CURE FOR LEUKEMIA

"LEUKEMIA"


“If I only knew”…huh! I may say that truly,” And pagsisisi ay laging sa huli”. (Repentance always the latter)
I remember when my beloved mom was diagnosed with “Chronic Leukemia”, it was in 1993. It was discovered by accident, while working as a right hand nurse in an ophthalmology clinic own by our relative. She doesn’t know that she is seriously sick, but rather thinking that she is just anemic. But, one doctor saw her and said, “Tita Gene (aunt Gene) , why don’t you drop by my laboratory and let your blood examined because you look so pale”.

So, she visited and was stunned when the result came. She couldn’t believe it. The following day, she immediately showed it to my uncle ophthalmologist ( the owner of the clinic).  But, after my uncle checked the result, he suggested to my mother  to return to the laboratory to double check it again; thinking it might be a mistake. But, it turned out the same… so, to cut the story short. She underwent treatment for “chronic leukemia”, but by medication only (leukeran- poison for white blood cells) because she refused to have bone marrow biopsy and eventually, bone marrow transplant as suggested by her oncologist. Since she is a nurse, she understand the pain and ordeal of that procedure, hence she opposed.

“But what is the meaning of leukemia? The word Leukemia comes from the Greek leukos which means "white" and aimawhich means "blood". It is cancer of the blood or bone marrow (which produces blood cells). A person who has leukemia suffers from an abnormal production of blood cells, generally leukocytes (white blood cells).
And I learned that there are different kinds of Leukemia: Chronic and Acute, Lymphocytic and Myelogenous, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) , Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia CML) “(medicalnewstoday.com/articles)

Her boss (our relative ophthalmologist) was so kind to research about her condition and re-assured her not to worry because she will live for 10 years more. And he helps by supplying her with medicine and sometimes even ordering "Leukeran medicine"  from India.  Aside from my uncle, her  eldest sister who is a nun also sending the same. 


But, the problem was we didn’t become so conscious about her diet that she was eating the wrong food. (Foods with preservatives like instant noodles, scavengers’ food like crabs and *pork products (with preservatives) like: bacon, longganisa, tocino, ham – Pork fat is a carrier of viruses and parasites like tapeworm, trichinella, etc. Certain flu viruses which are non-virulent can become virulent when combined with a bird virus in the pork flesh (* Dr. Robin B. Navarro M.D., RFP, CFP-Cellular and Biochemical dr.)

Without my family realizing that Vitamin A rich foods are what she should eat. Top sources of vitamin A include:
• Beef liver
• Egg yolk
• Cheddar cheese
• Fortified milk
Top sources of beta-carotene include:
• Sweet potato
• Carrots
• Pumpkin
• Cantaloupe
• Broccoli
• Apricots
• Spinach and collard greens
Vitamin A mostly comes from animal foods, but some plant-based foods supply beta-carotene, which your body then converts into Vitamin A. It also has antioxidant properties that neutralize free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cellular damage.

She also needed badly Vitamin B rich food (energy food). And it was good she is eating some of food with good source of it. It was a big help to her to have energy and not to feel weary due to anemia because she is regularly eating oats and sweet potato that is rich in Vitamin B. As now I found out that the source of complex carbohydrate are: unpolished rice (if not available you may add wheat germ or rice bran to rice), whole wheat, potato or sweet potato or other tubers, old fashion rolled oats, raw wild honey, palm sugar.

*And Choline which is a chemical similar to the B-vitamins that serves various functions in our bodies – in the structure of cell membranes, protecting our livers from accumulating fat, as the precursor molecule for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and more. Sources are:

• Beef liver - pan-fried - 100 grams (about 3.5 oz) - 418 mg
• Whole large egg - 112 mg choline
• Beef (ground) 80% lean/20% fat - 3.5 oz patty - 81 mg
• Cauliflower - 3/4 C cooked (1" pieces) - 62 mg
• Navy beans - 1/2 C cooked - 48 mg
• Tofu - 100 grams (about 3.5 oz) - 28 mg
• Almonds - sliced - 1/2 cup - 26 mg
• Peanut butter - 2 T - 20 mg

*(Choline: Food for Thought The Role of Choline in Our Bodies and Brains By Laura Dolson, About.com Guide Updated February 24, 2007
There is recommended "adequate intake" of choline…consult medical professionals for Dietary Reference Intakes).

I also discovered through my own research that Arsenic is very good cure for patient with leukemia combined with rich Vitamins mentioned above.

You may ask… “What is Arsenic and its health benefits”?

“Arsenic is a naturally occurring element widely distributed in the earth's crust. In the environment, arsenic is combined with oxygen, chlorine, and sulfur to form inorganic arsenic compounds. Arsenic in animals and plants combines with carbon and hydrogen to form organic arsenic compounds.

The role of arsenic in the body is unknown. In animal studies, arsenic was essential for growth, development, and reproduction, possibly because of its role in the metabolism of methionine, an amino acid involved in growth. Has a "garlic" odor when burned. Stored mostly in the liver. Excreted in urine. Possible uses in the body: skin, hair, nails, thyroid gland and brain.”
(Arsenic- Benefits, Deficiency Symptoms And Food Sources- Acid/Alkaline :: Acid-forming- http://www.best-home-remedies.com/minerals/arsenic.htm)

And where you could find Arsenic? The answer: Water, air and soil.
. Pure Water
. Fresh air
. Soil produced food like: fruits and vegetables, the most alkaline foods

I am not recommending Arsenic that is not natural or commercially manufactured by pharmaceuticals. ( This is just my personal opinion)

Toxic Arsenic -pesticides, insecticides (via a chemical called arsenoxide), herbicides, defoliants, metal work, manufacture of glass and mirrors, tobacco smoke, dental compounds for root canal fillings. Also, breathing sawdust or burning smoke from wood treated with arsenic, living near uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, eating food, drinking water, or breathing air containing arsenic. Inorganic arsenic compounds are used to preserve wood. (http://www.best-home-remedies.com/minerals/arsenic.htm)

Take note:  A person should have a clean and normal colon to have excellent absorption of all the nutrients consumption.    

. Walking barefoot in soil or sand along sea shores and swimming is also very good.  Why because...

      “Seawater contains vital elements, vitamins, mineral salts, trace elements, amino acids and living microorganisms that can produce antibiotic and antibacterial effects to help promote a healthy immune system. Reportedly, the components of seawater, similar to human blood plasma, are easily absorbed and utilized by your body while swimming. Inhaling a sea mist filled with negatively charged ions, or molecules that attach to your lungs also boosts your immune system, according to naturopathic doctor Connie Hernandez. In addition, proponents claim that swimming in seawater opens pores in the skin to allow the absorption of sea minerals and the expulsion of disease-causing toxins from the body.”
 http://www.livestrong.com/article/400377-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-swimming-in-sea-water/#ixzz1KlGqJzG4


God is so good, that HE not only gave my beloved mom 10 years but 14 years and her spirit returned to the divine creator and rest in peace in September 19, 2007!

Subsequently, because of that I became so inspired to be very conscious about food intake and to research concerning health matters. Hence, I am trying to discipline myself not to eat “junk foods” jam-packed with preservatives, canola oil, sun flower oil, corn oil processed foods like white sugar, iodized salt, canned goods, instant foods and artificial colorings etc. Including pork, scavengers food like crabs, prawn, lobsters, fish without scales ( kaliskis)

And presently, I even sell products which I found to be very beneficial to our health; natural and without preservatives.

CONCLUSION:




Genesis 1:29 (New International Version, ©2011)

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.




NOTE:  It is still your decision what medication or treatment to seek that you think best for you!!!.  








READ RELATED ARTICLES:


http://nipasyrup.blogspot.com/2011/04/fruits.html
http://nipasyrup.blogspot.com/2011/04/bone-marrow-very-good-source-of-choline.html
http://nipasyrup.blogspot.com/2011/04/eggs-benefit.html
http://nipasyrup.blogspot.com/2011/04/salt.html
http://myproductsonlineblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/colon-care.html
http://myproductsonlineblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/healthy-nipa-syrup.html

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FRUITS

Article: http://www.doc-rbnavarro.net/seminars.htm

Fruits

Levulose is a naturally occurring sugar in fruits, and is not isolated but bound to other naturally occurring sugars. Unlike man-made fructose which robs the body of many nutrients, levulose contains enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and fruit pectin. That is why levulose should not be interchanged with fructose because doing so would be like saying that margarine is butter. According to Dr. Balaji, Consultant Diabetologist at the Chennai based Apollo Hospitals, "Levulose is insulin independent as it does not require insulin's assistance to enter a cell. So it has a negligible effect on insulin secretion and hence has very little effect on blood glucose. … we saw [even] an improvement in the fasting blood glucose level." This really holds true because even in the 1930s up to the present, several studies have proven this and especially levulose effects on those with diabetes. The following are some of studies done on levulose or fruit sugar occurring naturally:
• Levulose is less effective in preventing the symptoms of hypoglycaemia.
Bollman and Mann (1931) observed that levulose is less effective in preventing the symptoms of hypoglycaemia than dextrose and this was further proven by Burget & associates (Burget, Moore & Robert Am J Physiol 101: 570-572, 1932) when they removed the gastro-intestinal tract together with the liver, they found that levulose was without effect in preventing the symptoms of hypoglycaemia.
• Levulose Ingestion results in markedly lower Serum Glucose and Insulin Responses than either Dextrose or Sucrose.
Levulose/fructose ingestion results in markedly lower serum glucose and insulin responses and less glycosuria than either dextrose or sucrose, both when given alone or as a constituent in a test meal. However as glucose tolerance worsens an increasingly greater response to Levulose is seen (PA Crapo, OG Kolterman and JM Oiefsky: Effects of oral Levulose in Normal, Diabetic, and Imparied Glucose Tolerance subjects: Diabetes Care, Vol 3, Issue 5 575-582, Copyright by American Diabetes Association).

