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March 1998 Newsletter
Detox To Fight Disease
From simple water fasts to hydrotherapy or dietary modifications, detoxification
has long been a therapeutic method of treating disease.
Variable susceptibility to cancer and other diseases is associated,
in part, with the individual's ability to detoxify various precarcinogens
and other foreign compounds. Therefore, it is not only the level of
toxins in the environment but the individual's response that is significant.
New research suggests that the inability of the body to adequately
transform toxins may be the determining factor in contracting various
puzzling diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and
multiple chemical sensitivities.
The process of converting toxic substances to nontoxic metabolites
that are then excreted is a function most significantly of the liver.
Over the past 10 years, extensive research has shown that sluggish,
imbalanced, or impaired detoxification systems can cause accumulation
and deposition of toxins, impairing the energy production of cells and
increasing free-radical production.
Current research on the etiology of chronic fatigue immunodeficiency
syndrome (CFIDS) suggests there may be a relationship between impaired
detoxification pathways and that CFIDS may be a result of toxic exposure.
Correction of these imbalances and deficiencies offers significant benefit
in alleviating some patients' symptoms. A recent trial, using nutritional
modulation to support detoxifying pathways in conjunction with a food
elimination diet, resulted in significant improvement.
Connections with Alzheimer's and other motor neuron diseases have also
been linked to an impaired detoxification system.
Certain nutrients appear to be especially important for detoxification.
Particular enzymes are important in the promotion of associated detoxification
pathways.
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) has been shown to have significant ability to
enhance detoxification. It can act as a precursor to glutathione and
sulfate, which are both important molecules in conjugation reactions.
NAC is a more stable form of the amino acid cysteine and is generally
considered more bioavailable and more cost effective than the tripeptide
glutathione, which is composed of cysteine, glycine, and glutamine.
The common spice Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been shown to increase
glutathione-s-transferase and UDP glucuronyl transferase, two enzymes
important for detoxification.
Cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts,
and cauliflower contain a class of sulfur compounds called glucosinolates.
These compounds have been the subject of intensive research over the
past 10 years because evidence suggests they have chemoprotective qualities.
Their mechanism of action may be due in part to the activation of important
detoxifying enzymes.
A variety of vitamins and minerals are important as cofactors in the
various steps of detoxification. Nutrient deficiencies of vitamins C,
A, E, B2, calcium, copper, zinc, and magnesium can decrease enzyme activity.
Reference: http://www.newhope.com/nsn, October 1996.
Manic/Depressive Disorder And Choline
Bipolar disorder, or manic/depressive disorder as it is sometimes called,
is often treated with lithium. Researchers from Harvard Bipolar Research
Program at Harvard Medical School suggest that choline, used in combination,
may improve the effectiveness of lithium.
Dr. Andrew L. Stoll and fellow researchers gave six lithium-treated bipolar
disorder patients a daily dose of 3-8 grams of choline, a B vitamin-like
compound.
"The results of this case series suggest that oral choline in combination
with lithium is an effective therapy for some patients with . . . bipolar
disorder. Five of the six patients experienced clinically significant
antimanic responses to choline therapy." Choline's effect on the depressive
symptoms was more variable. Some patients continued to experience depression,
while others reported a complete resolution of their depression.
Dr. Stoll points out that since both the patients and the researchers
knew when choline supplements were taken, there is a risk that bias influenced
the results of this study. However, there are several theoretical mechanisms
by which choline could alleviate symptoms of bipolar disorder. Further
research is needed to confirm choline's role in this mental disorder and
clarify how it works.
Reference: Biological Psychiatry, 1996;40:382-8.
Easing Into Exercise With Vitamin E
Vitamin E may help prevent muscle soreness in people unaccustomed to
vigorous exercise, according to a recent report. William J. Evans, Ph.D.,
professor of applied physiology and director of the Noll Physiological
Research Center at Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA,
found that Vitamin E supplements greatly improve the body's response to
muscle injury.
After vigorous exercise, muscles develop microscopic tears and show an
increase in the production of oxygen free radicals. The damage may continue
for days after exercise. The body responds by trying to heal these tears.
Evans found that vitamin E improved the healing process by increasing
the mobilization of immune cells to damaged muscle cells and reducing
the production of oxygen free radicals.
While Evans' study focused on older, active people, he stated that younger,
occasional exercisers would also benefit from antioxidant supplements.
The endurance athlete, whose metabolism is well developed, would not benefit
from additional antioxidants, according to Evans.
Reference: Internal Medicine News, July 13, 1996.
Great News For Multivitamins
A recent study demonstrated that long-term consumption of multivitamins
may cut in half the risk of colon cancer.
Study results published in the Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
showed that there was a significant relationship between multivitamin
use and supplemental use of vitamins A, C, E, folic acid, and calcium,
and lower rates of colon cancer.
The study was conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
in Seattle, WA and involved 444 men and women aged 30 to 62 who had been
diagnosed with colon cancer, and 427 control individuals.
Prior studies, as well as this one, clearly support an effect of vitamin
supplements on the reduction of colon cancer risk, but are limited in
their ability to identify the specific nutrient that may be responsible
for this action. Likewise, intakes of antioxidant-containing fruits and
vegetables are associated with lower rates of colon cancer, although such
effects have not been attributed specifically to these vitamins, and may
be from some other component in these foods.
