Health & Fitness

In the U.S., about 1 in 5 adolescents and 1 in 4 young adults has prediabetes, according to a study by U.S. CDC scientists. Prediabetes is a condition characterized by higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, which increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.¹

Its prevalence has increased in U.S. adolescents in the last decade, leading researchers to survey 5,786 youth to monitor the trend. Among adolescents aged 12 to 18, 18% had prediabetes, as did 24% of young adults, who were between the ages of 19 and 34.²

Prediabetes Affects an Alarming Number of Youth

In the U.S., the incidence of Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, projected to increase more than fourfold in the coming decades.³ Prediabetes is a warning sign of Type 2 diabetes, one that can be reversed before lasting damage is done if attention is made to healthy diet and exercise.

A number of concerning findings were revealed in the study, which used data from the 2005 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including:^4,5

Prediabetes Is Diabetes

A diagnosis of prediabetes may be a matter of semantics, as the majority of Americans are likely prediabetic and suffering from what the late Dr. Joseph Kraft, author of "Diabetes Epidemic and You: Should Everyone Be Tested?" called "diabetes in situ."

Prediabetes is defined as an elevation in blood glucose over 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) but lower than 125 mg/dl, at which point it becomes full-blown Type 2 diabetes.⁸ According to the CDC, an estimated 84 million American adults — about 1 in 3 — are prediabetic, and most (90%) are unaware of this fact.⁹

That being said, any fasting blood sugar regularly over 90 suggests insulin resistance in my book. What's more, Kraft suggested 80% — 8 out of 10 — of Americans are insulin resistant. Based on data from 14,000 patients,¹⁰ Kraft, former chairman of the department of clinical pathology and nuclear medicine at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, developed a powerful predictive test for diabetes.¹¹

He would have the patient drink 75 grams of glucose and then measure their insulin response over time, at half-hour intervals for up to five hours. Interestingly, he noticed five distinctive patterns suggesting a vast majority of people were already diabetic, even though their fasting glucose was normal.

Only 20% of patients had a pattern signaling healthy post-prandial insulin sensitivity and low diabetes risk, which means 80% were prediabetic or had "diabetes in situ." As explained by IDMProgram.com:¹²

"If you simply wait until blood glucose is elevated, then you have [Type 2 diabetes], no question. But if you have normal blood sugars, then you may still be at risk of diabetes (prediabetes).

So, we give a big load of glucose and see if the body is able to handle it … If the body responds by very high secretion of insulin, this will force the blood glucose into the cell and keep the blood glucose normal.

But this is not normal. It's like the trained athlete who can easily run 10K in one hour and the untrained athlete who must dig deep and use all his effort to do so. Those people who need to produce prodigious amounts of insulin to force the glucose back to normal are at high risk [for diabetes]."

What Are the Risks of Prediabetes?

There are no obvious symptoms of prediabetes, an early state of insulin resistance known as impaired glucose tolerance; this is why so many people are affected but don't know it. There are, however, risk factors for the condition, which include:¹³

Being overweight	Being 45 years or older
Family history of Type 2 diabetes	Inactivity (exercise less than three times a week)
Having had gestational diabetes	Having polycystic ovary syndrome

Having a large waist size (larger than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women) or eating a diet high in processed grains and sugars is also associated with a higher risk of prediabetes.¹⁴ One of the greatest risks of prediabetes is that it increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which is a leading cause of death in the U.S.

In fact, life expectancy recently declined in the U.S. for the first time in two decades,¹⁵ and Type 2 diabetes is a major factor in the decline.¹⁶ Researchers noted, "Diabetes may represent a more prominent factor in American mortality than is commonly appreciated, reinforcing the need for robust population-level interventions aimed at diabetes prevention and care."¹⁷

However, prediabetes can also be dangerous even if you haven't progressed to Type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is associated with unrecognized heart attacks and kidney damage, for instance,¹⁸ and also means you're at least mildly insulin resistant.

The higher your insulin resistance, the worse markers such as fasting insulin, triglyceride-HDL ratio and HbA1c will be, suggesting you're at increased risk for a number of chronic diseases, including not only diabetes but also heart disease, metabolic syndrome, cognitive decline and cancer. The good news is that insulin resistance, and thereby prediabetes, is one of the easiest health problems to correct.

How to Determine if You're Prediabetic

If you're reading this and aren't sure what your fasting insulin and glucose levels are, these are blood tests I recommend receiving annually. Your fasting insulin level reflects how healthy your blood glucose levels are over time.