It was observed that there was a reduced postprandial hyperglycemia to an oral glucose challenge after 14 days without a significant difference in insulin response. There was no change in the markedly blunted glucose response to a Levulose challenge but significantly lower insulin response (area under the 3-h curve) was observed after 14 days of Levulose feeding. There was reduced postprandial hyperglycemia after 14 days of Levulose feeding with test meals as compared with baseline, without significant differences in insulin response (PA Crapo, OG Kolterman and RR Henry: Metabolic consequence of two-week Fructose feeding in Diabetic subject: Diabetes Care, Vol 9, Issue 2 111-119, Copyright by American Diabetes Association).
• Crystalline Levulose combined with a High Carbohydrate High-fiber Low Fat diet appears to be Safe and Acceptable for diabetic individuals when total calorie intake is controlled - A LONG TERM STUDY.
The long-term safety of Levulose consumption was studied and evaluated in 14 middle-aged men with diabetes. Subjects followed an ambulatory high-fiber high-carbohydrate control diet at home for 8 wk, entered the hospital for 5 days on this diet, and spent the next 7 days on a similar diet supplemented with 50-60 g Levulose. They continued the fructose diet at home for 23 wk, then resumed a postcontrol diet for an additional 16 wk.
In the hospital, glycemic control improved significantly on the Levulose-supplemented diet compared with the hospital control diet. In the ambulatory setting, no significant differences in plasma glucose, glycohemoglobin, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, lactate, or urate occurred between precontrol, Levulose, or postcontrol period. Fasting serum lactate was higher by 0.5 meq/L during the ambulatory Levulose period than during the precontrol period. Body weight also increased during the ambulatory fructose period due to higher calorie intake. Adherence to Levulose consumption was excellent and improved adherence to carbohydrate and fat recommendations.
Therefore, if the total calorie intake is controlled to promote desirable body weight, crystalline Levulose used with a high-carbohydrate high-fiber low-fat diet appears to be safe and acceptable for diabetic individuals.
(JW Anderson, LJ Story, Nc Zettwoch, NJ Gustafson and Bs Jefferson, Metabolic Research Group, Veterans Administration Medical Center: Metabolic Effects of Levulose Supplementation in Diabetics Individuals: Diabetes Care, Vol 13, Issue 5337-334 Copyright 1989 by American Diabetes Association).
• Levulose given as a part of a meal results in Lower Glucose Levels in Diabetic and Normal Subjects
Sucorse, sorbital, and Levulose (35 g) were fed to normal and diabetic subjects as a component of a 400- calorie breakfast.
In both normal and diabetic subjects, the mean peak increment in plasma glucose was highest after the sucrose meals (44.0 mg/ dl for normal subjects; 78.0 mg/dl for diabetic subjects): lowest after sorbitol meals (9.3 mg/dl for normal subjects; 48.0 mg/dl for diabetic intermediate after the Levulose meals (29.0 mg/dl for normal subjects; 48.0 mg/dl for diabetic subjects). In normal subjects, the mean peak increment of plasma immunoreactive Insulin followed a similar pattern, but in diabetic subjects there was no significant difference between the three groups.
Therefore , it is concluded that Levulose or sorbital, given as part of a meal, results in lower glucose levels in both normal and diabetic subjects, but that the latter is not related to a difference in insulin release.
(S Akgun and NH Ertel: A comparison of Carbohydrate Metabolism after Sucrose, Sorbitol, and Levulose meals in Normal and Diabetic subjects: Diabetes Care, Vol 3, Issue 5 582-585, Copyright by American Diabetes Association).

The following are the health benefits of fruits.
• Fruits contain essential nutrients needed for proper growth and functioning of the body.
• They provide the necessary antioxidants that help strengthen the immune system, thereby protecting from various illnesses.
• Fruits also aid in the digestion and metabolic process.
• Fruits which are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and proteins , help in proper functioning of the brain and also safeguard from many diseases associated with the same.
• Fruits relieve day-to-day minor health disorders.

Fruits for Diabetic Patients
The above-cited benefits are not only applicable to non-diabetic people, but also to those suffering from diabetes. Many people think that, fruits are not good for diabetics! How could this be when fruits are the powerhouse of important nutrient necessary to prevent diabetes and its complications?
• In this large prospective cohort of middle-aged American women, overall fruit and vegetable intake was not associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. Intake of fruit juices was positively associated with incidence of type 2 diabetes, whereas intake of whole fruits and green leafy vegetables was inversely associated. Higher intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of the metabolic syndrome; the lower risk may be the result of lower CRP concentrations. These findings support current dietary recommendations to increase daily intakes of fruit and vegetables as a primary preventive measure against cardiovascular disease. (A. Esmaillzadeh, M. Kimiagar, Y. Mehrabi, L. Azadbakht, F. B Hu, and W. C Willett. Fruit and vegetable intakes, C-reactive protein, and the metabolic syndrome. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2006; 84(6): 1489 – 1497)
• A lower lung cancer risk was also seen for all fruit (adjusted OR = 0.75 for high consumption), high vitamin C vegetables and fruit (OR = 0.75), carrots (OR = 0.71), and broccoli (OR = 0.72) and for the nutrients ß-carotene (OR = 0.81) and vitamin C (OR = 0.81) (all 95% confidence intervals included 1.0). Lung cancer risk was unrelated to consumption of the three food groups defined as "high-carotenoid" (ß-carotene, lutein, and lycopene) and tomatoes. In an analysis stratified by histological type of lung cancer, the strongest inverse associations for vegetables and fruit were seen for large cell carcinoma. (Kristi A. Steinmetz, John D. Potter2 and Aaron R. Folsom, Cancer Research 53, 536-543, February 1, 1993)
• Data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) showed that for every 200 grams (about two servings) of total fruits and vegetables eaten per day, the incidence of cancer was reduced by 4 per cent. This is according to a new study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It is the largest study on diet and cancer to date, and included 142,605 men and 335,873 women. The participants were followed for an average of about nine years, during which time over 30,000 cases of cancer were diagnosed. ( Boffetta et al. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Overall Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2010; DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djq072).
• In an accompanying editorial, Prof Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health noted that one study reported no link between cancer and fruit and vegetable intake, but a 30 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease or stroke. This is what he wrote:
“[Also,] data from a large randomized trial showing that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables reduces blood pressure, a major determinant of cardiovascular disease, make the case for causality compelling, although benefits through additional pathways are also possible. Thus, recommendations and actions to increase intake of fruits and vegetables have a sound basis,” he added.
(Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1093/jnci/djq072)

EGGS BENEFIT

Article: http://www.doc-rbnavarro.net/seminars.htm



Eggs


Almost three decades have passed since cholesterol has been touted as the main cause of almost all diseases such that, the American Heart Association Dietary Guidelines in 1968 limited the daily intake of dietary cholesterol to 300mg. And since eggs contain cholesterol of 213mg/egg on the average, they came up with a recommendation that individuals eat no more than 3 egg yolks per week. Because of this, there has been considerable debate whether eggs in the diet contribute to elevated plasma cholesterol levels and heart disease risk, or whether this is just a simple but exaggerated view of equating dietary cholesterol with plasma cholesterol.

