Time to Talk Cancer - Pt. 3

Dr. Jason Fung, the Godfather of all things fasting, obesity, and diabetes (The Complete Guide to Fasting, The Diabetes Code & The Obesity Code) was recently interviewed by my friend, Ben Azadi regarding Dr. Fung’s new book, The Cancer Code. But what could a nephrologist know about cancer? Turns out, quite a lot. With his groundbreaking work in the treatment of obesity and diabetes winning him international acclaim—he suggests that the primary disease pathway of cancer is caused by the dysregulation of insulin. In fact, obesity and type 2 diabetes significantly increase an individual’s risk of cancer!

Dr. Fung identifies the medical community’s many missteps in cancer research—in particular, its focus on genetics, or what he terms the “seed” of cancer, at the expense of examining the “soil,” or the conditions under which cancer flourishes. He provides a new paradigm for dealing with cancer, with recommendations for what we can do to not create a hostile soil for this dangerous seed. One such strategy is intermittent fasting, which reduces blood glucose, lowering insulin levels. Another, eliminating intake of insulin-stimulating foods, such as sugar and refined carbohydrates.

In this interview, Dr Jason Fung answers the following questions:

• What are the best ways to prevent cancer?

• Is there a cure for cancer?

• Why is cancer so difficult to treat?

• What is the real cause of cancer?

Here are some additional take-aways:

• Cancer is the #2 cause of death in America

• Cancer is an obesity-related disease

• In terms of causes of cancer:
  Tobacco contributes about 35%,
  But diet turns out to be 30 to 35% as well

• That means that a bad diet can be as bad as tobacco in terms of cancer.

PS - Today is my one year Blog Anniversary! Yay Trish!!

Congratulations! One year and counting! Well done!

Time to Talk Cancer - Pt. 2

There are actually quite a few medical experts who strongly advocate a ketogenic diet and other lifestyle choices to improve cancer risk markers.

The following two practitioners are chief among them:

Dr. Nasha Winters - As a former stage four cancer patient, Dr. Winters has helped thousands of patients battle cancer with a unique approach that combines the best of both conventional medicine and alternative care. She prioritizes treating the whole person with targeted lifestyle approaches that can enhance cancer care, quality of life, and even survival. She is the author of The Metabolic Approach to Caner.

Dr. David Harper - As a Visiting Scientist at the British Columbia Cancer Research Center, Terry Fox Lab, Dr. Harper’s current research focuses on the therapeutic benefits of ketogenic diets for women with metastatic breast cancer. He has just completed a book called BioDiet: The Ketogenic Way to Lose Weight and Improve Health.

Time to Talk Cancer - Pt. 1

….and it’s relationship to the food we eat.

I have a quote I use on the homepage of this blog:

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest forms of poison.” – Ann Wigmore

In my opinion, nothing truer could be said. According to the CDC, 1 out of 3 women are diagnosed with cancer, and for men, it is 1 out of 2.

And so today I came across this podcast from one of my ‘foodie’ nutrition experts Ben Azadi. In this podcast Dr. Erin Connealy discusses contributing factors to cancer growth such as undiagnosed fatty liver, and key blood tests to help determine cancer risk (HbA1c/sugar levels over three months; CRP/nonspecific inflammation predictor; DHEA/adrenal gland/stress & immune indicator; HCG/urine test; PSA; CEA/tumor marker; sex hormones/testosterone, progesterone, estrogen; & Vitamin D).

She also discusses the ways and means of reversing and/or improving cancer risk ~

• Omega three oils (no vegetable/seed oils)

• Why sugar (and foods that metabolize as sugar) loves cancer

• How Keto foods (high fat/low carb) and Fasting creates benefits against cancer

• Cleanses/detox

• Be aware of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and its effects on the human body

Ya think? Finally!

Nutrition + Exercise Help Beat The🦠, World Health Organization Says

The WHO finally gets with it in terms of how to really prevent complications from COVID. This speaker and other like-minded nutrition experts and functional medicine doctors have been shouting this from the rooftops since this whole pandemic debacle began...that it's ALL about metabolic health and a healthy immune system...not masks, lock downs, and social distancing. We now know that this is what COVID has uncovered: That the most metabolically sick people are the ones who become seriously ill or die from complications from the COVID virus.

Meanwhile, the media wants you to think that if you’re outside and the wind gust hits just right, you can get COVID from miles away…and no matter how healthy you are you can and will drop dead. They’ll tell you that the only way out is with a global vaccine.