A normal fasting blood insulin level is below 5, but ideally you'll want it below 3. A fasting glucose level below 100 mg/dl suggests you're not insulin resistant according to conventional recommendations, but I recommend aiming for a fasting (when you wake up) level below 90 mg/dL.

A fasting level between 100 and 125 confirms you have prediabetes. Your blood sugar is measured through a glucose test, of which there are four types:

1. Fasting plasma glucose test — When you fast overnight and take your blood sample in the morning
2. Oral glucose tolerance test — Similar to the fasting blood sugar test, overnight fasting is required for this, and the person's fasting blood sugar level is measured. Afterward, a sugary liquid is provided and the levels are then tested for the next two hours
3. Hemoglobin A1C test — This test checks the percentage of blood sugar attached to the hemoglobin and will indicate your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months
4. Random plasma glucose test — This makes use of a blood sample that is taken at a random time

You could also do 24-hour continuous glucose monitoring, which I've done in the past, although it's pricey and probably not necessary for most people.

At the time, I used a Dexcom monitor, which involves inserting a sensor beneath your skin for a week, which takes continuous glucose readings every few minutes. It really helped me fine-tune and evaluate how different foods impacted my glucose levels, and helped me understand the importance of feast-famine cycling.

Timing Your Meals to Resolve Prediabetes

Intermittent fasting, i.e., the cycling of feast (feeding) and famine (fasting) mimics the eating habits of our ancestors and restores your body to a more natural state that allows a whole host of metabolic benefits to occur.¹⁹

With regard to insulin resistance, research shows intermittent fasting promotes insulin sensitivity and improves blood sugar management by increasing insulin-mediated glucose uptake rates.²⁰ While there are a number of different intermittent fasting protocols, my preference is fasting daily for 18 hours and eating all meals within a six-hour window.

If you're new to the concept of intermittent fasting, consider starting by skipping breakfast and have your lunch and dinner within a six-hour timeframe, say 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., making sure you stop eating three hours before going to bed. It's a powerful tool that can work even in lieu of making other dietary changes.

In one study, when 15 men at risk of Type 2 diabetes restricted their eating to a nine-hour window, they lowered their mean fasting glucose, regardless of when the "eating window" commenced.²¹

What you eat is also important. I recommend adopting a cyclical ketogenic diet, which involves radically limiting carbs (replacing them with healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein) until you're close to or at your ideal weight, ultimately allowing your body to burn fat — not carbohydrates — as its primary fuel.

Reverse Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

While many people — young and old alike — are facing prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, these conditions can be turned around. Along with intermittent fasting and a cyclical ketogenic diet, the tips that follow will help you reverse prediabetes and prevent Type 2 diabetes, while helping you avoid the chronic diseases related to them:

Limit added sugars to a maximum of 25 grams per day. If you're insulin resistant or diabetic, reduce your total sugar intake to 15 grams per day until your insulin/leptin resistance has resolved (then it can be increased to 25 grams) and start intermittent fasting as soon as possible.

Limit net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber) and protein and replace them with higher amounts of high-quality healthy fats such as seeds, nuts, raw grass fed butter, olives, avocado, coconut oil, organic pastured eggs and animal fats, including animal-based omega-3s. Avoid all processed foods, including processed meats. For a list of foods that are particularly beneficial for diabetics, please see "Nine Superfoods for Diabetics."

Get regular exercise each week and increase physical movement throughout waking hours, with the goal of sitting down less than three hours a day.

Get sufficient sleep. Most need right around eight hours of sleep per night. This will help normalize your hormonal system. Research has shown sleep deprivation can have a significant bearing on your insulin sensitivity.

Optimize your vitamin D level, ideally through sensible sun exposure. If using oral vitamin D3 supplementation, be sure to increase your intake of magnesium and vitamin K2 as well, as these nutrients work in tandem, and monitor your vitamin D level.

Optimize your gut health by regularly eating fermented foods and/or taking a high-quality probiotic supplement.

from Articles https://ift.tt/2rTfTjQ
via IFTTT

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Seattle Children's Hospital after six children died and many others were sickened from Aspergillus mold.¹ The lawsuit claims the hospital knew about "systemic problems" with its air-handling system and the related risks as far back as 2000, but "engaged in a cover-up" that left vulnerable patients exposed to potentially dangerous Aspergillus mold.

Since 2001, Seattle Children's has identified 14 patients who contracted Aspergillus infections during or after hospital stays; six of those patients died as a result.² Attorneys suggest, however, that many more children were likely affected and the numbers could be as high as "dozens if not hundreds."³

As of December 4, 2019, all 14 operating rooms at the hospital's main campus remained closed as a new air handling unit was moved into place.

