31.5.13

Medical Cream, Drugs or Diet for Psoriasis? - CarbSaner

CarbSaner: Cream, Drugs or Diet for Psoriasis?

I blogged recently about psoriasis, as a commenter wrote how her son's lifelong psoriasis problem was recently cured by a grain-free diet.

Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease, and the list of other auto-immune diseases is very long indeed. It is worrying that Wikipedia says:

"The treatment of autoimmune diseases is typically with immunosuppression - medication that decreases the immune response. A large number of autoimmune diseases are recognised."

So, instead of trying to get to the root of the problem, doctors suppress the immune system, which presumably makes us more susceptible to other health problems.

Someone sent a comment for that post suggesting that we should just keep trying more creams! So, I guess this particular person would rather have to keep buying creams for the rest of their life in an attempt to get rid of psoriasis, instead of giving up some foodstuffs such as, maybe, gluten.

Okay, but there are many autoimmune problems that you can't slap cream on. Apparently one in five people who suffer from psoriasis then suffer from psoriatic arthritis.

One medical website says this:

"If you have psoriatic arthritis, you may be treated by a team of health professionals, including:

a GP

a rheumatologist

a dermatologist (skin specialist)

a nurse

a physiotherapist

an occupational therapist

a psychologist (it's not unusual for people with arthritis to develop depression) "

There is no suggestion that the sufferer should see a dietician, who might suggest that removing some foods from the diet would help. Drugs and creams are usually prescribed, and the drugs have nasty side effects.

If there's any chance that trying a paleo diet might help someone with a depressing skin condition which may lead to a horribly painful joint condition, then it's worth doing.

Some buffoons (my new favourite description for the Bloated One) may think that paleo is a fad diet and mock it and its followers, but I doubt if the commenter's son does now!

Things like molecular mimicry, leaky gut etc etc aren't weird new discoveries - they've probably been known about for years. It isn't ridiculous to believe that diet change may help auto-immune conditions, so it seems criminal that people suffering from miserable and life-threatening health problems are not given the option by doctors to try a change in diet.

13 comments:

Lori Miller28 May 2013 20:44
Allergies are another autoimmune illness. I used to have terrible allergies; one Labor Day several years ago I was so ill I spent the day in bed. I helped keep Sudafed in business year-round. But since I started a wheat-free, LC diet, I've rarely suffered with allergies. Some of my coworkers were sniffling and sneezing today, but not me.
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Indy Jill28 May 2013 20:49
No real surprises there, Carole. If you hang around on diabetes forums, you get a really fast lesson in how the carbohydrate-addict mind works. The forums are full of threads about "what, no bread?"

I really think anyone who says, "I couldn't possibly give up " is admitting that they're an addict, even if they don't realize that's exactly what they're saying.
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Galina L.29 May 2013 05:36
There is a show on TV "Mystery Diagnosis" , and it looks like 90% of all cases in the show are caused by autoimmune system attacking any human organs - kidneys, shield of spinal cord, skin...Every such case gets treated with steroids.
I achieved tremendous improvement in all my allergies (asthma, eczema, cats, some foods),eating LC and I am terribly sorry, that almost no one gets the right diet advise .
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Lowcarb team member29 May 2013 06:53
There seems to be no end to the medical conditions that low carb can heal. It’s no wonder the junk food outfits and big pharma are beginning to realise the game is up. Lowcarb antis are looking more ridiculous each day, and the list of medical professionals promoting lowcarb is increasing. How anyone can believe fresh unadulterated food is not the way forward is beyond me. And the alternative, factory produced junk and medication for hundreds of millions.

“Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates. Over two thousand years ago those words were uttered by the Father of medicine, they stand good today. Never has the food we eat had greater influence over our lives. Traditional foods and healthy eating has been usurped by the multinational food giants. Do not become a victim of poor dietary information. Eat the food we evolved from, the less man is involved, the healthier the food.

