Can we prevent Diseases?

Almost certainly yes; healthy life style and wiser food choices promises this

Diseases are preventable and reversible:

Stay active

More I read, more I get convinced that most diseases are simply invited by us because of our faulty life styles and wrong food choices. I have read thousands of articles on food, nutrition and common diseases including many meta-analyses of scientific research papers. They all point to one conclusion that most diseases are preventable, if we are determined to look after our health by providing our bodies with correct nutrition and pursue active healthy life styles.

As everyone knows, recently President Bill Clinton reversed his heart disease by changing his diet. That is a great example for all of us. Scientific and other literature is full of facts, figures and stories that coronary heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and even some cancers like that of colon are direct results of unhealthy diet. And when the diet is changed the condition is reversed in many cases. God Almighty has kept in his control all the sickness and health, but He has given us wisdom to us to choose between what is good and bad for us. Eating healthy and right nutrition is not that difficult a choice and not a big sacrifice for healthy and longer life.

Here are some facts:

Only about 100 years ago, there were only a few deaths due to heart diseases, which is now number one cause of death. Incidence of type 2 diabetes has frightfully increased. Obesity, Alzheimer’s and ADHD are new diseases that have appeared in the past few decades and are increasing in prevalence at a scary speed.

Our genes could not have changed in 100 years. Only cause of such a large disease load is obviously our life style and diets further burdened by the exposure to chemicals. This is a simple enough deduction. Globally the incidences of these diseases vary. And even that points to a single fact that in the past few decades we are more geared to Western diet and living styles. Convenience foods and preservation of food by refrigeration has become our way of life. Such pointers and interpretations are common and easily available. They are: 

• Increased prevalence of Heart Diseases, Cancer and Diabetes, which are the major causes of death are on increase in past century or so.
• Many other ‘new” diseases are rampant in their prevalence, like Obesity, Alzheimer’s, ADD or ADHD etc.
• We have become a sedentary-life-style generation and are not as active as our parents were
• Many of our foods that we eat are processed and hence do not contain enough fiber
• We are eating a much larger calorie value foods and hence getting overweight or obese
• We are eating excessive amounts of added sugar
• Our consumption of vegetable based food has substantially reduced
• Our consumption of animal protein has vastly increase in shape of poultry, meat and milk products
• We hare becoming an indoor and air-condition using generation in past few decades
• Majority of us are vitamin D deficient because we do not work outside in sun; many authorities now believe that vit. D has important action at cellular level and that it is not only a vitamin but is a hormone
• The petrochemicals in the shape of fertilizers, pesticides, preservatives, chemical dyes, beauty products, many domestic cleaning products, food coloring agents etc. constantly expose us to harmful pollution. Some of these are damaging our health like cigarette smoke and others are known carcinogens
• Radiation levels in the environment has increased by almost 25% due to man made radiation

We are what we eat:

It is generally recognized truth that “we are what we eat”. Our flesh, bones and blood are formed from our food intake. The environment that we live in further affects our body and its health. With increasing population and their needs of energy and food our fresh air is polluted by the petrochemicals and their end products.

Eat Plant Based Food

Let me also state the fact that death is certain for all living beings.  But the number of years that we are assigned to live by the Almighty may be turned healthier and hence also perhaps longer by following some simple rules about out life styles and our intake of food.

Quote from American Cancer Society (ACS): 

Here is a relevant quote on the official website of ACS, under “Stay Healthy” tab:

“More than half of all cancer deaths could be prevented by making healthy choices like not smoking, staying at a healthy weight, eating right, keeping active, and getting recommended screening tests.”

Same is true for other serious illnesses like Heart disease and Diabetes and all its related complications. If we get determined to eat right food and change our life style to keep ourselves healthy, we can prevent almost all diseases. Such measures that bring us health are not difficult to adopt. We only need to be resolute and convinced that our health is more important than the trendy fads of food and amenities and conveniences of modern life styles.

