Alzheimer’s, dementia, common medications increase risk

 SUMMARY:  Alzheimer’s, dementia, common medications increase risk; many medications have anticholinergic effects.  Three most commonly used in elderly were associated with irreversible brain impact (dementia and Alzheimer’s) and despite knowledge of the need for reducing such use, 3/4 of the study cohort had been prescribed at least one (antihistamine, acid reducers, antidepressant…).

UPDATE:  This post addresses the adverse cognitive impact in the elderly of common drugs due to anticholinergic effects.  There is however another mechanism for dementia and Alzheimer’s.  The later post, HEARTBURN DRUGS, DEMENTIA, ALZHEIMER’S RISK FOR ALL? T2D, IS IT THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE!?! addresses this other mechanism for dementia and Alzheimer’s  for common heartburn drugs (microbiome skew and B12 (and other) nutrient depletion) for proton pump inhibitors (PPIS) and Histamine H2 antagonists (H2RAs) . 

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Whole foods & Salt: How much, autoimmunity, microbiome, blood pressure, probiotic & iodine?

SUMMARY:  This post is all about the salt controversy and discusses Salt: How much, Autoimmunity, Microbiome, Blood Pressure, Probiotic & Iodine Deficiency.   In sum, studies now show salt limits that are within a moderate salt consumption range (providing between 2,645 to 4,945 mg sodium per day), reduces the risk of death or a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke and below or above these limits has increased risk of such.  Note: Salt intake is not the same as sodium intake. About 6 gms of salt provides 2,500 milligrams of sodium.  Studies now show autoimmunity associations with ordinary table salt through Th17 releasing up to 10x more cytokines when exposed to refined salt. Relative to microbiome and blood pressure, [Wilck et al 2017] found that salt decimates lactobacilli in the microbiome (lactic acid bacteria which influences immune cells responsible for autoimmunity and hypertension), increased blood pressure, and increased the number of TH17 helper cells.  Ingestion of a probiotic lactobacilli mitigated the TH17 increase and decreased the BP.  Last, some groups have borderline iodine deficiency whereas other groups are high (children).  Also included is how much salt do we really eat and a heads up:  Those eating a Whole Foods diet may not be getting enough salt to be in that optimal bell curve range (between 2.645 to 4,945 mg sodium per day) because they don’t consume processed foods, which is where most of the salt Americans ingest comes from (not to mention those also contain other gut harming food-like substances).

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IBS: FODMAPS, Stomach Microbiome, Rifaximin Antibiotic Treatment, seriously?!?

SUMMARY:  Learn impact of FODMAPS, Stomach Microbiome, Rifaximin…  FODMAPS Diet helps over 70% of IBS likely because long term diet changes the microbiome in the stomach & gut.  FODMAPS isn’t a life long diet; you reintroduce & learn your individual dosing limits.  
Many now realize the need, if not necessity, to transition to a whole foods diet.  

Foods from restaurants or cafeterias, prepared foods (even at sites considered healthy such as Whole Foods), and the obvious boxed foods make it tough for consumers to avoid caloric dense non nutritive foods with industrial seed oils and added chemicals, pesticides, and GMOs.  The diet — health connection is becoming apparent; many suffering chronic disease(s) are trying to change diet and lifestyle to improve health and wellness.  Eating whole foods can be daunting but the safest bet is making it yourself and to do so in quantity so as to make this lifestyle change sustainable:

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Dr. Rob Knight updates: IBD microbiome skew & San Diego move

SUMMARY:  Dr. Rob Knight updates: IBD microbiome skew and his San Diego move including the American Gut Project!

I follow a lot of microbiome researchers (see the page USEFUL MICROBIOME LINKS, The Labs section).

The Knight Lab (University of Colorado Boulder) is a personal favorite;  Knight is a frequently cited Google Scholar Alert as he is a leading expert on microbiomes and bioinformatics.  This page links to their research publications as does this page.

Dr. Rob Knight, recently left University of Colorado, Boulder to join the UC San Diego School of Medicine.  With this move, microbiome research very well may be accelerated beyond the breakneck speed it is now.

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It’s EASY to Soak and Dehydrate Nuts

WHY YOU WANT TO SOAK AND DEHYDRATE NUTS: 

Soaking and dehydrating nuts is EASY and it makes them more digestible since anti-nutrients are neutralized and enzyme inhibitors are eliminated.  If you are like many of my clients, you have no clue what the significance is of what I just said.  So another way of saying this is, unless you soak nuts, you will block mineral uptake, and this totally defeats the purpose of trying to eat nuts for nutrient density.

