Todays Headlines: Folic-acid fortification may increase cancer risk. NOT!

"As a result of a federal program requiring some foods to be fortified with folic acid, nearly half the population now consumes high amounts of the vitamin, which may put some at risk of cancer." So states the Globe and Mail, December 14th, 10. But this is not what the Canadian researchers concluded.

I give credit to the authors of the study published Dec. 13th in the CMAJ. They say:
"The purpose of our study was to investigate the folate status of a nationally representative sample of Canadians, including a subset of women of childbearing age. Read it here:http://www.canadianmedicaljournal.ca/cgi/content/abstract/cmaj.100568v2


They conclude:

• There is virtually no folate deficiency in Canada.
• Young women of child bearing age, even though they had normal levels of RBC folate, were not supplementing enough in their diet and added supplements to get folate levels above 900, the level determined to prevent NTD.
• There should be on going monitoring of folate status and health outcomes.
  

Interesting study, and I fully agree there should be more studies on the relationship of folic acid, folate and health. I would hate it if this study discouraged any one from taking good quality B vitamens with folate( not folic acid) and B12, because I've seen so much benefit from these. Men and boys have benefited too. Folate helps the body produce healthy red blood cells, guards against neural tube defects such as spina bifida and performs a range of other functions including lowering cancer rates.

I find it so frustrating and difficult to assess any original research, when so many use folate and folic acid interchangeably. They are not the same.


This is what I've learned about folic acid and folate.
Folic acid (synthetic) has to be converted by MTHFR enzymes to folate, and folinic acid and folate are what is used in our metabolism.  Folate is what is usually measured to determine folate status. We vary in our genetics in our ability to convert folic acid to folate. If you have MTHFR alleles or variations of these genes, then there is a back log of folic acid waiting to be metabolized, which may be giving high levels of folic acid. How much? Nobody knows. A new study published in the Proceedings on the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that our ability to convert folic acid to folate may be relatively slow, leading to extended exposure to unconverted folic acid. Is unconverted folic acid safe? Studies show that small amounts may be safe and more is not.


Some studies of folic acid supplementation have been linked to slight elevations in cancer rates. They are not considered well done studies. There have been over 30 studies that have shown reduced rates of cancer with the supplementation of folic acid.


Reference 1, the Norway study mentioned by the Globe and Mail on December 14th, found higher rates of lung cancer in older male heart disease patients, and some say the study actually showed the dangers of smoking, not of folic acid supplementation. A Harvard study in 2009, showed that supplements of folic acid helped and reduced the recurrence of colorectal cancer in people with low levels of the nutrient, but not people who already have adequate amounts. There was no elevation of cancer rates. ( Reference 2)


Back to the new study, I disagree with the second line in the "Background " section of their article where they caution "high folate concentrations may be associated with adverse outcomes, including increased risk of colorectal cancer among those with pre-existing neoplasms." in that all the studies that have shown increased cancer rates have been looking at folic acid supplementation and not folate status. The Canadian study published in 2009 linked folic acid supplementation( especially from enriched grains) with higher colon cancer rates. But this can be explained by higher rates of diagnosis of earlier colon cancer because of the major colon cancer screening program started about five years ago. Time will tell if there is actual increases in the incidence of colon cancer.

And, at present there have been no published studies showing that supplementation with "natural identical" folates such as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate or 5-formyltetrahydrofolate enhances the progression of pre-existing neoplasms. That means they are safe. 
 
I also am suspicious of their conclusion that "Folate deficiency is virtually nonexistent in the Canadian population". They use the guideline for folate deficiency as red blood cell folate less than 305 nmol/L but with further studies we could find out that health promotion is accomplished when higher levels are maintained.

We desperately need more studies on the relationship of folic acid, folate and good health. Linus Pauling had strong opinions on the health promoting effects of folate. 

Supplementing with folate has been shown to promote wellness with less cancer, less depression, less cardiac disease. We may find out the artificial folic acid is good in small amounts and not so good in larger amounts and that the amounts fortifying our grain foods now, is safe for the majority of persons and a great benefit to pregnant women to build a better baby.