Simple hints to make yourselves disease proof:

Here are a few simple hints to make yourselves most likely to be almost disease proof based on common observations. Despite ongoing scientific research and progress the disease load in humans beings has increased by several folds. Incidence of heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, ADD, ADHD and Alzheimer’s, are all on increase. From the following simple hints you would also agree that staying healthy is not really difficult. Here are the measures we all need to follow:

• If you are overweight, reduce it to normal according to insurance company’s actuary tables
• Get into habit of consuming plant based starch diet with a lot of fiber
• Bring your animal protein intake to minimal
• Stay away from all kinds of fats
• Consume only Unprocessed Foods
• Eat locally grown foods only
• Consume only as much calories as you need
• Stop storing left over food in fridge; eat fresh locally grown food
• Stop adding any sugar to food
• Stop drinking all sugary drinks
• Start dong some weight bearing exercises
• Also do some Cardio exercises
• Join meditation, yoga and communal prayer programs to reduce your stress.
• Have enough undisturbed sleep, say about 7 to 8 hours
• Raise your serum vitamin D to optimum level by exposure to sun

Urgent Effective Actions are needed to Protect Our Health

Most conditions are our self-inflicted health issues and hence are easy to reverse.

Health risks requiring urgent attention of all mankind:

During my 72 years of life, I had my share of health conditions. I am now convinced that these ailments were on most part results of myself following a general understanding of “how to live and eat” in present modernized conditions. Unfortunately such consensuses are not always correct; e.g. the prevalent consensus only a few hundred years ago that “the earth is flat” was completely wrong, as we all know now.

While I am aware of the fact that every life has to come to an end, I also now firmly believe that a healthy body can be maintained until many long years without being dependent. However, I conclude from my own experience, vast reading and close observations that while modern living do provide us comfort and amenities, it may preclude us from healthy living. This may sound alarmist but I believe we need to urgently find ways and means to protect our health before the epidemic of our unhealthy habits and surrounding conditions engulfs us all beyond a point of no return.

We are paying undue cost for modern amenities that can be reduced if we use our ancestor’s experiences and common sense:

Let us take a stock of what we have gained from modern living and how much have we paid in the form of unnecessary illnesses. Once we have considered these both, the connection will be clear. It is absolutely clear that we have treaded in our health and longevity for the short-lived pleasures of modernity and pleasures. Let us do this exercise together. I believe that following three are most important factors affecting our health:

• Lack of exercise and sedentary indoor life style
• Lack of nutrition and increased calorie intake
• Exposure to toxins from chemicals, radiation and even side effects of prescription medicines

Changes of past two centuries:

We are lucky to be living in present times when human beings on this planet earth has progressed in many different ways materially adding comforts and amenities. Here is a short list of some of them:

• Population of planet has increased three folds to over seven billions
• Industrial revolution has brought many comforts providing amenities and pleasures through mass production
• Our travel is now much faster, thanks to electricity and electronics. We can travel around the world in a few hours, which was only possible in weeks
• Our communication is far wider; we can talk, text and fax to almost any corner of the world within seconds, which was almost impossible only 30 years ago
• Energy availability is increasing from fossil and non-fossil origins resulting in increased comforts
• Many new processes have been introduced to prolong the shelf life of foods
• Processed foods, mass production of animal protein and Genetically Engineered foods (also called GMO foods) are created to feed the increasing population 

Adverse health results we are facing today:

Let me enumerate some of the diseases that have either appeared recently or are increasing in incidence almost exponentially, so much so that many scholars are referring to these as epidemics. These are as follows:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Cardiac diseases
• High blood pressure
• Cancers of all kinds

Incidence of the above mentioned diseases have increased several fold in past century. All above are somehow related to insulin and glucose levels.

“New” diseases of past few decades:

• Attention Deficit Disorders; and there is broad spectrum of such disorders
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Many new viral diseases like HIV, bird flu and flu epidemics

First two seem to be closely related to Fructose and carbohydrate metabolism and Genetically Engineered foods.

What has changed in past 100 years?