Ever since the restrictions on dietary cholesterol and egg consumption were proposed, people began to fear cholesterol more than God. Their fear is unfounded because thirty years of accumulated research showed that dietary cholesterol has only a small effect on plasma cholesterol levels, and that dietary cholesterol has little relationship to heart disease incidence. Among these are the following:
• A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women by Hu and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health found no relationship between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease in a population of over 117,000 nurses and health professionals followed for eight to fourteen years (Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, et al. JAMA 1999;281:1387-1394). There was no difference in heart disease relative risk between those who consumed less than one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day. The investigators followed 80,082 women for 14 years and 37,851 men for 8 years and looked at the incidence of nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease and stroke as related to daily egg consumption determined by food frequency questionnaires. As shown in the figure, weekly egg consumption was unrelated to the relative risk of coronary heart disease in either the men or the women. Similar data were obtained for stroke relative risk. Interestingly, the investigators also found no significant increase in relative risk of coronary disease in a small subset of the study group who consumed two or more eggs a day relative to those who never consumed eggs (multivariate relative risk for women was 0.76 and for men 1.10). The authors did find that for diabetic subjects higher egg consumption was related to increased risk of coronary heart disease. The authors concluded that "These findings suggest that consumption of up to 1 egg per day is unlikely to have substantial overall impact on the risk of CHD or stroke among healthy men and women."
• The Nurses’ Health Study (Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, et al. Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med 1997;337:1491-1499) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Spiegelman D, Stampfer M, Willett WC. Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease in men: Cohort follow up study in the United States. Bmj 1996;313:84-90) have also reported that dietary cholesterol was not a significant factor in coronary heart disease risk in either.
• The Lipid Research Clinics Follow-Up Study (Esrey KL, Joseph L, Grover SA. Relationship between dietary intake and coronary heart disease mortality: Lipid research clinics prevalence follow-up study. J Clin Epidemiol 1996;49:211-216), the Framingham Heart Study (Millen BE, Franz MM, Quatromoni PA, et al. Diet and plasma lipids in women .1. Macronutrients and plasma total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women: The Framingham nutrition studies. J Clin Epidemiol 1996;49:657-663), and the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (Pietinen P, Ascherio A, Korhonen P, et al. Intake of fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men - The alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study. Am J Epidemiol 1997;145:876-887) have similar findings of a non-significant relationship between dietary cholesterol and coronary heart disease.
• Data from the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) (Tillotson JL, Bartsch GE, Gorder D, Grandits GA, Stamler J. Food group and nutrient intakes at baseline in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Am J Clin Nutr 1997;65(1) Suppl:228S-257S) actually reported an inverse relationship between dietary cholesterol intakes and plasma cholesterol levels at baseline as well as an inverse relationship between egg consumption and plasma cholesterol levels.
• Over the years, many investigators have reported that there is NO relationship between egg consumption and plasma lipid levels as well as between egg intake and coronary heart disease incidence (Dawber TR, Nickerson RJ, Brand FN, Pool J. Eggs, serum cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. Am J Clin Nutr 1982;36:617-25; Gramenzi A, Gentile A, Fasoli M, Negri E, Parazzini F, La Vecchia C. Association between certain foods and risk of acute myocardial infarction in women. BMJ 1990;300:771-3; Fraser GE. Diet and coronary heart disease: beyond dietary fats and low-density- lipoprotein cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:1117S-1123S; Krauss RM, Deckelbaum RJ, Ernst N, et al. Dietary guidelines for healthy American adults - A statement for health professionals from the Nutrition Committee, American Heart Association. Circulation 1996;94:1795-1800).
• Data from these epidemiological surveys are consistent with other findings as well. Analysis of the relationship between per capita egg consumption (data from the International Egg Commission) and cardiovascular mortality rates in 24 countries taken from the World Health Organization, indicates a significant, and negative relations (r = 0.54, P = .0053). Three of the highest egg consuming countries in the world: Japan, Spain and France; are countries which have the lowest rates of CVD mortality. While such simple correlation analyses do not consider the many dietary differences between these countries, it shows that eggs are not a contributor to CVD risk.
Besides cholesterol, the essential component of all the cells of the human body, eggs contain other nutrients that are necessary for the human body to function effectively. The following are the benefits we get from the nutrients found in egg:
• Eggs prevent accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque. In a recent review, cholesterol researcher Dr. Maria Luz Fernandez of the University of Connecticut's Department of Nutritional Sciences summarized the results of a number of studies testing the effects of egg consumption on blood cholesterol levels. In children aged 10-12, in men aged 20-50, in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, in whites and hispanics, the same basic finding persists: two or three eggs per day has little or no effect on the blood cholesterol levels of over two thirds of the population. Less than a third of the population, by contrast, are termed "hyperresponders." When these people eat egg yolks, their cholesterol levels do go up. LDL, the so-called "bad cholesterol," and HDL, the so-called "good cholesterol" both go up equally, so there is no change in the ratio of LDL to HDL, or of LDL to total cholesterol, both of which are considered better measures of the risk of heart disease than the total concentration of cholesterol.

LDL Particle Size — Pattern A vs. Pattern B
Moreover, the actual number of LDL particles do not change at all; they just get bigger. When your doctor measures your blood cholesterol level, the lab reports it by weight. In America, this is usually in milligrams per deciliter. When your "cholesterol level" is high, this means that in a given measure of blood volume (such as a deciliter or a tenth of a liter) the total number of cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein particles weigh more. This could mean that you have more particles, or it could mean that the particles weigh more because they are carrying more cholesterol.
According to research that Dr. Fernandez cites in her review, it is the small, dense LDL particles that raise the risk of atherosclerosis, while the large, buoyant LDL particles are safe. This may be because small, dense LDL particles are much more vulnerable to oxidation. People whose LDL is primarily small and dense have three times the risk of heart disease as people whose LDL is primarily large and buoyant.
In the egg-feeding studies, egg consumption makes the LDL particles of the "hyperresponders" get bigger, not more numerous. When they get bigger, they become less subject to oxidation and accumulation in atherosclerotic plaque. (Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006;9:8-12)

• Eggs help keep the eyes healthy. Egg yolks provide an excellent, highly bio-available source of the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin (Handelman et al., 1999). Recent research showed the link between these dietary compounds and the macular pigment of the retina of the eye (Landrum and Bone, 2001). Lutein and zeaxanthin are the primary carotenoids found in the macular region. Lutein and zeaxanthin are antioxidants found in egg yolks and are believed to help protect eyes against damage due to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Research has shown that these antioxidants may be very important in reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in people over age 65) as well as the risk of cataracts. Those who ate eggs daily were less likely to have cataracts than those who consumed eggs less often (Moeller et al. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2000; (915s): 523s-527s). Dwyer et al. (2001) reported that increased amounts of dietary lutein from green leafy vegetables and egg yolks could be protective against atherosclerosis by slowing the progression of atherosclerotic lesions in humans and animals.
• Eggs for weight loss. A randomized study at Louisiana State University found that overweight and obese women who consumed a breakfast of 2 eggs a day for 5 or more days a week for 8 weeks, lost 65% more weight, had an 83% greater reduction in waist circumference and reported greater improvements in energy levels that the women who consumed a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories. This confirmed a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, which found an egg breakfast induced greater satiety and significantly reduced short-term food intake compared to a calorically equivalent bagel breakfast. (both breakfasts contained the same calories and same weight mass) There was no significant difference between total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels.
American scientists found that eating 2 eggs every morning (as a part of a low-calorie diet) can substantially boost a healthy weight loss in all overweight adults (JS Vander Wal, A Gupta, P Khosla and N V Dhurandhar, International Journal of Obesity (2008) 32, 1545–1551). According to this research carried out in 2007-2008 by a group of the specialists at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, by eating 2 eggs for breakfast as a part of low-calorie diet, overweight people can enhance their weight loss up to 65%. The experiment involved 152 subjects (age 25-60 years) with high BMI. They were assigned to 4 groups, 2 of which were prescribed to eating a 2-egg breakfast every morning, and the other 2 were prescribed to eating bagels breakfast of the same total energy (kcal). After 8 weeks of the study, it was found out that all the members of the group, who were prescribed to eating 2 eggs every morning in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet:
 managed to lose 65% more weight than the members of other experimental groups;
 managed to achieve 61% greater improvement of their Body Mass Index;
 reported about experiencing higher energy levels.
• Egg increases adiponectine, which modulates glucose tolerance. A study published in February 20 in the journal of Nutrition & Metabolism (Joseph C Ratliff, Gisella Mutungi, Michael J Puglisi, Jeff S Volekand Maria Luz Fernandez, Nutrition & Metabolism 2008, 5:6) concluded that a Carbohydrate restricted diets(CRD) with daily intake of eggs decreased plasma CRP and increased plasma adiponectin compared to a CRD without eggs. These findings indicate that eggs make a significant contribution to the anti-inflammatory effects of CRD, possibly due to the presence of cholesterol, which increases HDL-C and to the antioxidant lutein which modulates certain inflammatory responses.
This study placed and observed overweight men ages 40-70 on carbohydrate restricted diets. One group ate three eggs a day, the other ate the same quantity of fat-free, cholesterol-free egg substitute (gag). Both groups lost weight, but the egg-eating group did even better; they showed a reduction in risk factors for coronary heart disease, particularly a reduction in types of inflammation closely associated with heart disease risk. People in the egg-eating group showed an increase in protective hormones like adiponectin, which modulates glucose tolerance and is negatively associated with body fat percentage. They also showed a reduction in C-reactive protein, whose prevalence is associated with high risk of heart failure. The egg-eaters experienced an increase not only in HDL cholesterol, but specifically the large HDL particles that are hypothesized to be protective against heart disease while the egg-substitute-eaters didn’t experience any of these additional benefits.
• Betaine, found mostly in eggs and liver lowers risk for neural tube defects and cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the Netherlands reported that the nutrient-betaine, has the capability of decreasing elevated plasma total homocysteine concentrations, considered a risk factor for giving birth to a child with neural tube defects and for cardiovascular disease. Also, they noted that betaine has been shown to substantially decrease homocysteine levels in patients with a condition known as homocystinuria, and they therefore theorized that it could have the same benefit in healthy patients as well (Ingeborg A. Brouwer; Petra Verhoef; Rob Urgert, Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:2546-2547). Additionally, in a review conducted on Betaine’s effect on human nutrition (Stuart AS Craig, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 3, 539-549, September 2004), this nutrient that is obtain from foods that contain either betaine or choline-containing compounds found in egg, wheat germ, sugar beets, etc. exerts many health benefits like:
 Betaine is a lipotrope—something that prevents or reduces accumulation of fat in the liver. Studies on healthy and diabetic animals show that a high-fat diet leads to hepatic steatosis that is prevented by ingestion of betaine or choline (Mehta K, Van Thiel DH, Shah N, Mobarhan S. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: pathogenesis and the role of antioxidants. Nutr Rev 2002;60:289–93.[Medline] ; Best CH, Huntsman ME. The effects of the components of lecithine upon digestion of fat in the liver. J Physiol 1932;75:405–12; Best CH. The role of the liver in the metabolism of carbohydrate and fat. Lancet 1934;226:1274–7). Hepatic steatosis also occurs as result of a sucrose-only diet (Best CH, Huntsman ME. The effects of the components of lecithine upon digestion of fat in the liver. J Physiol 1932;75:405–12) or a diet low in both lipotrope and fat (Best CH, Ferguson GC, Hershey JM. Choline and liver fat in diabetic dogs. J Physiol 1933;79:94–102). Betaine can prevent and cure cirrhosis in rats (Best CH, Channon HJ. The action of choline and other substances in the prevention and cure of fatty livers. Biochem J 1935;29:2651–8; Webster GT. Cirrhosis of the liver among rats receiving diets poor in protein and rich in fat. J Clin Invest 1942;21:385–92), mobilize hepatic cholesterol and phospholipids in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet (Best CH, Ridout JH, Lucas CC. Alleviation of dietary cirrhosis with betaine and other lipotropic agents. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1969;47:73–9), treat hyperlipidemia (Sugiyama K, Akai H, Muramatsu K. Effects of methionine and related compounds on plasma cholesterol level in rats fed a high cholesterol diet. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1986;32:537–49), and be utilized in the synthesis of carnitine (Turpin P. A double blind study of the effectiveness of Beaufor betaine citrate ampules in the treatment of type IV hyperlipidemias. Sem Hop 1985;61:2420–34). Dietary betaine enhances the secretion of VLDL via methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (Odle J. Betaine and carnitine. Feed Manage 1996;47:25–7) to form phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase knockout mice (Yao ZM, Vance DE. Head group specificity in the requirement of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis for very low density lipoprotein secretion from cultured hepatocytes. J Biol Chem 1989;264:11373–80) develop hepatic steatosis and abnormal choline metabolite concentrations despite ingesting a recommended dietary intake of choline. This highlights the importance of the SAM route to maintain liver health. One hypothesis regarding the lipotropic properties of betaine is that it contains an electrophilic methyl group that ameliorates pathologic states induced by reductive and oxidative stress (Zhu X, Song J, Mar MH, Edwards LJ, Zeisel SH. Phosphatidylethanolamine N–methyltransferase (PEMT) knockout mice have hepatic steatosis and abnormal hepatic choline metabolite concentrations despite ingesting a recommended dietary intake of choline. Biochem J 2003;370:987–93). In addition, humans with diabetes exhibit hepatic steatosis, and early studies showed that dietary betaine improves liver function (Ghyczy M, Boros M. Electrophilic methyl groups present in the diet ameliorate pathological states induced by reductive and oxidative stress: a hypothesis. Br J Nutr 2001;85:409–14; Rabinowitch IM. Effects of betaine upon the cholesterol and bilirubin contents of blood plasma in diabetes mellitus. Can Med Assoc J 1936;34:637–41; White P, Marble A, Bogan IK, Smith RM. Enlargement of the liver in diabetic children. Arch Intern Med 1938;62:751–64.), including a slight decrease in plasma cholesterol and lipids, a substantial decrease in plasma bilirubin, a reduction in liver size, and better diabetic control.
 Betaine can provide a methyl group to guanidinoacetate, via methionine, for the formation of creatine (Forestier M, Banninger R, Reichen J, Solioz M. Betaine homocysteine methyltransferase: gene cloning and expression analysis in rat liver cirrhosis. Biochim Biophys Acta 2003;1638:29–34). Overall, treatment led to an improved sense of well-being, less fatigue, greater strength and endurance, and increased desire for (and performance of) physical and mental work. Subjects with cardiac decompensation (arteriosclerosis or rheumatic disease) (Borsook H, Borsook ME. The biochemical basis of betaine-glycocyamine therapy. Ann West Med Surg 1951;5:825–9) and congestive heart failure (Borsook ME, Borsook H. Treatment of cardiac decompensation with betaine and glycocyamine. Ann West Med Surg 1951;5:830–55) had improved cardiac function.
 Incomplete DNA methylation may lead to genetic instability, senescence, and cancer (Bostom AG, Shemin D, Nadeau MR, et al. Short term betaine therapy fails to lower elevated fasting total plasma homocysteine concentrations in hemodialysis patients maintained on chronic folic acid supplementation. Atherosclerosis 1995;113:129–32.; Cooney CA. Are somatic cells inherently deficient in methylation metabolism? A proposed mechanism for DNA methylation loss, senescence and aging. Growth Dev Aging 1993;57:261–73; Newberne PM, Rogers AE. Labile methyl groups and the promotion of cancer. Annu Rev Nutr 1986;6:407–32), and optimal "methylation diets," including betaine, have been suggested for the prevention and treatment of a variety of conditions (Blount BC, Mack MM, Wehr CM, et al. Folate deficiency causes uracil misincorporation into human DNA and chromosome breakage: implications for cancer and neuronal damage. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997;94:3290–5).

