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E-Mail Edition Volume 14 Number 3 |
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Published Summer, 2017 Published by Piccadilly Books, Ltd., www.piccadillybooks.com. Bruce Fife, N.D., Publisher, www.coconutresearchcenter.org |
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If you would like to subscribe to the Healthy Ways Newsletter |
Contents
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Ketone Therapy
“I’m 71 years old,” says Andre Morel. “About 20 years ago during a routine checkup the doctor found two small kidney stones in my left kidney. Since the stones were very small he decided not to do anything about it. Of course, they never went away but grew larger. Eventually I had to have surgery to remove the stones. Since then I’ve had recurring stones every few years. I asked the surgeon what was I eating that led to the recurrences, he said he didn’t know. His answer didn’t surprise me, doctors never seem to have any helpful advice to prevent these types of things, only drugs or surgery to treat them after they have occurred. “Three months ago I almost suffered kidney failure, had another large stone removed and experienced excruciating pain in my lower back. This led to a scan, which showed that the lower three vertebrae were almost completely decalcified with one of the disks seriously degenerated and arthritic. I’ve been troubled with arthritis in my hands for many years, suffering with stiff painful joints that seem to grow worse the older I get. “The doctor prescribed another drug for me to add to the ones I’m already taking for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and to control my blood sugar. The readings on my blood tests seem to sway away from the norm more every year. My doctor says I’m just experiencing the effects of aging and to keep taking my medications. I currently take more than two dozen medications and supplements every day. I can’t help but think diet has some effect on my health but my doctor’s only dietary advice is to avoid saturated fat and eat a low-fat diet. I’ve been doing that for years and it hasn’t seemed to do much good. “I’m also beginning to have more difficulty with my memory. My wife will ask me to do something and ten minutes later I’ve completely forgotten everything she said. Again, I’m told to expect this type of thing as I get older. In time, I’m sure the doctor will give me a pill for my brain as well. At the rate I’m going, I feel that I will be an invalid by the time I’m 80. I wish there was something I could do to prevent my symptoms from getting worse.” Andre’s story isn’t unique. Millions of elderly people are going through the same experiences. The specific chronic diseases may be different but the slow decline in health is the same. And it is not just the elderly that are having problems, many people in their 40s and 30s are experiencing what is often viewed as old age disorders like arthritis, kidney stones, digestive complaints, and diabetes. |
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Drugs or surgery seem to be the answer for every health problem. Modern medicine has pills for just about every conceivable ill known to science. If you have a headache, a fever, a cold, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or whatever, there is a pill for it. That is not to say there is a cure or even an effective treatment, but there is a pill or a vaccine for it. |
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Drugs or surgery seem to be the answer for every health problem. Modern medicine has pills for just about every conceivable ill known to science. If you have a headache, a fever, a cold, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or whatever, there is a pill for it. That is not to say there is a cure or even an effective treatment, but there is a pill or a vaccine for it. Medical schools spend most of their time teaching students about drug therapy. Consequently, the first action most doctors take is to prescribe a drug. The patient gets very little, if any, education in prevention, diet, or nutrition. It is ironic that doctors are generally regarded as experts in diet and preventative medicine when they receive only a few hours of training in these subjects in medical school. Naturally, their approach to treatment will be focused on drug therapy, even at the exclusion of less harmful and more effective lifestyle, vitamin, or dietary interactions. When diet is mentioned, it is almost always some version of the standard low-fat, high-carb diet, that has proven ineffective over the past 40 years and is one of the contributors to our growing epidemic of obesity and metabolic disorders. Most medicines don’t do anything to cure the underlying condition or solve the problem. They act simply as a means of easing symptoms, while the disease continues and progresses, growing worse over time. Patients are lulled into a sense of security while the disease slowly destroys their bodies. To make it worse, all drugs come with side effects of one kind or another. Even over-the-counter medications like pain killers, decongestants, and antacids produce side effects that can have serious consequences. The reliance on drugs as the first line of treatment for a condition only leads to more and more drugs, with no end in sight. The use of one drug is often followed by side effects that are treated with a second drug, which also causes side effects, which are treated with a third drug, and so on. After awhile the patient’s ill health is due more to the drugs than the original disease. Improved sanitation, food preservation and availability, and clean water have greatly reduced the incidence of infectious disease and malnutrition that plagued the world in the past. Today, chronic disease has taken over the top spot. Chronic diseases are those that persist indefinably and have no known medical cure. The standard form of treatment is to ease the symptoms. Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and glaucoma are examples of chronic diseases. Risk of developing chronic disease increases with age, but aging is not the cause. Many elderly people live to very old ages without ever experiencing these conditions. For example, Alzheimer’s risk increases with age, but Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of the aging process. Not all elderly people develop Alzheimer’s; like other degenerative diseases, it is an abnormality—a disease. The brain of an elderly person, who ages normally, is very different from the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient. As with most chronic diseases, Alzheimer’s is a lifestyle disease. Only 5 percent of cases are attributed to genetics. Diet, lifestyle, and exposure to environmental toxins are the primary conditions that govern whether a person develops the disease or not. The same is true for most all chronic diseases. In which case, chronic diseases are preventable and even treatable. Drug therapy has been a dismal failure in treating chronic disease. Vaccines, surgery, radiation, and advanced medical technology have all failed when it comes to treating or preventing chronic or degenerative disease. While standard medical approaches have failed, there is an effective therapy. This therapy does not rely on drugs, surgery, or medical technology. It is a dietary approach that draws on the body’s own powers of rejuvenation and healing. It’s called ketone therapy. Ketones are a special type of fuel the body makes from fat. The ketogenic diet is a diet that stimulates the body’s production and utilization of ketones. The ketogenic diet is one that is very low in carbohydrate, high in fat, with moderate protein. This diet shifts the body into a natural, healthy metabolic state known as nutritional ketosis. In nutritional ketosis the body uses fat as its primary source of energy instead of glucose. Some of this fat is converted into ketones. Ketones are high-potency fuel that boost energy and cellular efficiency and activate special enzymes and genes that regulate cell survival, repair, and growth. When a person is in nutritional ketosis, blood levels of ketones are elevated to therapeutic levels. In response, body chemistry and metabolism normalizes and overall health improves. Low-fat diets have been heavily promoted for the past several decades as the answer to obesity and chronic disease. However, we are fatter and sicker now more than ever before. Obviously, the low-fat approach has not worked. Our bodies actually need fat for optimal health, and function more efficiently using fat for fuel. Ketone therapy is more than just a diet, it is a tool that uses nutrition and healthy dietary fats (specifically coconut oil) to shift the body into a metabolic state that resets the body’s internal chemistry, reestablishing homeostasis or equilibrium, reversing chronic degenerative disease and improving digestion and immune function. In the process, blood pressure normalizes, blood cholesterol levels improve, excess weight and body fat melts off, energy levels increase, blood sugar and insulin levels normalize, memory and cognitive skills improve, the gut microbiome comes into balance, eyesight improves, and hormone levels improve, the entire body feels the effects. Ketone therapy is backed by decades of medical and clinical research, and has proven to be both safe and effective for the treatment of variety of health issues, including the following:
It doesn’t stop there. Research is continually discovering conditions that are responding to the ketogenic diet. Many health problems that medical science has deemed incurable or untreatable are being reversed. Medications that were once relied on daily are no longer necessary and are being tossed away. All ketogenic diets are not alike however; some of the so-called ketogenic diets promoted on the Internet and in many books are actually just low-carb or high-protein diets masquerading as ketogenic diets and may not even be ketogenic all. These pseudo ketogenic diets many have some benefit because they limit carbohydrate consumption, but they do not share all of the health benefits documented with an actual ketogenic diet. Because of the amazing potential of ketone therapy, the ketogenic diet has become enormously popular. Opportunity seekers have jumped on the bandwagon producing keto-like recipe books and instructional guides, which are marketed on the Internet. Unfortunately, much of the information about the ketogenic diet on the Internet is inaccurate or misleading, creating a great deal of confusion and disappoint with the diet. The ketone therapy is more than just a diet or a weight loss aid, when followed correctly it is a potentially powerful treatment that can prevent, stop, and reverse nearly all forms of chronic disease. In essence, it can reverse the aging process. But to experience the potential benefits of the ketogenic diet you need accurate information, not the hodgepodge of personal theories and misconceptions you see splattered all over the Internet. That’s why my new book on ketone therapy is so badly needed. Ketone Therapy: The Ketogenic Cleanse and Anti-Aging Diet, gives you the facts about the ketogenic diet and describes in some detail the many uses for the diet that go far beyond weight loss and blood sugar control. It explains the reason why coconut oil is so important to the success of the ketogenic diet and the secret that makes coconut oil the healthiest dietary oil on the planet—without question. The book explains how to use a proper ketogenic diet to rebalance the gut microbiome and heal digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease, how to successfully battle and overcome cancer, reverse metabolic syndrome, prevent heart attacks and strokes, cure autoimmune disease…what was that? Did I say “cure” autoimmune disease? Yes! The science is there, both animal studies and human clinical trials have proven the amazing benefits to ketone therapy. It doesn’t stop there, ketones can boost immune function, protecting you against infectious illnesses and environmental toxins, and can even regenerate your immune system! (See the following article.) Everything in the book is based on published medical research and confirmed by the experiences of people who have used ketone therapy successfully to overcome their health problems. Ketone therapy is the most powerful therapy available for the treatment of chronic and degenerate disease. Since most of us will experience chronic disease at some point in our lives knowing how to prevent, delay, or reverse it can be extremely valuable. This may be the most important health book you will ever read.