"We are incredibly sorry for the hurt experienced by these families and regret that recent developments have caused additional grief," Seattle Children's said in a statement. "Out of respect for privacy, we do not intend to share details about our patients or comment on specific cases or legal action."⁴

Hospital's Air Handling System Led to Deadly Mold Infections

Patients affected by the toxic mold at Seattle Children's Hospital range in age from 2 months to 17 years.⁵ The infections occurred from 2001 to 2019 as a result of the hospital's negligence at maintaining and testing its facilities, leading to the transmission of Aspergillus mold spores to hospitalized children, according to the suit.⁶

In 2019, the hospital admitted that it was contaminated with Aspergillus mold since 2001, sickening patients as a result. Air tests conducted in November 2019 also revealed the presence of Aspergillus in several operating rooms.⁷

However, this wasn't a new revelation, as the suit alleges that the hospital knew by at least 2005 its air-handling system could be transmitting Aspergillus, when a family sued them over the issue. "During the course of that lawsuit troubling information surfaced regarding the Defendant's failure to maintain and staff its air-handling systems," the complaint reads.

The lawsuit was settled in 2008 under confidential terms, but the hospital continued to keep "a deadly secret" in assuring patients and the public that it was safe, when in fact the mold persisted.⁸

Further, as early as 2002, an engineering consultant as well as the hospital's lead engineer warned the hospital about "filthy conditions" of its air-handling units, including water leaks, birds in fan shafts, units "rotting out" and failure to test equipment.⁹

The hospital also published an internal investigation in 2007 looking into three Aspergillus infections, but concluded they were isolated incidents. Seattle Children's CEO Dr. Jeff Sperring said in a statement:¹⁰

"As we have previously shared, Seattle Children's has had seven Aspergillus surgical site infections since the summer of 2018. We are deeply saddened that one of those patients died.

As we have looked more closely at our history of Aspergillus infections, we believe there are connections between recent and past infections. Between 2001 and 2014, seven patients developed Aspergillus surgical site infections. Tragically, five of those patients died.

At the time, we believed most of these were isolated infections. However, we now believe that these infections were likely caused by the air handling systems that serve our operating rooms. Looking back, we should have recognized these connections sooner."

Dangers of Aspergillus Infection

Aspergillus is a common type of mold found both indoors and outdoors, in decaying leaves and on plants, trees and compost.¹¹ While most people come in contact with Aspergillus daily without any ill effects, certain strains can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems or lung diseases.

Disease caused by Aspergillus is known as aspergillosis, which can lead to allergic reactions and infections in the lungs or other organs.¹² The CDC lists seven types of aspergillosis, which range in severity from mild to life threatening:¹³

Allergic broncopulmonary aspergillosis, which occurs when the mold causes allergy symptoms and lung inflammation.	Allergic Aspergillus sinusitis, which occurs when the mold causes sinus inflammation and symptoms of a sinus infection.
Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus, caused by A. fumigatus, a type of Aspergillus that's resistant to certain medications used to treat it.	Aspergilloma, or "fungus ball," which refers to a ball of Aspergillus that grows in the lungs or sinuses.
Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, which is Aspergillus infection that causes cavities and sometimes fungal balls in the lungs.	Invasive aspergillosis, a serious infection that typically affects people with weakened immune systems; it commonly affects the lungs but may spread to other areas.
Cutaneous (skin) aspergillosis, which occurs when the mold enters a wound or other skin break and leads to infection.

Aspergillosis isn't a reportable disease in the U.S., which means numbers on its incidence are scarce, but the CDC estimates that nearly 15,000 aspergillosis-associated hospitalizations occurred in the U.S. in 2014, with costs of $1.2 billion.¹⁴ Further, they noted, "In a broad U.S. health care network of intensive care unit autopsy studies, aspergillosis was one of the top four most common diagnoses that likely lead to death."¹⁵

Aspergillosis Outbreaks in Hospitals

While clusters of cases of dangerous invasive aspergillosis are rare in the general population, outbreaks have occurred previously in hospital settings, particularly among immunocompromised patients.

Recently, lung infections caused by Aspergillus have been reported in people hospitalized with severe influenza and, in one study, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis occurred even in people without a compromised immune system.¹⁶ The CDC also reported:¹⁷

"Although most cases of aspergillosis are sporadic (not part of an outbreak), outbreaks of invasive aspergillosis occasionally occur in hospitalized patients. Invasive aspergillosis outbreaks are often found to be associated with hospital construction or renovation, which can increase the amount of airborne Aspergillus, resulting in respiratory infections or surgical site infections in high-risk patients.

