Shanghai Talk: Balancing Hormones To Improve Mood, Energy, Body Fat and Breast Cancer Prevention

Miracle
OceanLab, Above and Beyond

I have a talk in Shanghai coming up FYI...You are invited!


Topic: Balancing Hormones To Improve Mood, Energy, Body Fat and Breast Cancer Prevention

Functional/integrative medicine resources:

http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/04/28/ultrawellness-lesson-5-detoxification/ http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/21/breast-cancer-how-to-reduce-your-risk-now-2/

http://www.imjournal.com/resources/web_pdfs/popular/1008_evans.pdf

Random Thoughts on Migraine Headaches, Oxytocin, and Mind-Reading

Migraine Headache Syndrome

Definition: 'A migraine is a throbbing, unilateral headache that is 
often associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia, or an aura
~i.e., a transient disturbance of vision or of various aspects
of neurological function. More than 10% of Americans
suffer from migraines, with the prevalence in women
being about 3 times that in men. The cause of migraine is
not well understood, although it is thought to be due in
part to vasoconstriction followed by reactive vasodilatation.'

Nutritional Medicine textbook, Ch 136, Dr. Alan Gaby MD

Disclosure -- I'm not afflicted by headaches often (unless my child flunks a math quiz) and, never, migraines, yet I've met a ton of people with migraines. Many of my friends experience migraines or used to (half of my favorite gal pals and guy friends). Certain phenotypic characteristics and 'gifts' are inescapable IMHO that I have observed in these individuals: extreme intuition, sometimes clairvoyance, approachability, and super-powered senses (smell, sound, sight, sensory stimuli, barometric pressure, mind-reading).  Additionally, migraineur patients, acquaintances and friends have told me that random people just enjoy blindly going up to them and spilling their entire life stories.  (No one does that to me) I think that is notable.  What do you think of your migraineur family or friends?  I'd like to hear other perspectives on this...

These pals who suffer headaches are special to me. They read my mind and I don't need to talk or articulate...wish I could marry them (...just kidding).  Some I speak to rarely like Patrik V. who runs Paleohacks.com, yet before he has said things and I'll think 'wtf exit my head.'  When some paleo friends first convened, he reported that he had once suffered incapacitating migraine headaches since age six (hiding under tables whilst his mother couldn't find him for hours) until he serendipitously discovered the headache-banishing benefits of the grain-free and dairy-free paleo diet. That's a common story in paleo-land.

Migraine headaches are a P-A-I-N and that is a distinct understatement if you talk to any patient who suffers from migraines which are described as debilitating to the point of impairing function leading to lost quality of life and days of work, family, and leisure time. 

Takano and Nedergaard (see above photo) describe a migraine headache as a sweeping change in electrical depolarization across the brain which is followed by an extended period of neural torpor or suppression. They call it cortical spreading depression (CSD), stating 'Written accounts of migraine are nearly as old as writing itself. Descriptions of headaches, dating to roughly 3000 BCE, have been found in the ruins of the ancient Sumerian civilization.' Perhaps like narrow jaws, occclusions, and tight dental arches (per Weston A. Price), mass migraines and brain pain initiated with the advent of agriculture and the ubiquitous introduction of refined grain carbohydrates into the prehistoric human hunter-gatherer diet?  Perhaps migraineurs have indeed a set of gifts that were naturally selected for despite the outstanding pain and discomfort? 



Evolutionary Advantage of Migraine Headaches?

Harvard neurology professor Loder wrote a Cephalalgia review and presentation 'Migraineur in the Interictus' suggesting evolutionary benefits of the development of the characteristics seen in migraineurs.  Highly responsive nervous systems that detect sensory stimuli at low inputs definitely would be traits worthy of evolutionary selection and retention in the progress of human civilization.  'Hearing the approach of enemies, being eaten by a saber-tooth tiger or detecting or avoiding spoiled or adulterated food' might have been compelling pressures that were affected by the communication of low or nearly negligible levels of sensory information in the environment, plants, people, animals and other living creatures. 



Ancient Treatment for Migraine Headaches: Hole(s) in the Head, Trepanation

In ancient times, it is hypothesized that headaches and migraines were treated with trepanation (boring a hole or holes into skull to release the pressure and pulsation). If I had severe head pain I'd seriously consider but, yeah, I need a hole in my head like a new Jimmy Choo fake purse!  Several lines of evidence relating to archaeological remains report that clinical outcomes and survival were astonishingly decent:  HERE.



Photo credit: Asylum Science



Our Brains are Still Evolving

I'd wildly speculate that the ancestors of individuals with migraines had unique abilities which allowed them to thrive in certain conditions requiring sensitivity to environmental changes and influence in group cooperation, gaining trust, tight social networks and perhaps weather/storm predictions.  In is not a coincidence that the individuals with migraines (if not completely unfunctional) are frequently leaders in their little (or big) so-called tribal units, in my shallow awareness.  NY Times science writer Nicholas Wade wrote in The Twists and the Turns of History, Our DNA, 'The political scientist Francis Fukuyama has distinguished between high-trust and low-trust societies, arguing that trust is a basis for prosperity. Since his 1995 book on the subject, researchers have found that oxytocin, a chemical active in the brain, increases the level of trust, at least in psychological experiments. Oxytocin levels are known to be under genetic control in other mammals like voles.' He has written quite a bit more extensively that our sapien brains grew in size for the machinery necessary to handle intricate, complicated and peaceful social complexity.



Super Perception, e.g. Mind Reading

Many new studies highlight the salient features of oxytocin for perception, feedback, empathetic accuracy and affiliation reward reinforcement. Two recent human controlled trials showed a demonstrated increased gaze focus and the ability to visually read and interpret facial emotional cues after oxytocin administration (some authors called it mind reading). From  sciencedaily.com one of the researchers Lerknes explained "We found that oxytocin intensified test subjects' awareness of the emotions present in the photos. Faces expressing anger stood out as angrier and less happy, and correspondingly, faces expressing happiness were happier."  Graded results occurred -- "It turns out that those with the lowest aptitude for judging emotional expression properly -- that is, those with the poorest scores during the saltwater round -- were the ones who showed the greatest improvement using oxytocin."