Regards Eddie
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tess29 May 2013 12:05
...what IndyJill said!!! what kind of addict thinks Wonder Bread is something they wouldn't trade for rack-of-lamb???
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Anonymous29 May 2013 13:40
when i first read the "cream" i thought it meant heavy cream (dairy). (i put it in black tea or coffee, as my breakfast, yum) XD
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Carole Sampson29 May 2013 21:19
I can't face it in drinks, but I have a load in my scrambled eggs for breakfast.
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29.5.13

Meet e-Patient Dave deBronkart: Ted Talks lectures - life changing content (playlist)

Uploaded on 1 Jul 2011

http://www.ted.com When Dave deBronkart learned he had a rare and terminal cancer, he turned to a group of fellow patients online -- and found a medical treatment that even his own doctors didn't know. It saved his life. Now he calls on all patients to talk with one another, know their own health data, and make health care better one e-Patient at a time.

Dave deBronkart

Richard Davies deBronkart Jr (born February 18, 1950), widely known as e-Patient Dave, is a cancer patient and blogger who, in 2009, became a noted activist for healthcare transformation through participatory medicine and personal health data rights.

Disease and treatment

In January 2007, a routine shoulder x-ray incidentally disclosed a shadow in the lung, which turned out to be metastasized kidney cancer (stage IV, grade 4 renal cell carcinoma). His median survival time at diagnosis was 24 weeks. A member of online communities since CompuServe in 1989, he responded by seeking online resources in addition to receiving treatment at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.^[1]

Use of technology during illness

A frequently cited aspect^[2]^[3]^[4] of deBronkart's case is the multiple ways he used the Internet.

He joined an expert patient community at the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR).
He sought information about his disease on web sites.
Sharing access to his medical record in the hospital computer system, he sought advice from medically knowledgeable family and friends.
He started an online journal and support community on CaringBridge.^[5]

Treatment and recovery

His kidney was removed laparoscopically and he was treated in a clinical trial of high-dose interleukin-2 (HDIL-2), ending 7/23/07, which was effective in reducing the cancer, although his femur ultimately broke from damage caused by the disease. Visible lesions on follow-up CT scans have continued to shrink for two years, and are presumed dead.^[1]

Discovering the e-Patient movement

Before and during his illness he had been writing journals and blog posts about his experiences. On the hospital's blog he signed himself "Patient Dave"; upon recovery from near-death he started a blog "The New Life of Patient Dave." In January 2008 he learned of the so-called "e-Patient White Paper", which described how patients are using the Internet to participate actively in their care. He recognized it as a match for his own actions during his illness and renamed himself "e-Patient Dave," and his blog The New Life of e-Patient Dave.

He became the most active blogger on e-patients.net, a blog founded by the late Dr. Tom Ferguson, which he now manages. In February 2009 Ferguson's e-Patient Scholars Working Group elected him founding co-chair (with his physician, Dr. Danny Sands) of the Society for Participatory Medicine.^[6]
At conferences and meetings he is a frequent speaker about the "e-Patient" movement, also referred to as "patient engagement" and "participatory medicine."

28.5.13

6 Ways "Heart-Healthy" Whole Wheat Can Destroy Your Health

6 Ways "Heart-Healthy" Whole Wheat Can Destroy Your Health:

May 27, 2013 | by Kris Gunnars | 2,458 views | 12 Comments

"Take Home Message

I often see mainstream nutrition professionals telling us to choose whole wheat instead of refined. I completely disagree, because the idea is based on flawed logic.

Saying that whole wheat is healthy because it’s better than refined wheat is like saying that filtered cigarettes are healthy because they’re better than unfiltered cigarettes.

Using the same logic, everyone should be smoking filtered cigarettes for the health benefits. It just doesn’t make sense.New studies show that even whole wheat may contribute to serious health problems."

Here are 6 ways wheat can destroy your health.

