May 2008

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The Soy Ploy

May 30, 2008 in Babies & Kids, Food & Nutrition, Myths & Truths | 6 comments

Today’s article about the dangers of soy products is from Nourishing Our Children, an organization dedicated to supported learning, behavior and health in children through optimal nutrition. I encourage all parents to visit their website and read the “What Parents Need to Know” section. There is also a downloads section with free guides and briefing books available for download.

soybeans Although widely promoted as a health food, hundreds of studies link modern processed soy to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, immune system breakdown, and even heart disease and cancer. How could soy be linked to all this disease? Because the soybean contains many naturally occurring toxins. All legumes contain toxins but the problem with soy is that the toxins are found in very high levels and are resistant to the traditional ways of getting rid of them.

Long, slow fermentation (as in the traditional production of miso, tempeh and soy sauce) gets rid of the phytic acid and other digestive inhibitors but not the phytoestrogens in soy.

Myths About Isoflavones

One of the most common myths is that soy estrogens (isoflavones) are beneficial for your health. Isoflavones are the estrogen-like compounds occurring naturally in soy foods. They act as the plant’s natural pesticides, causing insects to become sterile. Research has shown that isoflavones can prevent ovulation and stimulate the growth of cancer cells. As little as 38 mg isoflavones per day (less than the amount found in 1 cup of soy milk) can result in hypothyroidism with symptoms of lethargy, constipation, weight gain and fatigue. The isoflavones in soy have been shown to cause reproductive problems, infertility, thyroid disease and liver disease in mice, rats, cheetahs, sturgeon, quail, sheep, pigs and marmoset monkeys.

Traditional Versus Modern Soy Foods

It is important to distinguish between traditional and modern soy foods. In Asia, traditional soy foods were consumed in small amounts, usually as a fermented condiment. Traditional fermented soy foods include miso, soy sauce, tempeh and natto. Tofu was prepared by a precipitation process that gets rid of some of the anti-nutrients, and tofu was often then fermented. Tofu was usually consumed in small amounts in fish broth, which provided lots of compensating minerals and compounds that support thyroid function.

Soymilk underwent a very long preparation process to get rid of anti-nutrients and it was consumed with shrimp or egg yolk, ingredients that helped compensate for the many anti-nutrients that remained. Mostly a food for the elderly, it was sometimes given to nursing mothers but never to growing children.

Problems with Soy Protein Isolate

Modern soy foods are very different. Most are made with soy protein isolate (SPI), which is a protein-rich powder extracted by an industrial process from the waste product of soy oil manufacturing. It is the industry’s way of making a profit on a waste product. The industry spent over 30 years and billions of dollars developing SPI.

Soy Protein Isolate is produced at very high temperatures and pressures. This processing does get rid of some of the anti-nutrients in soybeans, but unfortunately many of the proteins are denatured in the process, including lysine. That is why growing animals fed soy must be given a lysine supplement. In feeding studies, SPI caused many deficiencies in rats. That soy causes deficiencies in B12 and zinc is widely recognized; but the range of deficiencies was surprising.

Although SPI is added to many foods, it was never granted GRAS status, meaning “Generally Recognized as Safe”. The FDA only granted GRAS status to SPI for use as a binder in cardboard boxes. During the processing of soy, many additional toxins are formed, including nitrates (which are carcinogens) and a toxin called lysinoalanine. It was concerns about lysinoalanine in SPI that led the FDA to deny GRAS status for SPI as a food additive.

In spite of all these problems, SPI is the basic ingredient of soy infant formula and the FDA even allows a health claim for foods containing 6.25 grams SPI per serving.

The Dangers of Soy Infant Formula

Infants on soy formula can take in dangerously high levels of soy isoflavones. On a body weight basis, this can mean ten times the level that can cause thyroid suppression in adults after three months, and eight times the level that can cause hormonal changes in adults after just one month.

According to a Swiss report adult women consuming 100 mg isoflavones (about 2 cups of soy milk, or 1 cup of cooked mature soybeans) provide the estrogenic equivalent of a contraceptive pill.

This means for a baby that weighs 6 kg (or just over 13 pounds), 10 mg provides the estrogenic equivalent of a contraceptive pill. Thus, the average amount of soy-based formula taken in by a child provides the estrogenic equivalent of at least four birth control pills. Because babies are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of dietary estrogens, the effects could actually be much greater than that of four birth control pills.

Hence the statement, “Babies on soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.”