Author Nancy Casey hypothesizes in a post 'Oxytocin Gaze' that human hunters emulated carnivorous predators in their meticulous gaze and visual assimilation of the terrain. She posits that the same gaze that is possibly related to oxytocin which maybe employed by mothers in surveying and tracking their newborn babies, meeting their needs, and ensuring their survival in the face of vast helplessness and under-maturity.





Modern Conventionally-Schooled Medical Treatment of Migraines:  Overwhelmingly Uneffective

One out of every six women experiences migraine headaches of some form in America. The population prevalence is 11.7% and comparatively higher than the insane diabetes epidemic in adult Americans (11.3%, 2011 data). Migraine headaches are no small statistic.  With a wide gender divide, women have triple (17.1%) the incidence as men (5.6%).  It's also no coincidence women have more oxytocin than men as well; for us it can regulate love, lust, labor, lactation, and maternal caregiving.  

Funny thing is that if migraineurs have mega mindfulness and their oxytocin is messed up by being either super fluctuating high/low or inappropriately inconsistent or unstable levels  (like blood glucoses in the reactive hypoglycemia model), then it may explain why oxytocin given as a I.V. drug it was 100% successful in halting immediately two cases of refractory migraines seen in an ER unit and in a prospective human study where oxytocin was provided (intranasally, ya know, like cocaine) by Yeomans and Jacobs, Stanford pain researchers, to refractory patients was associated with halting 50% of migraines and reducing 27% (total, 77% better) compared with 11% of placebo. 

My observations are that migraine prevalence and occurrence are unchanged despite great 'advances' in pharmacology (abortive triptans and preventive pharmaceuticals), diagnostic science and understanding of the physiology of this condition.  Like essential hypertension and the great majority of textbook medical conditions, the underlying pathophysiology are still elusive and undetermined, despite wonderful and fantastic fMRI and genetic sequencing techniques. A recent review confirms these considerations, the prevalence of migraines is still the same as 15 years; absolutely no improvements despite the triptan class of medications (which can abort a migraine in 20-60 min 50-70s%, versus placebo 17-40%), preventive therapy (modification of neurotransmitters and vasculature; BP drugs, antidepressants, anti-epileptic drugs), and the standard 'migraine trigger avoidance diet' of avoiding the 5 C's (cheese chocolate coffee coke citrus).  Pharmaceuticals and ridiculous wheat-based diets fail long-term.


What Does Work Long-Term for Migraines: Paleo/Oligo-Antigenic Diet (OAD)

Some of oxytocin's target organ sites include the brain, the gut and thymus. All are organs responsible for the enormous function of homeostasis, immunity and controlling inflammation. It is no wonder that the brain cannot function optimally in isolation from the gut, and no wonder at all that all things that promote healing of the gut can improve migraine headache prevention and amelioration.  

The medical literature from the last 30-80 years in fact identifies wheat (78% Grant, Lancet 1979), cow milk (37%), other cereals, cane sugar, yeast, corn, citrus, and eggs as top migraine-inducing factors.  Identification and elimination of food antigens is key to healing the gut. Sealing of the damage and microperforations by altering intestinal permeability is secondary and vital.  The paleo/ancestral diet and oligo-antigenic diets maybe best with focus on individual susceptibilities and immuno-endocrine optimization. Similar to the results obtained by Frasetto et al in their 10-day paleo experiment for reversal of pre-clinical hypertension in overweight patients, the researcher Grant (Lancet, 1979) in a seminal study looked 60 migraineurs with food antigen immunoreactivity. After only 5-days of an elimination diet (pseudo paleo) she reported 'When an average of ten common foods were avoided there was a dramatic fall in the number of headaches per month, 85% of patients becoming headache-free. The 25% of patients with hypertension became normotensive.'

Dealing with circulating antigen-antibody and immune complexes that are formed in the body when food antigens and microbial peptides (cell walls, DNA, cellular contents, junk) interact with immune system may help permanently to achieve and to maintain disease resolution, I believe. Two recently published human RCTs (Aplay et al and Mitchell et al) showed that by eliminating foods linked to high food-antigen related immune globulin IgG titers, an association for statistically significant reductions in migraine headaches occurred at 6 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively.  Heal...Seal...Deal...


References

Deciphering migraine

Takahiro Takano, Maiken Nedergaard

J Clin Invest. 2009 January 5; 119(1): 16–19. 

What is the evolutionary advantage of migraine?  [Free PDF CLICK]

Loder E.

Cephalalgia. 2002 Oct;22(8):624-32. Review.

http://www.hcop.com/PDF/Migraineur%20in%20the%20Interictus%20-%20Loder.pdf [Elizabeth Loder MD]

Resilience in migraine brains: decrease of coherence after photic stimulation

Marcelo C. A. Rodrigues et al.

Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6: 207. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/weekinreview/12wade.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print [Nicholas Wade]

http://www.lancasterlawoffice.com/Media/Wade,%20Before%20the%20Dawn.pdf [Nicholas Wade, cliff notes]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/conversation-eo-wilson.html 

http://www.authornancycasey.com/oxytocin-gaze/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120730094909.htm [Siri Leknes interview]

Oxytocin enhances pupil dilation and sensitivity to 'hidden' emotional expressions.

Leknes S, Wessberg J, Ellingsen DM, Chelnokova O, Olausson H, Laeng B.

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Jun 29.

Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans.  [Free PDF CLICK]

Domes G, Heinrichs M, Michel A, Berger C, Herpertz SC.

Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Mar 15;61(6):731-3. 

Associations between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and "mind-reading" in humans-An exploratory study.

Lucht MJ, Barnow S, Sonnenfeld C, Ulrich I, Grabe HJ, Schroeder W, Völzke H, Freyberger HJ, John U, Herrmann FH, Kroemer H, Rosskopf D.

Nord J Psychiatry. 2012 Jul 19. 

Migraine prevalence, disease burden, and the need for preventive therapy.

Lipton RB, Bigal ME, Diamond M, Freitag F, Reed ML, Stewart WF; AMPP Advisory Group.