Let us look at some important changes that occurred in past century:

• Industrial revolution has changed many aspects of our ways of living
• Migration from rural to urban regions has been immense; majority of population on the planet now lives in urban areas
• Until beginning of last century most human beings went to sleep in evening as darkness set in because there was no electricity. Now most humans are awake at least three or more hours adding to the stress and reduction of sleep time
• Our life style has changed from active to sedentary
• Whole grains are disappearing from food
• Increased population of world by two to three times in past few decades and still increasing
• Plant based diet is generally considered inferior and NOT liked by many people
• Larger portion of our food now come from animal protein, either because people have developed taste for such proteins or it is in vogue to turn “non-veg” from being vegetarian
• Large portion of our food, be it plant based or animal protein, is now processed
• Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) was unheard of in 1800s, which is now our main source of food
• Nuclear fission was invented only few decades ago and use of radioactive material is increasing by armies
• Radioactive material used in medicine and industry is also increasing
• Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) are all around us in the shape of electric motors and cell phones
• Genetically Engineered (GE or GMO) foods have been introduced in our diet in past two decades only
• Petrochemicals and its derivatives in different forms are used indiscriminately since 1950s
• Environmental changes have markedly increased in last few decades
• Carbon dioxide is increasing around us to alarming level and is considered to be the cause of environmental changes
• Substantial percentage of acreage of wild forests have been leveled to accommodate population and new agriculture to feed the same
• Many species of plant and animal kingdom are disappearing through extinction

Consequences of such changes:

If we consider the changes in our life style that we have accepted and the disease load that we have acquired in the similar time frame, in the shape of phenomenal increase of incidences and appearance of new diseases, the correlation becomes clear.

A look at history is most useful. The diseases that we are facing are almost direct result of the recent introduction of modern amenities and increasing pollution. Some of them are also results of usage of energy, electricity, experimentation with radiation and electromagnetic fields. Add to this the effects of chemicals, decrease of forests and increase of population and the significances of many unintended consequences become easier to understand.

We must act fast and bring about changes wherever necessary. We need to do the following for a longer and healthier life. These are all simple and common-sensical actions learning from how our ancestors lived, without giving up most of our facilities and comfortable living.

Simple tips to save our health and prevent many diseases:

• Go back to plant based diet. This should be fresh and locally grown. Become vegetarian or preferably even vegan
• Start whole grain diet and stop processed foods in our food
• Eliminate added sugar completely; we are eating almost 10 times more sugar than what we did only about 100 years ago
• Avoid all sugary drinks and sodas; they now contain high fructose corn syrup that is considered worse than sugar
• Stay active by working or exercising daily to keep fit
• Keep you weight within its ideal limits; you may look up life insurance company’s tables for such information
• Keep you vitamin D level optimal by staying in sun or by taking supplements
• Have enough sound sleep of about seven to eight hours a day
• Stay out in open fresh air at least for substantial number of hours
• Do not over-eat. Stay hungry. Follow Confucian teaching of “Hara Hachi Bu” meaning eat 80% of your need. It will help digestion and keep weight in control
• Eat fermented foods like yogurt and probiotics to stabilize your intestinal bacterial colonies
• Drink a lot of water to flush toxins produced in body

At the end let me repeat what Hippocrates said 2500 years ago: “Let the food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

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Life styles of human being have changed hugely over the past two centuries. This started about two hundred years ago with industrial revolution. Use of oil and energy created another big change because these changed the pace of life fto very fast. These changes provided a lot of conveniences and luxuries but they have also changed our eating habits, which has adversely affected our health because our genes have been used to what our ancestors were used to for thousands of years. These conveniences have caused unintended consequences because of sedentary life style hence increasing risks to human health.

Let us see some of the changes that have damaged our health:

Over Abundance of Calories and Carbohydrates:

Few thousand years ago our ancestors lived on hunted food and gathered wild plants vegetables. This consisted mostly of protein and fat. Agricultural revolution brought us abundance of carbohydrate in our diet. High fructose corn syrup was added only 50 years ago. This is causing increased disease load in people with diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Lack of Exercises:

Cars and means of communications are added to our lives just about 100 years ago. Fastest means of transport was horse or camel until then. Now we have become sedentary and non-active with cars and airplanes. Remote-controls fax and internet has made us even worse. Our daily walking used lot of calories in past, which has disappeared and those who are conscious of it now need gyms to work out.