• Choline in eggs is an essential nutrient needed for the normal functioning of cells. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, the investigators studied the association of meat, egg, and dairy intake with breast cancer risk among 319,826 women who provided dietary information between 1992 and 2003. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models allowed estimation of disease hazard ratios (HRs). During median follow-up of 8.8 years, 7119 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. There was no consistent association between the risk for breast cancer and dietary intake of any of the food groups studied, with use of either categoric or continuous exposure variable models (Am J Clin Nutr. Published online June 2, 2009) but previous studies on Choline, found in foods such as eggs, was associated with a 24 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, according to a study supported by a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), published in The FASEB Journal (Xu X, et al. Choline metabolism and risk of breast cancer in a population-based study. The FASEB Journal, published online on January 29, 2008). This study adds to the growing body of evidence that links egg consumption to a decreased risk of breast cancer like:
 A study published in 2003 by researchers at Harvard University found that women who reported higher consumption of eggs, vegetable fat and fiber during adolescence had a smaller risk of developing breast cancer as adults. Specifically, eating one egg per day was associated with an 18 percent reduced risk of breast cancer. ( Frazier AL, et al. Adolescent diet and risk of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res 2003; 5: R59-R64)
 A study of Chinese women published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention in 2005 showed that those who consumed the most fruit, vegetables and eggs were significantly less likely to have breast cancer. For those that reported eating at least six eggs per week, the risk of developing breast cancer was 44 percent lower than for those who ate two or less eggs per week.( Shannon J, et al. Food and botanical groupings and risk of breast cancer: A case-control study in Shanghai, China. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005; 14 (1): 81-90)
Choline (in Egg) as an essential component of Acetylcholine can antagonizes Adrenaline effect, lowers heart rate, prevents Arrythmia and improves brain function (memory). (Badash M., Brain Food: Formulas for aware aging. Health & Nutrition Breakthroughs, March 1998; Cohen EL et al., Brain Acetylcholine Control by Dietary Choline. Science 191:561-562, 1976. Mayall M. Your Nutritional Essentials: Choline. Natural Health 26(2) 155, 1996; Block W., Life Enhancement. August 1999:8-13).
In addition to playing a role in the normal functioning of all cells, including brain and nerve function, liver metabolism and the transportation of nutrients throughout the body, choline has been shown to:
 Prevent Birth Defects: According to population-based research, infants from mothers whose diets were deficient in choline were four times more likely to have neural tube defects such as spina bifida. This increased risk was observed even when other nutrients that help prevent birth defects, such as folic acid, were in adequate supply. (Shaw GM, et al. Periconceptional dietary intake of choline and betain and neural tube defects in offspring. Am J Epidemiol 2004; 160: 102-109)
 Improve Memory: Research suggests that choline is essential for proper fetal and infant brain development. It appears that choline affects the areas of the brain responsible for memory function and life-long learning ability. ( Zeisel SH. Nutritional importance of choline for brain development. J Am Col Nutr 2004; 23: 621S – 626S)
 Reduce Heart Disease Risk: Choline, like folate, is involved in breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood that may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease. In fact, research shows that choline deficiency results in increased homocysteine levels. (Da Costa K-A, et al. Choline deficiency in mice and humans is associated with increased plasma homocysteine concentration after a mehtionine load. Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85:1275-1285) This may help to explain why 30 years of research have shown that healthy adults can consume eggs without increasing their risk of heart disease. (Lee A and Griffin B. Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective. Nutrition Bulletin (British Nutrition Foundation) 2006: 31: 21-27)

• EGGS prevent Cancer of the Pancreas. There is an inverse association in the risk of pancreatic cancer with egg consumption (P for men 0.08; for women 0.001)(Chow et al., Division of Epidemiology, Columbia University, School of Public Health, N.Y. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1995 Dec.; 4(8):885-893)
• Recent studies have suggested that healthy people can eat eggs in moderation without increasing their heart disease risk, Wu and Majumder write. In addition, studies have hinted that certain egg proteins might have effects similar to ACE inhibitors, prescription drugs used to treat high blood pressure. Wu and Majumder identified several different peptides in boiled and fried eggs that act as potent ACE inhibitors. Enzymes in the stomach and small intestine produce these peptides from eggs. Fried eggs had the highest ACE inhibitory activity, they report (Majumder et al. Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from Simulated in Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion of Cooked Eggs. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 57 (2): 471 DOI: 10.1021/jf8028557). "Our study showed further evidence that a number of bioactive peptides may be generated while digesting egg proteins, which would provide additional benefits for reducing another well-identified risk of heart disease," Wu said by email. "Egg has been part of human diets for centuries and therefore it is safe to consume eggs."
• Cysteine in Egg as glutathione peroxidase is a potent antioxidant capable of deactivating Hydrogen peroxide free radical, Hydroxyl free radical, Singlet oxygen free radical and Superoxide free radical (Farman, H., et al, Role of Selenium and Sulfur-containing Amino Acids in protection against O2 toxicity. Laboratory Investigation 49 148-15: 1993)
• Essential Fatty Acids in eggs especially that of free-ranged hens have a 5:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega3, may reduce the risk of thrombosis, leucocyte adhesion, vascular wall inflammation, and myocardial arrythmia (Lands 2000; Leaf et al. 2000)

