Tocotrienols and citrus flavonoids lower cholesterol by 20-30 percent

A study shows the power of natural substances to help promote healthy levels of cholesterol. A combination of tocotrienols and citrus-derived polymethoxylated flavones were tested on men and women with high cholesterol (total greater than 230).  The two open-label studies and one double-blind study varied in length from four to12 weeks.
Researchers found a significant reduction in total cholesterol (20 percent - 30 percent), LDL (19 percent - 27 percent), apolipoprotein B (21 percent), and triglycerides (24 percent - 34 percent).
The ability of concentrated natural products to help support a healthy cholesterol level is certainly good news, as these substances have no adverse side effects.

Source
Roza JM, Xian-Liu Z, Guthrie N. Effect of citrus flavonoids and tocotrienols on serum cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Altern Ther Health Med.   2007 November  13(6):44-8.
SourceOne Global Partners, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Study Abstract:

CONTEXT: Preliminary studies have suggested that both citrus flavonoids and palm tocotrienols reduce cholesterol levels in laboratory animals. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of these nutrients in combination on blood levels of cholesterol and related cardiovascular disease risk factors. DESIGN: Two open-label studies and 1 double-blind study are reported.
SETTING: Outpatient clinical research setting.
PATIENTS: Three groups (n=10, n=10, n=120) of hypercholesterolemic men and women (cholesterol levels >230 mg/dL) between the ages of 19 and 65 years were recruited. INTERVENTION: Subjects were randomized to consume either 270 mg citrus flavonoids plus 30 mg tocotrienols (S) or placebo (P) daily for a period of 4 weeks (group 1 [G1] and group 2 [G2]) or 12 weeks (group 3 [G3]). MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURES: Measurements of fasting levels of blood cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides were made at baseline and 4 weeks (all groups) and at 8 weeks and 12 weeks (G3).
RESULTS: Daily treatment with S significantly improved cardiovascular parameters compared to P in all groups. Significant reductions were shown in total cholesterol (20%-30%), LDL (19%-27%), apolipoprotein B (21%), and triglycerides (24%-34%). HDL levels remained unchanged in G1 and G2 but increased 4% (nonsignificant) in G3 and was accompanied by a significant increase in apolipoprotein A1 (5%).

Vitamin and mineral supplements are effective against the development of AIDS, JAMA study confirms

From 2004 I support that the proper way to treat and cure diseases is with a right diet and with the use of food supplements. I am clinical Nutritionist with an emphasis in Orthomolecular nutrition. There is a war against food supplements from the medical establishment. Many medical doctors and dieticians say that vitamin and mineral supplements are unnecessary. A recent study confirms my theories and proves the medical doctors and dieticians totally wrong.
In a clinical study published in November 2013 in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), the authors from leading research institutions around the world reported that micronutrient supplementation significantly reduced the risk of immune decline and morbidity in 878 patients infected with HIV.
Moreover, the authors of the JAMA study concluded that micronutrients are important in the early stages of AIDS. The publication of this study in JAMA brings new hope to patients, doctors, health policy makers and people at large that effective, safe and affordable micronutrients can become a scientifically accepted 'weapon' in the global battle against HIV infections and AIDS (1).
A decade ago, the Dr. Rath Health Foundation (2) conducted a community-wide nutritional program in South Africa, which confirmed the efficacy of micronutrients in people with AIDS. They donated a micronutrient supplement to the South Africa National Civic Organization (SANCO), which distributed it among 748 people with AIDS. After 10-12 weeks of the the nutrient program, (3) these patients reported a significant improvement in their overall health and reductions in all AIDS-defining symptoms – including persistent fever, coughing, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, infections and a variety of other symptoms associated with AIDS – by up to 78% (4-5) .
Considering the fact that the pharmaceutical drug industry is currently making up to $600,000 over the lifetime of an AIDS patient, this breakthrough is a heavy setback for this industry. But the biggest blow for the drug industry is the loss of credibility. Through the decade long campaign to silence Dr. Rath and deny the life-saving benefits of micronutrients in the fight against the AIDS epidemic, the drug business has revealed its true face to the world: Putting profits over life. A summary of the battle Dr. Rath has led in the name of all mankind is documented at www.end-aids-business.org.