Neurology. 2007 Jan 30;68(5):343-9.

Relief of acute migraine headache with intravenous oxytocin: report of two cases.

Phillips WJ, Ostrovsky O, Galli RL, Dickey S.

J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2006;20(3):25-8.

Yeomans DC, Manering N, Pascual C, Angst MS, Jacobs D, Mechanic J, Jacobs A, 

Qiao Y, Winkle C, Frey W. Nasal Oxytocin for Head Pain. 13th World Congress on 

Pain, 2010.

Yeomans DC, Pascual CR, Jacobs A, Angst MS, Jacobs D, Winkle CC, Frey WH. 

Intranasal Oxytocin for Craniofacial Pain. Annual Meeting of the Society for 

Neuroscience, 2009.

An Integrative Model of Migraine Based on Intestinal Etiology
David McMillin, MA
http://www.meridianinstitute.com/reports/headache/Appendix%20D.pdf

http://www.drcordas.com/education/Headaches/1doc.pdf  [Oligo-Antigenic Diet abstracts]

http://www.nutramed.com/kidney/nephritis_foodallergy.htm  [Benefits of binding immune complexes or OAD abstracts]

Food allergies and migraine.
Grant EC.

Lancet. 1979 May 5;1(8123):966-9.

IgG-mediated allergy: a new mechanism for migraine attacks?  [Free PDF CLICK]

Pascual J, Oterino A.

Cephalalgia. 2010 Jul;30(7):777-9.  

Role of circulating immune complexes in renal diseases.

Levinsky RJ.

J Clin Pathol. 1981 Nov;34(11):1214-22.

Diet restriction in migraine, based on IgG against foods: a clinical double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial.

Alpay K, Ertas M, Orhan EK, Ustay DK, Lieners C, Baykan B.

Cephalalgia. 2010 Jul;30(7):829-37. 

Randomised controlled trial of food elimination diet based on IgG antibodies for the prevention ofmigraine like headaches.

Mitchell N, Hewitt CE, Jayakody S, Islam M, Adamson J, Watt I, Torgerson DJ.

Nutr J. 2011 Aug 11;10:85.

Trifecta. . . and More Confection

Speaking of fellowship and... confection, a week ago I was so grateful to experience a trifecta of TYP/Paleo encounters and delights! First had a workout at the most awesome Crossfit gym on earth where ~80% of owners/ trainers/ members are ~80-100% wheat/grain free, taking omega-3s, and, now, a growing number, the right 'roid, vitamin D! Where candy is a given and made EVERYDAY. Xfit helps me stay on track . . . with the help of 2 sorts of M'LFS: military, law enforcement, fire-fighters and the bad*ss female-warrior MiLFs.

Alright... then the other day, after walking my children to school I ran into both my favorite neighbor and favorite room mom. In fact, my wonderful blond-n-beautiful neighbor went wheat/gluten free just a month after our family last summer and buys her vitamin D from me (yeah, can u say official neighborhood drug dealer? *HAA* Currently, I'm diversifying into... coconut oil). WOW. We chatted about the immediate improvement in energy and health she had noticed -- asthma, GI, bloating, general malaise, thyroid, and blah blah blah ALL GONE zippo. And... these age-reversing remedies are... LEGAL. If it's even possible, she looks even more hawt and MILFy each day. She says she feels like she is in her 20's again, pre-kids. As we were talking about a favorite conversation topic of mine (eg, wheat dangers) my favorite room mom told us she has been contemplating but hasn't QUITE made the important jump yet. Just as she said this, a friend of theirs joined us...so SO serendipitously. She was a friend who had apparently been wheat-free for... like... SEVEN YEARS after a celiac diagnosis. Obviously a very bright young woman, but she let us know that she is worried about her BRAIN (despite the gut and damaged villi being impaired the most). Never would she had thought she had celiac disease however being anemic for years started an exploration for a solution and diagnosis. Her gut was not absorbing vitamin B12 (from fermented products and/or seafood/meat sources) hence inducing macrocytic anemia (large-celled low blood counts). Chronic deficiency of B12 she explained leads to brain damage. She revealed that even now she doesn't feel like her brain is completely what it was before. Naturally, I have hope for her (eg, vitamin D, fish oil, low carb eating *ahaa*). B12 deficiency causes Wernicke's in alcoholics, a form of neuropathic degradation. She's right on. I did learn that once in Nutrition 101. Vitamin B12 is necessary not just for bone marrow and red blood cells, but every organ, every cell and every neuron. But what I never learned is that brain damage from leaky gut from GLUTEN/wheat (those d*mn dirty grains) is prevalent and growing like a silent epidemic. Like a task force, we talked about 'spreading the word' to other moms and sharing our resources, info, etc. There is an urgency. It aint no Tupperware party.

Epidemic. Brain damage.

Worse than Swine Virus.

Our encounters and conversations certainly made my day. And when my favorite room mom converts, she'll make my y-e-a-r! *haa* Yeah I can be a persistent, persuasive, omni-present little bugger.

Lastly at our April b-days party (yes, incl mine - another year, another year younger), my favorite gal-pals in the galaxy met. About 50% are semi-wheat free -- and I'll take that, as I'll take ANYTHING that will keep us together longer on our limited days on earth. My bestest best-friend baked the most loving, most thoughtful, most delicious, most C H O C O L A T E Y . . . moistest almond/European wheat-free dairy-free chocolate cake. Recipe HERE (coconut oil of course sub'd for butter). How old am I? *haa* Seventeen again and . . . counting backwards.

How young are you?

-G

ONCE . . . People Stop Grains

It's not that h-a-r-d actually...

Many people I know give up g-r-**-**-n-s...

Who? Those at T-Y-P . . . those at Crossfit...reader's of this blog and others of the emerging HAWT new Paleo community...

Some of my faves:
Conditioning Research (Chris H., YOU R-O-C-K, ur #1)
Free the Animal (the 'other' transformed animal...who shares untainted fairy stories and delish food...uuummm...p**rn)
WholeHealthSource
Darwin's Table (transformation...more great food...uuummmm... p**rn)
Asclepius...Feed Your Mind, Grow Your Soul, Work Your Body (god of healing and medicine *luv that name*)
Open Water: Fitness…Science…Fun…Adventure
Hyperlipid hosted by Peter...brilliant THINCer
Matt Metzgar
(and... of course... many many others!!)



