each cell, resulting in weight loss.

The bottom line is that while you can’t change your genes, you can turn them on or off through exercise, diet, and lifestyle.

Your personal history

Your personal history explains how your health got to where it is today. I was a vegetarian for 50 years. During that time, my protein intake was lower than it is now that I eat some seafood. My muscle strength and energy are now affected by the amount of protein I ate then, as well as the amount I eat now.

If you grew up in an agricultural area, your health today may reflect a high exposure to pesticides and fungicides that occurred decades ago. And some contaminants, like heavy metals and pesticides that you’re exposed to on a daily basis, remain in your tissues forever unless you use a proven chelator to remove them.

Suppressive therapies

Finally, your terrain is affected by any suppressive medical therapies you’ve had throughout your life from hormones to NSAIDs to antibiotics. When I was young, I had colds and the flu numerous times every winter. Each time I was sick, the doctor game me antibiotics. I also had colitis – an inflammation in my colon. Neither my mother nor our family doctor saw a connection between these two at that time, but now I do.

Multiple courses of antibiotics created inflammation in an imbalanced terrain in my intestines where pathogenic bacteria could thrive. This is a merry-go-round that’s very hard to get off. But you can end this cycle if you know how to create an environment that microbes don’t like to live in.

Your terrain is everything that makes you “you.” That’s why true healing has to be an individualized approach that treats as many aspects of you as possible for as long as necessary. Many people stop their programs too soon, or don’t address important areas. A teacher of mine once commented on my impatience and told me, “If there’s one thing I’d like to tell you, it’s this: Don’t skip any steps.” This was, and is, good advice.

Improving your terrain

I’ve watched people treat their terrains for decades. Many are unsuccessful because they stop too early. They stop when they are symptom-free instead of continuing until they’re healed. They stop because their program is too expensive, although the alternative is more costly. They stop because they’ve heard of a miracle program or product that worked for someone else and they want a quick fix. All of these reasons make them more vulnerable to pathogens.
Next month, I’ll share with you some of the dietary and lifestyle changes I’ve found that can improve your terrain, and with it your health.

Ellis, Marie. “Exercise Can Have an Effect at DNA Level Against Fat Cells.” Medical News Today, 2013, July 8. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262955.php.

Ease Your Arthritis Pain With These Topical Herbal Products

If you have pain from arthritis in your hands or knees and don’t want to take pharmaceutical drugs, there are other options. You can take an anti-inflammatory herbal supplement. You can gently massage the area and increase blood flow, which reduces inflammation. Or you can go to your local drugstore and buy a natural, non-toxic over-the-counter gel or ointment that can reduce your pain. This is a temporary solution, but you may find that reducing your pain just for a little while can make a huge difference in the quality of your life.

A recently updated Cochrane review of herbal therapies may help you choose which topical products to try. You may remember from past newsletter articles that Cochrane reports are randomized, placebo-controlled studies. They are the gold standard of studies. I will always give more credence to a Cochrane report than any other because they tend to be more accurate.

This report included several herbal products – evaluated by a new Cochrane report – that reduce pain from arthritis as well as low back muscle pain. All are inexpensive and easy to find. And they don’t interfere with any medications.

You’ve no doubt heard of capsaicin. It’s the active ingredient in hot chili peppers. When you apply it to your skin, it depletes a chemical in the nerves that transmits pain. This chemical is called substance P. When capsaicin-based gels and ointments come into contact with your skin, substance P desensitizes that area to pain.

Capsaicin is a popular ingredient in many topical over-the-counter pain products. It works for more than just arthritis. It also helps relieve nerve-based pains like shingles, diabetic neuropathy, and itching. And in many cases, it works well. But use it with caution. In some people, it can irritate the skin and cause a burning sensation. A study of 99 people with pain in their knees found more adverse effects in those who used capsaicin-enhanced products than those using a placebo. But when it works without irritating the skin, it’s an excellent solution. Just begin by using a small amount to see what effect it has on you.

