Saturday, March 12, 2011

Outs*de of the Main... R-evolutionary docs, Integrative Medicine, Mitochondrial Medicine/Chi

'Western medicine is in crisis. Continually increasing resources are being expended to combat the age-related diseases that include diabetes and metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Yet the causes of these diseases remain a mystery, while their incidence and morbidity either remain constant or are increasing.'

Douglas C. Wallace, PhD
Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics, Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Chemistry, and Pediatrics
University of California, Irvine, California
'Mitochondria as Chi'




Eric Turner and Tinie Tempah
'Written in the Stars'
Courtesy Youtube.com




Evolutionary Medicine

Dr. Tourgeman, Mr. Billy E (from Nephro-paleo) and many others subscribe to an evolutionary (revolutionary) approach for the delivery and science of medicine and reversal of neoLETHAL diseases. The failures of pharmaceutical treatments (ACCORD--diabetes treatment, STATINS S*CK AND DEBILITATE MITOCHONDRIA, etc), out of control incidence of dia-besity and exponential increases in autism, autoimmune disorders and cancer never cease to astound. Modern medicine illustrates too well where we are going wrong with a false foundation of non-functional exercise prescriptions (lack of intensity and weight bearing), high carb grain-based diets and ignorance for ancestrally cemented diurnal/circadian hormesis patterns.



Busy With Blog- and BOOKLUST *ha aaaaahh!*

I've been reading, reading, reading and absorbing... Yeah... it's awful... multitasking my reading b/c I cannot choose and they are all awfully EXCELLENT. Evolutionary medicine, horticulture/PHARMING, hormones and integrative medicine have the been the topics of keen interest the last few months.

  • Hofmekler--The Anti-Estrogenic Diet (of warrior diet fame)
  • Gedgaudas--Primal Body, Primal Mind (evolutionary integrative practitioner who understands our primordial past and neolithic strategies/testing to reverse neoLETHAL damage to the gut, mind and metabolism; 'paleo' is not enough)
  • Young--The pH Miracle
  • Hotze--Hormones, Health and Happiness (former ER doc and allergist turned anti-grain integrative physician)
  • Turner--The Hormone Diet (fixed her thyroid, hot ND hormone s*xxxxpert)
  • Somers--S*xxxy Forever (she's FINALLY addressing gluten and focusing on environmental toxins with consults from Crinnion and Blaylock; online resources: HERE incl integrative paleo Dr. LePine MD)
  • Kimball--The Dirty Life: On FARMING, Food and LOVE (NPR interview)
  • Peter Ballerstedt--Grass-based Health Blog (my fave post: LARD)
  • Rosensweet--Menopause and Natural Hormones
  • Stephenson--Awakening Athena (interview)
  • Werner--Why You Are Fat (gluten-free, hawwwt, hormone queen, trainer who fixed her low progesterone)
  • Taubes--Why We Get Fat (sublime, drool-inducing physicist)
  • Lepine--revolutionary integrative Dartmouth-trained physician and educator
  • Teta brothers--The ME Diet (Metabolic Edge) -- paleo ND physicians and trainers
  • Kurzweil--Transcend (paleo high-tech)
  • Fossel et al--The Immortality Edge (paleo, HIIT telomere science)
  • Sara Godfried--organic gynecologist blog (giggle-worthy, ginormously gifted Harvard-trained integrative physician)
  • Rich Stagliano MD--Blog, former ER doc now blog-astic integrative MD
  • [Pending, Energy and Life: The Promise of Evolutionary Medicine and the Vital Role of Mitochondria by Douglas C. Wallace, Robert Cooke]




Integrative Medicine

Lately I've had the pleasure and oportunity to meet many other integrative practitioners. For one, last year I have had more time after going part-time working 2/days per week at a new position at an integrative medicine/BHRT compounding pharmacy. With chances to talk to integrative practitioners and patients who are ahead of the curve happening all day long, knowledge gaps are being filled in. Sometimes tales do morph to reality. Integrative medicine is where the rubber meets the road -- an interface between high and low tech; between science and folklore. We know paleo works but does it meet modern metrics? Yes naturally of course. You knew that. Is an evolutionary diet and lifestyle enough? Why not, if not?




Wallace: Evolutionary Medicine

Below are a couple of abstracts from Wallace a scientist with a bend toward evolutionary medicine and special emphasis on mitochondrial medicine. Many of us including Tourgeman and I are enormous fans of mitochondria (read the seminal Nick Lane's Power, S*x, Suicide), our endocytosed bacteria what we host and cater to. Both plants and animals have mitochondria, yet only the ascent of man may be attributed to mitochondria and the efficient mitochondrial fatty oxidation of our adipose and ketones. The returns for optimal mitochondrial health are huge -- disease free longevity, happiness and efficient energy production to name just a few. The complexity of mitochondria involve physics, energy, systems biology, maternal genetics, epigenomes, membrane potentials, control of pollution (ROS), bioelectricity, ATP and the explosive, exothermic energy extraction of H2O synthesis.