Everything points to you being better off if you have some folic acid.



You are probably wondering: how much?
If you are going to take more folic acid than what is in your food, then it should come from a natural source folate such as is found in AOR's Advanced B Complex or in Metagenics Folapro. Or speak to your health care professional who may know another source.



To your Health
Dr. Barbara



References:
1.Ebbing M, et al "Cancer incidence and mortality after treatment with folic acid and vitamin B₁₂" JAMA 2009; 302: 2119-26.
2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Published online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28319
“A randomized trial on folic acid supplementation and risk of recurrent colorectal adenoma”
Authors: K. Wu, E.A. Platz, W.C. Willett, C.S. Fuchs, J. Selhub, B.A. Rosner, D.J. Hunter, E. Giovannucc

What to do if weight loss hasn't made a difference in high blood sugar readings.

Perhaps the first recommendation I would make for an adult  with high blood sugars, not responding to weight loss, is finding out if they have LADA. 

1/3 of people with the onset of diabetes after the age of 20, have LADA or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood, and not type 2 diabetes, and they would not respond well to oral medications.

Diabetes Type 1.5 is another name for LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults). People with LADA do not have insulin resistance and instead have lack of insulin because of autoimmune attacks on the pancreas. Type 1.5 is really a variation of Type 1 and is a little different in that the onset is slower and you may not be insulin dependent at diagnosis.

In diabetes Type 2, elevated blood sugars  are caused initially by insulin resistance. Some persons with Type 2 do lose their functioning cells and become insulin dependent but that does not make them a Type 1 or 1.5.

If it hasn't been done, to find out if you have LADA, ask your doctor to do an antibody panel (GAD, ICA, IAA) and a c-peptide. Here is a check list to help you decide to ask for more testing.      http://api.ning.com/files/9v-anH8d1nSlO0y0NKe0XWKI3CJRRPJ6tTGzyV7sDjbaQO8U*QYRBx6PnFxSCzsm7JmG9iSaSyiFpTuCQ3zTfQ__/LADA_Are_you_at_risk.pdf  

What about diet? Unlike the case with Type 2 diabetes, it is usually not possible to reverse or control LADA with carbohydrate restriction alone. That said, it is much easier to make insulin work when you are eating a lower carbohydrate diet than it is with a high carbohydrate diet. To learn more about how lowering carbs allows you to fine tune your blood sugar control and avoid dangerous hypos and soaring post-meal blood sugars, read Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. Though many people with LADA are able to eat higher amounts of carbohydrate than those that Dr. Bernstein recommends, the principles he explains hold true for all people with diabetes and reading this book will give you a much better idea of how to use insulin effectively.

One of the reasons people with LADA do better on a carbohydrate restricted diet is that there is a high rate of gluten sensitivity/celiac disease in persons with autoimmune disorders, 12 fold increase in fact. The best testing is to do a genetic test from www.enterolab.com  for $US 150.00.( Anything in Ontario cost the same and is only 50% accurate).

Of course, it goes without saying, that one should exercise 30- 60 minutes a day at a pace that only just takes your breath away.

Yours in health.

Dr .Barbara

Caregiving: 6 Steps to Help You Cope

If you are one of the many who look after an older, sick or disabled family member or friend then you know this care-giving is like a part-time or even a full time job. Not surprisingly , care-giving can be very stressful and the strain can take an emotional and physical toll.