Homemade Baby Formula

For adopted infants, or as a solution for mothers who aren’t physically able to breastfeed or who aren’t able to produce enough milk, we’d like parents to know that there are nutrient dense, homemade Baby Formula Recipes in the book Nourishing Traditions which have been used with great success by parents all over the world since 1995!

Three eggs a day keep the doctor away!

May 23, 2008 in Food & Nutrition, Heart Disease | 8 comments

egg The persistent myth that cholesterol causes heart disease has scared many of us away from eating eggs on a regular basis. But there is absolutely no research that links egg consumption to heart disease.

A recent review of the scientific literature published in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care clearly indicates that egg consumption has no discernible impact on blood cholesterol levels in 70% of the population. In the other 30% of the population (termed “hyperresponders”), eggs do increase both circulating LDL and HDL cholesterol.

You’ve probably been conditioned to believe that anything that raises LDL cholesterol (so-called “bad” cholesterol) should be avoided like the plague. But even the medical mainstream has come to recognize that all LDL cholesterol is not the same. It’s true that small, dense LDL particles have been linked to heart disease. This is primarily due to the fact that they are much more susceptible to oxidative damage than normal LDL cholesterol particles.

However, egg consumption increases the proportion of large, buoyant LDL particles that have been shown to be protective against heart disease. Egg consumption also shifts individuals from the LDL pattern B to pattern A. Pattern B indicates a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles (risk factors for heart disease), while pattern A indicates a preponderance of large, buoyant LDL particles (which protect us from heart disease). This is a good thing.

Eggs one of the most nutrient-dense foods available. One egg provides 13 essential nutrients, all in the yolk (contrary to popular belief, the yolk is far higher in nutrients than the white).

Eggs are an excellent source of B vitamins, which are needed for vital functions in the body, and also provide good quantities of vitamin A, essential for normal growth and development.

The vitamin E in eggs protects against heart disease and some cancers; eggs also contain vitamin D, which promotes mineral absorption and good bone health.

Eggs are rich in iodine, for making thyroid hormones, and phosphorus, essential for healthy bones and teeth.

Eggs are also good sources of antioxidants known to protect the eye. Therefore, increased plasma concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in individuals consuming eggs are also of interest, especially in those populations susceptible to developing macular degeneration and eye cataracts.

There’s absolutely no reason to limit your consumption of eggs to three to four per week, as recommended by “heart-healthy” nutritional guidelines. In fact, consuming two to three eggs per day would provide a better boost to your health and protection against disease than a multivitamin supplement. Eggs truly are one of nature’s superfoods.

It’s important, however, to make sure that you buy organic, pasture-raised eggs. Studies show that commercially-raised eggs are up to 19 times higher in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. Unfortunately, almost all eggs sold in supermarkets – even the organic eggs sold at chains such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats – are not truly pasture-raised. To find these eggs, check your local farmer’s market or visit the Eat Wild website to locate a source in your area.

Free talk: The truth about cholesterol

May 17, 2008 in Heart Disease, Myths & Truths | 6 comments

eggs
Attention Bay Area HEALTHY SKEPTIC readers!

I am offering a free public talk next week in Berkeley, CA which debunks the myth that cholesterol causes heart disease. We’ll also explore the true causes of heart disease as well as simple dietary and lifestyle changes you can make to protect yourself and your loved ones. See below for details. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, May 21st from 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Acupuncture & Integrated Medicine College, Berkeley (AIMC Berkeley)
2550 Shattuck Avenue (at Blake)
10-minute walk south on Shattuck from Downtown Berkeley BART
510.666.8248 ext. 106
www.aimc.edu

For over 50 years, the medical establishment has vigorously promoted the notion that high cholesterol is a primary risk factor for coronary heart disease, and that a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol causes heart disease. These hypotheses are widely accepted as fact by physicians and the general public alike, despite the overwhelming body of evidence that suggests otherwise.

During this two-hour talk, we’ll review scientific studies demonstrating that:

High cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease
Low cholesterol worsens your physical and mental health and increases your chances of dying prematurely
Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol don’t cause heart disease, but they do promote health and longevity
Consumption of so-called “heart healthy” vegetable oils is linked to heart disease, cancer and many other conditions

You’ll also learn the latest theories on what causes heart disease and a truly “heart healthy” approach to diet and lifestyle that is supported by both modern science and centuries of traditional wisdom.

The presentation draws on more than 150 peer-reviewed studies published in major journals and the work of an impressive list of physicians, scientists and researchers who question the connection between cholesterol and heart disease.

Half of Americans take pharmaceutical drugs daily

May 15, 2008 in Medical Industrial Complex | 2 comments

capsules A recent article in the New York Times revealed that over half of Americans are taking prescription medication for chronic health problems.