A surprising plus of proper nut preparation is that the process takes out the bitterness in taste making nuts taste incredibly sweet and delicious, which is what they are supposed to taste like.  I’d soak and dehydrate nuts solely for this culinary taste improvement truth be told.  Clients do too after they sample them.  I am always amazed to see what the filtered water looks like after a soak.  Someday I’ll do a lab analysis, and we’ll learn what actually is in that yuck.  One thing I do know, nuts blow up in size by the end of the soaking period leaving no doubt that they have absorbed the salt soaking medium:

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Colon Cancer, Biofilm, Bacteria, Probiotics Role

SUMMARY: New Colon Cancer, Biofilm, Bacteria, Probiotics ROLE in Colon Cancer findings out of John Hopkins: biofilms are present in 89% of tumors (13/15 cancers & 4/4 polyps) removed from right ascending colon, but only in 12% of tumors on the left side (2/15 cancers and 0 polyps).

Most colorectal cancers are known to develop slowly, over five to 10 years, “and it’s a disease that’s curable if you diagnose it early,”  says Cynthia L. Sears, M.D., professor of medicine and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Well…  therein lies the rub as the gold standard test,  colonoscopy, many do not do.  Additionally, as discussed in the post,  YOUNG ADULT NEWLY DIAGNOSED COLON & RECTAL CANCER DOUBLES BY 2030,” there is an alarming increase in colon cancer among the young who typically do not have colonoscopy.  

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How-To Dehydrate Apples & Preserve the Enzymes, EASY

SUMMARY:   Learn Why and HOW to  dehydrate apples and preserve the enzymes!  Spoiler alert:  Properly dehydrating apples at a low temperature preserves maximum nutritional density and natural live enzymes since you can use organic apples picked seasonally and locally at their peak of ripeness, and the internal temperature of the fruit stays below 118F which maintains active enzymes!  The total dehydration time for this recipe is about 12 hours!

How to Dehydrate Apples to Preserve Live Enzymes

My directions incorporate the Excalibur-9-Tray-Digital-Controller-Dehydrator-76970-User-Manual.pdf, Raw and Living Food Guidelines, Excalibur Dehydration Guide. This manual explains that nutritional value AND enzymes are preserved if the INTERNAL temperature of the fruit is kept UNDER 118°F/48°C: 

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Roundup in our food glyphosate and disease: autism, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, gmo, intestinal gut…

SUMMARY:  Roundup on your yard means runoff in your garden, from you or your neighbors use.  It’s ubiquitous in the restaurant and grocery food chain hidden in ingredients: corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed oil, and meat from alfalfa-corn-soy eating animals and their other byproducts. It’s found in our urine and breast-milk and cattle’s tissues: intestine, liver, muscle, spleen, kidney, and bone .  

What’s the harm of eating ubiquitous glyphosate?  Dr. Stephanie Seneff asserts that the glyphosate and disease link is: autism,  diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and the gmo intestinal gut having related    digestive system disorders leading to disease… In simpleton, glyphosate exposure impairs detox pathways through the microbiome including the liver’s P450 enzymes. Toxins taken onboard are not sufficiently eliminated from the body. Gyphosate kills beneficial gut bacteria allowing pathogens to grow; it interferes with the synthesis of amino acids including methionine which leads to shortages in critical neurotransmitters and folate; it chelates (removes) important minerals like iron, cobalt, manganese, and much more. 

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A professional autism dietary intervention program.

Summary:  It is time to share what a successful professional autism dietary intervention program can look like for autism management.

“Special Diets and Nutrition For Autism: Why They’re Cost Effective,” is such an interesting read from Judy Converse MPH RD LD, a registered dietitian since 1989, who then self taught herself, beginning in 1996, diet impact for her son’s growth, feeding, and developmental challenges at birth.   She then expanded training to learn biomedical intervention for autism, becoming a DAN practitioner, and ultimately provided instruction in nutrition for Autism Research Institute, US Autism and Aspergers Assocation, National Autism Association, and many others. She has lectured for many local and national audiences about the profound impact nutrition and a healthy gut have on the developing brain as well as authoring three books and created the first web-interface accredited learning module for health care providers on nutrition and autism in 2007.

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Avg numbers and kinds of microorganisms consumed in a day

SUMMARY:  Surprisingly, only a narrow range of microbes has been researched to date, mainly microbes involving disease or probiotic types.  Little is known regarding what microbes actually exist in our food, their quantities, or even how much they vary for the differing diets (or even meal to meal for that matter!)   This study estimated the total numbers and kinds of microorganisms consumed in a day by an average American adult for three differing diets: Average American Diet, USDA, and Vegan.

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