Chi = Energy = Mitochondria

Wallace describes chi (ancient Chinese philosphy of energy and its flow) as mitochondria. For a Western conventionally-trained scientist, I find that to be mind-numbing and immense.


(Energetics, epigenetics, mitochondrial genetics. Wallace DC, Fan W. Mitochondrion. 2010 Jan;10(1):12-31.)



Our Uniqueness, Based on Bad*ss Factors like Mitochondrial Haplotypes and Migration

If we are all from Africa, then what separates us genetically? Why do some fail on 'paleo' or 'panu' or 'OD' or 'plant avoidance' or ketosis' or 'zone' or whatever? First of all, the dynamics of hormones, toxicity, and extent of neoLETHAL damage on endocrine/GI/brains cannot be overemphasized. Outside of these obvious factors, I conjecture the remainder of genetic variations that were selected for thriving and reproduction depended on our ancestors' local microenvironmental niches, climate changes and resultant food supply.



Omni-wh*res and Recent (3 - 16 kya) Evolution

Unlike guinea pigs or lions, humans are OMNI-WH*RES... *ha* We eat anything and everything edible... EVEN HYDROGENATED TWINKIES.

In Asians, once rice fermentation and alcoholic beverages evolved, so did the gene to process alcohol without toxicity (alcohol dehydrogenase, ADH1B). NY Times: Adventures in Very Recent Evolution.





Mitochondrial mtDNA Variants

Mitochondrial, Y Haplotypes and other DNA variants may indeed describe our bioenergetic differences on the most basic level. Mitochondria utilize for energy production and regulation of genes/growth/reproduction many co-factors: B-vitamins, coenzyme Q10, carnitine, lipoic acid, thyroid hormone (selenium, iodine, tyrosine), etc... Some inviduals have higher B vitamin and methylation requirements whereas others are fine with virtually none? Vitamin C requirements I hypothesize might actually vary by equatorial latitude perhaps in the same fashion perhaps as vitamin D and UV B photons. Where did your ancestors and mtDNA originate from?





Other references:

[edit] THANK YOU GENTLEREADER, TYLER (Blog at Evolutionary Health Systems)!!

Annu Rev Biochem. 2007;76:781-821.
Why do we still have a maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA? Insights from evolutionary medicine.

Abstract
The human cell is a symbiosis of two life forms, the nucleus-cytosol and the mitochondrion. The nucleus-cytosol emphasizes structure and its genes are Mendelian, whereas the mitochondrion specializes in energy and its mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes are maternal. Mitochondria oxidize calories via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to generate a mitochondrial inner membrane proton gradient (DeltaP). DeltaP then acts as a source of potential energy to produce ATP, generate heat, regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS), and control apoptosis, etc. Interspecific comparisons of mtDNAs have revealed that the mtDNA retains a core set of electron and proton carrier genes for the proton-translocating OXPHOS complexes I, III, IV, and V. Human mtDNA analysis has revealed these genes frequently contain region-specific adaptive polymorphisms. Therefore, the mtDNA with its energy controlling genes may have been retained to permit rapid adaptation to new environments.



Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2010 Jun;16(2):114-9.
Bioenergetics and the epigenome: interface between the environment and genes in common diseases.

Abstract
Extensive efforts have been directed at using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify the genes responsible for common metabolic and degenerative diseases, cancer, and aging, but with limited success. While environmental factors have been evoked to explain this conundrum, the nature of these environmental factors remains unexplained. The availability of and demands for energy constitute one of the most important aspects of the environment. The flow of energy through the cell is primarily mediated by the mitochondrion, which oxidizes reducing equivalents from hydrocarbons via acetyl-CoA, NADH + H(+), and FADH(2) to generate ATP through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The mitochondrial genome encompasses hundreds of nuclear DNA (nDNA)-encoded genes plus 37 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded genes. Although the mtDNA has a high mutation rate, only milder, potentially adaptive mutations are introduced into the population through female oocytes. In contrast, nDNA-encoded bioenergetic genes have a low mutation rate. However, their expression is modulated by histone phosphorylation and acetylation using mitochondrially-generated ATP and acetyl-CoA, which permits increased gene expression, growth, and reproduction when calories are abundant. Phosphorylation, acetylaton, and cellular redox state also regulate most signal transduction pathways and activities of multiple transcription factors. Thus, mtDNA mutations provide heritable and stable adaptation to regional differences while mitochondrially-mediated changes in the epigenome permit reversible modulation of gene expression in response to fluctuations in the energy environment. The most common genomic changes that interface with the environment and cause complex disease must, therefore, be mitochondrial and epigenomic in origin.