Paleo is so primally...sexy.

Quitting grains is not just Paleo -- it's the quickest way to a quality life!

What's the Paleo prescription?


Rx: Movement/play/slumber
Rx: Whole veggies, seafood/meat, good fats, seeds/nuts, minimal fruit; feed-feed/fast
Rx: Ancestral vitamin D and EPA DHA levels (Calcidiol [25(OH)D]=70 ng/ml; cod/fish oil to optimization of brain, 5 senses, muscle/heart function)



ONCE people stop grains (primarily wheat) they notice many changes and improvements. To say they undergo a restorative transformation is an understatement. Studies like the FUNGENUT show that wheat and high carb foods like white potatoes trigger a state of chaos and stressful derangements in our bodies (high insulin, high MMPs, high gene expression of 'death' genes).

The promotion of whole grains in the U.S. for 'wholesome' health is simply ridiculously whole cr**p (I'll try to keep it G-rated today *wink*).

Here is what happens when people stop those 'd*mn dirty grains'...Degree of improvement depends on degree of compliance with cessation of wheat... 6-12 months for perceptible permutations. Patience and persistence pays...


ONCE people stop grains...they're IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) eternally ends (essentially, cured of cramping/bloating/constipation) unless re-challenged

ONCE people stop grains...they report their aching knees stop knocking

ONCE people stop grains...their skin glows and radiates...no ACNE

ONCE people stop grains...I notice their waistline starts to emerge...how SEXY...many other things... uummm emerge too

ONCE people stop grains...WEIGHT LOSS BECOMES SUPERFLUOUS...easily attained 10 lbs per month

ONCE people stop grains...I notice their thoughts become thoughtful..lucid again

ONCE people stop grains...they can stop 200 units of insulin and/or other diabetes medications and/or their hypertensive medications and/or their gout medications

ONCE people stop grains...all report their skin tags fall off or stop appearing

ONCE people stop grains...the males' ED (erectile dysfunction) reverses...they're uummm... erected... well... sometimes... (Arg and Pycnogenol help greatly to speed this restoration up; see HERE and HERE)

ONCE people stop grains...their PSA (prostate antigen test) plummets (in parallel, Prostate Cancer risks reduce too)





ONCE in a Lifetime (Other link loves, courtesy of Youtube.com)
-----Version I: G-rated, Enigma-Gregorian
-----Version II: NAWT G-rated... nsfw...Princessa

Hormonal Imbalances: Oprah, Steve Jobs

Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism and Oprah Winfrey

I love Oprah. My sister 'M' loves Oprah. It would be a gigantic understatement to say that all my girlfriends and co-workers love Oprah.

Now, with that said, I feel extremely, deeply saddened when I see the most well connected woman and influential/popular educator sooooo disconnected with her health and hormones. Have you been there? Unable to control your body or weight? Like a typical Oprah nut, I spent a few nights madly emailing her about year ago in Jan 2008 about vitamin D and weight loss and optimal health (and my 50# weight loss story). Where did it go? Filed in the big phat Oprah-empire round file??


Who has not been in her precise shoes?

Read about Oprah's Thyroid Club HERE (NY Times).

Hashimoto's hypothyroidism is one of the most common female (and male) afflictions of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Nearly every one of my diabetes patients has Hashimoto's.

Why??

Why are 45+ million Americans burning their Thyroid to a toast, like Oprah?

In my 20's -- stressed, eating dorm food, trying do everything 'right', instead of gaining the freshman 'fifteen', I gained F-O-R-T-Y lbs (b/c... hey... can you say overachiever?).
[Another college curiosity was observing how my hormones/ cycles/ periods became imperceptibly and immutably N*SYNC with my female dorm-mates. Mense shifts are apparently secondary to pineal gland and pheromones (link and other refs from an astute friend, thanxxx dude). Recall, pheromones are picked up by the nose- vomeronasal system and subsequent hypothalamus/limbic brain (paleopallium).]


What was going on with that college weight gain, mood fluctuations, difficult concentrating, sluggishness, coarse hair/skin, skin tag growth/insulin resistance, cold intolerance, resistance to weight loss/exercise, high cholesterol, mental fog and general feeling of clinical cr*ppiness??

I wish I knew back then...



Oprah... let's try to clue you in, my honeybun... from my sad life lessons.

For me, in hindsight, there were a few situations that may parallel Oprah's, that are backed up by the medical literature that cause thyroid dysfunction.



How to Give Yourself Hashimoto's Thyroiditis 101:

--lack of sunlight/vitamin D/indoor habitation
--mental stress
--more mental stress
--sleep deprivation... (excessive mochas/lattes at Berkeley cafes)
--excessive 'social' calendar
--inherent family history of autoimmune disorders (who doesn't??)
--wheat, wheat, and more wheat ingestion ('comfort foods' craved in times of high cortisol/stress, right? how did I know the carbs were killing me?)
--lack of nutritious food containing EPA DHA, vitamin A, sat fats, minerals, iodine, etc
--lack of play, exercise, movement (or ?overtraining perhaps for Oprah's case)
--weight gain -- which begins an endless self-perpetuating vicous cycle of all the above (Is it stressful to balloon out for no apparent reason? YES)





Of course, it turns out there is a hheeeyyuuggee link between sunlight/vit D/melatonin and the neuroendocrine system.



These four research groups below discuss how our Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Thyroid-Gonad Axis is tightly affected by melatonin, Thyroid Hormones, neuropeptides like brain tachykinins, and our reproductive sex steroids (Estrogen and Testosterone).

Melatonin influences on the neuroendocrine-reproductive axis.
Díaz López B, Díaz Rodríguez E, Urquijo C, Fernández Alvarez C. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Dec;1057:337-64.
The neuroendocrine-reproductive axis designates the functional activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. A delicate synchronization of many inputs at these three different levels is vital for normal reproductive function. From the median basal hypothalamus, the median eminence releases gonadotrophin releasing hormone into the portal circulation to reach the anterior pituitary gland.