Ketone Therapy: The Ketogenic Cleanse and Anti-Aging Diet By Dr. Bruce Fife
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Immune System RegenerationKetone therapy offers potential as an immune system booster and as a possible cure for autoimmune disease (multiple sclerosis, diabetes type 1, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, etc.).
Immune Stem Cell Activation The immune system involves a host of cells, biological structures, and processes that protect us from disease and ill health caused by microorganisms, parasites, toxic chemicals, and diseased cells (cancer). The workhorse of the immune system is the army of white blood cells that guard and constantly patrol the body, seeking out and destroying foreign invaders and diseased cells. Healthy immune function is vital to the health of the body and is what sweeps harmful substances out of our bodies. Our level of health depends a lot on the efficiency of our immune system. If the immune system is weakened by poor nutrition, physical or emotional stress, excessive exposure to disease-causing microbes and parasites, repeated contact with environmental and industrial toxins, a sedentary lifestyle, and other negative factors, it cannot do its job efficiently, and our health suffers. Infectious illnesses become more frequent and last longer, injuries take more time to heal, symptoms of premature aging develop, and chronic health problems arise. Boosting the efficiency of the immune system can reverse all this. Therapeutic fasting has long been recognized as a useful tool in bolstering immune function. One of the ways fasting does this is by activating stem cells in the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells, thereby increasing the number of immune cells actively cleansing the body and stimulating repair and healing. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, meaning they are not bone cells, blood cells, brain cells, or any of the other specialized cells in the body. Once a cell has taken form, it can never change. A bone cell is a bone cell forever. Like all cells, stem cells contain the DNA, the blueprint, of the entire body, and with that blueprint they can transform into any cell type in the body. Adult stem cells exist throughout the body. They are found in the bone marrow, the brain, blood vessels, muscles, skin, and the liver. They remain in an inactive, nondividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury. In the bone marrow, stem cells are the seeds that form red blood cells, platelets, and the many types of white blood cells needed by the immune system.
Fasting Therapy Valtor Longo, PhD, and his research team at the University of Southern California have been studying the effects of fasting on various parameters of health. Instead of using a water fast, they generally use a very low-calorie, high-fat diet that mimics the effects of fasting, but still allows some calories and nutrients. Like the ketogenic diet, it significantly reduces blood sugar and insulin levels and shifts the body to burning fat and ketones in place of glucose. Fasting has long been known to prevent and retard cancer growth. However, it hasn’t been used in combination with chemotherapy because of its weight-loss effect and lack of nutrition at a time when the body is in desperate need of nourishment to support immune function. Patients receiving chemotherapy are instructed to increase protein and calorie intake. Chemotherapy itself is very harsh on the body and causes significant collateral damage, including immune suppression by inducing DNA damage and cell death in both peripheral blood and bone marrow (disrupting stem cell development), which often results in long-term impairment to the immune system. Fasting during chemotherapy was believed to be unwise because it would add more stress to the body. Longo found that short-term fasting before and just after undergoing chemotherapy could greatly reduce the side effects associated with the therapy. He showed that short-term fasting provided complete protection to mice against the side effects of high-dose chemotherapy.1 According to Longo, fasting causes cells to rapidly switch to a protected mode with changes in levels of glucose, IGF-1, protein kinase A (PKA), and many other proteins and molecules, protecting the cells from various toxins, including chemotherapy drugs. In animal research, he found that fasting for 48 hours or longer protects normal, healthy mammalian cells, but not cancer cells from chemotherapy. In a human clinical trial, he had a group of cancer patients go on short fasts before and then soon after undergoing chemotherapy. They were compared with another group of cancer patients who did not fast. The results showed that fasting was not only feasible and safe but caused a reduction in a wide range of reported side effects that included fatigue, weakness, hair loss, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, mouth sores, dry mouth, short-term