Sources:
 1. M. K. Baum, et al. JAMA; 2013;310(20):2154-2163. doi:10.1001/ja-ma.2013.280923
[http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1785464]
2.  http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/research_news/articles/20140206_Micronutrients_Help_Prevent_AIDS.html
3.  http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/nat_vit/PDF-Files/community_health_program.pdf
 4. R.J. Jariwalla, A. Niedzwiecki, M. Rath; Commonwealth Ministers Book, 2007, pg.187-189
[www.drrathresearch.org/attachments/259_role_of_micronutrients_in_the_control_of_hiv_and_aids.pdf]
5. R. J. Jariwalla, A. Niedzwiecki, M. Rath; Recent Translational Research in HIV/AIDS, ed. Y-W Tang, INTECH 2011; pg. 513-52
[www.drrathresearch.org/pub/pdf/hsns1405.pdf]


I represent the abstract of the study from JAMA:

Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Disease Progression in Asymptomatic, Antiretroviral-Naive, HIV-Infected Adults in BotswanaA Randomized Clinical Trial

Marianna K. Baum, PhD¹; Adriana Campa, PhD¹; Shenghan Lai, MD, MPH⁵; Sabrina Sales Martinez, MS¹; Lesedi Tsalaile, MS²; Patricia Burns, MS, MPH³; Mansour Farahani, MD, PhD³; Yinghui Li, MS¹; Erik van Widenfelt, BSc²; John Bryan Page, PhD⁴; Hermann Bussmann, MD²; Wafaie W. Fawzi, MBBS, DrPH³; Sikhulele Moyo, MPH²; Joseph Makhema, MB, ChB, MRCP²; Ibou Thior, MD²; Myron Essex, DVM, PhD³; Richard Marlink, MD³  

JAMA. 2013;310(20):2154-2163. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.280923.

ABSTRACT

Importance  Micronutrient deficiencies occur early in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and supplementation with micronutrients may be beneficial; however, its effectiveness has not been investigated early in HIV disease among adults who are antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive.
Objective  To investigate whether long-term micronutrient supplementation is effective and safe in delaying disease progression when implemented early in adults infected with HIV subtype C who are ART-naive.
Design, Setting, and Participants  Randomized clinical trial of supplementation with either daily multivitamins (B vitamins and vitamins C and E), selenium alone, or multivitamins with selenium vs placebo in a factorial design for 24 months. The study was conducted in 878 patients infected with HIV subtype C with a CD4 cell count greater than 350/μL who were not receiving ART at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana, between December 2004 and July 2009.
Interventions  Daily oral supplements of B vitamins and vitamins C and E, selenium alone, or multivitamins plus selenium, compared with placebo.
Main Outcomes and Measures  Reaching a CD4 cell count less than 200/μL until May 2008; after this date, reaching a CD4 cell count of 250/μL or less, consistent with the standard of care in Botswana for initiation of ART at the time of the study.
Results  There were 878 participants enrolled and randomized into the study. All participants were ART-naive throughout the study. In intent-to-treat analysis, participants receiving the combined supplement of multivitamins plus selenium had a significantly lower risk vs placebo of reaching CD4 cell count 250/μL or less (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25-0.85; P = .01; absolute event rate [AER], 4.79/100 person-years; censoring rate, 0.92; 17 events; placebo AER, 9.22/100 person-years; censoring rate, 0.85; 32 events). Multivitamins plus selenium in a single supplement, vs placebo, also reduced the risk of secondary events of combined outcomes for disease progression (CD4 cell count ≤250/μL, AIDS-defining conditions, or AIDS-related death, whichever occurred earlier [adjusted HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.33-0.95; P = .03; AER, 6.48/100 person-years; censoring rate, 0.90; 23 events]). There was no effect of supplementation on HIV viral load. Multivitamins alone and selenium supplementation alone were not statistically different from placebo for any end point. Reported adverse events were adjudicated as unlikely to be related to the intervention, and there were no notable differences in incidence of HIV-related and health-related events among study groups.
Conclusions and Relevance  In ART-naive HIV-infected adults, 24-month supplementation with a single supplement containing multivitamins and selenium was safe and significantly reduced the risk of immune decline and morbidity. Micronutrient supplementation may be effective when started in the early stages of HIV disease.

