Found a fantastic new Health website

[FarmerD]

By lucky chance I stumbled across an absolutely fascinating health website/blog.  If you've followed any of health threads on here you will like this website.  I consider myself well read on health/diet topics but I found nearly every article jam packed with tons of information I didn't know or didn't fully understand.  I forwarded the weblink below to a couple medical professionals I know and they were absolutely floored.  Most of the articles deal with how gut bacteria affect nearly every chronic health issue we have.   

In particular, read the series of articles he's got on the right hand of his website where he covers several health issues in a series of rather lengthy article posts.  These include:

Food series
GERD series
Heart disease series
Insomnia series
SIBO series
Weight loss series

http://syontix.com/

BTW the company listed on the website is no more but the blog writer is continuing to write as a public service.

[WiseOne]

Ummm....

There are lots of "fascinating" websites like this.  They're hawking a product that may or may not work as advertised.  Buyer beware.

Not to say that all such claims are false, just that you should do your own research.  We all have a tendency to believe things just because we see them in print, or in fancy color diagrams.

[FarmerD]

Ummm....

There are lots of "fascinating" websites like this.  They're hawking a product that may or may not work as advertised.  Buyer beware.

Not to say that all such claims are false, just that you should do your own research.  We all have a tendency to believe things just because we see them in print, or in fancy color diagrams.

WiseOne,
I fully realize many websites out there are just pushing a product.  But I'm enough of a skeptic to know bullsh$t when I see it.  This website isn't and I can tell from your response that you haven't read any of the articles.  I posted part of Ray Medina's Heart Disease Part 1 from his website below.  Please take a minute of your time and read the excerpt below then tell if it's BS>

"However, this isn’t all that’s found in foam cells. Bacteria is also consistently present within these structures and I believe they are the primary reason these cells are formed. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common cause of pneumonia worldwide and is often found as a constituent of arterial plaque. I’m sure most of you wouldn’t be shocked to find out that this particular pathogen belongs to the gram-negative bacteria family. However, you may be surprised to learn that a previous bout of pneumonia is a risk factor for a heart attack. (6) Now you know why.

Another bacteria detected in arterial plaque is Streptococus mutans, the major pathogen responsible for dental plaque and a leading cause of tooth decay. (7) There is a well-known, long-standing association between tooth and gum disease, and cardiovascular disease risk, especially in men under 50. (8)

As an aside, I’m quite familiar with this particular pathogen as I used to suffer from some serious dental plaque. Flossing or using a Sonicare® toothbrush twice daily did nothing to curb it. I had to get my teeth cleaned every four months or risk the ire of my dental hygienist who allotted an hour and a half to chisel away at the stuff. This problem is now gone since I gave up eating wheat. Apparently, not only do gluten grains have a negative impact on gut flora, they also have a negative impact on oral microbiota. Is it any wonder legions of parents are shuttling their kids to the dentist and orthodontist? I’m surprised these dental professionals don’t advertise on bread wrappers.

Other bacteria found in arterial plaque include Klebsiella pneumoniae, Chryseomonas and Veillonella (9); however, up to 50 different types of bacteria have been discovered in foam cells. Symptoms of a heart attack also closely mimic an infection. When the plaque ruptures, spilling its bacterial contents into the arterial bloodstream, it is very common for those afflicted to experience a fever resulting in chills and sweat.

Where does this bacteria come from? Well, in the case of bacteria from the respiratory tract and mouth, some enters the bloodstream directly through the gums. But I suspect a good portion is swallowed in saliva. If it isn’t killed by stomach acid—a very likely possibility in the age of binge drinking, antacids and proton-pump inhibitors as I covered in this post on gastric-barrier dysfunction—then it reaches the small intestine where in the presence of depleted beneficial gut flora populations, it takes up residence. Add in increased intestinal permeability caused by diet, drugs, alcohol, chronic stress, and the gut dysbiosis itself, and the stage is set for the inflammatory cascade that eventually results in vascular disease.

This is the most likely reason cigarette smoking and binge drinking are high-risk factors for heart disease. Cigarette and alcohol are extremely disruptive to the upper respiratory and oral microbiota which is why those who smoke and drink have 15 times the risk of developing oral cancer. Oral cancer kills more people than cancers of the cervix, ovary, testes, brain, liver, kidney, Hodgkin’s lymphoma or malignant melanoma. Bottoms up Don Draper! Those who binge drink and smoke make up 80% of the people who get oral cancer. (10)

A number of studies have found elevated levels of bacterial pathogens in the mouths of smokers and heavy drinkers: Streptococci, Prevotella, Veillonella, Porphyromonas and Capnocytophaga. If you think these bacteria don’t travel down the throat in saliva, colonize the gut, and enter systemic circulation via a compromised gut wall, I have a lovely brick bridge I’d like to sell you located in New York.

However, as many of you already know, swallowing pathogens isn’t the only way to get small intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO). Migration of gram-negative bacteria from the colon into the intestine due to impaired motility is the number-one reason bacteria take up residence in the small bowel. Hence the reason constipation, SIBO, IBS, IBD, Crohn’s, etc. should be of more than passing interest when it comes to the risk of developing future cardiovascular disease."

[FarmerD]

In case anyone is interested, here's a great primer on impaired gut function and weight control


http://syontix.com/how-gut-dysbiosis-im ... -appetite/

[WiseOne]

It's your money FarmerD, and you are free to spend it how you please.