memory impairment, and numbness. There was no apparent decline in the effectiveness of the therapy, and it possibly may have improved its efficiency.2 During a fast or calorie restriction, the body cannibalizes itself to some extent, dismantling stored body fat and useless tissues; scientists call this autophagy.3 Body fat is broken down into fatty acids and ketones to provide the energy needs in the absence of glucose. Proteins from old, worn-out tissues, abnormal growths (skin tags, tumors, polyps, cysts, etc.), and scar tissue are broken down into amino acids, some of which are converted into glucose to supplement the energy derived from fat. During starvation or fasting, the body tears down or catabolizes the least important tissues first, preserving vital organs. As a consequence, nonessential tissues and muscles are catabolized in preference to more important tissues. In this manner, useless tissue is removed from the body. Some of the cells that are recycled are old, worn-out red and white blood cells. “When you starve,” says Longo, “the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged. What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, ‘Well, where does it come from?’” What is the source of all of these new white blood cells? Longo and colleagues began studying this question using what he termed “prolonged fasting,” which he defines as fasting for 48 to 120 hours (2 to 5 days). Their fast was actually a low-protein, high-fat modified fast that was limited to 750 to 1,100 calories per day. “Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose, fat, and ketones,” says Longo, “but it also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells.” Old, worn-out white blood cells are removed from circulation and recycled. “During each cycle of fasting, this depletion of white blood cells induces changes that trigger stem cell–based regeneration of new immune system cells.” Fasting lowers IGF-1 levels, a growth-factor hormone that Longo and others have linked to aging, tumor progression, and cancer risk. It also reduces the enzyme PKA, which needs to shut down in order for stem cells to switch into regenerative mode. “It gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire [immune] system,” explains Longo. Longo and his team proved that during chemotherapy, fasting can protect blood cells and bone marrow from harm. An immune system that is damaged or weakened by chemotherapy, aging, toxins, drugs, infection, or poor lifestyle choices can be overhauled and revitalized.4 “The body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting,” says Longo. “Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.” Longo recommends prolonged fasting for at least 5 consecutive days once every month to revitalize the immune system. His form of fasting is not a total water fast, but a very calorie-restricted high-fat diet. Longo calls it a fasting-mimicking diet.
The Ketogenic Diet and MCTs This type of fasting produces the same metabolic changes as a ketogenic diet. A ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that has proven to have many health benefits. Could a ketogenic diet have the same regenerative effect on the immune system? Researchers at ProMetic Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company in Canada, have found that consuming coconut oil derived medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) before chemotherapy also provides protection against the drug’s deleterious side effects. Like fasting, MCT consumption stimulates stem cells in bone marrow to produce white blood cells.5 The researchers claim that consuming a source of MCTs boosts immune cell production and provides extensive protection against hair loss, nausea, anemia, and other chemo side effects, without interfering with the therapeutic action of the treatment. The advantage of using MCTs in place of fasting is that the patients do not have to stop eating or change their diet in any way. Apparently, there is something both fasting and consuming MCTs have in common that produces these identical effects. What is it? The answer is ketones. When MCTs are consumed, a large portion of them can potentially be converted directly into ketones. Ketones are a form of high-energy fuel that can take the place of glucose or fatty acids in the production of cellular energy. They provide much more energy than these other sources and activate many protective and health-promoting processes in the body, apparently including the conversion of bone marrow stem cells into white blood cells, enhancing immune function. Ketones can be generated by fasting or eating a low-carb calorie-restricted diet (such as Longo’s fasting mimicking diet), by eating coconut oil or MCT oil, or going on a ketogenic diet. Combining coconut oil/MCT oil with a ketogenic diet enhances ketone production. Therefore, a ketogenic diet could be expected to have the same immune-boosting, chemo-protective effect as Longo’s fasting-mimicking diet.