The numbers were gathered last year by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans.

The data indicates that 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 47 percent in 2001. The use of drugs to treat health problems was seen in all demographic groups:

Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older
One in four children and teenagers
52 percent of adult men
Three-quarters of people 65 or older

28 percent of women and 22 percent of men over 65 take five or more medicines regularly.

Exactly what medications are people taking? In 2006, the top five drugs by sales were Lipitor, Nexium, Prevacid, Advair Diskus and Singulair. Lipitor lowers cholesterol, Nexium & Prevacid lower stomach acid, and Advair Diskus and Singulair address asthma and allergies respectively.

The drugs on this list reveal much about the weakness of the mainstream medical model. Cholesterol and stomach acid are both normal, protective substances in the body. Cholesterol is no more the cause of heart disease than stomach acid is the cause of GERD or ulcers. But one of the fundamental flaws of western medicine is its tendency to treat the symptom or effect rather than the cause. Unfortunately for patients, doing so can actually make things worse, not better.

Cholesterol plays many essential roles in the body, and and lowering it arbitrarily not only doesn’t prevent heart disease, but can actually increase the risk of dying from a heart attack in elderly people. Likewise, stomach acid is crucial in protecting us from the pathogens we might otherwise ingest with food. Stomach acid is also required for protein digestion. It is well-established in the scientific literature that the primary cause of ulcers is a bacterium called h. pylori – not stomach acid. And there is also evidence suggesting that GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) is caused by low – not high – stomach acid.

But I digress.

The scariest part of this study is the surge in children’s use of medicines to treat weight-related problems and other illnesses previously considered adult problems. Medco estimates about 1.2 million American children now are taking pills for Type 2 diabetes, sleeping troubles and gastrointestinal problems such as heartburn.

The majority of these conditions – diabetes, sleeping troubles and gastrointestinal issues – can be treated by simple diet and lifestyle changes. These changes have none of the adverse effects and risks of drugs, and their benefits extend far beyond the potential therapeutic action of the medications.

Medication has improved and even saved the lives of many in this country and around the world. Yet there’s a difference between drugs that are “medically necessary” and drugs that are prescribed in lieu of other less harmful and risky – but more labor intensive – interventions such as diet and exercise.

But as Dr. Robert Epstein, cheif medical officer at Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco said, ‘We’ve become a couch potato culture (and) it’s a lot easier to pop a pill” than to exercise regularly or diet.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

One reason for the increase in medication use is the pharmaceutical industry’s “relentless advertising”. Since that is unlikely to change anytime soon, experts say the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only multiply.

“Unless we do things to change the way we’re managing health in this country … things will get worse instead of getting better,” predicted Daniel Jones, a heart specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi’s medical school.

Luckily, we don’t have to wait around for that to happen. As individuals we can take responsibility for our own health care using diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. We can choose to use “alternative” modalities such as acupuncture and homeopathy to keep us healthy. And we can take action to reduce stress and promote emotional and psychological well-being.

The Nocebo Response

May 9, 2008 in Mind Over Medicine | 2 comments

pills “The biomedical view is so pervasive that we often fail to see it as such but view it as reality. Questioning this model is like asking whether a goldfish knows it is in water.” – O’Boyle, 1993

The placebo response has become a well-known, though severely misunderstood, phenomenon in popular culture. But many outside of the medical profession have never heard of the “nocebo response” which is often referred to as the “evil twin” of the placebo response.

A nocebo effect is an ill effect caused by the suggestion or belief that something is harmful. The term ‘nocebo’ became popular in the 1990s. Prior to that, both pleasant and harmful effects thought to be due to the power of suggestion were usually referred to as being due to the placebo effect.

But although the general public may not be aware of the term “nocebo response”, the concept behind it is certainly familiar. Many common phrases in our language (“scared to death”, “worried sick”) acknowledge the relationship between the mind and body and the power of thoughts and emotions to cause disease, and even death. In fact, the phenomenon of voodoo death – in which an adept in the voodoo tradition dies from fright after being hexed or cursed – is well-documented in the scientific literature.

The nocebo response is well-known to researchers. In placebo trials for disorders that produce minimal symptoms (e.g. hypertension), nocebo effects are comparable to those seen with an active drug. The most common adverse symptoms include headache in 7%, somnolence in 5%, weakness in 4% and nausea and dizziness in 1% each. In some studies, fatigue and gastrointestinal symptoms both occurred in almost 15% of subjects.