Lack of sunshine and Vitamin D:

With facilities of air conditioning and fast transport our exposure to sun has been severely curtailed. In developed world a substantial percentage of us are hence Vitamin D deficient. This is causing a number of illnesses like depression, Alzheimer’s and cancers. Pundits say that Vitamin D is not only a vitamin but an enzyme that works on every cell of the body.

Radiation:

Our experimentation with radiation is also only about a century old when we started finding the radioactive isotopes. Our experience of radiation started with bombing of Japan in WWII and then three accidents in nuclear reactors since then. With such minimal experience we are thinking to embark on having major part of our need of electricity with nuclear power plants, which is frightening.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods:

We have embarked on this without enough experience and we do not know how it may hurt us. We need to know its long term implications before it is allowed universally.

Hormone supported animal rearing:

Major part of our meat and chicken now comes from farms where hormones and unknown chemical feed stocks are used to fatten the birds and animals. These substances are consumed by us every day with our food.

Chemicals and fertilizers:

These are now major industries to provide us food. The chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides are ingested by us with our food on daily basis. Aside from that the chemicals produced in industries as by-products are disposed in water channels eventually consumed by humans through fish meals.

Possible ways to avoid damage to our health:

1. We should avoid excessive calories and carbohydrate to avoid diseases.
2. We all need to exercise regularly to keep fit, burn calories and avoid insulin resistance.
3. We need to make our own natural Vitamin D by exposing ourselves to sunlight for a few hours a day.
4. It is wrong to allow something in our food like GM foods, about which we do not know enough. We must discourage its use until we are sure.
5. Natural and synthetic chemicals are growing in number by millions. We should restrict use of unknown chemicals and of those known to hurt.
6. Radiation is a new issue from last century. We have accepted its use despite that we know it causes cancer. We need to have more information about it.
   

Should you allow your children to have silver amalgam?

Decide it yourselves, here are some pertinent facts.

In this article:

•  Why is this discussion important?
•  Why the controversy?
•  Who is right?
•  My take on this subject

Introduction:

Filling started by some French, who brought it to the USA in 1930s. The filling, which has been named “silver filling”, has almost always been more than half mercury alloy. As per Wikipedia  article within the first decade it was deprecated by the American society of dental Surgeons (ASDS) and was declared malpractice because of its mercury content, which was known to be harmful. In the past 30 years or so the controversy is because there are some resin composites are available to replace the old mercury filling but Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and American Dental Association (ADA) are not budging from their position of supporting silver mercury filling and not recommending the new resin compound. The controversy continues after 150 years, when many patients remains either ignorant or confused.

Why is it important to common citizens?

Population of the world is coming to nearly seven billion humans. Everyone has 32 teeth. Many of them get affected by caries. Many need root canals and dental filling. Depending upon available facilities to treat the patients there are an awful lot of people who will have filling in their lives. The filling normally stays in the tooth for the rest of the life. Mercury is known to emit vapors in people using chewing tobacco or gums or suffering from teeth grinding. The vapors are inhaled and are toxic to brain and kidney. Its placement in teeth is too close to brain and nerves for comfort to many and hence raising an outcry. It is also important to some extent that silver amalgam is durable, cheaper and easy and hence perhaps has FDA and ADA support.

Yet another issue is the disposal of mercury amalgam at its removal or death of person, which adds mercury load of sewerages and environment, which is a concern. Additionally there may be some other issues due to filling in patients, including allergies and immunotoxicity.

Who is right?

As per another Wikipedia article, there has been much review of literatures without any definitive conclusion, though it seems perhaps slightly leaning against the filling. The WHO reports  that mercury from amalgam accounts for 5% of total mercury emissions and that when combined with waste mercury from laboratory and medical devices represents 53% of total mercury emissions. Use of mercury dental amalgam has been banned in Scandinavian countries. Other countries are looking into restricting its use.  Many health problems are alleged to be caused by amalgam are chronic illnesses, oral lesions, birth defects, mental disorders, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and multiple sclerosis.  Some dentists feel so strongly that they advise removal of mercury filling, which is advised to be done as per protocol, which is elaborate and expensive.