Evidence for pineal gland modulation of the neuroendocrine-thyroid axis.
Vriend J. Neuroendocrinology. 1983;36(1):68-78.
Although melatonin administration has been reported to inhibit blood T4 levels in both rats and hamsters, under certain experimental conditions melatonin administration can be demonstrated to have a counter-antithyrotrophic effect resulting in increased blood levels of T4 and thyrotrophin... The effects of melatonin on the neuroendocrine-thyroid axis are similar to its effects on the neuroendocrine-gonadal axis, leading to the hypothesis of a common site of action for the thyroid and gonadal effects of melatonin.


Modulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis and the pineal gland by neurokinin A, neuropeptide K and neuropeptide gamma.
Debeljuk L, Lasaga M. Peptides. 1999;20(2):285-99.
Tachykinin concentrations in the hypothalamus and pituitary are regulated by steroid hormones. In the hypothalamus, estrogens and testosterone increase tachykinin concentration. In the anterior pituitary gland, estradiol and thyroid hormones markedly depress tachykinin concentrations.


REVIEW. Melatonin and the thyroid gland.
Lewinski A, Karbownik M. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002 Apr;23 Suppl 1:73-8.
The confirmation of these relations in clinical studies in humans meets numerous difficulties, resulting - among others - from the fact that, nowadays, human beings, as well as certain animal species, used in experimental studies, have been living far away from their natural and original habitat. It makes almost impossible to compare the results obtained in particular studies performed in different species, on the pineal-thyroid interrelationship. (Yes...we may be jacking up our hormones with artificial light, computer screens and TV.)

Oprah Likely Needs Vitamin D

Vitamin D ties everything together. The above two pictures come from the below research article (Sunlight--can it prevent as well as cause cancer?). The authors review: "The active form, 1.25D,, is a full member of the endocrine system, and as such interacts with virtually every organ in the body (31, 32). Especially noteworthy is its interaction with the sex and pituitary hormones (32-34), e.g.,the promotion of l-a-hydroxylation of 25D, by prolactin (34), since some of these interactions provide a mechanism for participation of 1.25D, in the control of cell growth in the reproductive organs . . . The Darwinian view of evolution suggests that loss of body hair in Homo sapiens should have some survival advantage, and it is difficult to think of reasons other than that this provides ready access of sunlight to the skin . . . lack of sufficient sunlight contributes to the known high incidence of carcinoma of the prostate in black American men and to the more aggressive progression of carcinoma of the breast in black women."



Vitamin D interacts with all the steroid nuclear receptors especially Thyroid Receptors and Vitamin A/Carotenoid Receptors (The concept of multiple vitamin D signaling pathways. Carlberg C. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 1996 Apr;1(1):10-4.)

Oprah has a few risk factors for low blood vitamin D:
--stress -- our body burns up Vitamin D to maintain cellular processes under stress and infections
--wheat consumption (Stephan discusses this very well: Vitamin D and Celiac/Gluten Sensitivity) (and ?leaky gut prevent absorption of fat soluble vitamins)
--pigmented skin
--indoor lifestyle
--makeup/sunscreen
--living north of the 37th latitude where UVB solar radiation (the activating wavelength for vitamin D) is scarce for 40-50% of the calendar year
--age


Unless Oprah is receiving bio-identical hormone replacement, then her natural steroid sex hormones are likely to be 'off' and this would affect her Thyroid as well. Women from age 35 yo and up start experiencing declines in sex hormone due to the atresia (dissolving) of the eggs in the ovaries, one of the main sources of Estrogen and Testosterone. After Menopause (average age: 51 yo), nearly all the eggs are gone. Again, as the above emphasizes, the lack of significant sex hormones will profoundly affect the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Thyroid glands.



What can help Oprah's Thyroid and take her to optimal health?
--Richard, at Free the Animal Oprah's Recipe For Failure -- And My Solution For Success, started this conversation and many of his fans chimed in.
--Scott Miller wrote:

"Here are ten quick mistakes I see her making that will sabatoge her efforts:
[1] Eating starches and grains.
[2] Eating low fat foods (like the egg whites rather than full eggs)
[3] Eating too often...How many omnivores in nature eat five times per day, regularly, like clockwork?
[4] Using fat-free dressings.
[5] A stunning lack of variety in salad-type vegetables (pretty much always romaine lettuce).
[6] Having a killer temptation like those blue chips in the house.
[7] Stead-pace aerobics violate the power law of human conditioning.
[8] And doing aerobics too often.
[9] Slow-twitch-fiber-only strength training.
[10] Strength training too often. "

Besides the paleolithic lifestyle, Oprah could use some natural neolithic bio-identical hormone replacement, starting with the big 'D':
--Vitamin D to blood [25(OH)D = 70 ng/ml] which will probably require about 8000 IU daily in the morning (Cannell doses 1000 IU per 25 lbs -- Oprah reports weight is ~200 lbs)
--Cortisol Reduction -- rest, relaxation, meditation, turn off the Crackberry
--Correct hGH Deficiency-- eat enough fat/protein, carb restrict, sleep well and enough, induce some strain/pain/gain on the muscles, food deprivation 18-36 hr 2-3x/wk
--Correct excess insulin -- stop wheat
--THYROID Replacement-- correct gradually to tolerance and mood, energy, cognition (Dr. Davis goal TSH: 1.0; Free T3: upper nl)
--Estrogen (estriol E3 primarily) -- restore to personal youthful levels prior to peri- and menopausal changes; provides cognition (our brains are FULL of estrogen-receptors), mentation/memory, skin/hair/mucuous membrane functioning, immunity, etc
--Natural Progesterone -- calms and restores all the other cycles (Avoid Provera, Levonorgestrol, which are progestins, man-made, associated with cancer and lower HDL 20-30%)
--Testosterone -- yes women need this just like men... provides confidence, vitality, well-being, affiliation, motivation, zest, in addition to libido
--DHEA-S
--Melatonin





How to Stop the Autoimmune Process of Hashimoto's

When one of our organs is jacked how do we recover it? Can we induce our immune system to heal and restore function? Certainly! With time, appropriate nutrients and stimulus, I believe depending on the extent of the incurred damage, our bodies have the capacity to regenerate itself. With Vitamin D repletion and Wheat-Cessation, I have observed a trend of improved TSH (including my own from 1.3-1.9 to 1.0 when my 25(OH)D stays above 60 ng/ml). Why? Vitamin D interacts intimately with thyroid, vitamin A/carenoid and other steroid hormone controls, including the sex hormones.