Autoimmune Disorders Since ketones can have a similar effect as fasting in promoting immune system regeneration, the ketogenic diet may be useful in treating immune system disorders, including autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. Common autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Valter Longo suggests that short, 5-day fasts repeated monthly over a period of time could be remarkably effective for anyone with an autoimmune condition or whose immune system is deteriorating with age or poor health. Newspaper columnist Jenni Russell says fasting transformed her life after conventional medicine had failed.6 “I have gone from being an exhausted person with a lifelong and incurable illness, kept alive by four drugs, to a currently healthy and energetic one,” says Russell. This remarkable difference was brought about by fasting. “I tried fasting because I was desperate,” says Russell. “It’s been two decades since I developed a serious autoimmune condition which has often left me sleeping 12 hours a day and sometimes kept me in bed for months at a time.” Her condition was made worse by chemotherapy to treat cancer 5 years earlier. “I was told after that I could never live without immune-suppressing drugs; when I tried to, I was rushed to the hospital as an emergency admission and spent several days on drips.” She didn’t like always using steroids, a common immunosuppressant, because of their side effects, even though she had been using them most of her life. She tried an intravenous drug that cost over $25,000 a year, but even that didn’t make her well. In addition, the drug was carcinogenic and had its own side effects. Russell decided she needed an alternative. That’s when she learned about the fasting research of Valter Longo at USC. Studies on mice showed that intermittent fasting for as little as three days at a time caused their immune systems to regenerate. She figured she had nothing to lose by trying it, so she started her first short fast. “I lasted two and a half days and thought nothing could come of it. On the fourth day I woke feeling better than I had in years. Since then I have fasted three more times, most recently for four days. It’s no fun. I couldn’t do it while working, or cooking for anyone else. You need to be free to crash out whenever your indignant body complains. You also need distractions to look forward to when you remember, gloomily, that there isn’t a meal ahead: books, films, the company of partners and friends. “I only do it because the results have been so dramatic. I am off every drug and, for the first time since getting ill, I don’t have to ration my energy and time. I can’t know if it will last, but I have become a quiet evangelist. Fasting, as one doctor said recently, may be the panacea that Western medicine forgot.” Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord. The immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers nerve fibers, causing them to degenerate, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Drug therapy and dietary approaches to treating MS have been generally disappointing. For this reason, stem cell transplants are being investigated as a means to stop the progression of the disease. The treatment works best with younger patients with mild symptoms. The idea behind this approach is that the doctor can use the patients’ own stem cells to reboot the immune system to stop the advance of the disease. But the treatment can be risky because after a specimen of bone marrow is removed, the patient’s immune system has to be completely wiped out before the stem cells are transplanted back into the body. So far, only half of the patients who have received this treatment see any benefit, with a nearly 3 percent fatality rate. This is of concern because MS itself is not life-threatening.7 This is a case where the treatment is riskier than the disease. Using stem cells to reboot the immune system is not a bad concept, but using transplants is. A far safer and effective approach is to use the body’s own powers of immune system rejuvenation. The fasting-mimicking diet can accomplish the same thing without the health risks. “We started thinking, if it kills a lot of immune cells and turns on the stem cells, is it possible that maybe it will kill the bad ones and then generate new good ones?” says Longo. The effect would be similar to that of a stem cell transplant, but without the risks. That inspired him to start investigating a fasting-mimicking diet on MS. The results have been encouraging. His initial study consisted of two parts: an animal trial and a human trial. In the first part of the study, the investigators put a group of mice with chemically induced multiple sclerosis on a fasting-mimicking diet for 3 days at a time, every 7 days for 30 days (3 cycles). A second group of treated mice were put on an unrestricted-calorie ketogenic diet for 30 days. A third group ate a standard diet for comparison. Results showed that both the fasting-mimicking and ketogenic diets reduced disease symptoms in all the mice and “caused complete recovery for 20 percent of the animals.” Complete recovery from MS in 30 days—remarkable! It is interesting that they included the ketogenic diet in this study. It took the mice 10 days to get into ketosis, suggesting that the diet was only mildly ketogenic. For the first few days, while the mice were becoming fat-adapted, there was not much change in their symptoms, but by the end of the 30 days, the ketogenic diet showed similar effectiveness in reducing symptoms as the fasting-mimicking diet. In addition to the reduction in symptoms, the researchers reported increased levels of the steroid hormone corticosterone, which is released by the adrenal glands to control metabolism. They also saw a reduction in the inflammation-causing cytokines. They also reported that the diets activated stem cells that resulted in