 

Tocotrienols: Twenty Years of Dazzling Cardiovascular and Cancer Research

Numerous studies over the past two decades have clearly proven that the tocotrienol form of vitamin E is a top choice for cardiovascular protection and heart health. A recent review of tocotrienol science¹ points out that they are also being researched for benefits to bone health, blood sugar metabolism, brain health, and cancer. Tocotrienols offer a safe and effective way to help achieve or maintain healthy cholesterol, while simultaneously protecting your arteries. It is worthwhile understanding more about them and how they can improve your health. 
The vitamin E family consists of four tocotrienols and four tocopherols. D alpha tocopherol is the commonly understood form of vitamin E and has been extensively researched and has its own value to human health. The difference between tocotrienols and tocopherols is the “tail” on the vitamin E molecule. Tocopherols have a long saturated tail. Tocotrienols have a short unsaturated tail. The unique structure of tocotrienols enables them to do many things that tocopherols cannot do. This includes easier access to cells, better antioxidant function in cells, a better ability to move around in cells, and the activation of a wide variety of gene signals including cholesterol regulation. 
The first recognition of tocotrienols as regulators of cholesterol occurred in a 1986 study²  in which tocotrienols were isolated from barley and fed to chickens. Tocotrienols reduced the rate of synthesis of cholesterol by the liver, in turn reducing total and LDL cholesterol. In April 1991, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published an animal study and two human studies, triggering an explosion in scientific interest in tocotrienols, which continues to this day. The animal study involved pigs with inherited high cholesterol³. Tocotrienols reduced their total cholesterol by 44 percent and LDL by 60 percent. They also reduced factors in the blood associated with sticky platelets, suggesting an additional cardiovascular protective mechanism was in play. 
The same University of Wisconsin research team that did the pig study also conducted an 8 week double-blind crossover study with 15 humans. During the four weeks on 50 mg per day of tocotrienols the total cholesterol was lowered 15 percent, LDL by 8 percent, and factors affecting platelet stickiness were also improved. Another preliminary human study with 42 mg of tocotrienols per day⁵ found that many participants lowered their cholesterol, in some cases up to 35 percent for both total and LDL cholesterol. The dose of tocotrienols used in these early studies was relatively small, yet it still showed a positive influence on cholesterol levels.
Researchers next documented that it was gamma tocotrienol⁶ responsible for inhibiting cholesterol synthesis in the liver. As the research progressed, scientists showed that gamma tocotrienol was reducing the HMG CoA reductase enzyme⁷, which is the starting point in the production line for cholesterol synthesis within your liver. It should be pointed out that statins—especially in high doses—take a sledgehammer to this same enzyme, essentially clogging up its receptors so that no communication can get through. By comparison, tocotrienols work more on a consulting basis, gently down-regulating the enzyme as part of a communication strategy. Big Pharma invariably likes the sledgehammer approach, as they produce forced behavior on human systems. They can change numbers, even if a person continues to eat excessively. Maximizing the benefits of tocotrienols would require a person actually eat better.  Of course, tocotrienols have none of the toxic side effects⁸ that statins have.
While your liver uses this HMG CoA reductase cholesterol synthesis pathway (melvalonate pathway) to produce LDL cholesterol for your entire body, every cell in your body also uses the same pathway to produce small pieces of cholesterol that are vital for maintaining the health and survival of any cell. In cancer situations, this pathway is hijacked and used by cancer cells to foster their own survival at the expense of your body. Researchers quickly realized that the “consulting style” of tocotrienols within your liver and healthy cells would be very different inside cancer cells⁹ and would not place any brakes on tocotrienols stopping HMG CoA reductase activity. In other words, tocotrienols had a unique ability to differentiate between healthy cells and cancer cells and in the case of cancer they could cripple a primary defense system of the cancer. I should point out that statins can also kill cancer in a test tube but the dose required to kill cancer in humans kills the human first. On the other hand, tocotrienols have demonstrated excellent tumor killing ability, even helping chemo drugs work much better¹⁰ on resistant forms of cancer. Tocotrienols do not injure the human body. 