Some people feeling strongly about the mercury amalgam have sued FDA. In response in 2009 the FDA’s Ass. Comm. Randall Lutter and Charlie Brown negotiated and, for the first time, the FDA issued this frank and serious warning about amalgam on their website: “Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.”

Dr Mercola is strong proponent of Consumers for Dental Choice founded by Charlie Brown, which are striving hard to take on FDA to ban mercury amalgam.

MY Take and Comments on the issue:

1. Despite the fact that silver mercury amalgam is used for over 150 years, there has not been any definitive study and adverse outcome. This does not mean though that three are not any risks.
2. I would personally not accept mercury amalgam to be used in my children or grand children because elf a long time that they have to live with it.
3. Almost a third to half of dental surgeons in USA has already stopped using mercury amalgam. But you need to ask to confirm. My Dental surgeon Dr Ayeez Lalji of Royal Dental   and of Anderson Dental Group  tells me that he has not been using mercury amalgam since 1992.
4. New composite resins are yet to be studies and its untoward effect, if any, needs to be brought to light.
5. I would not have my mercury filling removed and changed to new resins for myself because I feel I am past that age to have its benefits and that I have had its adverse effects by now, which has not been overtly many.
6. If there is any definitive indication of adverse effects of mercury amalgam, yes, I would have it removed or changed to resin.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MODERN LIVING

In the past two hundred years with Industrial revolution following the agricultural revolution, we are becoming indoor people. We work in offices, factories or homes. With availability of air-conditioning we have become too soft and cannot stand sun or heat. This has further reduced our exposure to sun. It is a matter of recent knowledge that Vit D is formed in skin when it is exposed to ultraviolet rays of sun light. We are inadvertently losing this nature’s bounty because of which we are being hurt by many diseases.

As we know more about Vitamin D, it is becoming more apparent that this is more than a simple vitamin that we did not care much about until recently. New found additional knowledge Vit D is changing our respect towards Vit D. However, at the same time the modern life style that we are pursuing is inadvertently causing us Vit D deficient or insufficient resulting in many health issues. Let us see how this has happened?

Vit D was the fourth vitamin accidentally found early last century, after discovery of Vit A, B and C and hence it was named fourth in the alphabetical list. Vitamins are defined as “vital chemicals needed to complete metabolic and chemical processes beneficial to the body functions” and hence they are called Vitamins. These are not made within our body and hence have to come with our intake of food.

Similar vital chemicals “produced in the body” are called hormones, like in thyroid gland, pituitary gland, parathyroid, adrenaline glands etc. It was not realized in early days that Vit D is also produced in the skin and it is also a hormone. It’s importance was not all that felt because it’s production in skin while it is exposed to sun light containing ultraviolet rays B (UV B) was almost given because our life styles until century almost made it necessary for almost everyone to remain exposed to sunlight for certain part of the day. And that was just enough to produce necessary quantity of Vit D for our body functions.

With Industrial revolution more and more people started working indoors and exposure to sunlight reduced. Additionally, with the advent if air conditioning, staying away from heat became a comfort and fashion causing people to became habituated to stay away from sun light and hence Vit D. Now we also know that UV B do not pass through glass and hence if we are sitting in air. It is estimated that we need about two hours exposure to mid-day sun to produce enough Vit D we need. In present day working in developed countries such a long exposure in hot sun has become either impossible or intolerable. Then the choice is to have Vit D supplements.conditioned space covered by glass windows, the skin is not exposed to the beneficial UV B and Vit D is not produced.

Vit D ids fat soluble. Fish is best source of Vit D. Eggs and beef also contains some Vit D. It is almost absent in vegetables. Vit D exists in two forms, I.e. Vit D2 and D3. Its daily need in body is minute and the presence of Vit D in blood is measured in ng/ml of blood. One nanogram is one billionth of a gram. Its deficiency was not all that common except in Rickets, hence health professionals did not attach all that much importance to it.