John Hopkins hospital has published some helpful tips to lower that stress if you are a caregiver:

Caregiver Tip 1. Ask for help
Avoid being the sole caregiver, if possible. This may mean asking adult children or siblings to help with groceries or car rides or even hiring a professional caregiver to perform difficult tasks like bathing your loved one. Short-term respite care, programs that send a healthcare professional to your home to provide temporary care for your family member or friend, is also helpful. Some long-term care insurance policies will cover this. Federal and state programs may also provide funding. Check with your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for Eldercare options in your area.
Caregiver Tip 2. Let it all out
Talk to a family member, friend, minister, or counselor about what you are experiencing, or seek out a local support group. It’s all too easy for a caregiver to withdraw from family and friends, but research shows that those with emotional outlets report less stress and fewer health ailments than those without such connections.
Caregiver Tip 3. Get up to speed
Specialized health organizations, such as the Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society, can provide detailed information on the disease your friend or family member is facing.
Caregiver Tip 4. Remember your health needs
Remembering your own doctor appointments and when to take your medicine can be difficult enough without having to juggle someone else’s schedule as well. Keeping a calendar of your appointments, writing yourself reminders, or even setting an alarm when it’s time to take your medications can be cues to help you stay on top of your health issues.

See the rest here: Caregiving: 6 Steps to Help You Cope

If you are a care-giver, remember, "the care-giver must survive"  or nobody does well.

Yours in Health
Dr Barbara

Building a better baby includes proper Vitamen D supplementation in pregnancy

You don't need to know everything there is to know about vitamen D to be able to make a large and sustained improvement to your health or to the health of your children.

Can you imagine a world where almost none of our children got juvenile diabetes, or other autoimmune disease or cancer? Well it may be possible as even supplementing 1000 iu's of Vitamen D, in pregnant women, has shown an  85% reduction of type 1 diabetes in their 7 year old children compared to pregnant women who did not supplement vitamen D.

That was just one condition studied and there are studies that show the prevention of many other chronic diseases including osteomalacia, rickets, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, schizophrenia, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, and cancer. These studies are reviewed here in these two links.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20974417

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646224

 

So you're pregnant and you ask: how much vitamen D should I take that is safe and effective?

I recommend, during pregnancy, to take 10,000 iu's of vitamen D per day, with a good multivitamen which contains at least 1 mg of folic acid. It's perfectly safe and has the potential to protect your child's health into their adult years.

Yours in health.
Dr. Barbara

 

 

How to Rid Your Body of Heavy Metals: A 3-Step Detoxification Plan

Dr Mark Hyman, a physician who calls himself a "functional medicine practitioner" as he looks at the  whole body and looks for the cause of disturbed health, recently wrote about mercury and it's toxic effects. It's clear that mercury and particularly almalgum dental fillings and in some persons, vaccines are causing significant health problems. You are hearing conflicting information. In this article from his blog he will explain and give you information to help you interpret this information about mercury and especially it's links to autism. 

The bottom line is: is mercury hurting you? It doesn't matter if mercury is safe for most people, you are a unique individual and it might be part of the picture of the cause of your problems.

If you should decide that mercury is part of your problems, then here is a 3- step detoxification plan.

Dr Hyman writes "AFTER MY RECENT BLOG ON MERCURY, I’m sure many of you are depressed and discouraged about mercury and its toxic effects. The bad news is today I am going to review more of mercury’s toxic effects and expand on what I learned at the medical conference on mercury I mentioned in my last article on mercury …
But the good news is I will provide you with a clear, three-step plan to help your body detoxify from mercury and other heavy metals and recover your health. I have used this same plan successfully and safely with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the last 10 years — and it’s the same process I used myself to overcome mercury toxicity!
But first, let’s look at the data presented at “The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environment” conference.
Read......http://drhyman.com/how-to-rid-your-body-of-mercury-and-other-heavy-metals-a-3-step-plan-to-recover-your-health-523/

To your health
Dr. Barbara

A dying bioethicist warns of the peril of euthanasia

Here is a most poignant letter by a medical bio ethicist who himself is receiving palliative care.
He successfully argues against legalized euthanasia. Here he states:

"The fear of being a burden is a major risk to the survival of those who are chronically ill.  If euthanasia were lawful, that sense of burden would be greatly increased for there would be even greater moral pressure to relinquish one’s hold on a burdensome life.  Seriously ill people do not need euthanasia. We need better provision of palliative care services aimed at managing symptoms and maximising function, especially as we approach death.  Rather than help to die, the cause of dignity would be more greatly helped if more was done to help people live more fully with the dying process...