As the benefits of tocotrienols became apparent,so did the commercial interests in potentially different sources of them. Palm oil was high in gamma tocotrienol but not as high in alpha tocotrienol, which was turning out to be relevant to antioxidant protection of the arteries and brain. Palm oil is more difficult to put into capsules and requires the addition of other oils to make it flow easily. Rice bran oil is a rich source of both gamma and alpha tocotrienol; with some additional attention to quality it can be produced without any filler oils. This allows for the production of a highly purified end product with no additive oils, should a manufacturer chose to go the extra mile.
Rice bran oil¹¹ was known for some time to help cholesterol reduction. The recognition that tocotrienols were a main component of the oil in combination with all the emerging tocotrienol research, led scientists to study tocotrienols isolated from rice bran oil. Leading the pack was the University of Wisconsin research team that a decade earlier had done the pioneering work with palm tocotrienols, hypercholesterolemic pigs, and the first human studies. They tested 50 mgs per day of rice bran oil tocotrienols¹² in the genetically high cholesterol pigs. After six weeks total, cholesterol was reduced 32-38 percent, LDL cholesterol was reduced 35-43 percent, glucose was reduced 22-25 percent, triglycerides were reduced 15-19 percent, and various factors influencing sticky platelets were also reduced. 
Next the Wisconsin researchers placed 28 people with high cholesterol¹³ on a restricted diet for a month and then gave them either 50 mg of rice bran oil tocotrienols, 10 mg of the statin drug Mevacor (a relatively low dose, which is generally not toxic), or 50 mg tocotrienols, or a combination of 50 mg tocotrienols and 10 mg Mevacor. In the 50 mg tocotrienol group total cholesterol was lowered by 14 percent and LDL by 18 percent. In the Mevacor group total cholesterol was lowered by 13 percent and LDL by 15 percent.  In the combination group, total cholesterol was lowered by 20 percent and LDL by 25 percent. Several months later the researchers tested various doses of rice bran oil tocotrienols (25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg).  After being put on a restricted diet for a month 90 people were then divided into various groups. The 100 mg per day dose¹⁴ worked best, lowering total cholesterol by 20 percent, LDL by 25 percent, and triglycerides by 12 percent.  This is excellent human data to support the use of tocotrienols from rice bran oil in combination with eating well in the management of cholesterol.
In addition to the cholesterol-lowering properties of tocotrienols scientists were becoming interested in the ability of tocotrienols to positively benefit the health of arteries. In this case the focus turned primarily to alpha tocotrienol, which demonstrated a high level of antioxidant function. It was first recognized that alpha tocotrienol could prevent free radical damage to LDL cholesterol¹⁵ in humans with high cholesterol.  Only damaged (oxidized LDL) can form plaque in the arteries. 
Scientists then tested tocotrienols in mice¹⁶ who were genetically programmed to develop high cholesterol and hardening of the arteries when eating a high fat diet. When given tocotrienols and a high fat diet these mice did not develop high cholesterol and the hardening of their arteries was almost completely stopped (98 percent reduction). Other researchers found similar results when they placed rabbits on a diet designed to produce hardening of the arteries¹⁷.  Free radical damage in the blood was significantly reduced and the rabbits fed tocotrienols along with the bad diet had much less thickening of their arteries as well as retaining more elastic properties in their arteries.
In order for damaged cholesterol to stick to the lining of your arteries it is engulfed by macrophages (immune cells) that then stick to the endothelial cells that line your arteries. When endothelial cells become inflamed they project a Velcro-like piece of fly paper on the surface of their cells (adhesion molecules) which then enable the cholesterol-laden macrophages to lock on and start the plaque-forming process. A study with inflamed human endothelial cells¹⁸ shows that alpha tocotrienol powerfully inhibits this sticking process, turning off the sticky adhesion molecules by turning down the inflammatory gene regulator within the endothelial cell (NF-kappaB ). 
The ability of alpha tocotrienol to regulate the core inflammatory gene signal is highly relevant to human health, since it is now recognized that chronic low-grade activation of NF-kappaB is a primary factor in nearly every disease of aging.  Indeed, researchers soon discovered that alpha tocotrienol, but not d alpha tocopherol, could completely inhibit excitotoxic injury to brain cells¹⁹ (a key feature to most aspects of cognitive decline and memory loss).
This article highlights some of the key tocotrienol cardiovascular and cancer research going on around the world,  which continues in full swing today. Human studies continue to show cholesterol-lowering benefits²⁰, even in difficult problems like type 2 diabetes²¹. Numerous review articles²² tout the broad range of benefits, including the prevention of disease²³, offered by the unique form of vitamin E known as tocotrienols, which truly is the vitamin E for the 21st Century²⁴.
Originally published 2/23/2011