PERSONAL TESTIMONIES:
• Firstly, Dr Uffe Ravnskov, the founder of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics decided to test the theory that eggs raised blood cholesterol levels. So he ate 59 eggs in nine days. His cholesterol went down by 11%.
• The subject of this case was an 88-year-old man living alone in a retirement community. He was healthy except for having Alzheimer's disease. He also had a compulsive disorder which led him to consume, in addition to regular meals, 25 soft-boiled eggs every day. Remarkably, there was good evidence from several sources that this egg-eating behavior had been going on for at least 15 years.
The patient's medical records documented numerous serum cholesterol measurements within the normal range. A number of metabolic studies indicated that the patient had several compensatory mechanisms in place which enabled him to maintain normal blood cholesterol concentrations in the face of longstanding and massive cholesterol intake:
 Marked reduction in cholesterol absorption - the mechanism for this effect is not known
 Greatly increased synthesis of bile acids - the patient synthesized roughly twice the mass of bile acids as control subjects
 Reduced endogenous cholestrol synthesis
(Kern F: Normal plasma cholesterol in an 88-year-old who eats 25 eggs a day. New Eng J Med 324:986, 1991.)
• Vilhjalmur Stefansson tells a lovely story in his autobiography, Discovery, about Lord Strathcona, Canada's High Commissioner to England in the late 19th century. Lord Strathcona ate very little other than eggs — and lived well into his 94 year.
Stefansson writes:
"My first contacts with him were merely casual occasions for him to use his position as Canada's High Commissioner to expedite the work of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. It was not long, however, before there grew up between us the bond of a common interest — an interest in dietary matters. I told him what I had learned from the Eskimos, and he told me that years ago in Canada he had begun a regimen all his own by skipping lunch and ultimately breakfast too. Then he had begun to wonder why, since he liked some things better than others, he should bother to eat something different on Tuesday when he had liked what he had eaten on Monday better. This led to his questioning what he really did like and, when he got the answer, eating nothing else — eggs, milk, and butter. Although this combination would not have made up my favorite meal, much as I favor butter, the point was that Strathcona and I were in agree¬ment on the feeling that the longer a man ate one complete food exclusively, the more likely he was to relish it.
"I had many opportunities to observe the High Commissioner while I was in London, for he frequently invited me to dinner at his home in Grosvenor Square, saying that So-and-So would be present and he thought I would like to meet him. Strathcona, a broad-shouldered man taller than six feet, would be seated at one end of the long table, Lady Strathcona at the other. As course after course was served to the rest of us, he would converse, drinking a sip or two of each wine as it was poured. Sometime during the middle of the dinner, his tray was brought: several medium-soft boiled eggs broken into a large bowl, with plenty of butter and with extra butter in a side dish, and, I believe, a quart of whole milk, or perhaps half-and-half. My impression is that they also brought him toast, but that he barely nibbled it, using it a bit as if it were a napkin."

“The Doctor of the Future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame in Diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
- Thomas A. Edison

BONE MARROW - very good source of Choline

Article: http://www.doc-rbnavarro.net/seminars.htm


BONE MARROW (BULALO)

In the Philippines, our old folks usually prepare broth made of the bony portions of beef, commonly referred to as “bulalo”, especially for people who are sick, and their recovery is hastened. In some areas of the country, like in Laguna and Batangas, the old folks call “Bulalo” as “pagkaing pampabata” or “food that will make you young!”
Traditional peoples like the Indians living inside the Rocky Mountain Range in the far North of Canada who consumed large animals did not ignore the marrow hidden away in the bones; in fact, they valued the marrow as an extremely nutritious food. In fact, "For the successful nutrition for nine months of the year was largely limited to wild game, chiefly moose and caribou. During the summer months the Indians were able to use growing plants. During the winter some use was made of bark and buds of trees. I found the Indians putting great emphasis upon the eating of the organs of the animals, including the wall of parts of the digestive tract. Much of the muscle meat of the animals was fed to the dogs. It is important that skeletons are rarely found where large game animals have been slaughtered by the Indians of the North. The skeletal remains are found as piles of finely broken bone chips or splinters that have been cracked up to obtain as much as possible of the marrow and nutritive qualities of the bones. These Indians obtain their fat-soluble vitamins and also most of their minerals from the organs of the animals. An important part of the nutrition of the children consisted in various preparations of bone marrow, both as a substitute for milk and as a special dietary ration" (Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 6th Edition, page 260).
Bone marrow is of two types: red marrow (also known as myeloid tissue) where the red blood cells, platelets and most white blood cells arise and yellow marrow where some white blood cells are developed. The color of yellow marrow is due to the much higher number of fat cells.
Bone marrow contains two types of stem cells: hemopoietic (which produce blood cells) and stromal (which produce fat, cartilage and bone).
The explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson describes two types of marrow, one type from the lower leg which is soft "more like a particularly delicious cream in flavor" (the yellow marrow) and another from the humerus and femur that is "hard and tallowy at room temperatures" (the red marrow) (The Fat of the Land, page 27).
Bone Marrow contains so many nutrients that are fabulously fantastic for our health such that, it should also be listed as a functional food or medicinal food (any healthy or fictional food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients). It is more so, because most of its nutrients are able to exert a therapeutic effect. These are as follows:
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) play big roles in the formation of brain and retinal tissue. Huge concentrations of DHA can be found in fetal brain and neural development, especially during the last trimester. Babies, especially those yet to be born, can really benefit from DHA/EPA might also be a boon to the elderly; as we age, cognitive and visual health becomes more important than ever, and low DHA/EPA levels may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and vision problems. Also, there has been some research suggesting DHA/EPA has some beneficial effect on the risk of various cancers, including prostate, breast, and colorectal. Suicidal depression and schizophrenia, too, may be linked with low levels of essential fatty acids like EPA and DHA.
• Hormones: Testosterone, Estrogen, Progesterone, Human Growth Hormone
• Vitamin A, D, E and K
• EPO (erythropoitin) Beneficial to patients with renal failure. (Sandler, O.E.: Some experimental studies on the erythropoietic effects of yellow bone marrow extracts and batyl alcohol. Acta Med Scand, suppl 225:133. 1949; Holab, B.J., Philbrick, D.J., Parbtani, A., Clark, W.F.: Dietary lipid modification of renal disorders and ether phospholipid metabolism. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph. Ont, Canada. Biochem Cell BioI (Canada), 69 (7) p. 185-9; Jul 1991)
• Minerals: Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, etc
• Saturated Fats
• Proteins: L-Arginine (which lowers BP in pre-eclampsic women), Glutamate, Aspartic acid, Lysine, Hydroxylysine and Histidine
• EPCs (endothelial progenitor cells) which improve the blood vessels and promote better circulation and blood flow and healthier endothelium.
• Serotonin, mood neurotransmitter (yes, SSRI antidepressants are highly associated with osteoporosis and nonvertebral fractures )
• Ether Lipids (Alkylglycerols)

The following are studies done on some of the nutrients found in bone marrow:

Alkylglycerols
The therapeutic use of bone marrow particularly that of calves was first introduced in 1952 by Astrid Brohult, a young Swedish doctor, who hypothesized that a bone marrow extract made from fresh calf bones may stimulate white blood cell production in leukemic children with leukopenia. Although her initial results were uneven, yet improvements in white count and energy were promising, enough for her to ask her husband, a professor of biochemistry at a Swedish university, to analyze the calf bone marrow to see if he could determine what factor was responsible for stimulating white cell production.
He established after years of research, that the immune stimulants were alkylglycerols. (Melvyn R. Werbach, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No. 2, 1994)
Alkylglycerols , or AKGs are are group of glyceryl ether lipids: chimyl, batyl, and selachyl alcohols (Krotkiewski M, Przybyszewska M, Janik P. Cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of alkylglycerols (Ecomer). Med Sci Monit. 2003 Nov;9(11):I131-5) occurring naturally in various mammalian tissues, including most organs responsible for producing blood cells, such as the bone marrow and spleen. It is also interesting to note that AKGs are also found in human breast milk, and are now thought to contribute significantly to an infant’s immunity, especially while the immature immune system is at its most vulnerable. As a matter of fact, human breast milk contains up to 10 times more AKGs than does cow’s milk (Hallgren B, Niklasson A, Stallberg G, Thorin H. On the occurrence of 1-O-alkylglycerols and 1-O-(2-methoxyalkyl)glycerols in human colostrum, human milk, cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, human red bone marrow, red cells, blood plasma and a uterine carcinoma. Acta Chem Scand B. 1974;28(9):1029-34; Andreesen, R.: Ether lipids in the therapy of cancer. Prog Biochem Pharmacol, 22:118-131; 1988; Berdel, W.E., Bausert, W.R., Fink, U., Rastetter, J.: Anti-tumor action of alkyl-lysophospholipids (Review). Anticancer Res (Greece), 1 (6) P 315, 52; 1981).
The Brohults and other scientists continued to study AKGs and quickly discovered that they inhibit cancer proliferation (Krotkiewski M, Przybyszewska M, Janik P. Cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of alkylglycerols (Ecomer). Med Sci Monit. 2003 Nov;9(11):I131-5) and prevent radiation sickness (Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S, Joelsson I. Effect of alkoxyglycerols on the frequency of injuries following radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1977;56(4):441-8). The latter finding is especially significant because it is a well-known fact that radiation slices through cells like hot knives through butter, thus, damaging the cells at the molecular level and generating free radicals that propagate destruction in a kind of chain reaction. Most known antioxidants neutralize free radicals in the bloodstream and within the tissues, but few are capable of penetrating the cell membrane to enter individual cells. AKGs appear to exert antioxidant effect within individual cells, as suggested by clinical studies of patients receiving AKGs in combination with ionizing radiation (Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S, Joelsson I. Effect of alkoxyglycerols on the frequency of injuries following radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1977;56(4):441-8; Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S, Joelsson I. Effect of alkoxyglycerols on the frequency of fistulas following radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1979;58(2):203-7; Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S. Effect of alkoxyglycerols on the serum ornithine carbamoyl transferase in connection with radiation treatment. Experientia. 1972 Feb 15;28(2):146-7; Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S. Effect of alkoxyglycerols on the frequency of injuries following radiation therapy. Experientia. 1973 May 1;29(1):81-2).
Drs. Brohult’s team was surprised to discover that AKGs when given to cervical cancer patients, the tumors regressed even before radiation treatment began, a finding that was soon replicated by others (Brohult A, Brohult J, Brohult S. Regression of tumour growth after administration of alkoxyglycerols. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1978;57(1):79-83; Boeryd B, Hallgren B, Stallberg G. Studies on the effect of methoxy-substituted glycerol ethers on tumour growth and metastasis formation. Br J Exp Pathol. 1971 Jun;52(3):221-30). More recently, other scientists have determined that AKG’s ability to accomplish this feat is by directly interfering with cancer cell signaling, which is crucial to tumor growth and metastasis (Samadder P, Richards C, Bittman R, Bhullar RP, Arthur G. The antitumor ether lipid 1-Q-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycerophosphocholine (ET-18-OCH3) inhibits the association between Ras and Raf-1. Anticancer Res. 2003 May;23(3B):2291-5; Arthur G, Bittman R. The inhibition of cell signaling pathways by antitumor ether lipids. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1998 Feb 5;1390(1):85-102; Pedrono F, Khan NA, Legrand AB. Regulation of calcium signalling by 1-O-alkylglycerols in human Jurkat T lymphocytes. Life Sci. 2004 Apr 16;74(22):2793-801). This very mechanism of AKGs can reduce radiation side effects, although it is not exactly clear yet, they appear to penetrate cell membranes and mop up free radicals. AKGs is also able to amplify platelet-activating factor synthesis, which might help reduce radiation-induced bleeding by promoting platelet aggregation (Cheminade C, Gautier V, Hichami A, et al. 1-O-alkylglycerols improve boar sperm motility and fertility. Biol Reprod. 2002 Feb;66(2):421-8). Furthermore, recent research indicates that AKGs inhibit activation of protein kinase C, which is essential for the runaway cell proliferation that is a hallmark of cancer (Pugliese PT, Jordan K, Cederberg H, Brohult J. Some biological actions of alkylglycerols from shark liver oil. J Altern Complement Med. 1998;4(1):87-99; Aroca JD, Sanchez-Pinera P, Corbalan-Garcia S, et al. Correlation between the effect of the anti-neoplastic ether lipid 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine on the membrane and the activity of protein kinase Calpha. Eur J Biochem. 2001 Dec;268(24):6369-78) and also directly boost the immune system by stimulating production of white blood cells called neutrophils and by activating macrophages (a type of white blood cell that protects against bacterial and fungal invaders) (Yamamoto N, St CD, Jr., Homma S, Ngwenya BZ. Activation of mouse macrophages by alkylglycerols, inflammation products of cancerous tissues. Cancer Res. 1988 Nov 1;48(21):6044-9; Marberg, C.M., Wiles, H.O.: Yellow bone marrow extracts in granulocytopenia. J Amer Med Assoc, 109:1965; 1937). Because AKGs help enhance the immune system (Nathan, C.F.: Mechanisms of macrophage antimicrobial activity. Trans R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 77:620-630; 198), they are also claimed to help against colds, flu, chronic infections, asthma, psoriasis, arthritis, and AIDS (Murray, H.W.: Macrophage activation in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In: Mechanisms of host Resistance to Infectious Agents, Tumors, and Allografts. Steinman, R.M., North, R.J. (eds), Rockefeller University Press, New York, P.333; 1986).
Proponents also claim that AKGs inhibit tumor growth on several types of colon cancer cells and render existing cancer cells less likely to invade new tissue (Wang H, Rajagopal S, Reynolds S, Cederberg H, Chakrabarty S. Differentiation-promoting effect of 1-O (2 methoxy) hexadecyl glycerol in human colon cancer cells. J Cell Physiol. 1999 Feb;178(2):173-8; Pedrono F, Martin B, Leduc C, et al. Natural alkylglycerols restrain growth and metastasis of grafted tumors in mice. Nutr Cancer. 2004;48(1):64-9).
Other roles of AKGs are:
- It is a powerful vasodilator able to cause an important arterial hypotension, it increases vascular permeability and movement of liquid out of the vasculature. (Blank, M.L., Lee, T.C., Fizgerald, V., Snyder, F.: A specific acetylhydrolase for1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine ( a hypotensive and platelet-activating lipid) J biol Chem 256:175-8; 1981).
- It probably is involved in ovulation and egg: implantation could be inhibited by PAFantagonists. (Cheminade C, Gautier V, Hichami A, et al. 1-O-alkylglycerols improve boar sperm motility and fertility. Biol Reprod. 2002 Feb;66(2):421-8)
- Chelator of mercury in man. (Fredin, B.: Preliminary observations of rapid effects of alkylglycerols on the excretions of mercury in man. A pilot study, Department of Physiological Chemistry IV University of Lund - Sweden; 1988; Fredin, B.: Effects of alkoxy-glycerols on the accumulation of mercury in rats after a single dose of metallic mercury. Swed J Biol Med; Jan 1990)

Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC)

Reduced EPC levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction and an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Coronary artery disease and its risk factors, such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and smoking, are associated with a reduced number and impaired functional activity of circulating EPCs. (Besler C, Doerries C, Giannotti G, Lüscher TF, Landmesser U. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2008 Sep;6(8):1071-82)

Progenitor cell therapy is a promising treatment for ischemic heart disease. Early clinical trials of autologous bone marrow-derived progenitor cell therapy for acute and chronic myocardial ischemia showed modest functional improvements. (Jeremy L. Herrmann,, Aaron M. Abarbanell, Brent R. Weil, et al. Ann Thorac Surg 2009;88:1714-1722)

EPC’s as a novel treatment option for complications requiring therapeutic revascularization and vascular repair especially to patients with diabetic complications. Diabetic patients’ EPCs have decreased migratory prowess and reduced proliferative capacity and an altered cytokine/growth factor secretory profile that can accelerate deleterious repair mechanisms rather than support proper vascular repair. Thus, functional manipulation(s) of EPCs to overcome these hurdles is recommended. (Yagna P.R. Jarajapu, Maria B. Grant Circulation Research. 2010;106:854-869)

Bone marrow–derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to vascular repair although it is uncertain how local endothelial cell apoptosis influences their reparative function. This study was conducted to determine how the presence of apoptotic bodies at sites of endothelial damage may influence participation of EPCs in retinal microvascular repair. Endothelial lesions where apoptotic bodies were left attached at the wound site showed a fivefold enhancement in EPC recruitment (P < 0.05) compared with lesions where the apoptotic cells had been removed. (Ashay D. Bhatwadekar, Josephine V. Glenn, Tim M. Curtis, et al. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2009;50:4967-4973.)

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) protect kidneys from acute ischemic damage. Mice subjected to unilateral nephrectomy with simultaneous contralateral renal artery clamping for 30, 35, and 40 min, were protected from acute renal failure when pretreated with EPCs. (D. Patschan, S. Patschan, J. T. Wessels, et al. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 298: F78-F85, 2010. First published November 11, 2009)

Neurovascular dysfunction and senescent endothelium contribute to the progression of Alzheimer disease (AD). Circulating angiogenic cells (CACs), such as endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), provide a cellular reservoir for the endothelial replacement. Our results indicate that patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) have reduced circulating angiogenic cells, suggesting that an abnormal capacity to regenerate endothelium is associated with AD. Thus, increasing the EPCs level of AD patients will result to better prognosis. (S-T Lee, MD, K. Chu, MD, PhD, K-H Jung, MD, H-K Park, MD, et al. NEUROLOGY 2009;72:1858-1863)

Cholinergic neurons are very important cells in spinal cord injuries because of the deficits in motor, autonomic and sensory neurons. In this study, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) were evaluated as a source of cholinergic neurons in a rat model of contusive spinal cord injury. BMSC were isolated from adult rats and trans-differentiated into a neuronal phenotype – cholinergic neuronal cells. The trans-differentiation of BMSC into a cholinergic phenotype is a feasible therapy in spinal cord injury. (Naghdi, Majid, Tiraihi, Taki, et al. Cytotherapy, Volume 11, Number 2, April 2009 , pp. 137-152(16)