regeneration of the myelin covering on the previously damaged nerve tissues. “The fasting-mimicking diet kills bad immune cells,” says Longo. “Then, after the mice return to the normal diet, the good immune cells and also the myelin-producing cells are generated, allowing a percentage of mice to reach a disease-free state.” The second part of the study conducted by a separate group of researchers at Markus Bock at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, checked the safety and potential efficacy of the fasting-mimicking diet and a ketogenic diet on 60 people who had MS. The participants were divided into three groups. One group with 20 patients was placed on the fasting-mimicking diet for 7 days, then on a Mediterranean diet for 6 months. A second group of 20 patients was placed on a ketogenic diet for 6 months. The third group of 20 patients served as the control and ate their normal diet for 6 months. Those in the fasting-mimicking and ketogenic diets reported significant improvements in their quality of life and their physical and mental health. The researchers concluded that a “fasting-mimicking diet or a chronic ketogenic diet are safe, feasible, and potentially effective in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients.”8 An international team of researchers from the US, Canada, and China, not associated with Longo’s group, came to a similar conclusion. They investigated the effects of a ketogenic diet on memory impairment and central nervous system inflammation in mice that had chemically induced multiple sclerosis, just as in Longo’s study. Brain inflammation, memory and learning defects, oxidative stress, and the over-activation of the brain’s immune system were all attenuated by the ketogenic diet, providing further evidence that this type of diet can ease symptoms associated with MS.9 Longo’s team next focused on another autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes, which affects the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes these cells are unable to produce insulin or produce a normal amount of insulin. It is an inherited condition that is normally identified early in life. Insulin injections are needed to make up for the insulin not produced by the body. In contrast, type 2 diabetes is an acquired condition usually brought on by poor diet and lifestyle choices and develops in adulthood. A type 2 diabetic will produce a normal amount of insulin during the early stages of the disease, but if the condition is not well managed, the disease can damage pancreatic insulin-producing cells. In this case, supplemental insulin would also be needed. According to Longo, intermittent fasting using a fasting-mimicking diet can replace non-insulin-producing cells with new insulin-producing cells. His research team has regenerated insulin production in the pancreas of mice with late-stage type 1 and type 2 diabetes. They also examined pancreatic cell cultures from human donors and found that, in cells from type 1 diabetic patients, fasting increased insulin production. In their study they administered high doses of the drug streptozotocin to mice—killing their pancreatic beta cells, producing the equivalent of type 1 diabetes. They also studied mice that had a genetic mutation that caused insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that eventually stopped insulin production. In both types of diabetes the mice placed on the fasting-mimicking diet for 4 days each week for a period of time regained healthy insulin production, reduced insulin resistance, and demonstrated stable blood glucose levels. The fasting cycles switched on genes that activated pancreatic stem cells to form new insulin-producing beta cells.10 The ketogenic diet was designed specifically to mimic the therapeutic and metabolic effects of fasting. It appears to have the same effect as a modified fast in stimulating bone marrow stem cells and promoting self-renewal of the immune system. It might also do the same for intestinal stem cells, muscle stem cells, neural stem cells, and other stem cells.
The above article is an excerpt from the book Ketone Therapy: The Ketogenic Cleanse and Anti-Aging Diet by Bruce Fife, ND, published by Piccadilly Books, Ltd. 2017.
References 1. Raffaghello, L., et al. Starvation-dependent differential stress resistance protects normal but not cancer cells against high-dose chemotherapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2008;105:8215-8220. 2. Raffaghello, L., et al. Fasting and differential chemotherapy protection in patients. Cell Cycle 2010;9:4474-4476. 3. Starokadomskyy, P. and Dmytruk, K.V. A bird’s-eye view of autophagy. Autophagy 2013;9:1121-1126. 4. Cheng, C.W., et al. Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression. Cell Stem Cell 2014;14:810-823. 5. Medium-chain length fatty acids, glycerides and analogues as neutrophil survival and activation factors. https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US43454871&redirectedID=true. Accessed 3/2/2017. 6. Russell, J. Fasting transformed me after medicine failed. The Times, April 23, 2015. 7. Muraro, P.A. et al. JAMA Neurol 2017 Feb 20. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.5867. 8. Choi, I.Y., et al. Diet mimicking fasting promotes regeneration and reduces autoimmunity and multiple sclerosis symptoms. Cell Rep 2016;15:2136-2146. 9. Kim, D.Y., et al. Inflammation-mediated memory dysfunction and effeffects of a ketogenic diet in a murine model of multiple sclerosis. PloS One 7(5): e35476. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035476. 10. Cheng, C.W., et al. Fasting-mimicking diet promotes Ngn3-driven beta-cell regeneration to reverse diabetes. Cell 2017;168:775-788.
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Dental Fillings Raise Mercury Levels in the Body, Study SaysPeople with numerous dental fillings and increased exposure to mercury are most at risk.