The men who ate nothing but meat for an entire year.

by sott.net
Low-carb diets and paleolithic nutrition are all the rage these days, and for good reason. Compared to the Standard American Diet, both of them are superb.
Few of us would dare to take the two to their extreme, however. Giving up sugar and wheat is one thing, but what about giving up everything except meat? Yes, I’m talking about an ultra low-carb diet with even foods like nuts and berries removed. Unsurprisingly and understandably, studies on the long-term effects of such a diet are severely lacking.
There is at least one study that did just this, however. If the diet brings the Eskimos to mind, it’s no coincidence. You may have heard of Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson – the Canadian ethnologist who spent more than a decade with the Inuit during his arctic explorations in the beginning of the previous century. For nine of these years, he lived almost exclusively on fish and meat (you can read about his experiences here). At the time, this was considered heresy and life-threatening, just as it is today (note that Stefansson apparently refers to both fish and meat with the word “meat”):

A belief I was destined to find crucial in my Arctic work, making the difference between success and failure, life and death, was the view that man cannot live on meat alone. The few doctors and dietitians who thought you could were considered unorthodox if not charlatans. The arguments ranged from metaphysics to chemistry: Man was not intended to be carnivorous – you knew that from examining his teeth, his stomach, and the account of him in the Bible. As mentioned, he would get scurvy if he had no vegetables in meat. The kidneys would be ruined by overwork. There would be protein poisoning and, in general hell to pay.

To the surprise of many (including Stefansson himself), he suffered no health problems during his decade of pure carnivorism. When he told people of his amazing experiences, he was met with skepticism from medical authorities who asked him to undertake a study that would replicate the results. He and a fellow explorer named Andersen agreed to eat an all-meat diet for an entire year in a closely observed setting.

Composing a diet of nothing but meat and fat 

This time, however, the diet was even more radical than the traditional Eskimo diet, which is based on fish and includes a small amount of berries and vegetables – not a lot, but enough to keep them out of ketosis most of the time. Furthermore, since fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, you could argue that it’s all those good fats that keep the Eskimos free of disease.
But how could anyone subscribing to conventional health wisdom explain thriving on a diet consisting solely of red meat? No vegetables, no fruit, no vitamin supplements. Nothing. Just meat and animal fat.
The results of this fascinating study were published in 1930 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (link). At the beginning of the experiment, Stefansson was given only lean meat at the request of his supervisors. This was to confirm Stefansson’s bad experiences with low-fat meat; during his explorations, there had been periods during which fat was not readily available and which lead to diarrhea and nausea in a few weeks. This time, the illness kicked in much earlier:

As said, in the Arctic we had become ill during the second or third fatless week. I now became ill on the second fatless day. The time difference between Bellevue and the Arctic was due no doubt mainly to the existence of a little fat, here and there in our northern caribou – we had eaten the tissue from behind the eyes, we had broken the bones for marrow, and in doing everything we could to get fat we had evidently secured more than we realized. At Bellevue the meat, carefully scrutinized, had been as lean as such muscle tissue can be.