Whey Supports your Immune System

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WHEY MILK


Whey proteins are an excellent protein source for everyone - no matter what their age. From a nutritional perspective, whey proteins are hard to beat. Over 60 percent of their make-up is essential amino acids. Because the body is unable to make essential amino acids, they must be provided daily through diet.
There are top reasons why adding whey to your diet is very much desirable.
Whey Supports your Immune System
Whey proteins contain high levels of the amino acid cysteine, which is needed to help the body produce gluthatione. Gluthathione is a powerful anti-oxidant and plays a key role in maintaining immune health. In fact, one of the first symptoms often noticed in individuals with autoimmune diseases, such as HIV is a decline in gluthathione levels. Dr. Gustavo Bounous, a pioneer in whey protein research, has conducted numerous studies to learn more about the positive effects of whey protein supplementation on individuals with various types of cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and HIV (Moreno YF, Sgarbieri VC, da Silva MN, et al. J Trop Pediatr. 2005 Jul 13). His positive results have inspired others to focus their own research on whey proteins. For example, one recent study found that whey proteins inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells (Nukumi N, Iwamori T, Naito K, Tojo H. J Reprod Dev. 2005 Jul27) while another study showed a reduction in the size of cancer tumors in patients consuming whey protein (Xu M, Suguira Y, Nagaoka S, Kanamanu Y. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2005 Jun; 69(6):1189-92) and can induced cell death of human prostate cancer cells (Kent, Harper, and Bomse; Toxicology In Vitro, February 2003, 17(1):27-33).
Whey Promotes Infant growth, development and survival
Whey proteins contain alpha-lactalbumin, which is the main component in human breast milk. Reduce risk of atopic disease (allergies) in infants (Hays T, Wood RA. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005 Sep; 159(9):810-6). Lactoferrin in whey improves the intestinal flora of premature infants and patients with damaged intestinal mucous by suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria while promoting the multiplication of nonpathogenic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (Artym J, Zimecki M. Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online). 2005 Aug 12; 59:421-32). Whey confers a high level of protection against cryptosporidiosis in newborn (Martin-Gomez S, Alvarez-Sanchez MA, Rojo-Vazquez FA. J Parasitol. 2005 Jun; 91(3):674-8). Feeding breastfed newborns with whey protein increases fecal bilirubin excretion and reduces jaundice without deleteriously affecting breastfeeding (Gourley Gr, Li Z, Kreamer BL, Kosorok MR. Pediatrics. 2005 Aug; 116(2):385-91). Whey supplementation can stimulate gluthathione synthesis and decrease the occurrence of associated co-infections in Children with Rapidly Progressive HIV Infection (Moreno YF, Sgarbieri VC, da Silva MN, Toro A, Vilela MM. J Trop Pediatr. 2005 Jul 13). Whey aids in the prevention of relapse of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (van Dissel JT, de Groot N, Hensgens CM, Numan S, Kuijper Ej, Veldkamp P, van't Wout J. J Med Microbiol. 2005 Feb; 54(Pt 2):197-205). According to the Journal of Pediatrics, whey protein have been shown to help reduce the duration of crying spells in infants with colic (Lucassen PL, Assendelft WJ, Gubbels JW, et al. Pediatrics 2000; 106:1349-1354, Wessel MA, Cobb JC, Jackson EB, et al. Pediatrics 1954; 14:421-435).
Whey's Benefit on Cardiovascular Health
Certain specific types of hydrolyzed whey protein isolate show promise in helping to naturally reduce blood pressure (Murray BA, Walsh DJ, FitzGerald RJ. J Biochem Biophys Methods. 2004 May 31; 59(2):127-37). Addition of whey in meals with rapidly digested and absorbed carbohydrates stimulates insulin release and reduces postprandial blood glucose excursion in type 2 diabetic subjects (Frid AH, Nilsson M, Holst JJ, Bjorck IM Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul; 82(1):69-75). Milk intake and milk products like whey lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of hypertension (Ackley S, Barrett-Conner E, Suarez L. Am J Clin Nutr 1983; 38:457-461, Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, et al. N Eng J Med 1997;336:1117-1124, Svetky LE Simons-Morton D, Vollmer WM, et al. Arch Intern Med 1999;159:285-293). Supplementation of whey showed significantly higher HDLs and lower triglycerides and systolic blood pressure than did the placebo group (Kawase M, HashimotoH, Hosoda M, et al. J Dairy Sci 2000;83:255-263).
Whey Enhances Physical Performance and Help Create a More Desirable Body Mass Composition.
Whey improves body mass index in individuals participating in exercise programs (Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Davidson KS, et al. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2001;11:349-364). Men engaged in resistance training programs while supplementing with whey protein concentrates showed greater improvements in strength than men using resistance training alone (Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Davidson KS, et al. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2001;11:349-364). Whey protein supplementation improves work capacity and also caused decrease in percent body fat (Lands LC, Grey VL, Smountas AA. J Appl Physiol 1999;87:1381-1385). While moderate exercise enhances immunity (Davis JM, Murphy EA, Brown AS, et al. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2004;286:R366-R372), intense athletic training has been shown to stress the immune system (Nieman DC. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000;32:S406-S411, Mackinnon LT. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000;32:S369-S376, Nieman DC. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1998;76:573-580). Free radical production and increased inflammatory activity are thought to contribute to impaired immune activity in over-trained athletes. In highly trained individuals muscular performance and recovery can be hindered by oxidative stress (Gohil K, Viguie C, Stanley WC, et al. J Appl Physiol 1988;64:115-119, Sastre J, Asensi M, Gasco E, et al. Am J Physiol 1992;263:R992-R995, Sen CK, Atalay M, Hanninen O. J Appl Physiol 1994;77:2177-2187). The availability of gluthathione has been shown to reduce oxidative stress (Monograph. Altern Med Rev 2001;6:601-607)

SALT

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Salt (both sea salt and rock salt) were well known to the ancient Greeks who noted that eating salty food affects basic body functions such as digestion and excretion (urine and stools). This led to salt being used medically. Even the healing methods of Hippocrates (460 BC) is made of frequent use of salt. The Greeks, 2000 years ago, had already discovered topical use of salt for skin lesions, drinking salty or mineralized waters for digestive troubles and inhaling salt for respiratory diseases!

Paracelsus, a doctor and alchemist (1493–1541 A.D.) introduced an entirely new medical concept. He believed that external factors create disease and was the proponent of a chemically oriented medical system which is salt-based. To him salt is vital substance for human existence – "The human being must have salt, he cannot be without salt. Where there is no salt, nothing will remain, but everything will tend to rot." He prescribed salt water for the treatment of wounds and for use against intestinal worms. A hip bath in salt water was his superb remedy for skin diseases and itching – "This brine is better than all the health spas arising out of nature." He described the diuretic effect of salt consumption and recommended salt preparations of different strengths that were used for as remedies for different maladies, like for instance against constipation. He prescribed salt-based remedies as expectorant and a mixture of water, salt, and vinegar as an emetic. A mixture of two-thirds cow's milk and one-third salt-water, to be drank in the mornings, on an empty stomach was recommended as a cure for diseases of the spleen while a mixture of salt and honey applied topically is used to clean bad ulcers. Salt-water was also prescribed to be used externally against skin diseases and freckles.

According to Herman Aihara, the father of modern Macrobiotics, we carry our own inner sea within each of us in the form of a saline interstitial fluid which carries nutrients, messages, energy and even toxins to every part of our body, and also carries away the same toxic elements and more, as a result of the body’s daily metabolic process. An abundance of the ingredients in sea salt and salt mines are as synonymous with life today as they were a billion years ago. The limitation and even prohibition of salt intake will then be synonymous with birth defects, organ failure, decay, diseases, premature aging and death at a young age. Regular table salt now a days, is mainly sodium chloride and not salt, devoid of the other ingredients of the original sea salt. With the advent of industrialization, our natural salt was "chemically cleaned" and reduced only to sodium and chloride. Most companies that produce salt, dry their salt in huge kilns with temperatures reaching 1200 degrees F, changing the salt's chemical structure, which in turn adversely affects the human body.

Salt is an essential substance for the survival of all living creatures, particularly that of humans. Water and salt regulate the water content of the body. Water itself regulates the water content of the interior of the cell by working its way into all of the cells it reaches. It has to get there to cleanse and extract the toxic wastes of cell metabolisms. Salt forces some water to stay outside the cells and balances the amount of water that stays outside the cells. Good health depends on a most delicate balance between the water content of the interior and exterior of the cells, and this balance is achieved by salt – unrefined salt!

When water is available to get inside the cells freely, it is first filtered from the exterior salty part of the cells and injected into interior of the cells that are being overworked despite their water shortage. This is the reason why in severe dehydration we develop an edema and retain water. The design of our bodies is such that the extent of the water outside the cells is expanded to have the extra water available for filtration and emergency injection into vital cells. The brain commands an increase in salt and water retention by the kidneys. This is how we get an edema when we don't drink enough water.

The most natural way to treat edema is: (1) to put up the legs while lying down so that the collected water that pools mostly in the legs will be aided by the force of gravity to get the retained water onto the blood circulation; and (2) to drink enough water to be able to pass clear urine which will also pass out a lot of the salt that was held back. This way, we can get rid of edema fluid in the body; by drinking more water. Not taking diuretics, but more water!! In cases where patient have an extensive edema and the heart is beginning to have irregular or very rapid beats with least effort, water intake should be increased gradually and spaced out, but not withheld from the body although salt intake should be limited for two or three days to let the body adjust from its overdrive mode to retain salt. Once the edema has cleared up, salt should not be withheld from the patient.

The following is an excerpt from the writing of Roy Moxham “Salt Starvation in British India – Consequences of High Salt Taxation in the Bengal Presidency, 1765 to 1878” with regards to our need for salt:

The Need for Salt

In recent years there has been much publicity about the need to reduce salt consumption in societies where salt is added to many processed foods (Denton 1984, 584-7). [The health benefits of any general reduction in salt consumption are still being assessed, and contentious (Alderman, Cohen, and Madhavan 1998, 781-5).] It has tended to be forgotten that some salt intake is absolutely necessary; that people need salt, sodium chloride, to survive:
The chemical requirements of the human body demand that the salt concentration in the blood be kept constant. If the body does not get enough salt, a hormonal mechanism compensates by reducing the excretion of salt in the urine and sweat. But it cannot reduce this output to zero. On a completely salt-free diet the body steadily loses small amounts of salt via the kidneys and sweat glands. It then attempts to adjust this by accelerating its secretion of water, so that the blood’s salt concentration can be maintained at the vital level. The result is a gradual desiccation of the body and finally death (Bloch 1963, 89).