The proposal to make provision for a terminally person who is suffering to request, and a doctor to provide, assistance to die makes it less likely that adequate efforts will be made to make better provision for palliative care services.  Legalized euthanasia would give those responsible for funding and providing palliative care a political “out” in that respect...
In other places, such as the United Kingdom, for instance, which have adopted very liberal policies on other social policies, such as reproductive technology, gay unions and abortion, the Parliaments have strongly opposed euthanasia because euthanasia cannot be made safe for people who are seriously ill and thus vulnerable.  It is worth noting that jurisdictions such as the Netherlands and Belgium that legalized euthanasia, lacked the availability of the kind of palliative care services that developed in the UK.

Read the whole letter here         http://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/8335/ 

25 Reasons why Dietary Guidelines are wrong about Cholesterol

Here's an important opinion piece by Al Watson at "Before It's News". He states correctly that there is something wrong with the 2010 dietary guidelines especially when it comes to the recommendations about cholesterol, saturated fats and carbohydrates. There is very little reason to fear cholesterol. Al makes points that will educate you about the very essential nature and goodness of fats. Read the whole article at  http://beforeitsnews.com/story/162/582/25_Reasons_the_2010_Dietary_Guidelines_are_wrong_about_cholesterol,_saturated_fat,_and_carbohydrates.html

25 Reasons the 2010 Dietary Guidelines are wrong about cholesterol, saturated fat, and carbohydrates

 

1. In 1937, Columbia University biochemists David Rittenberg & Rudolph Schoenheimer demonstrated that dietary cholesterol had little or no influence on blood cholesterol. This scientific fact has never been refuted. Why, then, do the proposed 2010 Dietary Guidelines limit dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day – or 200 mg if you are diabetic?

2. Dietary cholesterol is poorly absorbed, 50 percent at best (Mary Enig, PhD; Michael I. Gurr, PhD, lipid biochemists). According to these lipid biochemists, the more cholesterol you eat, the less cholesterol you absorb. Since our bodies must synthesize between 1200 and 1800 mg of cholesterol daily, why is there any dietary limit?

3. “Cholesterol in food has no affect on cholesterol in blood and we’ve known that all along.”  These are the words of Professor Ancel Keys, American Heart Association board member and father of the low fat diet, who, in retirement, recanted the idea that dietary cholesterol raises blood levels. His recant has been greeted with silence.

4. All federal Dietary Guidelines since 1980 discuss cholesterol as something to fear. Since cholesterol is found in every cell in our bodies and is a precursor to all adrenal and sex hormones, why wouldn’t the 2010 Dietary Guidelines discuss the essential nature of cholesterol instead?

The rest of the points are equally compelling. The guidelines promote chronic illness and obesity.

People need proper guidance to end the confusion that exists around fats. Fats are important to prevent illness and obesity.

Enjoy your butter, especially if it's from pasture raised cows, fatty fish, your organic virgin coconut oil or olive oil. And avoid processed cereal products and trans fats. Stick to whole foods.

To your health
Dr. Barb

The Myth of Soya as a health food.

Only fermented soya bean products such as tofu and natto are healthy and health promoting foods, proven by thousands of years of use in traditional diets.

Over the last 40 years I've watched as soya went from a healthy food to being processed and added to any number of "health foods" and to promote prevention of disease such as heart disease. Processed unfermented soya does not prevent disease in fact it promotes it.    

To learn more, read this very informative article by the Weston A. Price Foundation. It's called Soya Alert. http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert.html. 


And Dr. Mercola writes about the history of soya foods and the studies that show an increase in the rate of breast cancer with ingestion of processed soya.

As a consumer who doesn't want to eat unfermented soya or give this toxic soya to your children, you have to be vigilant and read every label. It is possible to avoid soya, but it requires perseverance. And consumer pressure will bring about more products free of soya.

But go ahead and enjoy fermented soya products.