After fat was added back into the diet, a full recovery was made in two days. The authors of the study describe the diet from then on:

The meat used included beef, lamb, veal, pork and chicken. The parts used were muscle, liver, kidney, brain, bone marrow, bacon, and fat.

Thus, fat played an important part in their diets. According to the authors, Andersen usually ate beef, while Stefansson often chose lamb. Both men ate about 800 grams of meat per day in 3-4 meals. The protein contents ranged from 100 to 140 grams, the fat from 200 to 300 grams, and carbohydrates from 7 to 12 grams. In calories, the percentages were 15-25% protein, 75-85% fat, and 1-2% carbohydrate. The carbs came solely from the glycogen of the meat, making this not so much a low-carb as a no-carb diet. In addition to water, coffee and tea were allowed throughout the period.

Seven years after the meat diet

In 1935, one of the authors published an article titled “A Year’s Exclusive Meat Diet and Seven Years Later”, in which he revisits Stefansson’s case. First, he summarizes the main points of his earlier article from 1926, titled “The Effects of an Exclusive Long-continued Meat Diet”. The following medical facts regarding Stefansson’s life during his explorations are listed:

1. He spent altogether eleven and one-half years within the Arctic Circle.
2. He lived for a number of days, totaling nine years, on an exclusive meat diet.
3. He lived for nine successive months on an exclusive meat diet.
4. He reached his maximum weight while subsisting on meat (fish).
5. His sense of physical and mental well being was at its best during that period of his life.
6. He found that the exclusive meat diet worked as well when he was inactive as when active, and as well in hot weather as in cold.
7. Constipation was never present. One month’s entire absence from exercise produced neither constipation nor muscular weakness. (Stefansson avers that not a single case of constipation was observed in 600 exclusively meat-eating Eskimos for a period of three years).
8. His hair thickened, and his scalp became healthier.
9. Tooth decay was apparently much less rapid.

Seven years after the meat diet study, the author examined Stefansson again, who apparently had reacquainted himself with some aspects of the Western diet. Instead of eating only meat, he was now eating a breakfast of one egg, bread and coffee, and a dinner and supper consisting of a moderate amount of meat, vegetables, and some cheese. His fruit and milk intake remained negligible.

During this period, Stefansson had put on quite a bit of weight. He now weighed 84 kg, compared with 70.8 kg in 1922 and 72.5 in 1928. His hair was as thick as before, but his gingivitis had returned. Blood pressure was up to 120/80 mm. All in all, the author states Stefansson was in excellent general health. Looking at the numbers, however, it seems that he was doing better on his monotonous carnivore diet.
While it would be interesting to replicate the study with a larger sample size and have more health markers measured than the ones used in the study, it is quite remarkable to see that a diet consisting of nothing but meat and animal fat is both feasible and, apparently, healthy. It also lends support to the importance of having a sufficient amount of fat in the diet, especially when protein is present in significant quantities.
Read the entire article here: http://www.sott.net/article/263707-Wonders-of-the-Ketogenic-diet-The-Andersen-and-Stefansson-Eskimo-Experiment

Can Probiotics Help You Lose Weight?

Probiotics can help your stomach feel better, but can they “slim” your stomach too?

It’s been hypothesized that gut bacteria influence weight. The overuse of antibiotics has been linked to weight gain, and studies have shown differences in the flora of obese and thin animals.¹

Researchers in Quebec wanted to test this hypothesis by giving overweight people probiotics, and the results were somewhat of a surprise. Ready?

Women Taking Probiotics Lost Weight

Scientists recruited 125 obese people and randomly split them into two groups. One group was given a probiotic containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The other group received a placebo. All subjects participated in a weight loss plan for 12 weeks followed by a weight-maintenance period for another 12 weeks.

