Do antioxidants do more harm than good?

No. However, the press does like to sensationalize issues whenever possible, and a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has many thinking antioxidants cause harm.

The type of study is called a meta-analysis, where the authors look at and select previously done human trials that have been completed and are relevant to the issue at hand. In other words, the author’s choose which studies to include, based on criteria that they set, and then pool the data and report it.

One of the major criticisms of this study is that the dosages used in the individual trials had very large ranges. Thus one study might use a tiny dose of vitamin A, and another would use a mega-dose, and yet these two studies would be lumped together. It would be like doing one study with 1/4 a baby aspirin, another study with two extra strength aspirin, lumping the results together, and then drawing conclusions.

The conclusions would have no relevance to any dosage of aspirin.

But that is besides the point. I do not advocate that my patients take large dosages of antioxidants as general protection against chronic diseases. There is plenty of evidence that a Mediterranean style diet, rich in colored vegetables and good oils, has major health benefits. This does not extend to the consumption of anti-oxidants in supplement form, as fruits and vegetables have many plant chemicals that are far more complex than simple antioxidants.

There is also plenty of evidence that exercise and physical fitness prevent disease. No surprise there.

This is why I don’t broadly recommend antioxidants - exercise in fact is a mild, pro-oxidant, and its benefits are likely to partly come from consuming excess antioxidants in our body. Oxidation is the process by which our cells generate energy, and the process by which our immune system kills invaders, and the process by which pre-cancerous cells commit cell-suicide (apoptosis).

In fact, many therapies such as high dose IV vitamin C (different physiologically from oral vitamin C), hyperthermia, and ozone therapy are useful in many diseases. Such therapies, as well as exercise, “train” the cells to be able to better respond to day-to-day stresses. Flooding the body with antioxidants prevents this training.

People who take antioxidants are looking for ways to prevent disease and improve over-all health. By far, exercise and activity are the most important. Eating a healthy diet, that is correct for your metabolism (some patients tolerate carbohydrates poorly, others may have allergies) is important also.

As for nutrients that can fulfill the purpose of these other vitamin antioxidants?

1) selenium: consistently shown to reduce the incidence of certain solid cancers

2) vitamin D3: see www.vitamindcouncil.org for more information on this important nutrient. Extremely important for reduction of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, MS, and for keeping the immune system in balance

3) matcha green tea: most green tea is fine, but matcha has more caffeine for those who are used to coffee. Further, it has plenty of L-theanine, to keep the level of stress and anxiety down. Also the highest source of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) of the various green teas, which has impressed me with its effects on detoxification, tooth cavity prevention, and cancer prevention

Plastics part II…

From the Globe and Mail,

“

In reaction to a Globe and Mail report that Health Canada is poised to take action on bisphenol A, or BPA, the widely used compound in polycarbonate plastic, Forzani Group Ltd. , one of Canada’s largest sporting goods retailers, issued a statement saying it has replaced all water bottles containing BPA in its stores with alternatives that do not contain the substance. Hudson’s Bay Co., which includes the Bay and Zellers, e-mailed a statement to The Canadian Press saying it would do likewise. Both retailers plan to offer refunds to customers.

Later yesterday, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. announced that it too will remove plastic water bottles and food-storage containers that are known to contain BPA from all Canadian Tire, Mark’s Work Wearhouse and PartSource stores.”

Such stories have been all over the Canadian Press. MEC was one of the earlier retailers to remove the hard polycarbonate based plastic bottles from the stores.

My major concern is the use of polycarbonates in baby bottles, who’s systems may be much more sensitive to small amounts of estrogen mimics. The FIRST I was aware of this was from a conference many years ago, where the researcher noted that lab animals had much higher levels of cancers attributed to the use of harsh detergents and bleaches in polycarbonate bottles.

Here’s the original post I made on the plastics, which details which are safer alternatives. Glass and stainless steel are still the best options.

Overdosed America…

John Abramson, MD, was a speaker at the Northwest Naturopathic Physician’s conference last weekend. He is the author of the book below:

I recommend the book, as Dr Abramson has made excellent points about published research and its bias.

Of note, while statin drugs (used to lower cholesterol) have a benefit in coronary artery disease in males, its benefits are highly overstated. If they cause no side effects for a particular patient, and patient’s taking them are repleting their cardiac specific nutrients (some of which are depleted by statin drugs), then fine. But the public should not believe they are miracle drugs, especially compared to some simple lifestyle and diet interventions.

For example, stats from the book:

Statins in the prevention of first time coronary artery disease (plaque build up in arteries causing heart attacks, etc):

WOSCOPS trial: coronary events decreased 31%, deaths decreased 22%

ASCOT LLA trial: coronary events decreased 36%, deaths decreased 13%

Compare that to these naturopathic interventions:

Nurse’s Health Study (eating fish once weekly): coronary events decreased 31% (see my post on fish below though)

Oslo trial (diet and smoking advice): coronary events decreased 47%

Nurse’s Health Study (diet, exercise, weight, moderate alcohol, no smoking): coronary events decreased 83%

Wow. Diet and conditioning, along with other lifestyle factors, far outperform drug therapy. Now imagine combining drugs (if well tolerated, especially with nutritional support), detoxification of known risk factors for heart disease, and nutritional therapy with the simple interventions above. That’s a pretty remarkable risk reduction.