These below nutrients and lifestyle changes have been shown to aid the Thyroid to heal and restore functionality:
-stopping wheat which triggers our immune systems: innate+humoral
-stopping wheat which triggers genetic expression of stress responses
-stopping wheat which results in rapid rises of insulin
-stopping gluten/wheat/barley/rye
-stopping beans, peanuts, legumes (lectins)
-stopping dairy (which contain opioid-like proteins like wheat)
-stopping grains (rice, corn, etc) -- which are all grass-derived (*ha * I didn't say WEEDS but that's what I mean)
-proper nutrients which are the building-blocks of the Thyroid Gland and Thyroid Enzymes: proteins (taurine, leucine, arginine, OKG, L-carnitine, etc), minerals (IODINE, Mg, Zn, Se, Chromium, Bo, etc)
-B-vitamins (including α-lipoic acid)
-Vitamin D3 (goal 25(OH)D=70 ng/ml)
-Vitamin E (tocopherols, tocotrienols)
-Vitamin K1 K2
-Vitamin A
-Carotenoids (grassfed meat, wild seafood, Krill oil/Astaxanthin)
-EPA + DHA (ditto) -- high dose if extreme inflammation is present
-Antioxidants (Flavonoids, CoQ10, ALCAR/α-LA, Pycnogenol, etc)
-Avoid dietary and environmental toxins (nitrite preservatives, plastic, petroleum, bisphenol, heavy metals (Lead, Mercury), endocrine disrupters, pesticides, dioxins, etc)





Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Related to Autoimmune Genes

All autoimmune conditions are related to differences in our immune system. Even Migraines are associated with a certain type of immunity variation (Prevalence of HLA DQB1*0602 allele in patients with migraine). Hashimoto's is strongly tied to HLA DR5 types, vitamin D receptor anomalies, and CYP1 alpha hydroxylase (vitamin D activation enzyme) variations. It turns out also that Addison's Disease is tied to the same Cyp enzyme variant or what is known as a polymorphism.
A promoter polymorphism of the CYP27B1 gene is associated with Addison's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease and type 1 diabetes mellitus in Germans.
Association of vitamin D receptor gene 3'-variants with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the Croatian population.
Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with risk of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in Chinese patients in Taiwan.
Vitamin D receptor genotype is associated with Addison's disease.
Vitamin D 1alpha-hydroxylase (CYP1alpha) polymorphism in Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
[Genetic markers in thyroid autoimmune diseases]





Steve Jobs: Addison's Disease?

Via Apple headquarters, Mr. Jobs issued a statement reporting that he was receiving treatment for 'protein wasting' for what doctors believed was caused by a 'hormonal imbalance.' He states he does not have cancer. Could Mr. Jobs be suffering from the same ailment as our late great president John F Kennedy? Mr. Jobs was reported to consume a vegetarian diet which are often devoid of EPA and DHA -- protectors against autoimmune disease as well as pancreatic cancer (see below). EPA and DHA are long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which ONLY come from animal sources. EPA and DHA are like Comcast and DSL -- they provide the reliable high-spped connections for electronic conductions in our nervous systems (compare v. lame lowtech modem/omega-6). Our brain is comprised of inordinate amounts of DHA and EPA. Every cell membrane. Unfortunately humans do not induce enough of the enyzmes to convert vegetarian omega-3 ALA to EPA + DHA in our bodies. If you are not stressed, then it is unlikely to matter. ALA from vegetarian sources would sufficiently maintain health. Most people however undergo some degree of stress or oxidative damage from daily living (like...umm...breathing or... hard breathing at Crossfit or HIIT). Although Mr. Jobs apparently did not have the most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, he had surgery a few years ago for a neuroendocrine tumor in the pancreas. Addison's may also originate from metastatic tumors to the adrenal glands.

Has Mr. Jobs been under stress? Maybe...
(1) Cancer survivor
(2) Rolled out the best neolithic tech advances of our times: iPOD, iPHONE
(3) Apple innovator/revivor/evolver

o Modulatory effects of EPA and DHA on proliferation and apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells.
o Omega-3 fatty acids improve liver and pancreas function in postoperative cancer patients.
o Fish oil and treatment of cancer cachexia.




Do you want Pancreatic Cancer??

Consume a lotta Omega-6 refined veggie oils like Sunflower or Safflower oil
and/or develop Omega-3 Deficiency
and/or eat a lot of Fructose
and/or a USDA Whole Grain Diet:
Opposing effects of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on pancreatic cancer growth.
Effect of dietary omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on development of azaserine-induced preneoplastic lesions in rat pancreas.
Carcinogen-induced lesions in the rat pancreas: effects of varying levels of essential fatty acid.
Effect of dietary intake of fish oil and fish protein on the development of L-azaserine-induced preneoplastic lesions in the rat pancreas.
Dietary glycemic load, added sugars, and carbohydrates as risk factors for pancreatic cancer: the Multiethnic Cohort Study.
Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study.
Etiology of nonresponsive celiac disease: results of a systematic approach.
Aldolase C in neuroendocrine tumors: an immunohistochemical study.
Dietary fructose enhances the development of atypical acinar cell nodules in the pancreas of rats pretreated with N-nitrosomorpholine.




Hormone Imbalances and Organ Failure

Like Oprah, several hormonal imbalances can lead to organ failure due to an autoimmune process. In Addison's, the organ mainly affected is the adrenal glands which provide Cortisol and other cholesterol-derived hormones to the body. Without a minimal amount of Cortisol, we do not make muscles or store fat. Addison's leads to muscle wasting, weight loss, dizziness, and depression. Excessive Cortisol, on the other hand, causes a condition known as Cushing's where excessive abdominal weight gain, moon-face, thin-skin, muscle wasting, fatigue and insomnia occur.