Outbreaks of primary cutaneous aspergillosis and central nervous system aspergillosis in association with the use of contaminated medical devices have also been described. The incubation period for aspergillosis is unclear and likely varies depending on the dose of Aspergillus and the host immune response."

While it's virtually impossible to avoid exposure to aspergillus in the environment, hospitals have a responsibility to ensure they aren't exposing patients to this potentially dangerous fungus via an ill-maintained air handling system. As for Seattle Children's, they're installing new air handlers in an attempt to resolve the mold issues:¹⁸

"Seattle Children's will install a new rooftop air handler as well as custom-built, in-room high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in every operating room and adjacent supply area. HEPA is an extremely effective filtration system that removes 99.97 percent of particles from the air that passes through the filter.

This is the highest level of filtration found in operating rooms today. These operating rooms will remain closed until the enhancements are fully in place."

Is There Mold in Your Home?

Common health problems that can be attributed to poor and potentially toxic indoor air quality courtesy of mold growth include but are not limited to the following. If you have any of these issues, it may be worthwhile to consider your indoor air quality, and the possibility that your health problems may be related to mold.

Frequent headaches	Depression	Chronic fatigue
Allergies	Neurological problems; poor concentration and forgetfulness	Skin rashes
Stomach and digestive problems, such as dysbiosis, leaky gut and frequent diarrhea	Chronic sinusitis	Joint aches and pains
Muscle wasting	Frequent fevers	Asthma or trouble breathing

To determine if mold is lurking in your home, first look for signs of visible mold or musty odors. However, not all mold is easily detectable, so if you can't see any visible traces of mold, take an air sample and use a moisture meter to determine the moisture level in the area.

Wood flooring should have a maximum moisture content of 10% to 12%, for instance, as anything above that is a breeding ground for mold. Exterior walls should not have a moisture content above 15%. In addition to air sampling, proper lab testing of bulk samples of the mold growth is recommended.

This will require cutting out a piece of the affected area. The U.S. EPA has a test called Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI), which tests for 31 different species of mold. If all you have is a small area of surface mold, you probably don't have to call in an expert. However, only attempt to clean it if it's limited to the surface of a small area. Any deep-rooted mold will require professional assistance to remediate.

Mold Is Serious, Here's What You Can Do

Aspergillosis is an example of what Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker calls biotoxic illness. Most biotoxic illnesses are difficult to diagnose and treat as all of them, including mold, affect multiple systems in your body and produce a wide array of symptoms.

Shoemaker, a pioneer in the field of biotoxin-related illness, explains that the underlying commonality, whether the disease is caused by dinoflagellates, mold or spirochetes, for example, is chronic inflammation. The inflammation induced by exposure to the toxins and metabolic products produced by these microorganisms is what wreaks havoc on your health.

"In order to treat them, we need to both remove them from exposure and remove toxin from their body," Shoemaker said. Many of his patients have had success using cholestyramine (CSM), a rarely used cholesterol drug that binds to not just cholesterol, but just about everything of a particular molecular shape and size.

"Binding CSM to the toxin prevents its reabsorption. There's another cholesterol-lowering resin called Welchol that also has these net positive charges … Even though people have used clays — and Bentonite is one — with some success, cholestyramine is so much better that people would put up with the common side effects of constipation and some reflux," he said.

This is only the first step in his protocol, which includes 10 additional steps intended to stop the inflammatory process initiated by the mold (or other toxin) exposure. For more information, SurvivingMold.com is a great resource for medical practitioners and patients alike.¹⁹

I also discuss helpful tests and diagnostic tools for mold-related illness in "Mold: The Common Toxin That Can Be Far More Damaging Than Heavy Metals." Overall, your best approach is to find a well-informed physician with expertise in environmental medicine. Together you can devise an appropriate treatment plan. For a list of physicians with experience in treating mold-associated disease, see DrThrasher.org.

from Articles https://ift.tt/2RZA8XR
via IFTTT

The effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation has again been questioned with negative headlines^1,2 trumpeting its failure to prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. What most researchers and journalists fail to address, however, is the fact that:

• The "high dose" given in this trial was a mere 2,000 international units (IUs) a day, which is still only a quarter or less of what many need to raise their blood level into a protective range
• They did not test and track participants' vitamin D blood levels, which is the only way to ensure sufficiency

Based on those two factors alone, a negative result is precisely what one would predict. Still, despite such limitations, the study actually found some rather remarkable benefits that were simply glossed over.