But the real focus should be on metabolic health & functional medicine. 

That is how we beat COVID, prepare for another similar pandemic & truly revitalize our country.

Metabolic Syndrome & Coronavirus

Metabolic syndrome linked to worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients

Metabolic Syndrome (MS)… I’ve talked about this in earlier blogs, but it can be a silent killer in today’s Covid world. Why? Because virtually everyone who has MS has no idea they do.

A new study from Tulane Medical Center shows COVID-19 infection is more severe in those with Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is a reversible medical condition - - but it can increase the severity of COVID-19 Infection. Millions suffer from metabolic syndrome, but have no idea they have it, or even what it is, and many doctors don't talk about it or diagnose it. You need to know if you have it and take immediate steps to reverse it before it weakens your immune system too much.

Meanwhile, this is the cornerstone/root cause in Tulane University’s findings:

"The underlying inflammation that is seen with metabolic syndrome may be the driver [root cause] that is leading to these more severe cases." - Dr. Joshua Denson, assistant professor of medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Remember, as established in earlier blogs in terms of preexisting conditions (aka, comordities) such as obestiy, Type II Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and autoimmune conditions that create and contribute to inflammatory immune systems; MS often undiagnosed, is a precureser to these and other inflammatory conditions and diseases within the body.

And, after accounting for age, sex, race, hospital location, and other conditions, the patients with metabolic syndrome were 3.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who didn't have the condition. These patients were also nearly five times more likely to be admitted to an ICU, need a ventilator, or develop ARDS…. And for anyone who meets the criteria for metabolic syndrome should be vigilant in taking measures to reduce risk or exposure to the coronavirus.

Metabolic syndrome should be considered a composite predictor of COVID-19 lethal outcome, increasing the odds of mortality by the combined effects of its individual components. It doesn't matter if you're young or old -- we took that into account. You really should be extra careful [and learn if you have MS or not].

- Dr. Joshua Denson, assistant professor of medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Bottom line, it’s our own immune system that is either the real problem or the solution to the problem in relationship to coronavirus exposure and outcomes. In other words, pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth on a daily basis, not over your mouth, if you want to create a robust immune system to override COVID-19. It’s honestly that straight forward.

Back to Basics: Are our bodies calculators or chemistry sets?

I love this!

From my friend, Ben Azadi:

🥘 Food can upgrade or downgrade your biological software with every bite. 🍴

👏🏻 Food is NOT just about calories; food is information. When we eat food, every bite signals a metabolic response. 💯

🎯 We can choose to eat high quality foods that will elicit a healthy metabolic response, or we can choose to eat poor quality foods that will elicit a negative metabolic response; the choice is yours.

🍰🐠 There's a significant difference between 1,000 calories of a kale salmon salad, and 1,000 calories of chocolate cake.

The former will elicit a healthier metabolic response, the latter will cause hormonal disruption, roller coaster energy levels and weight gain (symptom). 😫

They are the same exact calories. BUT, the human body doesn't give a darn about calories!

There's no mechanism or receptor sites in the human body that keeps track of calories. So why the heck do we count them?🤦‍♂️

The human body is NOT a calculator.
The human body is NOT a bank account.
The human body is NOT a math equation.

The human body is a complex chemistry lab.

It's time to stop focusing on the quantity, and start focusing on the quality of the foods we are eating.

>>Remember, every bite we take signals a metabolic response. Food is information. Send the best information to your body.<<

Your body is a complicated, yet straight forward chemistry set! How the ketogenic diet helps to reset your body’s chemistry! 

MMR vaccine for Covid?

MMR vaccine could protect against the worst symptoms of COVID-19

COVID-19 has not had a big impact on children, and the researchers hypothesize that one reason children are protected against viral infections that induce sepsis is their more recent and more frequent exposures to live attenuated vaccines such as the Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) vaccine that can also induce the trained suppressive MDSCs that limit inflammation and sepsis.