Other Thyroid Sources:

• Dr. Stephen Langer MD, Berkeley physician and author Solved: The Riddle of Illness
• Dr. Mark Hyman: Thyroid Blog I and Thyroid Blog II
• Mary Shomon Resources

Hormone Balancing Resources:

• Dr. Uzzi Reiss, MD OBGYN: Natural Hormone Balance
• Dr. Michael Colgan, PhD: Hormonal Health -- Nutritional & Hormonal Strategies for Emotional Well-Being & Intellectual Longevity
• Colgan, The Sports Nutrition Guide
• Dr.Cheryle Hart, MD OBGYN: Hormones By Hart

The Paleo Path

Our household has evolved over the last half-year of 2008, and it's been nothing short of monumental. Has it been worth it? Absolutely, without any doubts. The protection we are gaining against diabetes, devasting autoimmune diseases, heart disease, secondary stroke prevention, mental illness (anxiety, ADD, wheat-brain-damage, autism), stomach illness (IBS, leaky gut), joint aches, and obesity helps me sleep well at night. And hopefully my family as well.

The cat reports happy meowwsss (she gets more marrow and meat than me)!

The adults report improvement in all the above.

The children report less:
--stomach aches
--tantrums (OK, that's ME gratefully observing)
--worrying about little things
--itchy scratchy skin
--fatigue playing, running, biking, skiing
--warts (they all fell off; also we put a little vitamin A/D oil on them for 2-4wks)
--weight for my 'rounder' one (height/weight gains for my 'shorter' one)



How would I summarize our Paleo path?
--Play (random, high energy bursts, *haa* with laughter)
--Prescribe to some uncertainty
--Pavement-pounding (some hard weight-bearing work/CF)
--Pillow-pounding (SLEEP...uuumm what were you thinking?)
--Paleo eats (no wheat/rice/grains/legumes; mod-high fat diet, seafood/meat, veggies, nuts/seeds, minimal fruit; we're not entirely off dairy I have to admit)
--Poverty of food (2-3x per week 18-24h fasts/IF)
--Perpetuate love
--Plugged-in (to a real physical community... not... computer/iPod-aphasia... though I'm thoroughly guilty all the time)
--Pray (meditative focus)


Here is to you and your unique Paleo path to optimal health and longevity! May you celebrate an indelibly new, even happier year soon!

Pearls

'Don't throw your pearls before swine...'

--As quoted by my wise little Sister 'M'

Some people are not ready for embracing a new life.

I believe my sister is correct.

We can plant many seeds but pearls ought to be reserved for those who value a precious pebble. For me I've looked and looked in countless oysters (eg, health & fitness books, beauty mags, Elle, grapefruit-diets, this-diet-that-diet, ADA guidelines, carb-counting-baloney, etc).

I recognize a pearl when I see one. TYP is a beauty. And even more fair to live and breathe it.

I'm not stupid (or brain-damaged).

Or no longer wheat addicted! *hee*

(yes, they're equivalent imo)

Intelligence has nothing to do with regression or success either. The most persistent ones are the ones who reach their goals. Perservance can be measured by how quickly one gets up after falling (or eating that *evil* brain-damaging wheat).

Quitting wheat is like quitting smoking. Hardly anyone quits the first time. National statistics shows the national average of attempts before successful tobacco cessation is: SEVEN TIMES.

So get back on the bandwagon, buddy! Keep going and don't ever EVER give up.

Remember, it takes 6 months for auto-antibodies to wheat/grains/dairy to dissipate and vaporize:
--Six months for healing to begin.
--Six months for your body to stop its own private Oklahoma
--Six months for the brain fog to lift and rational thoughts to re-appear
--Six months for your brain, gut, joints/knees/wrists, thyroid, liver, coronary arteries, carotid arteries, corpus cavernosum, heart, gallbladder, pancreas, breasts, prostate, bones, etc to be free of auto-self-attacks
--HALF A YEAR for optimal health to kick in... and the struggles to end...for the bounty of life to align with yours...then you'll also find an urge to share/vomit pearls all over your friends and family (and unsuspecting strangers!)


Don't postpone your glorious life beginning.

Give Me Your Eyes
by Brandon Heath

Wolves and Vampires

Have you read the transfixing and totally engrossing 4-part epic series called Twilight (recently released last weekend as the movie on Nov 21st -- same director of the Nativity story)? The final book in the series is called Breaking Dawn -- the final showdown between a mythical class of werewolves and immortal good/moralistic/'vegetarian' vampires. The wolf that's been in my thoughts lately is Robb Wolf and a blog from his archives about a medical condition called Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) which closely *hee* resembles Vampirism.

And naturally... it's represents yet another silent wheat-related celiac condition.

Of course!!

Triggers are described by Elder GH et al (J Inherit Metab Dis. 2005;28(3):277-86.) and Powell LW et al (J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1999 Sep;14(9):838-43):
--exogenous estrogen, ie oral contraceptives, HRT, Premarin, pesticides, etc
--environmental factors that include alcohol and hepatotropic viruses (like hepatitis C) and fatty liver/NASH/steatohepatitis

What about wheat/gluten/grains/rice/maize/corn??

The general population this tends to affect are those of Northern European ancestry and among indigenous persons of the Asia-Pacific region (including Taiwan where my relatives are originally from, the Hakka people). PCT may also rarely affect other populations like the Bantu in South Africa (see end). Iron overload and higher blood Hct (hematocrit) are commonly the first signs other than photosensitivity (intense blistering and burning of the skin on exposure to sunlight). Since my 20s I've had a problem with being in the sunlight which I'd originally attributed to being inadvertently lighter and fairer from being indoors (spending several semesters in college recovering hard after one single semester of partying + academic probation at Cal Berkeley). I used to notice that the skin would erupt in red raised blistering-itchy witchy rashes wherever the UV-wavelengths kissed more than 10-20 minutes worth on the neck, belly, ribs, back or thighs (despite 35-50 SPF sunscreen). Several of my fair skinned Asian girlfriends experience the same sunsensitivity (and thus abhor the sun). Did my high wheat-intake have anything to do with PCT-related dermal eruptions (croissants, cafeteria food, cafe goodies, endless mochas/lattes, etc)?? I discussed with several Dermatologists my situation and of course promptly got the blank conventional-medicine stare. (they did however promptly prescribed sunscreen (duh) and potent halogenated steroid creams which really didn't help much)

If one becomes iron overloaded in the liver which effectively removes iron from systemic circulation, could one have crazy cravings for iron/meat/heme-sources... in the form of ... B - L - O - O - D ?