We need to take care of our Vit D levels because of following reasons:

• Because of more indoor living in air conditioned spaces, the Vit D deficiency seems to be on an increase.
• As our knowledge about many prevalent conditions like Diabetes, Obesity, cardiovascular and Heart diseases, Depression, Alzheimer’s and Cancers etc is increasing, there is more and more evidence available that this Hormone/  Vitamin works at cellular levels. It is directly or indirectly affecting several thousand genes of our body. Some workers even connect Vit D with Multiple Sclerosis, ADD and many other conditions.
• Our knowledge of minimum levels necessary of Vit D is also not firmly agreed upon by all the concerned pundits. For example recently in November 2010, Institute of Medicine (IOM) has almost doubled the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) to be taken as supplements because more number of Americans and Canadians seem to be Vit D deficient.
• Until recently, <19 ng/ml was considered to be deficiency, and 19 to 29 ng/ml was considered to be insufficient. Those who swear by this Vitamin insist that probably 50 to 70 ng/ml is a satisfactory level, with 50 as optimal.
• They also dispute strongly with the recent RDA from IOM and say that RDA should be 2000 to 5000 IU daily for an average person who does not get enough exposure to sunlight every day. And because our exposure to sun light and UV B is drastically reduced because of our newly adopted life style, it is estimated that a substantial majority of North American population is Vit D deficient.
• Yet another recent awareness is that if we live around equator, we get sun light at a better angle and if we are away in North or South latitudes on planet earth, our exposure to sun light is reduced and we need higher RDA.
• Another new understanding is that the angle at which these rays fall on skin is also important. That is, if we are exposed to sun in morning or evening the angle is too small for UV B to produce Vit D. If our skin is exposed to sun at or around mid day the angle is better to produce more Vit D.
• Yet another surprise revelation is that even mildest usage of sunscreen reduces the UV B penetration in skin and hence production of Vit D is small to none.

With all the above scientific facts that have emerged and that we know that we have adopted a different life style than what our ancestors used to live in sometime about a hundred years ago, it is a matter of God given common sense and wisdom that needs to be applied. A measure needs to be adopted to ensure that we maintain an optimal level of Vit D in our body by doing the following:

1.  Get ourselves tested for Vit D levels and try and keep it at above 50 ng/ ml.
2. Get the appropriate diet supplement to achieve the above.
3. It would be best to get enough exposure to sun light every day.

By taking those measures we can keep ourselves insulated from many diseases that are plaguing our citizens and incidence of such diseases is continuously becoming higher.

I THINK PREVENTION OF THESE IS POSSIBLE

This may sound too bold and profound but prevention of Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity and CAD seems to be definitely possible. If anyone has unfortunately contracted any of these “interconnected diseases”, its reversal is also distinctly possible, if we amend our ways of living and accept healthful life style. we need to listen to and follow those clinicians who are optimist and believe in this. Continue reading “Prevention of Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity and CAD” »

These and related diseases can be prevented by Healthy Living

Diabetes and Obesity has become epidemic everywhere. Along with these, Cardiovascular Diseases, Alzheimer and Cancer has also become more prevalent in last few decades. These are all a group of. diseases that has started devastating adverse effects on our life span, health and well being and quality of life. It is only logical to think that these conditions have been taking it’s root because of our indiscriminate acceptance of modern ways of living, which precludes us from enough Vit D, lack of exercise, high calorie diet rich in Carbohydrate and more so with Fructose and relative Omega 3 deficiency.

We need to agree to change our life styles without giving up the fruits of progress and modernization. May be some sacrifices have to be accepted for a better quality of life.

Let’s all work towards ensuring that we correct our ways of living and enjoy the modernization without it’s associated problems causing toll on our well being. This requires a conscious decision on part of all of us and a political will in leaders to accept the truth and logic and shun all doubtful vested interests in the better interests of public. First of all make the regulatory bodies have enough teeth to bite those who are hurting us in the name of progress and modernization and then get these agencies to accept truth and recommend the same to lay general public.

There is a lot of information out there. But much of it seem to be suppressed. Lay person does not know any better. He follows the consensus built up by the vested interests. Urgent help to lay public is needed and where necessary change in legislation needs to be adopted.