You can find gels, ointments, and lotions containing capsaicin in drugstores and on the Internet. Some are pure capsaicin, while others include such ingredients like menthol – an analgesic – along with anti-inflammatory components like borage oil and Boswellia serrata extract. Adding anti-inflammatory substances to capsaicin often reduces its adverse effects.

Arnica ointment or gel is a popular product that can help relieve arthritis, muscle, and joint pain. Many years ago, I foolishly mowed my lawn without wearing shoes. I was using an old push type lawnmower that I needed to push periodically with my left foot over uneven grass. By the time I finished the lawn, I could hardly walk. The pain in my foot was intense.

Two days later, there was little improvement. I was bedridden and unable to walk. At that time, I was working in a holistic clinic with a number of other practitioners. I phoned our acupuncturist, thinking that acupuncture might reduce my pain. But when he came to my house, he simply handed me a tube of arnica gel. “Rub this on your sore foot,” he instructed. “It’s better than acupuncture for this kind of inflammation.” I didn’t believe that this was possible, but he was right. My pain was completely gone within a few hours.

Arnica gel or ointment works as well as ibuprofen and other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). However, according to the Cochrane report, arnica can have more adverse side effects than ibuprofen. I’ve personally used arnica without any problems, and I’ve suggested it for many other people in pain. I’m very satisfied with its results — even when the pain is not as dramatic as my foot injury.

Many health food stores sell a topical product consisting of arnica and herbal extracts called Traumeel. I have used this particular product successfully, as well
as an arnica extract. Both arnica and its individual herbal components also are available in liquids and pellets that may be taken orally as well.

If you’re looking for an herbal extract that reduces pain without increasing side effects, try Comfrey extract. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that rubbing an ointment containing comfrey root extract three times a day for five days reduced the intensity of back pain in participants by a whopping 95%. And that’s not all. Pain relief occurred in just an hour.

In a double-blind study, when researchers compared comfrey ointment with other anti-inflammatory creams for back pain, it out-performed all other products. You should know that they used comfrey for muscle and joint pain – not arthritis. But all are conditions of inflammation, so it should work just as well for your arthritis. If you try any of these, please let me know how they work for you.

“Comfrey Root Extract Ointment Relieves Back Pain Fast,” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009, May 21. Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/150940.php.

Why Nutritional Information Is Confusing – And What You Can Do About It

I don’t think I’ve ever heard about so many different weight loss programs and supplements as I have this past year on TV’s popular daytime doctors’ shows. You’d think that one or two solutions would be enough. Instead, we’re bombarded with conflicting advice and both doctors and patients are more confused than ever.

The same is true for nutritional guidelines for various health issues like cancer. Some Internet sites recommend a low-fat diet, while others insist that high fats are the answer. Some say to avoid soy, while others have shown it to prevent breast cancer. Oncologists frequently recommend sugar-laden Ensure for their cancer patients’ weight loss. But integrative doctors point out that sugar feeds cancer. The list goes on.

Research on cancer and nutrition is constantly evolving. Where once we would depend on the conclusions of a handful of “experts,” today the Internet has more health-related articles than you can ever read. Some are based on theories and some on science. Even knowledgeable doctors are confused – unable to get a consensus for their patients.

Cancer organizations tend to either disagree or avoid the issue. In fact, one review of cancer websites found that only four of them provided any nutritional guidelines at all.

Where to begin

What’s right for you may not be right for someone else. We're not all alike, and we need to be treated as individuals with specific nutritional needs. This is where doctors of integrative medicine, naturopaths, and acupuncturists – combined with traditional oncologists – may be your most valuable allies.

But first, you need to know what’s going on inside of you. Begin with improving your digestion. Your digestive problems may be preventing you from getting the nutrients you need from your diet and supplements. Here’s one example. If your solution is to treat indigestion with antacids, you may be depleting yourself of important nutrients. Antacids prevent the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and protein. It’s difficult to get healthy when you can’t benefit from eating foods containing important vitamins and minerals.