In fact, had it been a drug trial, vitamin D would likely have been declared a miracle drug against both cancer and cardiovascular disease, based on the findings. This is the kind of perversion of science and selective reporting that shackles public health.

VITAL Study Conclusions

The study^3,4 in question, which was in part funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published in the January 2019 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (A second study⁵ compared omega-3 supplementation against placebo for the same endpoints.) As detailed in the vitamin D paper, the study was:

"[A] nationwide, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, with a two-by-two factorial design, of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) at a dose of 2000 IU per day⁶ and marine n−3 (also called omega-3) fatty acids at a dose of 1 gram per day⁷ for the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease among men 50 years of age or older and women 55 years of age or older in the United States.

Primary end points were invasive cancer of any type and major cardiovascular events (a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke or death from cardiovascular causes). Secondary end points included site-specific cancers, death from cancer and additional cardiovascular events."

In conclusion, the authors determined that "Supplementation with vitamin D did not result in a lower incidence of invasive cancer or cardiovascular events than placebo."

What the VITAL Data Actually Reveals

However, as noted by GrassrootsHealth,⁸ a nonprofit public health research organization dedicated to moving public health messages regarding vitamin D and omega-3 from research into practice, “when the separate types of heart disease or death from cancer were analyzed, there were 30 different very significant results,” summarized in the graph⁹ below.

>>>>> Click Here <<<<<

Importantly, when the researchers excluded data from the first two years of supplementation, cancer mortality "was significantly lower with vitamin D than with placebo."¹⁰

>

The reason this is important is because cancer is a slow-growing disease and effects of nutritional intervention typically only become evident after several years. It's unreasonable to think you can take a supplement and within weeks or months see a drastic difference in health outcomes. The paper states that clearly, and adds:

"Supplemental vitamin D also did not reduce the occurrence of breast, prostate or colorectal cancers. However, there was a suggestive 17 percent reduction in cancer deaths, which became a 25 percent reduction in analyses that excluded the first two years of follow-up."

Let me repeat those two points for clarity:

1. While incidence of breast, prostate and colorectal cancers were unaffected, those who took a non-ideal dose of vitamin D3 supplements still had a 17 percent lower risk of actually dying from those cancers
2. When the first two years of follow-up data were excluded, people who took a mere 2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day had a 25 percent lower risk of cancer in the years following (years three through five)

How is this not good news? Again, let's remember that 2,000 IUs is really insufficient for most people, yet even at this insufficient dosage, the risk of cancer was cut by 25 percent.

For Most, 2,000 IUs a Day Is Suboptimal for Cancer Prevention

In years past, it was widely believed that 4,000 IUs was the upper safe limit, above which you risked vitamin D toxicity, but studies have since refuted this, showing there's no risk of toxicity until you hit 30,000 IUs a day, or a blood level of 200 ng/ml (500 nmol/L).¹¹ Still, the misconception persists.

A significant body of research shows many need upward of 10,000 IUs a day in order to achieve a blood level of 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L) or higher, which is the bottom cutoff for health and disease prevention. Ideally, you’ll want a level between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 and 200 nmol/L). This is where the majority of health benefits become really apparent.

As noted in a 2009 study¹² on athletic performance and vitamin D, "At levels below 40 to 50 ng/mL the body diverts most or all of the ingested or sun-derived vitamin D to immediate metabolic needs, signifying chronic substrate starvation (deficiency)."

As noted earlier, the VITAL study did not use vitamin D blood levels as the marker for deficiency or sufficiency, and this is perhaps the most significant problem with this study. Blood levels were only measured in a subgroup of 1,644 participants (out of 25,871) after the first year of daily supplementation.

In this group, the mean vitamin D blood level increased from 29.8 ng/mL (74 nmol/L) at baseline to 41.8 ng/mL (104 nmol/L). In other words, most of those taking vitamin D supplements had barely adequate vitamin D levels, and were still significantly short of having ideal blood levels — levels at which research shows the risk of cancer is cut up to 80 percent.

Why You Cannot Trust Studies That Base Results on Dosage Rather Than Blood Measurement

This certainly is not the first time studies have claimed vitamin D supplementation is useless. Last year, a meta-analysis¹³ concluded once-a-month high-dose vitamin D supplementation had no impact on cancer risk. Here, participants received an initial bolus dose of 200,000 IUs of vitamin D, followed by a monthly dose of 100,000 IUs (so-called pulsed or pulsatile dosing) for a median of three years.