Over the years there has been a great deal of controversy over the use of dental amalgam fillings. Amalgam or "silver" fillings are made from a mixture of silver, tin, mercury, and other metals. While they do contain silver, they are often referred to as silver filling simply because of their silver appearance, which actually comes more from the mercury than it does silver. Mercury makes up the majority of the amalgam, consisting of about 50 percent. Mercury is normally a liquid at room temperature. When combined with sliver and tin it becomes a malleable metal that can easily be worked into the small hollowed out cavities in teeth. Mercury was first used in amalgam filling in the mid 1800s. The obvious drawback with the use of mercury as a dental filling material is that it is a highly poisonous neurotoxin. In fact, it is the most toxic non-radioactive natural substance on the planet, known to cause brain, heart, kidney, lung, and immune system damage. Why is such a toxic substance purposely put in people's mouths? Here is where the controversy lies. According to the American Dental Association (ADA) once the mercury is combined with other metals it is no longer a liquid. In amalgam form it is sold and does not leak into the body and, therefore, is perfectly safe. As proof of its safety the ADA points out that it has been used for over 150 years without ill effect. They cannot cite any definitive safety studies as none have been done. The sole argument for its safety is based on the assumed absence of acute illness. Critics claim that the mercury in amalgam fillings is not "locked" in the metal but leaks into the body promoting chronic disease. The ADA says mercury does not leak and is totally safe with the rare exception to some people who may be highly sensitive to mercury, there is nothing to worry about. Critics say that mercury is always leaching out of the amalgams especially after eating hot or abrasive foods that increase mercury release. Since mercury is so highly toxic even tiny amounts can be harmful, especially when exposure extends over a period of many years. According to its website, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration supports the ADA position and considers dental amalgam fillings safe for adults, but then cautions pregnant women and young children about potential dangers. This seems contradictory, to say it is safe for everyone except pregnant women and young children. How can a highly toxic material be safe for one segment of the population and yet dangerous for another? According to new research from the University of Georgia's department of environmental health science, amalgam fillings contribute to prolonged mercury levels in the body, therefore, increasing the risk of adverse effects. This is the first study to demonstrate a relationship between dental fillings and mercury exposure in a nationally representative population. The study analyzed data from nearly 15,000 individuals. Mercury exposure from dental fillings is not a new concern, but previous studies were inconsistent and limited, according to Xiaozhong "John" Yu, assistant professor of environmental health science and co-author of the study. "This study is trying to provide the most accurate levels of exposure, which will form the scientific basis to make future risk assessment," Yu said, adding that the study was the first to also control for age, education, ethnicity, race, gender, smoking and seafood consumption, which is a known contributor to mercury levels in the body. The researchers further analyzed exposure by specific types of mercury and found a significant increase in methyl mercury, the most toxic form of mercury, related to dental fillings. Research suggests that methyl mercury may cause damage even at very low levels. Yu said this result suggests the human gut microbiota, a collection of microorganisms living in the intestines, may transform different types of mercury. "Tooth decay is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases." said Lei Yin, the study's lead author. Many people do not think of dental cavities as a chronic disease, but it is sign of degeneration and decay and is just as much a chronic disease as diabetes or heart disease. Approximately 90 percent of our population has experienced some degree of tooth decay in their lives. It is so common that we tend to think of it as something that occurs to most all of us regardless of our diet or lifestyle. However, like diabetes and heart disease, tooth decay is a diet-induced disease brought on by our modern high-sugar, high-carb diet. Sugar and carbs feed bacteria that produce acids that eat through tooth enamel, leading to decay. Despite advances in dental technology and hygiene, over the past 100 years the incidence of tooth decay has steadily increased with our increasing intake of sugary foods. It is common for people to have multiple fillings--6, 8, 10 fillings or more. People with numerous dental fillings are most at risk. The University of Georgia study revealed that individuals with more than eight dental fillings had about 150 percent more mercury in their blood than those with none. The average American has three dental fillings, while 25 percent of the population has 11 or more fillings. Most people when they go to the dentist for a filling don't discuss the type of filling used. They simply leave it up to the dentist to make the decision. For years mercury amalgams were the standard filling material used by most dentists. If you didn't request anything different, you generally received amalgams and nothing was ever said about the dangers or options to amalgams. People are becoming more aware of the potential dangers of putting mercury into their mouths and looking for alternatives. Composite fillings provide a mercury-free option. The Georgia study also looked at dental composite resins, as there is potential that they can release small amounts of bisphenol A, or BPA, which may cause developmental or reproductive damage. The results, however, found no association between dental fillings and urinary BPA, but the authors state that further research is needed to understand BPA exposure from resin-based materials. "It's important for doctors and patients to be informed in their selections," Yin said. "We now have an excellent starting point to evaluate the potential risk of dental material on human health."