Tailor your diet to your specific needs. As you probably know by now, inflammation is at the core of all major health problems and many minor ones. If you have any inflammation (diabetes, cancer, and all diseases that end in “itis”), treat your inflammation. Begin by eliminating sugars and replace them with foods that contain anti-inflammatory substances like fresh fruits and vegetables. Sugars feed inflammation.

Consider the source of any nutritional information. Is it backed with sound research? Has it been found to be both safe and effective? Be willing to change your mind – and your diet – as new information becomes available.

Be patient. If you’re making dietary and supplement changes, give them time to work. It often takes at least from three to six months before you are likely to feel their beneficial effects.

Laino, C., “Cancer patients poorly served by online nutrition info,” MedPage Today, March 27, 2013.

Williams, Roger J. Biochemical Individuality, John Wiley & Sons, 1956.

How to Live a Long Life Without Restricting Calories

If you want to live a long life, there are several things you can do. One is be born into a family with good genes. Another is to eat a low-calorie diet. Now it looks like there’s another way to: Take an herbal extract used to reduce anxiety and stress.

A study out of UC Irvine found that taking Rhodiola increased the lifespan of fruit flies by a whopping 24%. And past studies have shown that what works on fruit flies works on people as well.

Rhodiola rosea, or golden root, is an extract of a yellow-flowered mountain plant that grows in cold climates at high altitudes. Scandinavians and Russians have used it for years to combat stress. But according to UC Irvine study leaders Mahtab Jafari and Sam Schriner, it may do a whole lot more than that.

Scientists already know that one of the best ways to improve lifespan in laboratory animals is to restrict their diets. But they’ve been trying to find ways to recreate these effects without calorie restriction. It turns out, Rhodiola improves lifespan. But it doesn’t have anything to do with diet. It affects completely different molecular pathways.

What they found, explains Jafari, is the “Rhodiola actually increases lifespan on top of that of dietary restriction.” Their research showed this by first restricting the calories of fruit flies, as prior studies have shown that fruit flies live longer when they consume less yeast. Jafari and Schriner believed that if Rhodiola worked in the same way as calorie restriction, it wouldn’t make any difference for these flies, since the molecular pathways affected by diet would already be working. But the Rhodiola did have an impact!

To further test their hypothesis, they then gave Rhodiola to flies in which the molecular pathways of dietary restriction had been genetically inactivated. Sure enough, it still worked.

And it worked very well, improving the lifespan of both male and female flies in multiple strains by an average of 24%! It even helped old flies live longer. Not only that, it delayed the loss of physical performance as the flies aged. Based on some of their previous research, Jafari and his colleagues think this is because Rhodiola decreases the natural production of reactive oxygen species molecules in the flies’ mitochondria. By reducing this production, Rhodiola lowers the amount of oxidative stress the flies endure. It had a similar effect on cultured human cells as well.

We don’t know if Rhodiola will help humans live longer. But we do know that Rhodiola has a variety of positive effects, such as alleviating fatigue, anxiety, and depression; improving mood, memory, and stamina; and preventing altitude sickness. Now Jafari’s group is investigating whether it may also have positive effects on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or stem cell growth. We’re just beginning to uncover the many benefits of this simple extract.

You can find Rhodiola capsules and tincture in any health food store and on the internet. Be sure to buy some that is high in rosavins and salidroside. You need these phytochemicals to get the desired effect.

Samuel E. Schriner, Kevin Lee, Stephanie Truong, Kathyrn T. Salvadora, Steven Maler, Alexander Nam, Thomas Lee, Mahtab Jafari. Extension of Drosophila Lifespan by Rhodiola rosea through a Mechanism Independent from Dietary Restriction. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (5): e63886 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063886

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

Are Bioidentical Hormones Safe?