The study's authors recommended that clinical trials be undertaken to
verify their findings. They added, "If supplements prove to reduce cancer
risk, increasing intake of micronutrients by use of vitamin supplements
rather than food may be an attractive public health strategy."
Reference: Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, October
1997.
Aging Arthritic Joints
Many people develop arthritic joints as they age. The conventional treatments
such as aspirin or ibuprofen relieve acute symptoms but do not heal the
disease or even slow its progression. In fact, with the exception of glucosamine
sulfate supplements, there are no drugs or natural medicines that have
demonstrated favorable long-term effects on osteoarthritis.
Now, researchers at Tufts University Medical School in Medford, MA, present
a revolutionary finding: Diets that include vitamin D and vitamin C seem
to retard osteoarthritis of the knee.
More than 500 men and women who participated in the Framingham Heart
Study in Framingham, MA had knee x-rays checked for arthritis in the early
1980s and then again eight years later. Vitamin D blood levels and a diet
history were taken midway through this period.
The results suggest a powerful role of nutrition in predicting the progress
of osteoarthritis. People in the top third for vitamin D intake experienced
the least amount of disease progression after eight years. Those in the
middle third were three times more likely, and those in the bottom third
four times more likely to have worsening arthritis. In a separate study,
the same research group found that high vitamin C intake also predicted
less disease progression.
This study is important for three reasons. First, it emphasizes that
people in the northern U. S. and Canada, where gray winter skies are common,
are vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. The body needs exposure to sunshine
to make vitamin D. Second, for this same reason, vitamin D deficiency
is especially common among homebound elderly people who can spend an entire
winter without encountering sunlight.
Third and even more important, unlike current medicines, vitamin D and
vitamin C don't just mask osteoarthritis symptoms—they appear to
restrain the disease process itself. If vitamin D and vitamin C are effective,
what about other nutrients known to be involved in bone and cartilage
metabolism such as vitamin E, boron, niacinamide, magnesium, and zinc?
Preliminary research suggests that these also might have a role in blocking
arthritis.
Supplementing vitamin D is easy since there is rarely a need to go beyond
the 400 IU of vitamin D in most standard multivitamin and mineral supplements.
People with arthritis should discuss the Tufts research with their doctors.
Even if physicians don't "believe" in nutrition, their patients can help
them learn about good nutrition research.
References: D'Ambrosio, E. "Glucosamine sulfate: A controlled clinical
investigation in osteoarthrosis," Pharmatherapeutica, 2:504-8, 1991. McAlindon,
T. "Relation of dietary intake and serum levels of vitamin D to progression
of osteoarthritis of the knee among participants in the Framingham study,
"Annals of Internal Medicine, 125:353-9, 1996.
Dieting And Chromium Picolinate
Research conducted in the U.K. is suggesting that vitamin E may cure
a significant amount of male infertility cases. As published in the October
issue of Fertility and Sterility, the research showed that consuming 600
mg per day of vitamin E dramatically improved the function of human sperm.
Because spermatozoal disfunction is the most common cause of infertility
among men, the authors of the study believe that vitamin E could be an
easy and inexpensive means to treat this condition.
The Sheffield study was prompted by information provided by a U.S. prospective
study of 139 couples in which it was found that men generating high levels
of reactive oxygen species had seven times less of a chance of conceiving,
versus men with low levels of reactive oxygen species. The U.K. study
is the first double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial administering
vitamin E in vivo to treat men with reactive oxygen species-related infertility.
Approximately 20% of all male infertility cases are associated with reactive
oxygen species.
Reference: Fertility and Sterility; October, 1996.
You Say Tomato
Although recently the star carotenoid has been beta-carotene, at the
11th International Symposium on Carotenoids, held at Leiden University
in the Netherlands in August, 1996, another carotenoid—lycopene,
an antioxidant found abundantly in tomatoes, has begun to shine.
A total of 24 studies investigating the potential health benefits of
lycopene were presented at the international conference. Among the most
interesting were those demonstrating lycopene's cancer-inhibiting capabilities.
They include two studies performed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University
and Soroka Medical Center in Israel who explored lycopene's protective
effects against breast and endometrial cancers. The other study demonstrated
that lycopene not only helped to prevent tumors from starting, but also
reduced progression in those tumors that did occur.
Regarding cervical cancer, a study performed at the University of Illinois
at Chicago found that women with the highest blood levels of lycopene
were five times less likely to develop precancerous signs of cervical
cancer than those with the lowest blood levels of lycopene.
Since lycopene is not destroyed in cooking or canning, tomatoes' many
different forms—paste, sauce, and juice—offer the same health
benefits as raw tomatoes. Other food sources of lycopene include watermelon,
red peppers, pink grapefruit, and apricots.
In addition to lycopene, an average tomato provides: about 30 calories;
a dose of vitamins A, B-complex, and C; the minerals iron and potassium;
and alpha-and beta-carotenes.
Reference: Sharoni, Yoav, et al., "Lycopene, Inhibits Cancer Cells,"
Oral Presentation, 11th International Symposium on Carotenoids, Leiden
University, the Netherlands, August 1996.
Sweet red peppers often cost two times more than green ones, but they
might be worth it. Red bell peppers contain nine times as much vitamin
A as green peppers do. Vitamin A is a disease-fighter known to speed the
healing of wounds. Also, red peppers have more than double the vitamin
C of their green cousins.
Reference: Men's Health, April, 1996
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