I've been talking a lot about vitamin D in the past few years.  New data suggests that inflammation is the culprit for the incredibly high incidence of deficiency of this nutrient.  Low levels of vitamin D have been correlated with high incidences of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, poorly functioning immune systems, and musculoskeletal disorders.

A new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 2 days after knee surgery serum levels of vitamin D dropped 40%, and that three months later levels were still 20-30% below presurgery levels.  These researchers showed that this directly correlated with acute inflammation after surgery.  Surprisingly, they also found that the study participants were deficient in vitamin D before the surgery--so deficient that they had secondary hyperparathyroidism!

More research is linking vitamin D to musculoskeletal disorders.  A recent study in Headache shows that headache increases with latitude and during seasons with shorter days.  They correlated this information with evidence that vitamin D has alleviated headaches in some studies to form a hypothesis that Vitamin D deficiency plays a key role in the development of headache in some people.

Another recent study from the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Care  found " a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in patients with non-specific musculoskeletal pain, headache, or fatigue."

Inflammation is likely at the root of many cases of vitamin D deficiency, and all chronic degenerative diseases.  If your D is low, get a test that compares Arachodonic Acid to EPA--this is a sensitive test for inflammation that compares omega-6's to 3's in your body.  If this ration is off it will deplete your vitamin D and erode your health.  For more info on omega-3's in health, search my website.

The moral of the story is, get your D tested!

A new study demonstrates the detriments of high-heat cooking.  The study compared the effects of 2 diets--one based on "mild steam cooking", and the other on "high-temperature cooking".  The following was observed after only one month:

In comparison with the mild-steam group, the high-heat group had;

Lower insulin sensitivity (the beginning of the type 2 diabetes process)

Lower blood levels of omega-3's (read my omega-3 paper)

Lower blood levels of vitamins C and E

Higher levels of triglycerides

This study demonstrates that in addition to the quality of ingredients that you buy, how you cook your food makes a HUGE difference.  The authors of the study blame the negative effects of high-heat cooking primarily on "MRP's", which are formed as carbohydrates and amino acids interact; "Upon heat treatment of foods, a characteristic browning and taste compounds are generated by the so-called Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is any reaction between a reducing carbohydrate and an amino acid and occurs in foods during storage and heat treatment, with the rate and diversity of chemical reactions accelerating as the temperature increases. Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are chemically highly diverse and comprise taste- and flavor-active molecules and health-beneficial compounds. In contrast, potent carcinogens are also generated, such as acrylamide or heterocyclic amines."

How do you know if you are producing MRP's?  If your food is browning as you cook it, you're creating them!  Consider having a baked potato or mashed potatoes instead of hash browns, chips, and french fries, consider steaming instead of frying your vegetables, and turn your toaster down so that your bread gets warm without turning brown.

Read the abstract of the study here.

A new study demonstrates that people with the highest levels of omega-3's have the lowest levels of inflammation in their bodies.  The authors were seeking to shed light on the powerful reduction in heart disease in people who use omega-3's.  They looked at two blood markers for inflammation, CRP and IL-6.  If you've read my article on Cholesterol you know that inflammation is the true culprit in heart disease and many other modern illnesses.  The authors found drastic reductions in CRP and IL-6 in people with the highest levels  of omega-3 in their blood.

The moral is: take your omega-3's!

Read the study here.

Psychological distress and depression are common in western countries during menopausal transition.  A new study supplemented menopausal women with moderate-to-severe psychological distress with 1.05 grams of EPA--an omega-3 found in fish oil (read more about EPA and fish oil here ).  The researchers found that after 8 weeks of supplementation, women with psychological distress significantly improved.  Women who had had Major Depressive Episodes, however, did not improve.

This is in-line with what I have seen clinically.  For "routine depression" low doses of omega-3's can work wonders.  The dosage in this study, 1.05 grams is low dose.  In his book The Omega-3 Connection, Harvard psychiatrist Stahl demonstrated great benefits treating people with bipolar disorder with a high dose of Omega-3's--10 grams per day.

If you suffer from depression consider trying a high dose of omega-3's.  You can read more on alternative treatments for depression here, and more on omega-3's here.  I have an excellent omega-3 product in my store.

Read the study here.

A new study shows that regular consumption of omega-3 fatty acids cuts the risk of macular degeneration in half!  The authors stated that of the 2170 people involved in the study, the people that ate oily fish on a weekly basis had half the risk of macular degeneration compared to those who did not consume oily fish weekly.

Remember that most Americans are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and that these fats play a role in mood, heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabletes, dementia, learning, and eye-health.  Read more about omega-3's in my article on the subject.   I sell an excellent omega-3 product in my store, check it out!

Read the study here.

Mothers-to-be can decrease their child's risk of asthma by simply taking fish oil.  In 1990 researchers gave one group of expecting mothers 2.7 grams of omega-3's from fish oil, and gave another group olive oil.  They began giving the oils when the mothers were at 30 weeks duration.  The children were then followed until they were 16 in 2006.  At that time, the rate of asthma was 63% less in the children of the mothers who took fish oil, and the rate of allergic asthma was 87% less!

Most American are deficient in omega-3's.  These beneficial fats form a large part of the structure of our brains and nervous system, benefit out cardiovascular system, our immune system, and are a potent anti-inflammatory.  It is crucial that we supply these necessary cellular component to children in the womb--fully 60% of the dry weight of an infant's brain should be omega-3 fat!  Read more on omega's in this Article, read more on developing a healthy immune system here.  Buy omega-3's for adults here, and for children here.