Salt normally comprises about 1/400 of body weight (Marriott 1950, 6). In a 150-lb man this would be six ounces. In hot environments, especially when doing manual labour, people sweat heavily and lose considerable quantities of salt (Seavoy, Ronald E. 1986. Famine in peasant societies. New York; London: Greenwood). In tropical countries “salt deficiency is perhaps the commonest of all deficiency states” (Maccauly, Thomas. 1816. The Indian Trader’s Complete Guide. Calcutta).

The desire for salt is presumably in-built to ensure survival (Denton 1984, 604). Salt, up to a certain limit, is pleasurable to eat. Where it is plentiful, people eat more than they need – and if the body’s mechanism for secreting it is impaired, more than is desirable. Unlike hunger or thirst, however, the desire for salt does not increase when reserves are low (Marriott 1950, 22; Dill 1938, 82). For this reason people receiving too little salt will find food bland, but often not realise why they are feeling listless, or worse. Similarly, those whose salt reserves have been depleted by illness will experience no added desire to consume salt. Even doctors sometimes fail to recognise that patients are suffering from salt depletion. As Dr Marriott has written in Water and Salt Depletion: “their deaths are ascribed to ‘toxaemia’ or ‘uraemia’ or ‘circulatory failure’ when they have, in fact, died from simple lack of salt and could easily have been saved” (Marriott 1950, 3-5). Since he was writing of the situation in western hospitals in the middle of the twentieth century, it can be appreciated that deaths caused by salt depletion in eighteenth and nineteenth century Bengal would have been even less likely to be correctly attributed.

Illness is a major cause of salt depletion (Black 1953, 305-11). People who are already low on salt are particularly vulnerable. Large quantities of salt can be lost in fever-sweat, in vomit, and most of all in diarrhoea (Marriott 1950, 32-4). This should be continually replenished. Severe diarrhoeas can drain as much as 1 ¾ ounces of salt from the body in a single day, and thus quickly lead to severe dehydration. Without intravenous infusion of saline solution – not an option in the period being considered – recovery would have been unlikely (Souhami and Moxham 1990, 849). However, milder diarrhoeas, which as any traveller can relate are common in India, can over a few days also lead to severe depletion (Marriott 1950, 33). Rehydration can only be effected with the intake of salt. Without this salt, however much water is drunk, recovery is impossible. Many diarrhoeas are self limiting – that is they terminate of their own accord, without drugs, after a few days. Rotavirus diarrhoea, which “is the commonest cause of diarrhoea in children up to 2 years old in the tropics” (Souhami and Moxham, 257), is an important example. It is essential to keep the body from dehydrating, and salt is necessary for this. The main ingredient of modern oral rehydration solutions is salt (Souhami and Moxham, 257).

Minimum Salt Requirement

Exactly how much salt the inhabitants of the Bengal Presidency required to maintain health is difficult to estimate. Need would have depended on such variables as body weight, metabolism, the work environment, and local climate. Some people sweat more than others, and some have a higher concentration of salt in their sweat (Ladell, Waterlow, and Hudson 1944, 491-7, 527-531). Different researchers have come up with different minimum salt requirements (Robinson 1949, 218-31). Under constant conditions, some people seem able to reduce the loss of salt in their sweat to very low levels (Conn 1949, 373-93; Dahl 1958, 1152-7). Acclimatisation may reduce salt need (Collins 1963, 716-20). Some indigenous people in areas where salt has been scarce historically, seem to have a very low salt requirement (Denton 1984, 43-4). In contrast, for many others, living or working in hot environments, high levels of salt consumption seem to be essential (Ladell 1944, 492; McCance 1936a, 245-268; Haldane 1929, 469; Dill 1938, 83-4). As Knut Schmidt-Nielsen has pointed out, “sweat contains a variable amount of sodium chloride, but always enough to cause a considerable salt loss when sweat is produced in quantities. A relatively high intake of sodium chloride is therefore necessary” (Schmidt-Nielsen 1964, 21). It is difficult, he also observes, to collect sweat and other samples without altering the body’s environment, and impossible to give general rules for cutaneous salt loss, “but we can assume that, at high sweating rates, the total loss may easily run to 10 to 30 grammes [0.35 to 1.06 oz] of sodium chloride a day” (Bloch, M. R. 1963. “The Social Influence of Salt.” Scientific American 209: 89 – 98; Brown, Judith Margaret. 1989. Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope. New Haven: Yale University Press; Colebrooke, Henry Thomas. 1806. Remarks on the Husbandry and Internal Commerce of Bengal. Calcutta; Collins, K. J. 1963. “Endocrine Control of Salt and Water in Hot Conditions.” Federation Proceedings 22: 716-20).

Salt depletion was reported among troops with heat exhaustion in Iraq (Ladell, Waterlow, and Hudson 1944). The daily hot station salt allowance was 21 grams, with another 10 grams estimated to be present in processed food, making a total of 31 grams, or 1.09 oz. Many other troops, it should be noted, found this intake adequate. In Iraq, a group of fit acclimatized men were subject to extensive tests in hot conditions. The average loss of salt in their sweat was calculated as 17.6 grams a day. There was also a loss of at least 3 grams a day in the urine, giving a total daily loss of 20.6 grams, or 0.73 oz.

Besides the avoidance of cholesterol-rich foods, one of the controversies in preventive medicine is, whether a general reduction in sodium intake can decrease the blood pressure of a population and thereby reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. In recent years the debate continued and has even been extended by studies indicating that reducing sodium intake has effects on the hormone and lipid profile. Below is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary by Jürgens G and Graudal NA on the “Effects of low sodium diet versus high sodium diet on blood pressure, renin, aldosterone, catecholamines, cholesterols, and triglyceride.” (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004022. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004022.pub2)
Abstract
Background
One of the controversies in preventive medicine is, whether a general reduction in sodium intake can decrease the blood pressure of a population and thereby reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. In recent years the debate has been extended by studies indicating that reducing sodium intake has effects on the hormone and lipid profile.
Objectives
To estimate the effects of low sodium versus high sodium intake on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), plasma or serum levels of renin, aldosterone, catecholamines, cholesterol and triglycerides.
Search strategy
"MEDLINE" and reference lists of relevant articles were searched from 1966 through December 2001.
Selection criteria
Studies randomising persons to low sodium and high sodium diets were included if they evaluated at least one of the above outcome parameters.
Data collection and analysis
Two authors independently extracted the data, which were analysed by means of Review Manager 4.1.
Main results
In 57 trials of mainly Caucasians with normal blood pressure, low sodium intake reduced SBP by -1.27 mm Hg (CI: -1.76; -0.77)(p<0.0001) and DBP by -0.54 mm Hg (CI: -0.94; -0.14) (p = 0.009) as compared to high sodium intake. In 58 trials of mainly Caucasians with elevated blood pressure, low sodium intake reduced SBP by -4.18 mm Hg (CI: -5.08; - 3.27) (p < 0.0001) and DBP by -1.98 mm Hg (CI: -2.46; -1.32) (p < 0.0001) as compared to high sodium intake. The median duration of the intervention was 8 days in the normal blood pressure trials (range 4-1100) and 28 days in the elevated blood pressure trials (range 4-365). Multiple regression analyses showed no independent effect of duration on the effect size. In 8 trials of blacks with normal or elevated blood pressure, low sodium intake reduced SBP by -6.44 mm Hg (CI: -9.13; -3.74) (p < 0.0001) and DBP by -1.98 mm Hg (CI: -4.75; 0.78) (p = 0.16) as compared to high sodium intake. The magnitude of blood pressure reduction was also greater in a single trial in Japanese patients. There was also a significant increase in plasma or serum renin, 304% (p < 0.0001), aldosterone, 322%, (p < 0.0001), noradrenaline, 30% (p < 0.0001), cholesterol, 5.4% (p < 0.0001) and LDL cholesterol, 4.6% (p < 0.004), and a borderline increase in adrenaline, 12% (p = 0.04) and triglyceride, 5.9% (p = 0.03) with low sodium intake as compared with high sodium intake.
Authors' conclusions
The magnitude of the effect in Caucasians with normal blood pressure does not warrant a general recommendation to reduce sodium intake. Reduced sodium intake in Caucasians with elevated blood pressure has a useful effect to reduce blood pressure in the short-term. The results suggest that the effect of low versus high sodium intake on blood pressure was greater in Black and Asian patients than in Caucasians. However, the number of studies in black (8) and Asian patients (1) was insufficient for different recommendations. Additional long-term trials of the effect of reduced dietary sodium intake on blood pressure, metabolic variables, morbidity and mortality are required to establish whether this is a useful prophylactic or treatment strategy.

Dr. Suzanne Oparil of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, past president of the American Heart Association, commented that the government may have been too quick to recommend that everyone cut back on salt as a solitary recommendation for the population for the prevention or the treatment of hypertension. An eight-year study of a New York City hypertensive population stratified for sodium intake levels found those on low-salt diets had more than four times as many heart attacks as those on normal-sodium diets – the exact opposite of what the “salt hypothesis” would have predicted (1995). Dr. Jeffrey R. Cutler documented no health outcomes benefits of lower-sodium diets in this study.

In a Joint Meeting with the Academy of Medical Sciences regarding “SALT AND DIET - TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE?” held at the Royal Society in April 24, 2001, the lectures referred to the evidence linking high blood pressure with the risk of coronary heart disease and strokes, and sodium intake with high blood pressure. They all noted that the picture was far from simple because as Professor Brown, in particular, drew attention to the fact that there exists a range of possible causes of high blood pressure, from genetic factors and to age-related differences in physiological responses. Professor Pickard on the other hand, also described some of the pitfalls in translating scientific evidence into practical dietary advice, and in particular the danger of focusing too much on a single factor and neglecting the importance of lifestyle. He argued that advice should be tailored to individual circumstances, not applied doctrinally to a heterogeneous population.