"Live attenuated vaccines seemingly have some nonspecific benefits as well as immunity to the target pathogen. A clinical trial with MMR in high-risk populations may provide a low-risk-high-reward preventive measure in saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic…While we are conducting the clinical trials, I don't think it's going to hurt anybody to have an MMR vaccine that would protect against the measles, mumps, and rubella with this potential added benefit of helping against COVID-19." - Dr. Paul Fidel, Jr., Department Chair, Oral and Craniofacial Biology, and Associate Dean for Research, Louisiana State University Health School of Dentistry

Recent events provide support for the researchers' hypothesis. For example, the milder symptoms seen in the 955 sailors on the U.S.S Roosevelt who tested positive for COVID-19 (only one hospitalization) may have been a consequence of the fact that the MMR vaccinations are given to all U.S. Navy recruits. In addition, epidemiological data suggest a correlation between people in geographical locations who routinely receive the MMR vaccine and reduced COVID-19 death rates.

Walgreens has the MMR vaccine, and probably CVS as well for about $106 and no prescription required. Can't hurt!  And, it might be why many young people are not getting COVID. The MMR vaccine was not available when our generation were kids.

Why Obesity May Stack the Deck for COVID-19 Risk

I believe it’s important that our bureaucrats, politicians and doctors now realize that some serious dietary suggestions to help mitigate the obesity epidemic in this country and its relationship to Covid-19 are going to have to be implemented in order for people to not be at risk from this virus. It's clear who the high risk people are and what they can do about it, as opposed to everyone walking around in masks, staying 6 ft apart and closing down the economy. And waiting for a vaccine as the savior in this scenario is not the answer.

“It has become clearer that people who are obese are one of the groups at highest risk from the disease, regardless of their age. The CDC recently refined its risk categories for COVID-19, stating that obesity was as big a risk for COVID as having a suppressed immune system or chronic lung or kidney disease. The agency also lowered the bar for where that risk starts -- from a BMI of 40 to a BMI of 30. Roughly 40% of Americans have a BMI over 30.”

Again, I cannot stress this enough, but until people realize the sugar overload we eat in terms of high carbohydrate foods that metabolize as sugar, and how those foods can ultimately affect our body (i.e., T2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc, etc), leading to blood sugar disregulation, we're going to continue to see people in these high-risk categories succumb to this virus and viruses still unknown to us. With that said, this article also made this huge, game-changing statement in terms of understanding this relationship with food and those most at risk from Covid 19:

“Learning the root causes can help doctors develop strategies to help protect obese patients. For example, there are ways to improve insulin sensitivity relatively quickly through diet, physical activity, and drugs, [and may even]… need to outlaw chocolate and sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce the population risk from COVID-19.”

THIS will truly be part of the game-changing answer doctors are looking for in terms of helping those most at risk!

Timely covid update & message

One of my favorite British docs: Dr. Aseem.Malhotra, MD

Obesity is not only racially biased… but it’s unscientific by putting it above metabolic health. This is a major issue for a huge proportion of people of normal weight including Caucasians who don’t even know they’re at risk. Full article here.

I love that his colleagues and like-minded nutrition wellness promoting people are truly on board with this premise of un-diagnosed co-morbidity regarding Covid. BUT this critical information is NOT being discussed by our major health organizations! Rather than forcing us to accommodate "safety" through isolation and face masks, which we now know has virtually no science for their continued use, it is as simple and important as understanding how the foods we eat can impact all of our metabolic markers, and secondarily how Covid can impact a person if those markers are significantly compromised!

And while I'm here... let's take a look at PURE:

With all the news coming out from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology with regard to the health benefits and inclusion of saturated fats in our diets, yesterday’s blog, and my previous blogs outlining the deliberate omission of RCTs on saturated fat’s health and healing benefits, here is yet another completely ignored study published in 2017. I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this one either.

Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study

The Lancet, Volume 390, ISSUE 10107, P2050-2062, November 04, 2017

In summary, the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study was a large, epidemiological cohort ten-year (2003-2013) study that found that higher carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of total mortality; intake of total fat and each type of fat was associated with lower risk of total mortality; higher saturated fat intake was associated with lower risk of stroke; and finally that total fat and saturated and unsaturated fats were not significantly associated with risk of myocardial infarction or cardiovascular disease mortality.

At this point, I’m not quite sure what else it will take to encourage our country’s food policy decision makers to rethink not eating saturated fats, but rather recommending the consumption of low fat foods, and polyunsaturated oils in our nation’s Dietary Guidelines - - advice that has never had any substantial scientific backing, according to a large and fast-growing body of scientific literature. Fortunately, saturated fats are recommended in the newly published JACC paper, finding that government limits on saturated fats are not justified by the science. Yeah!!