The mere suggestion that a drug can cause side effects can be a self-fulling prophecy for some patients. Studies have shown that the language adopted to describe side effects of drugs can significantly influence patient expectations and outcomes. (Barsky et al. 2002)

In the Framingham Heart Study, the largest and longest running study on heart disease in the world, women who believed they were prone to heart disease were nearly four times as likely to die as women with similar risk factors who didn’t hold such fatalistic views. (Voelker 1996)

A special report called “The Nocebo Effect: Placebo’s Evil Twin” published in The Washington Post in 2002 reported that in studies done of people going into surgery who want to die (to reconnect with a loved one), close to 100% of them die.

In a study of aspirin, patients were warned about possible gastrointestinal problems as a side effect at one location. At another location, no such warning was issued. Those who received the warning were almost three times as likely to experience the side effects. (Reid 2002)

In another experiment, asthmatic patients breathed in a vapor that researchers told them was a chemical irritant or allergen. Nearly half of the patients experienced breathing problems, with a dozen developing full-blown attacks. They were “treated” with a substance they believed to be a bronchodilating medicine, and recovered immediately. In actuality, both the “irritant” and the “medicine” were a nebulized saltwater solution. (Morse 1999)

In perhaps the most phenomenal study, Japanese researchers tested 57 high school boys for their sensitivity to allergens. The boys filled out questionnaires about past experiences with plants, including lacquer trees, which can cause itchy rashes much as poison oak and poison ivy do. Boys who reported having severe reactions to the poisonous trees were blindfolded. Researchers brushed one arm with leaves from a lacquer tree but told the boys they were chestnut tree leaves. The scientists stroked the other arm with chestnut tree leaves but said the foliage came from a lacquer tree. Within minutes the arm the boys believed to have been exposed to the poisonous tree began to react, turning red and developing a bumpy, itchy rash. In most cases the arm that had contact with the actual poison did not react. (Morse 1999)

So what is the significance of the “nocebo effect” in human health? The answer to that question depends on who you ask. The pharmaceutical companies’ primary interest in the nocebo effect is related to drug side effects, which cost the U.S. health system more than $76 billion a year (according to a 1995 University of Arizona study). If even a small percentage of those costs are caused by patient expectations of harm, addressing the nocebo effect could save drug companies a lot of money.

But for providers of health care not primarily motivated by profit, and for the average person, the nocebo response should be a powerful reminder of the capacity of our beliefs, expectations, thoughts and emotions to cause both health and disease. Many people of course know this instinctively. Yet in an era of medicine based increasingly upon technology and a specific type of scientific analysis, it is important to remember that the mind is not separate from the body, and that health and healing depend upon much more than doctors, hospitals, pills and diet.

Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient

May 6, 2008 in Cancer, Food & Nutrition, Heart Disease | 36 comments

cheese A study recently published by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has revealed that increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent. The authors point out that the benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer, and, importantly, that vitamin K1 did not offer any prostate benefits.

The findings were based on data from more than 11,000 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort. It adds to a small but fast-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of vitamin K2 for bone, cardiovascular, skin, brain, and now prostate health.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the health benefits of vitamin K2. The K vitamins have been underrated and misunderstood up until very recently in both the scientific community and the general public.

It has been commonly believed that the benefits of vitamin K are limited to its role in blood clotting. Another popular misconception is that vitamins K1 and K2 are simply different forms of the same vitamin – with the same physiological functions.

New evidence, however, has confirmed that vitamin K2’s role in the body extends far beyond blood clotting to include protecting us from heart disease, ensuring healthy skin, forming strong bones, promoting brain function, supporting growth and development and helping to prevent cancer – to name a few. In fact, vitamin K2 has so many functions not associated with vitamin K1 that many researchers insist that K1 and K2 are best seen as two different vitamins entirely.

A large epidemiological study from the Netherlands illustrates this point well. The researchers collected data on the vitamin K intakes of the subjects between 1990 and 1993 and measured the extent of heart disease in each subject, who had died from it and how this related to vitamin K2 intake and arterial calcification. They found that calcification of the arteries was the best predictor of heart disease. Those in the highest third of vitamin K2 intakes were 52 percent less likely to develop severe calcification of the arteries, 41 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and 57 percent less likely to die from it. (Geleijnse et al., 2004, pp. 3100-3105) However, intake of vitamin K1 had no effect on cardiovascular disease outcomes.