Annu Rev Pathol. 2010;5:297-348.
Mitochondrial energetics and therapeutics.

Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to a wide range of degenerative and metabolic diseases, cancer, and aging. All these clinical manifestations arise from the central role of bioenergetics in cell biology. Although genetic therapies are maturing as the rules of bioenergetic genetics are clarified, metabolic therapies have been ineffectual. This failure results from our limited appreciation of the role of bioenergetics as the interface between the environment and the cell. A systems approach, which, ironically, was first successfully applied over 80 years ago with the introduction of the ketogenic diet, is required. Analysis of the many ways that a shift from carbohydrate glycolytic metabolism to fatty acid and ketone oxidative metabolism may modulate metabolism, signal transduction pathways, and the epigenome gives us an appreciation of the ketogenic diet and the potential for bioenergetic therapeutics.

30 comments:

  1. whoah, *bow down, bow down* thank you for this post.

    Are you recommending all the books in your impressive reading list?
    Is one of them especially good for understanding female hormones and health?

    Do you think that raw foodist's diet can have any positive influence on mitochondria?...just becuase they shout so much energy and health cures.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Krissie,

    Each book has something special... I'm in a two-person book club and what I realized is that often what the person says about the books says more about the person than the book!!

    I've had intimate problems with birth control in the last 2-3 yrs -- it shut down my adrenals, my testosterone and progesterone and lead to an estrogen dominant state which is highly hypothyroid (e.g. faster aging, a low energy and oxidative state). If you have these issues which is far too common now in our modern, poisoned, toxic, highly stressed environments, then actually any book you may find particularly eye-opening. NONE are mainstream. Everything they endorse is opposite like Seinfield's bizarro universe *haa ahh!*

    Raw food does offer many things (like very potent and active digestive enzymes necessary for breaking down pre-cancers, immunecomplexes, auto-antibodies, cellular JUNK, etc -- perhaps a moderation point might be 1/4 to 1/2 raw food with a lot of it fermented? Cooked food offers too many advantages to ignore (like nourishing bone broths) and bbq!!

    Thanks for your comemnt! I would LOVE to hear your thoughts later!

    Hey I love your compost and worms on your nice blog!
    G

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  3. I would recommend Somers to start off with, for those who like me are dunces when it comes to digesting our DNA, biochemistry etc. She keeps it simple and straightforward.

    Glad to have you back and even more glad to know what you were up to while you were gone!

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  4. Fitnatic,

    Great recommendation!! Somers is a ROCKCHICK!!! She knows more than 120% of the physicians in America... She is right about why she developed breast cancer (which is the same cause of testicular cancer) -- toxins, insulin, endocrine disruptors, high E1 (estrone) and relative deficiences of other hormones (progesterone, women; testosterone, men).

    Good to hear from you! Actually in 2wks we'll be travelling for a few wks (more food p*rn hopefully)... I have a lot of posts coming up but just a lot of extracurriculars going on and maybe a newsletter 'The Pharmacotemptress Files' (it's a nickname from that ROBB WOLF that stuck) *haa ah*

    -G

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  5. I'm not sure how people can conclude that paleo (high fat, low carb) works for non-tribal peoples when there are a lot of people who have an increase in all lipid levels while eating the paleo way. Also, how can people conclude that lipid levels rise on a paleo diet because people have fatty livers, not because of the high fat? It all seems to be an experiment that may end with a heart attack (if it's a permanent dietary change).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous,

    Aren't we all 'tribal'? At our DNA is and it doesn't know otherwise.

    By 'low carb' and 'high saturated fat' I am talking relative terms.

    The S.A.D. standard American diet is > 250g/day carbs and high carb, thus anything less in my mind is 'low carb.' The USDA Ag pyramid would have Americans eat 11 servings grains daily (15 g x 11) and 3-5 serv fruit (15 g x3-5) and also legumes and milk which are additional sources of carbohydrates.

    That is nuts. Paleo isn't perfect but at least it is a start. When I see paleo failures, it is usually excessive fruit intakes which induce fatty liver/NASH.

    The SAD is 8-10% saturated fat and to me anything > 8-10% is 'high fat'. Most 'tribes' with published longevity (Belgium, Okinawan, French centenarian, Sardinians, etc) have sat fat as 15% or extremely higher.

    It's all relative...

    Thank you for you thoughts.

    G

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  7. Could it be possible that agriculture introduced such a large change that human evolution accelerated dramatically?

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  8. Anonymous,

    I think what you suggest is absolutely plausible. In the beginning, there were 2 kinds of bacteria (I think -- I am no paleo anthropologist) cyanobacteria and all others (there are actually the Archae and many other relevant branches too). Some of the cyano became plants with cellulose in the cell walls. Bacteria continued to have thickened cell walls, except the ones that we endocytosed, stole their technology and made them slaves to our cells (e.g. the mitochondria).