The only solution I've ever come across for my pseudo-vampirism and fear of the daylight was Robb's blog. (no... I never bit anyone or went for the jugular intentionally)

Other triggers that Robb discusses for this oddity of conditions is wheat and gluten (and dairy/opioid peptides) and an intimate association with hyperinsulinemia and glucose intolerance. Curing this individual of PCT is also discussed! For the first time in several DECADES she was able to travel and enjoy broad daylight after adopting the Paleo diet and doing Crossfit.

Wheat/gluten actually disturbs many metabolic, mitochrondrial and enzymatic pathyways including one of the most potent pathways: synthesis of vitamin D in the skin. Loren Cordain has data on this topic and it's clearly discussed from Cordain's own unpublished research in one of his newsletters according to Robb when I spoke to him (which requires a fee -- I have not indulged myself yet -- sorry) but HERE Peter of Hyperlipid (the biochem brain/KING) discusses the potential link between vitamin D deficiency and wheat intolerance/celiac.

Here is a new curious article describing how celiac children went from a deficient vitamin D state to 'normal' blood vitamin D concentrations after 6-mos of a gluten-free diet (Ventura A et al. Bone Metabolism in Celiac Disease J Pediatr. 2008 Aug;153(2):262-5; email me for the full PDF -- unfortunately they do not detail the final 25(OH)D concentration). I'm thankfully recovered now! This past summer I spent many hours laying out in the sun with no burning and nearly no photosensitive reactions (just mildly once in the early part of the summer -- when the hormones were still affecting perhaps). I was off exogenous wheat and synthetic hormones (levonorgestrol) and the vitamin D levels were normalized for 9-12mos (25OHD 60 to 80 ng/ml).


Is our global wheat-dominant (and industrialized rbGH-milk) lifestyles killing our Vitamin D concentrations? What will the downstream long-term consequences? Can we afford them?

Break the Dawn Remix

Gosh.. must be hard being Michelle Williams
Like beef c-a-k-e-s...? the beefier the better

**fangs bared DROOLING**

Courtesy of Youtube.com

Diet and alcohol effects on the manifestation of hepatic porphyrias.
Cripps DJ. Fed Proc. 1987 Apr;46(5):1894-900.
Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is the most frequently reported type of porphyria. The average patient is male more than 40 years old with a history of alcohol consumption. In women the incidence of PCT has increased with use of estrogens for birth control. The cutaneous features are those of chronic porphyrin photosensitivity on the light-exposed area of the skin: pigmentation, hirsuitism and fragility, and vesiculobullae, which has prompted the expression bullosa actinica et mechanica. One-third of the patients have glucose intolerance. PCT has been reported frequently among the Bantu people in South Africa as resulting from combinations of alcohol and cooking in ironware. The average patient has a higher than normal hematocrit, which is used as a guide to treatment by phlebotomy ranging from 8 to 14 units removed every 2-4 wk. Chemically induced PCT has been reported with chlorinated hydrocarbons, the best-known of which is hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Porphyria was noted in more than 3,000 patients in southeast Turkey between 1955 and 1961, because of consumption of seed wheat treated with HCB. In addition, more than 1,000 children under the age of 1 year died because HCB was transferred from the mother, either via the placenta or through breast milk.
PMID: 3556614

Celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis in three patients with porphyria.
Reunala T et al. Dig Dis Sci. 1981 Jul;26(7):618-21.
Celiac disease was diagnosed in one patient with variegate porphyria, and dermatitis herpetiformis in two patients, one with acute intermittent porphyria and the other with erythropoietic protoporphyria. The probability that celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis should occur in three patients with porphyria in Finland is less than 0.2%. Neither a consistent HLA pattern nor any other explanation can be offered for the association between these diseases.
PMID: 7249897

Celiac disease in patients with variegate porphyria.
Peters TJ et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2001 Jul;46(7):1506-8. (no abstract)

A case of variegate porphyria with coeliac disease and beta-thalassaemia minor.
Rebora A et al. Dermatology. 2004;209(2):161-2. (no abstract)

Our liver (here's a past blog entry) certainly filters literally everything that we eat. Are all liver conditions predominatly just wheat-related afflictions (infectious, autoimmune liver diseases, metabolic diseases, congenital liver diseases (Wilson's disease, porphyria, hemochromatosis))? Are we entirely genetically maladapted to deal with grains and wheat? Some of us may be more on the 'spectrum' then others genetically. It appears to me that wheat behaves like other environmental toxins like occupational chemicals by pathologically affecting porphyria and heme synthesis (Doss MO. Porphyrinurias and occupational disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1987;514:204-18).


Will more cases and recognition of silent celiac disease occur in the coming years? Or more sunburns and fear of sunlight? More pseudo-vampires? Will the dogma of 'whole grains' continue to be promulgated by the processed food industries and blindly accepted by statin-pushing-pediatricans, dermatologists, physicians, academians, the ADA, the AHA, and government entities like Medicare, the USDA and other deeply bought-out groups?

Dr. Davis is accurately, stunningly correct as usual. For Y-E-A-R-S.

Develop a wheat-deficiency!

Protect your coronary arteries... and ALL your organs including the largest organ, your glorious skin!

-G (aka 'ggglll' on the TYP forum)


P.S. For you Twilight fans out there, does Dr. Davis remind you of anyone?? Humble and charismatic, moralistic Carlisle? The physician, healer, center/creater of the immortal band of vampires who eschew their natural prey/food source? Dr. Davis abhors (non-emergent) invasive interventional cardiovascular procedures (which he was trained to master and perform). You see why I am a Twilight- and TYP-FREAK.