I just hope you aren't doing it because of that long string of disconnected facts.  It's a nice theory, but only a theory and not a terribly well supported one at that.  (I respectfully suggest that diet might be doing most of the heavy lifting here.)  Noted though that probiotics are fairly cheap and they're generally helpful for more mundane things.

Also I took a look at the purported study from Iran.  It's a study that should never have been published, because it got its "statistical significance" from multiple comparisons with a healthy dose of a reversion to the mean effect.  To understand how multiple comparisons work, try googling "green jelly beans cause acne" and "fMRI dead Atlantic salmon".  Two very nice demonstrations of the effect.  The latter is my favorite:  a perfectly legitimate fMRI study of visual responses in a dead fish.

With that in mind, I now need to go finish a review of a submitted journal article that badly needs rejecting.

[Reub]

WiseOne I wish that you would share with us your feelings on prediabetes which effects tens of millions of individuals. What should one do if they have slightly elevated fasting blood sugar...lets say 105 to 119? Is a very low carb diet required? Low carb? Atkins? Intermittent fasting? Supplements? Unmodified potato starch? What type of exercise? Thank you in advance!

[Benko]

Farmer,

I ran across that awhile back and it had some really good info on SIBo (small bowel bacterial overgrowth).

Reub,

You are asking very reasonable and practical questions.  Don't know that anyone has definitive answers. 

I would be surprised if the majority of alternative minded practitioners (i.e. MDs, NDs, etc) know of potato starch at this point.  And regular doctors?

[WiseOne]

Not sure my feelings on that are any different from anyone else's.  The standard advice is probably a good place to start: limit intake of sugar & simple carbs, and increase cardiovascular exercise (like, bike to work!).  After that it would be helpful to know things like body mass index, family history, medications including over the counter supplements, other health issues.  Losing weight if you are overweight is always good advice for example - that "cures" type 2 diabetes in many cases.

if you have a strong family history of diabetes then I'd be extra vigilant and maybe think about getting a home blood glucose monitor and do a few rounds of 4x/day checks, and get a Hgba1c test.  And pay attention to other features of "metabolic syndrome" like high blood pressure and abdominal fat.  That said, most people with borderline high glucose levels never go on to develop diabetes, so don't drive yourself crazy with it.

There are some ideas floating around like occasional fasts, chia seeds etc, but that might not work if you're not a SW native american (there's some evidence that their epidemic of diabetes can be attributed to losing their traditional diet patterns).

[Reub]

Now that I have my homocysteine and CRP under control due to methylated B vitamins and anti-oxidants, I am focusing on my somewhat elevated fasting blood sugar. My morning fasting b.s. has varied between 105 and 119. During the day 1 hour after eating it seems to hold at between 105 and 110. 2 hours after eating its still in the same range. It stays in that range most of the time as far as I know.

So why the elevated fasting glucose number and numbers mostly in the 100's? I've asked MachineGhost, a fantastic resource, and he has recommended berberine to me (supposedly works similar to metformin and is a natural herb with excellent results) and I just started using it. Examine.com rates it highly. I have had a few readings since starting berberine a few days ago in the 98 range, but still mostly 105-110.

MachineGhost also has recommended unmodified potato starch and chromium however I haven't been using them as I want to see what berberine does. He also says that carbs should remain in the 30% range as less than that is unhealthy and will cause the body to consume muscle. I have been exercising more recently and eating a little bit less (5ft11, 185lbs, 57 yrs old). I find it next to impossible to lose weight.

FarmerD, sorry to hijack your thread.

[stuper1]

Reub,

What kind of exercise do you do?  Is it just aerobic stuff (walking, etc.), or do you do some strength training also?  A lot of advice seems to focus on aerobic exercise, but if you supplement that with some strength training two to three times a week, you will feel years younger and also lose weight easier.  A great book is "Strength Training Over 50" by Caivano.  It's all easy stuff that you can do at home with a few dumbbells and your own body weight.

[ns3]

..... deleting drunk posting not worthy or your time and consideration (well, maybe a little - all things considered).

[FarmerD]

Farmer,

I ran across that awhile back and it had some really good info on SIBo (small bowel bacterial overgrowth).

Reub,

You are asking very reasonable and practical questions.  Don't know that anyone has definitive answers. 

I would be surprised if the majority of alternative minded practitioners (i.e. MDs, NDs, etc) know of potato starch at this point.  And regular doctors?

The Perfect Health Diet Book has a chapter on "The Infectious Origin of Disease" where the Jaminets briefly discuss this topic which I found very interesting.  This theory has been around awhile but most medical authorities treat it some sort of alternative medicine nonsense.  However, now with explosion of interest in gut biota, resistant starch, and unmodified potato starch on various blogs, people are starting to come around to the idea.  And nobody does a better job of explaining the concept than Ray Medina on the website I listed. 

[FarmerD]

It's your money FarmerD, and you are free to spend it how you please.

I haven't spent a penny on any of the products listed on his website nor will I ever.  I have no need to purchase probiotics of any kind since I eat some lacto-fermented foods virtually every day (homemade sauerkraut, kvass, kimchi, yoghurt, pickles, jalapenos, etc).  Still, I find his articles fascinating and highly informative. 

I have added some unmodified potato starch along with some inulin to my normal Paleo diet and will post if I have any noticeable changes in my blood chemistry when I test again in 4 months or so.