While the media played this up as a finding contradicting recommendations to optimize your vitamin D to lower your cancer risk, it really only made a case against once-a-month mega-dosing. As noted by GrassrootsHealth scientists, for optimal results, you need to supplement frequently (ideally daily) and focus on the achieved serum level, not the dosage.

What's more, 100,000 IUs per month actually only comes out to about 3,000 IUs per day, which again is far below what most adults need to raise their vitamin D serum level into the protective range of 60 to 80 ng/mL, with 40 ng/mL being the low-end cutoff for sufficiency.

Indeed, this analysis noted the mean baseline vitamin D concentration was just over 26 ng/mL, and the mean follow-up level was just 20 ng/mL higher in the supplement group than the placebo group that received no vitamin D.

As in the current NEJM study, participants' vitamin D levels were also not measured regularly throughout the study, and the association with cancer was not analyzed by serum level but by daily dosage.

This point really cannot be stressed enough: The key factor is not how much vitamin D you take but whether or not your blood level of vitamin D is within the "Goldilocks' zone" of 60 to 80 ng/mL, and the only way to ascertain that is through blood testing.

How to Assess Study Quality

GrassrootsHealth scientists have also argued that pulsatile dosing at intervals greater than two weeks may actually cause a form of vitamin D deficiency at the cellular level.

According to GrassrootsHealth, to accurately ascertain the benefit of vitamin D in any given trial, researchers must track not only the baseline and final vitamin D serum level plus the dose given, but also the form (vitamin D2 versus D3) and the dosing interval.

Adherence to protocol is also measured by blood level. If a participant's blood level doesn't change, you know that individual was probably not taking the supplement as instructed, rendering their result null and void.

All of these factors can influence the results, and it's important to get them all right. Identifying the ideal parameters are all part of what GrassrootsHealth is doing. Another study, published in 2017, claimed it found "no case" for vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy.¹⁴

In reality, it found seven positive outcomes,¹⁵ including increased birth weight, a 40 percent reduction in gestational diabetes, an 18 percent reduction in preeclampsia and a 17 percent reduction in gestational hypertension.

What this study failed to find was a reduction in preterm birth, and this was ultimately translated into headlines that made it appear as though pregnant women have no need for vitamin D supplementation! In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.^16,17

So, in summary, when evaluating vitamin D research, the following parameters are what you're looking for in a high-quality study, as without these, the results are likely to be significantly flawed and likely negative:

There's Strong Evidence Vitamin D Lowers Your Chronic Disease Risk

Vitamin D, a steroid hormone, is vital for the prevention of many chronic diseases, including but not limited to:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness)
• Alzheimer's disease
• Heart disease
• Well over a dozen different types of cancer, including skin cancer — the very cause of concern that has led so many to avoid the sun exposure necessary for vitamin D production

In the case of heart disease, vitamin D plays a vital role in protecting and repairing damage to your endothelium.¹⁸ It also helps trigger production of nitric oxide — which improves blood flow and prevents blood clot formation — and significantly reduces oxidative stress in your vascular system, all of which are important to help prevent the development and/or progression of cardiovascular disease.

Just last year, a Norwegian study¹⁹ published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found "a normal intake of vitamin D" significantly reduces your risk of death if you have cardiovascular disease.²⁰

According to vitamin D researcher Dr. Michael Holick, vitamin D deficiency — defined as a level below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) — can also raise your risk of heart attack by 50 percent, and if you have a heart attack while vitamin D deficient, your risk of dying is nearly guaranteed.

Vitamin D also has powerful infection-fighting abilities, making it a useful aid in the treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, colds and flu, while maintaining a healthy vitamin D level will typically prevent such infections from taking root in the first place. Studies have also linked higher vitamin D levels with lowered mortality from all causes.^21,22,23

A Majority of Breast Cancer Cases Could Be Avoided by Raising Vitamin D Levels Among the General Public

Importantly, the ongoing research by GrassrootsHealth has firmly established that 20 ng/mL, which is conventionally considered the cutoff for sufficiency, is nowhere near sufficient for optimal health and disease prevention.

As mentioned, 40 ng/mL (100 nm/L) appears to be at the low end of optimal, and most participants in the featured NEJM study were likely hovering right around this low-end blood level (based on measurements from a very limited subgroup).

Still, recall the risk of cancer in Years 3 through 5 among those who supplemented with 2,000 IUs a day (thereby reaching a mean blood level of just under 42 ng/mL) went down by 25 percent. GrassrootsHealth research shows the ideal protective range is between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nm/L), and the higher the better within this range.