While K1 is preferentially used by the liver to activate blood clotting proteins, K2 is preferentially used by other tissues to deposit calcium in appropriate locations, such as in the bones and teeth, and prevent it from depositing in locations where it does not belong, such as the soft tissues.(Spronk et al., 2003, pp. 531-537) In an acknowledgment of the different roles played by vitamins K1 and K2, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally determined the vitamin K2 contents of foods in the U.S. diet for the first time in 2006. (Elder, Haytowitz, Howe, Peterson, & Booth, 2006, pp. 436-467)

Another common misconception is that human beings do not need vitamin K2 in their diet, since they have the capacity to convert vitamin K1 to vitamin K2. The amount of vitamin K1 in typical diets is ten times greater than that of vitamin K2, and researchers and physicians have largely dismissed the contribution of K2 to nutritional status as insignificant.

However, although animals can convert vitamin K1 to vitamin K2, a significant amount of evidence suggests that humans require preformed K2 in the diet to obtain and maintain optimal health. The strongest indication that humans require preformed vitamin K2 in the diet is that epidemiological and intervention studies both show its superiority over K1. Intake of K2 is inversely associated with heart disease in humans while intake of K1 is not (Geleijnse et al., 2004, pp. 3100-3105), and vitamin K2 is at least three times more effective than vitamin K1 at activating proteins related to skeletal metabolism. (Schurgers et al., 2007) And remember that in the study on vitamin K2’s role in treating prostate cancer, which I mentioned at the beginning of this article, vitamin K1 had no effect.

All of this evidence points to the possibility that vitamin K2 may be an essential nutrient in the human diet. So where does one find vitamin K2 in foods? The following is a list of the foods highest in vitamin K2, as measured by the USDA:

Foods high in vitamin K2

Natto
Hard cheese
Soft cheese
Egg yolk
Butter
Chicken liver
Salami
Chicken breast
Grond beef

Unfortunately, precise values for some foods that are likely to be high in K2 (such as organ meats) are not available at this time. The pancreas and salivary glands would be richest; reproductive organs, brains, cartilage and possibly kidneys would also be very rich; finally, bone would be richer than muscle meat. Fish eggs are also likely to be rich in K2.

It was once erroneously believed that intestinal bacteria are a major contributor to vitamin K status. However, the majority of evidence contradicts this view. Most of the vitamin K2 produced in the intestine are embedded within bacterial membranes and not available for absorption. Thus, intestinal production of K2 likely makes only a small contribution to vitamin K status. (Unden & Bongaerts, 1997, pp. 217-234)

On the other hand, fermented foods, however, such as sauerkraut, cheese and natto (a soy dish popular in Japan), contain substantial amounts of vitamin K2. Natto contains the highest concentration of K2 of any food measured; nearly all of it is present as MK-7, which research has shown to be a highly effective form. A recent study demonstrated that MK-7 increased the percentage of osteocalcin in humans three times more powerfully than did vitamin K1. (Schurgers & Vermeer, 2000, pp. 298-307)

It is important to note that commercial butter is not a significantly high source of vitamin K2. Dr. Weston A. Price, who was the first to elucidate the role of vitamin K2 in human health (though he called it “Activator X” at the time) analyzed over 20,000 samples of butter sent to him from various parts of the world. As mentioned previously in this paper, he found that the Activator X concentration varied 50-fold. Animals grazing on vitamin K-rich cereal grasses, especially wheat grass, and alfalfa in a lush green state of growth produced fat with the highest amounts of Activator X, but the soil in which the pasture was grown also influenced the quality of the butter. It was only the vitamin-rich butter grown in three feet or more of healthy top soil that had such dramatic curing properties when combined with cod liver oil in Dr. Price’s experiments and clinical practice.

Therefore, vitamin K2 levels will not be high in butter from grain-fed cows raised in confinement feedlots. Since the overwhelming majority of butter sold in the U.S. comes from such feedlots, butter is not a significant source of K2 in the diet for most people. This is yet another argument for obtaining raw butter from cows raised on green pasture.

New research which expands our understanding of the many important roles of vitamin K2 is being published at a rapid pace. Yet it is already clear that vitamin K2 is an important nutrient for human health – and one of the most poorly understood by medical authorities and the general public.

May 2008

The Soy Ploy

Myths About Isoflavones

Traditional Versus Modern Soy Foods

Problems with Soy Protein Isolate

The Dangers of Soy Infant Formula

Homemade Baby Formula

Recommended Links

Three eggs a day keep the doctor away!

Free talk: The truth about cholesterol

Half of Americans take pharmaceutical drugs daily

Recommended Links

The Nocebo Response

Recommended links

Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient

Foods high in vitamin K2

Recommended links

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