Reference Yin, L., et al. Associations of blood mercury, inorganic mercury, methyl mercury and bisphenol A with dental surface restorations in the U.S. population, NHANES 2003–2004 and 2010–2012. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2016;134, part1;213-225.
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Action Alert A Proposed Study of Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Children
Proponents of vaccines claim that they save lives and protect children’s health. Yet the most basic of comparisons between unvaccinated children and vaccinated children has never been done. The government has never conducted a single study looking at the overall health of a vaccinated vs. an unvaccinated population. Now we have a chance to fight for the science needed to make truly informed decisions about vaccines. U.S. Representative Bill Posey has introduced a bill calling for a comprehensive study comparing the health outcomes in vaccinated populations versus unvaccinated populations in the United States. Such a study is long overdue. Americans are seeing an explosion in chronic disease and disability in our children including ADHD and learning disabilities, asthma, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, juvenile diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, seizures, encephalitis (brain swelling), and autism. Could some of this be connected to the fact that the vaccine schedule has tripled since the 1980’s, and children now receive 69 doses of 16 vaccines? A recent independent pilot study showed that unvaccinated children have lower incidences of allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders than vaccinated children. We need a larger, comprehensive study, recognized by the U.S. government. Representative Posey has been arguing for such a study for years; check out this video of a 2012 hearing, in which he confronts a CDC official about the CDC’s failure to study vaccinated vs. un-vaccinated outcomes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNWTOmEi_6A.
If H.R. 3615 passes, the study could prove a turning point for vaccine policy in our country – and the future of our children. Please take a few moments to urge your U.S. Representative to support H.R. 3615!
TAKE ACTION
ACTION #1: Contact your U.S. Representative and urge them to SUPPORT H.R. 3615. You can find out who represents you at: www.house.gov/representatives/find/ or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Phone calls have a greater impact than emails. You can leave a very short message (“I urge my Representative to support H.R. 3615) or ask to speak to the staffer who handles health issues, and have a conversation to increase your impact. Be clear and concise about why this issue matters to you and/or the people in your community. You can use some of the talking points below to help you get your thoughts in order. If you do use email, be sure to use a clear subject line (“Support HR 3615”), and keep it short, but personal.
ACTION #2: Does this issue REALLY matter to you? Nothing has a greater impact than meeting with your legislator or their staff face-to-face! And now is a great time, because Congress is recessed and the Reps are back in their home districts – near you. Find out who your Rep is at www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and then click on their name to visit their website. Under Contact, they will have information for both their DC and their district offices – contact the district office nearest you and ask about meeting. If the Rep’s schedule is already packed, say that you’d be happy to meet with the staff – that truly does make a difference!
ACTION #3: If you live in Florida’s 8th district please email Representative Bill Posey and thank him for his brave introduction of H.R. 3615. https://posey.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep/, If you don’t live in Bill Posey’s district, contact your own representative and voice your support for H.R. 3615.
TALKING POINTS & MORE INFORMATION View the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3615 1) We need a study that evaluates the health outcomes among children who have and have not been vaccinated according to the federally recommended vaccine schedule. 2) Even though America has one of the highest child vaccination rates in the world and spends the most on health care, our children are among the sickest in the developed world, crippled by chronic disease and disability including; ADHD and learning disabilities, asthma, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, juvenile diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, seizures, encephalitis (brain swelling), and autism. A vaccinated vs. un-vaccinated study would provide vital information to help improve the wellbeing of our children. 3) The public is increasingly distrustful of the one-size fits all childhood vaccine schedule, while vaccine makers and the healthcare providers who administer them bear zero liability for vaccine injuries and deaths. A study that looks at the overall health of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children would go a long way to restoring the public trust. 4) A recent study by the Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute (CMSRI) shows cause for concern. This study found children 6-12 years old were more likely to be diagnosed with pneumonia, otitis media, allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders if they were vaccinated.
This study concluded that vaccination coupled with preterm birth was associated with increasing odds of an NDD (defined as a learning disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder.)
5) Not only has no study been done that looked at comprehensive health outcomes, but the far more limited studies that have been done are not trustworthy. CDC scientist William Thompson confessed that he and other CDC scientists destroyed their own data showing a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. http://vaxxedthemovie.com/download-the-cdc-autism-mmr-files-released-by-dr-william-thompson/. In February 2015, the U.S. government granted whistleblower immunity to Dr. Thompson, allowing him to testify before a Congressional committee without suffering any consequences from his employer.
Remember, your involvement and activism works!
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Copyright © 2017, Bruce Fife. All rights reserved.
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