When a 2002 randomized clinical trial funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute linked hormone therapy to an increased risk for heart disease and stroke, many women opted to avoid hormones. I don’t blame them. I’ve never felt comfortable with taking hormones even when they’re bioidentical. But sometimes the benefits to postmenopausal women with severe hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms outweigh the risks. When they do, the question is: what’s safest?

It turns out that this study found that the risks for cardiovascular and other problems depended on the kind of hormones the women took. Past studies didn’t help, because the hormones used in all of them were synthetic, and in pill form. But in this study they compared various forms and doses. Bioidentical hormones delivered by a transdermal patch resulted in a lower risk. So did smaller doses.

For years, people have argued that synthetic hormones and bioidentical hormones are the same. Now, this new observational study has found that women have a lower risk of heart attacks or stroke when they take bioidentical hormones in the form of transdermal patches.

While the jury is still out on the safety of any hormone therapy, it looks like low doses of bioidentical hormones are safer than traditional synthetic hormones. If you take any hormones at all, be sure to have your doctor examine you regularly. This way, you can find any potential problems and treat them early before they become a serious issue.

“Hormone Therapy Formulations May Pose Varying Risks for Heart Attack and Stroke,” Science News, September 18, 2013.

LETTERS

Q: My doctor says I’m heading toward diabetes. I don’t understand how this could be. I’m on a healthy diet with no sugars except what’s in fruit. If I want something sweet, I eat a few pieces of fruit or have a glass of juice. That takes away my cravings without resorting to sugar. – J.L.Z., Ogden, UT

A: Your diet and diagnosis fit one another. You see, while eating fruit is healthier than eating refined sugar, drinking fruit juice can lead to type-2 diabetes. This is because fruit juice lacks the fiber that slows down the absorption of its sugars. A glass of orange juice contains the equivalent of five or more teaspoons of quickly absorbed sugar. This can trigger high and low blood sugar. You’re much better off eating the fruit itself.

A study from the National Institutes of Health found that some fruits actually lower your risk of type-2 diabetes. They are apples, grapes, and blueberries. Blueberries are the most beneficial, but here again, the form matters. The same amount of blueberries in a glass of fruit juice raises your risk for diabetes by 8%.

Some fruits neither protect against diabetes nor increase your risk. They are peaches, plums, apricots, prunes, oranges, and strawberries. So eat them as your chosen sweet.

Q: Many years ago, at least five or six, I read and followed your recommendation to take strontium. Last year, I broke my hip while watering flowers and I was told I’d never walk again. I still have three bottles of unopened strontium, which is the only supplement I took. Will it help build more bones? – I.W., Sacramento, CA

A: Let me start by saying I hope your doctor is wrong and that you will walk again. And, yes, taking the right supplements may help you get there. But taking strontium alone won’t do it – nor would it prevent the break in the first place all by itself. I always suggest taking calcium and magnesium as well. But I’m very clear that you should not take them at the same time because strontium cancels out calcium and magnesium. I’ve said this over and over. So if you take strontium, you must take it on an empty stomach and take calcium and magnesium with meals.

If you take strontium without calcium and magnesium, you can become deficient in both of them and not get the results you’re looking for. Calcium and magnesium are vital nutrients. And the fact that you said you were taking only strontium concerns me.

I don’t know your diet, but I’m sure you have not been getting enough magnesium-rich foods (whole grains, nuts, seeds). You may not be getting enough calcium from dairy either. But even if you are, you need a lot of magnesium – more than you can get from your diet.

Whether the supplements you have are opened or not, you can return them for a full refund if you like. It’s safe to take 500-600 mg of calcium along with magnesium (to bowel tolerance, up to 1,000 mg/day).

While having a diet that’s rich in these nutrients is vital for protecting your bones, it’s still possible to have an accident that will break a bone. But I know of many people who take these nutrients and have fallen quite a few times and never broken a bone. So they do help. But you have to take them the right way.