Research has actually demonstrated that most cancers occur in people with a vitamin D blood level between 10 and 40 ng/mL.^24,25 Meanwhile, research shows women with vitamin D levels above 60 ng/mL have an 83 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with levels below 20 ng/mL.²⁶ Data from GrassrootsHealth ongoing D*Action study actually suggests 80 percent of breast cancer incidences could be prevented simply by optimizing vitamin D and nothing else!

The key, however, is to achieve the proper blood level, which has nothing to do with dosage. And the reason this correlation has never been elucidated before is because no one was using high-enough dosage to actually get participants vitamin D levels above 60 ng/mL, which is where you really start seeing these dramatic reductions in disease.

Optimizing Your Vitamin D Is a Key Disease Prevention Strategy

The evidence in support of vitamin D optimization is overwhelming, and becomes all the more compelling when the blood level is the primary parameter being measured and tracked. The key take-home message here is that 2,000 IUs is insufficient for most people, although it may still cut the risk of cancer by about 25 percent.

Overall, research supports the idea that higher levels offer greater cancer protection, and even levels as high as 100 ng/mL appear safe and beneficial. Importantly, having a serum vitamin D level of 60 ng/mL has been shown to positively impact anyone with breast cancer or Type 1 diabetes, as well as pregnant women and lactating mothers.

It's a shame that so many researchers still have not grasped the importance of measuring blood levels rather than simply going by dosage, and relatively low dosages at that. In reality, what this NEJM study (and others like it) show is that insufficient vitamin D dosage fails to achieve optimal results. It's not that vitamin D itself is useless. GrassrootsHealth D*Action study is clearly leading the pack here, revealing what's required.

It's an ongoing study that relies on public participation, and you can join at any time. To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100 percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)

As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year study, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every six months for your sponsorship of this research project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress.

You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you "it's time for your next test and health survey." By participating in this project, you help move vitamin D research forward so that, hopefully, one day we can end this nonsensical debate about whether vitamin D optimization is worth pursuing or not.

from Articles https://ift.tt/2M091rE
via IFTTT

Being undernourished or overweight are no longer separate public health issues. A new article details how more than one in three low- and middle-income countries face both extremes of malnutrition -- a reality driven by the modern food system.

from Diet and Weight Loss News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PqacCX

Being undernourished or overweight are no longer separate public health issues. A new article details how more than one in three low- and middle-income countries face both extremes of malnutrition -- a reality driven by the modern food system.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PqacCX

Here are the most favoured healthy recipes of the year to inspire your eating habits. 

from Nutrition | body+soul https://ift.tt/35FcMdK

The season six contestant reveals gaining weight 'would have killed her' previously, but now she's learnt to accept her body.

from Health | body+soul https://ift.tt/2sx2v4P

Unfortunately, cancers that occur in the back of the mouth and upper throat are often not diagnosed until they become advanced. A new report describes the use of acoustofluidics, a new non-invasive method that analyzes saliva for the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV)-16, the pathogenic strain associated with oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs). This novel technique detected OPC in whole saliva in 40 percent of patients tested and 80% of confirmed OPC patients.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2M12Qns

New research has shed light on the origins of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) and demonstrates effective new therapeutic pathways for SCA7 and the more than 40 other types of spinocerebellar ataxia.

from Women's Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/34tLENs

New research has shed light on the origins of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) and demonstrates effective new therapeutic pathways for SCA7 and the more than 40 other types of spinocerebellar ataxia.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/34tLENs

Axons are the long thread-like extensions of neurons that send electrical signals to other brain cells. Thanks to axonal connectivity, our brains and bodies can do all necessary tasks. Even before we're born, we need axons to grow in tracts throughout gray matter and connect properly as our brains develop. Researchers have now found a key reason why connectivity goes awry and leads to rare but debilitating neurodevelopmental conditions.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2Prr24j

Researchers have taken a critical step toward developing a non-invasive nuclear medicine technique that can predict the effectiveness of therapy for cancerous tumors, allowing for personalized, precision treatment.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2swqn8H

Neuroscientists have developed new technology that engineers the shell of a virus to deliver gene therapy to the exact cell type in the body that needs to be treated. The researchers believe that the new technology can be likened to dramatically accelerating evolution from millions of years to weeks.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2qTOyxk

A study sheds light on the mechanisms governing feeding behavior in fruit flies and how skeletal muscle communicates energy needs to the brain.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/36HHLX2

Little is known about how women manage emotional distress during high-risk pregnancies, but researchers learned that without psychosocial support, many women struggle with fears and tears while feeling isolated and worried.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2rTvZd5