A few herbal tidbits from the conference you may find useful…

Dr James Duke, PhD was one of the speakers at the Northwest Naturopathic Physician’s Conference held locally this weekend. There was a wealth of information and research from the conference, and here are a few herbal tidbits that are safe and likely useful to many:

1. Patients who are on cox-2 inhibitors for pain may find that curry and celery soup with black pepper can help their pain, and perhaps reduce their need for medication. Curry is a great source of turmeric/curcumin, and both turmeric and celery are natural cox-2 inhibitors (pain relievers). Importantly, black pepper increases absorption of the curcumin up to twenty fold.

2. Other natural pain relievers include chamomile tea (remember to cover the cup while steeping, as may of the ingredients are volatile oils).

3. British guidelines for drug therapy to lower blood pressure use the pnemonic AB/CD, which is for classes of drugs called ace-inhibitors, beta blockers / calcium channel blockers, diuretics. Hawthorn and garlic have at least 3 of the mechanisms in the AB/CD drug model.

4. Pomegranate fruit has 1-2 days worth of hormone replacement therapy estrogens.

Update on Weight Loss in a Shot…

Consistently, the page on weight loss in a shot here gets the most hits every day, so there must be interest in the use of B12, MIC (inositol, methionine, and choline), and AMP (myoden) as a trigger for weight loss.

I have used AMP many times in patients with chronic viral infections (including shingles, where the results of pain-free periods can be up to 80% vs less than half that in the placebo group), chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic fatigue related to diseases such as cancer.

AMP seems to consistently act as a trigger for fat loss, but only enough to increase ATP or cellular energy. Thus if a patient uses the injections alone, it is unlikely they would lose weight, since fat weighs very little, but it is very likely their energy would go up, and appetite down.

So, when we combine diet and exercise (thus creating a food or calorie deficit), and make it easy by keeping mood and energy up with vitamin B12, and make it sustainable by ensuring AMP can help to stimulate fat loss and keep the cells of the body well-primed with cellular energy (ATP) so that they can continue a high metabolism, you have a prescription for success. Further, the MIC helps the liver to clear the excess fats as well.

The injections are given three times a week. I have some patients who receive consultation from a distance who have completed a phone or email consulation and they are doing well also, giving themselves the injections.

On average, patients who follow the program lose between 2-3 pounds a week, without hunger or fatigue (but with a lot of hard work!)  About 10% of patients don’t find results despite following the program, and we stop after 2-3 weeks.

Please email me if you would like to find more information about this therapy at drchan@drericchan.com.

More on mercury, in adults

The post on PCB’s in fish has lead me to quickly write a post on some of the effects of mercury, and why it is such an important factor in many chronic diseases. I have posted on mercury and metal detoxification in the past, but on this blog largely it has been in relation to autism. This information is a nice summary from one of the conferences that Dr Ward, with her interest in environmental medicine, has told me about. The conference was from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Mercury suppresses the immune system

In the picture above, macrophages are a first line against infections. They see a germ, engulf it, then present pieces of the germ on its cell wall. The macrophage then uses cytokines such as IFN gamma, IL-1, and TNF to call in the other forces of the immune system to fight the germs.

Unfortunately, mercury suppresses IL-1 and TNF production, so the rest of the immune system is not brought in the way it should be. The immune system gets suppressed by mercury right from the start. Thus many patients with chronic persistent infections (some cardiovascular disease, most chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, most chemical sensitivity patients) have difficulty clearing chronic infections that adversely affect their health.

Mercury increases the stress hormone cortisol, upsets its secretion rhythm throughout the day. This also decreases the immune system response.

Mercury increases a hormone called reverse T3. This hormone blocks the action of thyroid hormone at the tissue level. Thus the patient has normal amounts of regular thyroid hormone, but in fact they clinically have low thyroid function.

Organic mercury, as found in fish, increases heart attack risk. In fact, patients with highest hair mercury levels had 2.9 times the risk of having a heart attack. Alaskan salmon has less mercury.

Mercury in mothers led to an increased risk of hypertension in their 7 year old offspring.

Mercury damages the energy generating mitochondria within the cells. Up to 50% of the mercury in a cell is accumulated in these mitochondria, and the mercury damages the mitochondrial cell membrane, decreasing its ability to make ATP for energy. That is why mercury is so important in chronic fatigue.

Mercury makes other metals more toxic. A study in rats showed that while cadmium at a certain level killed rats, and mercury at a certain level killed rats, the combination of the two required 1/100 of the dosage to kill rats.

Mercury makes PCBs (below in farmed salmon post) more toxic.

Mercury is made more toxic by yeast in the intestinal tract (Candida). The candida transforms inorganic mercury to organic.