1. Wheat is Loaded With Gluten

Gluten is the main protein found in wheat and a few other grains like rye, spelt and barley.

Its name is derived from its glue-like (glu-ten) properties.

This protein gives dough its elastic properties and makes it pliable. If you’ve ever handled wet dough in your life, then you will know what I’m talking about.

The problem with modern wheat is that many people are unable to properly digest the gluten in it.

The immune system “sees” the gluten proteins in the digestive tract, thinks they’re foreign invaders and mounts an attack… not just against the gluten, but also thedigestive wall itself.

This is the hallmark of celiac disease, a serious disease which may affect up to 1% of the population (1, 2).

However, there is evidence that a much larger percentage of people may be “sensitive” to gluten. They don’t have full-blown celiac disease, but they do have symptoms when they ingest gluten (3, 4, 5).

There are studies in people who don’t have celiac disease showing that gluten can damage the intestinal lining and cause symptoms like pain, anemia, bloating, stool inconsistency, tiredness, among others (6, 7, 8, 9).

There is also evidence that gluten can make the lining of the intestine more permeable, potentially allowing partially digested substances to “leak” from the digestive tract into the bloodstream (10).

Of course, it’s important to point out that not all people are sensitive to wheat. Some people appear to tolerate it just fine.

The best way to know if you’re sensitive to wheat and gluten is to eliminate it for 30 days, then reintroduce it and see if you notice any symptoms.

Bottom Line: There is mounting evidence that a significant percentage of the population may be “sensitive” to gluten. Gluten sensitivity can cause various adverse effects.

2. Wheat Spikes Blood Sugar Rapidly

Refined grain products like white bread get digested quickly, which leads to large spikes in blood sugar.

The large spikes are followed by rapid drops which tend to stimulate hunger and call for another high-carb meal.

This phenomenon is commonly known as the “blood sugar roller coaster.”

However, products made from whole grains that contain more fiber are supposed to lead to slower rises in blood sugar.

The problem is that whole grains aren’t always what they’re supposed to be. Often, they have been pulverized into very fine flour, which also gets digested quickly, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar.

The glycemic index is a marker of how quickly foods elevate blood sugar levels. The average whole wheat bread has a glycemic index of 71, the same as white bread (11).

Eating a diet that includes a lot of high GI foods is associated with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer (12, 13, 14).

Elevated blood sugars also cause complications when the glucose reacts with proteins in the body. This is called glycation and is one of the components of aging (15).

Bottom Line: Most whole grain products have actually been pulverized into very fine flour, which tends to raise blood sugars rapidly and can cause all sorts of problems down the line.

3. Wheat Contains Substances That “Steal” Nutrients From The Body

Calorie for calorie, wheat isn’t very nutritious compared to other real foods like animals and vegetables.

It also happens to contain substances that “steal” nutrients from other foods.

A substance in wheat called phytic acid can bind minerals like calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium and prevent them from being absorbed. Whole wheat contains even more phytic acid than refined wheat (16, 17, 18).

Wheat doesn’t contain all the essential amino acids in the right ratios and is therefore not a very good source of protein for humans (19).

In gluten sensitive individuals, the digestive lining can become damaged, reducing the absorption of all nutrients (20).

One study shows that wheat fiber can make people burn through theirVitamin D stores 30% faster, increasing the risk of deficiency (21).

Bottom Line: Wheat contains a substance called phytic acid, which can reduce absorption of important minerals. It may also cause people to burn through their Vitamin D stores faster, contributing to deficiency.

4. Wheat Consumption is Associated With Several Brain Diseases

Studies show that wheat consumption is associated with serious disorders of the brain.

Gluten And Cerebellar Ataxia

Cerebellar ataxia is a motor disturbance caused by lesions in the cerebellum, a part of the brain that controls motor functions.

One form of this disease may be caused or exacerbated by gluten consumption. It is called gluten ataxia and involves an autoimmune attack on the cerebellum.