After the 12-week weight loss period, the women in the treatment group lost an average of 9.7 pounds, compared to 5.7 pounds in the placebo group. No significant weight loss changes were seen between the men in the placebo and treatment group.

What’s even more interesting is that after the maintenance period, the women in the treatment group continued to lose weight and body fat. On the other hand, the women in the placebo group experienced opposite effects.²

Probiotics Lower Leptin and Block Inflammation

Hunger hormones and inflammation play key roles in obesity. It’s not just about the calories you consume and burn off.

In the Quebec study, women taking the probiotics had lower levels of circulating leptin, a hunger hormone with appetite modulating effects. Leptin acts as a switch in your brain to turn hunger signals off, and it reduces body fat. Obese people tend to have higher levels of leptin in their blood.

Inflammatory compounds block leptin receptor sites, making the body “resistant” to its effects. Consequently, the body responds by producing more leptin. This creates a vicious cycle of inflammation and obesity. Alternatively, decreased leptin levels indicate a lessening of “leptin resistance.”

Probiotics lower intestinal permeability. They keep the intestinal barrier strong, which, according to the Quebec researchers, could help keep inflammatory compounds from entering the bloodstream.

Eat Probiotic-Rich Foods and Supplement

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, make an effort to obtain more probiotics in your diet. It can make a big difference in your health.

The typical Western diet can deplete the good bacteria in your gut. Antibiotics, excessive hygiene, and aging can cause further imbalances. Once the good bacteria are destroyed, bad bacteria quickly multiply and open the door for health problems.

Not sure where to start? Here are some foods to take note of:

• Yogurt
• Soft cheeses
• Natto
• Sourdough bread
• Pickled/fermented vegetables
• Kefir
• Kombucha
• Tempeh
• Kimchi
• Miso
• Sauerkraut

In addition to eating more of these foods, consider taking a probiotic supplement. It’s the easiest way to ensure you’re getting enough healthy bacteria into your body. You’ll find a variety of pills on the market with varying strengths, but aim for a product that offers several billion friendly bacteria daily.

Maylin Rodriguez-Paez, RN

http://blog.lef.org/2014/02/can-probiotics-help-you-lose-weight.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=normal

References

1. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2013 Apr;19(4):305-13.
2. Br J Nutr. 2013 Dec 3:1-13.    

Vitamin E supplements are beneficial for Alzheimer's patients

MARIOS DIMOPOULOS NOTE: 
Some medical doctors say that vitamin E are ineffective or even dangerous for human health. Nothing far from truth! Vitamin E supplements have beneficial effects in the human body. One recent study shows that vitamin E supplements in a high dose of 2000IU are beneficial for Alzheimer's patients. But always I suggest that people take not alpha tocopherol alone, but mixed tocopherols. If someone takes alpha-tocopherol, he/she should take a gamma tocopherol supplements. Personally, I use to take a supplement with mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols. But let's see the new study about the beneficial effect of vitamin E supplements in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 5.4 million Americans. But the number of individuals whose lives are forever changed by the emotional impact of experiencing the mental decline of a cherished loved one far exceeds the number of those carrying the actual diagnosis.

And so it is that medical research has labored aggressively to develop a treatment for this condition. As yet, the efforts have failed – miserably. No pharmaceutical intervention has demonstrated any meaningful effectiveness to treat or even slow the mental decline of Alzheimer’s disease.

Recently, the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association published what I hope will become a landmark study. Researchers announced the results of a clinical trial of vitamin E in people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and their findings could revolutionize our approach to the treatment of this disease, the most common cause of dementia in America.

The study looked at the effect of dietary supplementation using 2000 international units of nonprescription vitamin E, daily, in a large group of elderly Alzheimer’s patients, and compared their results over an average of around 2.3 years to similar patients who received a placebo, a pharmaceutical marketed as a “treatment” for Alzheimer’s disease (memantine), or a combination of memantine and vitamin E.

One of the standardized tests used is called the Mini Mental Status Examination or MMSE. This 30 question exam provides information in areas like orientation, arithmetic and memory, and is often a part of the standard neurological examination.