Mercury can be detoxified while amalgams are in. As one doctor put it, if DMPS really did pull mercury out of amalgams, it would be a nice inexpensive way to get rid of amalgams (the mercury is safe once bound to DMPS, and the DMPS is 100% excreted in the urine).

The best way to assess mercury in adult patients is to get a conventional test, a whole blood mercury level, and an unconventional test, a provoked post-chelation urinary mercury level.

An update on salmon…

As an update to the below post, Dr Ward mentions that to consume wild salmon, look for a label that says either wild salmon, Pacific salmon, or Alaskan salmon. If it says Atlantic salmon, or just salmon, more likely than not it is farmed salmon and should be avoided.

The best dietary source of PCBs is …

Farmed salmon. Dr Ward informed me of this piece of information she obtained from a past conference. She has a special interest in environmental medicine, and thus always has interesting pieces of information on how toxins affect our health. Previously, non-organic butter was the highest concentration of PCBs in the diet, but it has been surpassed with farmed salmon. In fact, some agencies are recommending that if you do eat farmed salmon, to have it no more than once a month. And if you are pregnant, it should be avoided altogether because a few servings can lead to decreased growth, and even lowered IQ in the child.

In Vancouver’s sushi rich environment, it is important to be aware of the difference between wild and farmed salmon. Tuna, the other sushi favorite, has high levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury, being such a large fish. Since chelation is one of my specialties, I’d rather go for the tuna since the toxins can be readily chelated out.

If you do go for farmed salmon once in a while,

1. consider having extra fiber, soluble and insoluble, to bind out the toxins

2. consider  bowel tolerance vitamin C to neutralize the PCBs and to promote rapid intestinal transit time (frequent bile movements)

3. consider sauna therapy

Videos on ozone therapy and chelation therapy

Ozone therapy, a basic stimulation therapy for energy metabolism and immune system modulating therapy, and chelation therapy, a basic detoxification therapy for removing metals and improving circulation, are two of the most versatile techniques I use in practice.

I learned advanced oxidative theories with Robert Rowen, MD, as part of the International Oxidative Medicine Association training seminars. Here he is in three short videos.

On ozone therapy:

On EDTA chelation therapy:

Finally, an oxidative therapy video from Dr Rowen,

Elmer Cranton, MD, was an original founder of the Amercian College for Advancement in Medicine. His website has two great videos on chelation therapy as well, one focused on patient stories, and the other on chelation research.

For information on these therapies, please email me. I have written on chelation therapy before on the main website here, and here.

Mercury again, but this time with politics

Mercury detoxification plays a large role in my treatment of patients with chronic disease. It is important in the treatment of many varying chronic diseases because it is a fundamental cellular poison. As an example, there was an article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 1999 that showed patients with affected heart muscle had 22,000 times the amount of mercury than unaffected muscle.

But dilated cardiomyopathy does not get much public press. Autism does.

US Senator John McCain was on campaign in Texas and stated…

“It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children, The question is, What’s causing it? And we go back and forth, and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.”

That will raise much controversy. As I have stated before I do not have a firm stance on this as it does not affect my choice of therapies. If a patient shows an elevated burden, or a problem with excretion, or has symptomology that I have seen to improve in the past with mercury detoxification, then we give it a try.

But I had to write a comment on the McCain article in NYT because of a statement in the article that will be too easily misconstrued by those who do not think mercury can be a poison.

“In February, an international team of researchers, analyzing blood samples from vaccinated children, found that blood levels of ethyl mercury “fell rapidly and had largely returned to baseline levels by Day 11 after vaccination.” Those levels fell much more rapidly, for instance, than levels of the mercury people absorb by eating fish — suggesting that the injected thimerosal is less likely to build up in the blood, the researchers concluded.”

That’s the whole problem! In some children, and in many adult patients, when mercury is elevated in the blood it may not be completely excreted in the urine. The ethyl mercury is fat soluble and can rapidly get out of the blood stream and get into fatty tissue (including neurological tissue). Thus the elevated blood mercury shows an increased, recent exposure. As it drops, it just means there is no more recent exposure. The mercury may have been excreted, or it may have moved into a different compartment in the body such as fatty tissues. Blood is only one compartment of the body. The same thing happens in adults exposed to mercury. It is generally not a problem in the short term, but longer term, chronic toxicity and increased body burden is definitely a concern.

The proper way to assess those children tested above would be to have urinary and fecal measurements of mercury post-exposure. Even better, a pre-exposure baseline blood, urine, and fecal mercury test should have been done. After blood levels returned to normal at day 11, a repeat baseline blood, urine and fecal mercury could be done to see “normal” levels. Then a detoxification / chelation challenge would be done where a chelator is administered intravenously or orally, followed by urine and stool tests to see how much levels increased. The chelation challenge would assess not blood levels (which show recent exposure), but levels within other tissues, since the metals would be pulled by the chelators out of the tissues into the blood.

There have been quite a few autism related posts lately, as I do treat many local children and consult by phone for out of town parents, but the focus of the blog is still on naturopathic medicine in general, with a focus on the categories in the right side-bar. If there is a suggestion for a topic, please post a comment.