Consumer attitudes toward private-label store brands might be driven more by social variables than price, says new research.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/35wfsKQ

Researchers test a sampling of synthetic, biocompatible hydrogels to see how tuning them influences the body's inflammatory response. The hydrogels are being developed to help heal wounds, deliver drugs and treat cancer.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PoTxQ2

Using a brain-computer interface, a team of researchers has reconstructed English words from the brain activity of rhesus macaques that listened as the words were spoken.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2t8Bwga

A new study has compiled the estimated per-case costs of 6 childhood health conditions linked to air pollution -- estimates that can be incorporated into benefits assessments of air pollution regulations and climate change mitigation policies.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/36KgPWB

Among women, lower hydration levels were associated with lower scores on a task designed to measure motor speed, sustained attention, and working memory. They did not find the same result for men.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2RUueal

Women who consumed a diet high in added sugars and refined carbohydrates had a greater risk of developing insomnia, a new study has found.

from Diet and Weight Loss News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2S8cbOb

For decades, warfarin (Coumadin) was the standard anticoagulant medication used to prevent blood clots, which can lead to stroke, in people with atrial fibrillation (afib). Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), sometimes called novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs), are a new type of anticoagulant medication that came on the market in 2010.

In 2019, the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society (AHA/ACC/HRS) updated their afib guidelines to strongly recommend using DOACs over warfarin in people with afib.

Warfarin is effective, but has downsides

Afib is a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) quiver, and blood doesn’t flow well. This may lead to the formation of blood clots, which can travel to the brain and cause a stroke. Anticoagulants, which are also referred to as blood thinners even though they don’t actually thin the blood, make it harder for blood to clot and help keep existing clots from growing.

Warfarin was introduced into clinical practice for the prevention of clots associated with afib in the 1950s, and has proven to be a very effective therapy. Unfortunately, it requires close monitoring with blood tests to make certain that the blood does not clot too quickly or too slowly.

The ability to keep the blood thinned in the correct range can be very difficult because warfarin interacts with many foods and medications. In addition, up to 25% of the population is born with a genetic characteristic that makes it extraordinarily difficult to keep the blood thinned in the therapeutic range on warfarin.

DOACs more effective, less finicky than warfarin

Intensive efforts were underway for decades to develop alternatives to warfarin. This resulted in the FDA approval of four DOACs for clot prevention in atrial fibrillation, beginning in 2010: apixaban (Eliquis), dabigatran (Pradaxa), edoxaban (Savaysa), and rivaroxaban (Xarelto).

The use of DOACs compared with warfarin has been studied extensively, and we now have years of experience using these drugs. DOACs are remarkably free of side effects and do not require blood test monitoring. They have proven to be as effective as warfarin to prevent clot formation, and in some cases have proven to be slightly better than warfarin.

DOACs less likely to cause life-threatening bleeding

The major complication of taking any anticoagulation medication is bleeding. This risk is present with both warfarin and the DOACs. However, the risk of the most life-threatening form of bleeding — bleeding into the brain — has been shown to be roughly 50% less likely on the DOACs compared with warfarin.

One major concern I often hear from patients and physicians is that the blood-thinning effect of DOACs is irreversible. Fortunately, we now have antidotes for all of the DOACs. (The anticoagulant effects of warfarin are easily reversed with vitamin K.)

In addition, DOACs have a more rapid and predictable effect than we see with warfarin. DOACs thin the blood within a day; once stopped, the anticoagulation effect wears off quite rapidly, within 24 to 48 hours. It can take days to weeks for warfarin to thin the blood in the correct range, and at least three to five days before the blood is no longer thinned after stopping warfarin.

DOACs now seen as the better option for most people with afib

We are increasingly using DOACs as a first choice for anticoagulation in afib. We are also giving many patients the option to switch from warfarin to DOACs if they are already on warfarin. In general, this change can be made easily. The only patients with afib who should stay on warfarin rather than using a DOAC are those with a mechanical artificial heart valve.

There are some small differences between the different DOACs, but they are not major and can be discussed with your physician. For example, some DOACs may be better or worse for a patient depending on his or her kidney function.

The cost of these drugs is dropping, but is certainly more than warfarin. Increasingly, insurance companies cover their preferred DOAC, which makes using a non-preferred DOAC much more expensive. For most people, using the DOAC that is least expensive based on their insurance coverage is absolutely fine.

The post DOACs now recommended over warfarin to prevent blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

from Harvard Health Blog https://ift.tt/2PWIzAC