Read the study here.

I've written in the past about the traditional Chinese supplement, Chinese Red Yeast Rice.  A new study has shown that this natural remedy decreases the risk of "major coronary events" (ie. heart attacks) by 50%! 

The authors stated that "The decrease in these events found in the present study appears to exceed those reported with statin monotherapy in a similar trial of Western patients enrolled in the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events and other statin trials."  In other words, Chinese Red Yeast Rice works better than the statins.  High dose, purified fish oil (available in my store) also works better than statins.

If you are at risk for heart disease, talk to your holistic doctor about using fish oil and red yeast rice--it could save your life! 

Read about the study here. 

You can read more about Red Yeast Rice in my article on the topic—click here. 

You can read more about fish oil and heart disease here.  

Read more on the side effects/down side of statins on my cholesterol page here. 

There has been a huge body of research in the past decade as to the relationship between the circulatory system and depression.  Here's what we know:

• There is a strong relationship between heart disease and depression.
• Inflammation is strongly related to depression.
• Many supplements that are good for circulation/inflammation are also helpful with depression, especially fish oil.

There are two reasons that come to mind for these relationships:

1. A poor circulatory system causes poor blood flow to the brain and more "silent infarcts".  It is actually considered normal now to have many small areas of dead brain tissue on MRI!  I have had several patients bring in brain MRI's showing these multiple infarcts with the explanation "my doctor said it is normal with aging."  The only reason its considered normal is that it happens to most Americans.  This line of reasoning could leave one to believe that being fat, having heart disease, and being depressed is "normal".  When your brain is less active, it becomes less effective at inhibiting, or "turning down" your sympathetic, or "fight or flight" system.  This can lead to chronic stress and depression.
2. A poorly functioning circulatory system and inflammation go hand in hand.  For regular readers, you know that the root of heart disease is inflammation, not cholesterol, and that fish oil (a potent anti-inflammatory) is helpful in the treatment of virtually all degenerative disease (read my article on omega-3's ).  Inflammatory chemicals have receptors in your brain that promote "sickness behavior"--this means lying in bed and being generally cranky.  This occurs so that if you have an injury that is undergoing an inflammatory process you'll engage in behaviors that help you to heal.  With chronic inflammation, however, the end-result is depression.

So here's what you can do with this information:

• Learn to avoid inflammatory foods and use a high dose fish oil like the one in my store (read more on how and why here).
• Exercise--putting demand on your system is necessary to improve your circulatory system--read more on my exercise page.
  
• Use potent brain antioxidants--read my Antioxidant article to find out how to do this safely.
• See your chiropractor--chiropractic adjustments affect your nervous system to produce balance.  It has been show that chiropractic can reduce inflammatory chemicals in your body, reduce blood pressure, and promote balance in your brain.

A new paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that data on antidepressants was grossly manipulated.  The researchers tracked all the studies, published and unpublished, on antidepressants such as prozac and paxil, to find out if outcomes affected publication. 

Prior to this new paper, it appeared that antidepressants held significant advantages over placebo treatments.  It was found however, that 86% of the studies that were negative were never published!  This is contrasted with 94% of the positive studies being published!  The researchers found that when all the results were accounted for, the drugs only held a slight benefit over placebo.

Recall the Marcia Angel, the former editor in chief at the New England Journal of Medicine quit her job and wrote a disturbing book about how drug companies misrepresent the efficacy of their products—the book is called The Truth About the Drug Companies, and I highly recommend you read it!

Here’s what you do with this data:  Remember that for some people antidepressants are effective—the problem is that this population is probably only about 10% of those currently taking them.  Also remember these things:

·        5-HTP, an amino acid precursor to serotonin is very effective for many people, without the side effects of the drug.  It’s available in my store.

·        Exercise is very important in overcoming depression.  The parts of your brain that make serotonin and dopamine (whose balance is essential for healthy mood) receive a great deal of input from you cerebellum—the part of your brain that processes movement.  Regular exercise “fires up” the cerebellum, and the cerebellum in turn helps stimulate healthy levels of serotonin and dopamine.

·        Omega 3’s are essential for healthy brain chemistry—read more in the omega-3 article.  An excellent omega-3 product is available in my store.

·        Stress reduction is vitally important in overcoming and preventing depression—visit my stress reduction page for techniques, inspiration, and information.

Last, if you would like to read a scary book about side-effects of antidepressants written by a Harvard psychiatrist, check out Glenmullen’s Prozac Backlash.

Link to the study here. 

Link to a write up in the New York Times here. 

Another study touts the benefits of pregnant mothers supplementing with omega-3’s.  The study compared the cognitive abilities of children whose mothers either did or did not supplement with omega-3’s while pregnant.  At 9 months of age, the children whose mother’s supplemented with omega-3’s were much better problem solvers than the children whose mothers did not.

Remember that the dry weight of a healthy newborn’s brain is 60% DHA—an omega-3 fatty acid.  Most mothers are deficient in omega-3’s, and their babies’ brains are at a disadvantage before they are even born.  In addition, the mother is further depleted of her omega-3’s by the time the baby is born—a circumstance that may play a role in post-partum depression.

Read more about omega-3’s here.   Purchase an excellent omega-3 product here.

Read the study here.