As seen below, the results in terms of slowing the decline on the MMSE were dramatic. Vitamin E showed substantial effectiveness while the pharmaceutical offered no benefit and actually led to more aggressive decline even when compared to the placebo.

The best results were found in the patients who received the vitamin E alone. In these patients the annual rate of decline in functional performance was slowed by an astounding 20%.  Functional performance includes important day-to-day tasks like preparing meals, bathing, shopping and eating.

While these results are far from representing a cure for Alzheimer’s, nonetheless it shows that vitamin E did allow Alzheimer’s patients to get by with less help from caregivers and maintain their independence longer. And this was in contrast to the findings in those who were given the Alzheimer’s drug memantine, either alone or in combination with vitamin E.

Last week I had the opportunity to lecture to approximately 400 physicians and healthcare providers at a symposium presented by Scripps Health in San Diego. I asked the audience how many were aware of this study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Four people raised their hands.

It costs patients about $2000 each year to take memantine, and the annual sales of this drug worldwide now exceed $2 billion. Clearly this is a testament to the effectiveness of advertising to physicians and the general public as our most well respected scientific journals support its lack of efficacy.

Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, meaning it protects tissues against the damaging effects of chemicals called free radicals which are produced in the body as a normal part of metabolism. It has been shown in earlier research that there is an excess of free radical activity in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. So researchers are focusing on vitamin E’s antioxidant activity as a possible explanation of its effectiveness in treating Alzheimer’s patients.

And while the dosage of vitamin E used in this study far exceeds the government’s recommended dose for healthy adults (22.4 IU daily) no serious health consequences were reported in those just taking the vitamin E. In fact, the only serious problems in the study were reported in those who were given the pharmaceutical memantine.

As a practicing neurologist treating Alzheimer’s patients each day the results of this study are extremely encouraging. Vitamin E is widely available, doesn’t require a prescription, and is now proven to slow the progression of this devastating disease.

Vitamin E can interact with medications including the blood thinner warfarin, medications used in chemotherapy, and anti-inflammatory drugs. So it’s a good idea to check with your healthcare provider before starting vitamin E or any nutritional supplement.

SOURCE

 http://www.drperlmutter.com/vitamin-e-exciting-news-alzheimers-patients/

Certain probiotics could help women lose weight

The human gastrointestinal tract requires “good bacteria” to help the body to absorb and utilize nutrients from food properly.  Previous studies demonstrate that the intestinal flora of obese individuals differs from that of people of normal weight.  Some scientists speculate that this difference may be due to the fact that a diet high in fat and low in fiber promotes certain bacteria at the expense of others.  Angelo Tremblay, from Laval University (Canada), and colleagues enrolled 125 overweight men and women to undergo a 12-week weight-loss diet, followed by a 12-week period aimed at maintaining body weight. Throughout the entire study, half the participants swallowed 2 pills daily containing probiotics from the Lactobacillus rhamnosus family, while the other half received a placebo.  After the 12-week diet period, researchers observed an average weight loss of 4.4 kg in women in the probiotic group,  as compared to 2.6 kg in the placebo group.  After the 12-week maintenance period, the weight of the women in the placebo group had remained stable but the probiotic group had continued to lose weight, for a total of 5.2 kg per person.  In other words, the women consuming probiotics seemed to have lost twice as much weight over the 24-week period of the study. Researchers also noted a drop in the appetite-regulating hormone leptin in this group, as well as a lower overall concentration of the intestinal bacteria related to obesity.  Speculating that probiotics may act by altering the permeability of the intestinal wall and keep certain proinflammatory molecules from entering the bloodstream, which may help to prevent the chain reaction that leads to glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. 

Marina Sanchez, Christian Darimont, Vicky Drapeau, Shahram Emady-Azar, Melissa Lepage, Angelo Tremblay, et al.  “Effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CGMCC1.3724 supplementation on weight loss and maintenance in obese men and women.” British J Nutr., 2 Dec. 2013.