Multiple studies show an association between gluten, gluten sensitivity and cerebellar ataxia (22, 23, 24, 25). A controlled trial has also shown an improvement in ataxia patients who went on a gluten-free diet (26).

Gluten And Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder which afflicts about 0.3-0.7% of people at some point during their lifetime (27).

There are strong statistical associations between celiac disease, gluten sensitivity and schizophrenia. Many schizophrenic individuals have antibodies against gluten in their bloodstream (28, 29, 30, 31, 32).

There is also a controlled trial and several case reports showing that some (not all) schizophrenic patients see improvement on a gluten-free diet (33, 34, 35, 36).

Other Brain Diseases

Other diseases of the brain that may be associated with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are autism and epilepsy (37, 38, 39, 40, 41).

These are just a handful of diseases that have been shown to travel with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that wheat or gluten causes these diseases, only that some evidence suggests that gluten may be a contributing factor in some patients.

This definitely needs to be studied more thoroughly, but given that there’s no actual benefit to eating wheat, then I personally prefer to be on the safe side and avoid it.

Bottom Line: Being sensitive to gluten is associated with many disorders of the brain, such as schizophrenia, cerebellar ataxia, autism and epilepsy.

5. Wheat May be Addictive

There are some who believe that wheat may be addictive.

It is definitely not proven yet, although there are a few interesting observations that allow for some speculation.

When gluten proteins are broken down in a test tube, the peptides they form are able to stimulate opioid receptors. These peptides are called gluten exorphins (42).

Opioid receptors are the receptors in the brain that are stimulated by drugs like heroin and morphine, as well as endorphines that are released naturally when we do something like running.

The theory goes like this… the gluten we eat gets broken down into these opioid peptides, which then travel into the blood and eventually into the brain, where they cause addiction to wheat.

Gluten exorphins have been found in the blood of celiac patients (43). There’s also some evidence in animals that the gluten exorphins make it into the body (44, 45).

At this point, this is only theoretical. No hard evidence proves wheat to be addictive.

Personally I find the idea to be plausible. Back in the day when I used to eat wheat I would often crave it. Almost every food that I would get powerful cravings for included both sugar and wheat.

Bottom Line: The digestive products of gluten may be able to stimulate opioid receptors and contribute to addiction. However, this needs to be studied more before we can make any conclusions.

6. Whole Wheat Drastically Raises Small, Dense LDL Cholesterol

Elevated levels of LDL (the “bad”) cholesterol are associated with a greater risk of heart disease.

However, studies show that there isn’t just one type of LDL. The size of the LDL molecules appears to be important.

People who have mostly small, dense LDL particles (also called Pattern B) are at a greater risk of heart disease.

The association isn’t nearly as strong for people who have mainly large LDL particles, known as pattern A (46, 47, 48,49, 50).

One randomized controlled trial split 36 overweight men into two groups.

One group was instructed to eat whole oats, the other whole wheat. The study went on for 12 weeks and they measured important risk factors for heart disease (51).

The oat group had reductions in total LDL, small, dense LDL and LDL particle number (LDL-p – another important risk factor).

However, the wheat group had increases in LDL by 8%, increase in LDL particle number by 14.2% and a whopping 60.4% increase in small, dense LDL particles.

The wheat group also had increases in total cholesterol and triglycerides, but the difference was not statistically significant.

According to this study, wheat should drastically increase your risk of heart disease… and keep in mind that it’s “heart-healthy” *cough* whole wheat we’re talking about here.

Take Home Message

I often see mainstream nutrition professionals telling us to choose whole wheat instead of refined. I completely disagree, because the idea is based on flawed logic.

Saying that whole wheat is healthy because it’s better than refined wheat is like saying that filtered cigarettes are healthy because they’re better than unfiltered cigarettes.

Using the same logic, everyone should be smoking filtered cigarettes for the health benefits. It just doesn’t make sense.