    Fast forward to the last 10 kya. Grasslands and crops reign since the drying and warming up since the last Ice Age, the blink of earth's eye. Hominids co-evolved with shore-based marine food then migrated inland and North following the food (herds of megafauna). What if all the grassloads caused 'bloat' int he megafauna as they do hominds and humans (and modern bovines)? Anyway many hypothesize that the megafauna were hunted out, to death but what if they became extinct because the change in agriculture? Humans are not hunted in weakened, grain-induced ill states but we may not be that far off a divergent path as the megafauna since our food sources have changed distinctly in the last 10 kya to be more and more grain based. Some grains probably are not that harmful for lifespans (esp rice which is gluten free and white rice has no lectins or phytates).

    Monsanto... evil DNA grain, corn, soy crops. Do you think these affect the ecological balance? You must watch The Futre of our Food. I can't believe I bought stock in Calgene, for the first biotech tomato. What have we unleashed???

    -G

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  9. Hi G.,

    I see you're doing great. All those books. If only I had the time to put my feet up and read some...

    BTW, what did you do/are doing about your hormone problems? Are the hormones back in balance? Do you think progesterone cream is a good idea for luteal phase irregs?

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  10. When I was eating a high fat diet all my lipid levels went up. My CRP level was rock bottom and my CGT and ALT readings were low on my last blood test. How certain are you that a paleo type diet does not contribute to heart disease and stroke risk? Thanks for any help

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  11. Hi Dr G, it looks like you have a great deal of knowledge about matters of heart health, though I haven't had time to read all your articles yet.

    I've been eating a clean diet for a long time, now a paleo diet, and I'm lean, so I wouldn't ordinarily think I'm at risk for myocardial damage. However, I have a history of past drug use of drugs like anabolic steroids, stimulants like clenbuterol, and cytomel. Intermittent, not continuous use. So I'd think my risk of atherosclerosis is low, due to my diet, would that be a fair assumption? If I am not at risk for atherosclerosis, would I be still be in danger of myocardial damage? If so, how would I mitigate this, in addition to a paleo diet?
    Thank you.

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  12. Dr. B G,

    Love your blog and suffer some of the same health issues you have. I am reading Robb Wolff's book and loving the info as well as writing style and believe you eat similarly to that so I was curious about your opinion on something regarding health and trying to get well.....no grains according to paleo and so that would mean things like wheat grass, etc. I had someone recommend that I start taking Rejuvenate Plus to help my body heal faster. It has many ingredients, some of them being pea protein, quinoa sprouts, wheat grass, rice protein, alfalfa.....you can read about it here
    http://www.integratedhealth.com/hpdspec/rejuvenatePlus.html

    Was wondering your opinion is on such a product as to hurting health because of non-paleo ingredients or help as they tout. I'm doing strict paleo right now for autoimmunity issues as well as the meds my doc has me on which one day I hope to get off of, as well as quite a few supplements (zinc, magnesium, potassium, zinc, fish oil, vitamin d, etc.). My doc doesn't seem to think that strict paleo is a must but is supportive it will help a lot and at least cut out junk, sugar, keep carbs low, etc and he is not a fan is not a fan of wheat but says wheat grass and that sort if organic are health boosters.....we are dealing with adrenal, hypothyroid and estrogen dominance with all that those bring and I keep crashing and would take something else if it would help and not hurt what paleo will be doing.

    I'd be curious of your take (as well as Dr. Davis and Rob Wolff).

    Thanks for all of your work and writing!

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  13. That's superinteresting. My mum tested her (and mine obviously) MTDNA haplogroup with National Geographic project. It's I - one of the earliest. I speculate it might be the reason why striding away from paleo immediately degenerates my body. I'm always amused how other people can eat all sorts of rubbish and still be fine.

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  14. Hi Dr. B G. I have been recently following your nice blog. I like your unique and interesting ways in presenting your ideas and opinions on this blog.

    I'm Chinese (race) and I'm currently doing my Master's degree in biochemistry, so I can really relate with how you connect chi with mitochondria. I never thought about this before and I used to believe that chi was bogus.

    Thanks to you and some other smart paleo bloggers out there, I have adopted some healthy changes in my diet and lifestyle and i have gained some benefits like having a smaller tummy, better skin and less inflammation in my body.

    I still have some questions though. Do you believe that we should tweaked our diet according to our race or the diet of our recent ancestors?

    Like for example, can dairy and a meat heavy diet be beneficial for northern europeens? Also it it possible that chineses can eat some rice and other nontoxic carbohydrates without experiencing any ill health compared to other races? I am asking this because adopting a very strict paleo diet can be very annoying to my families and friends and I would like to strike a balance. Thanks.

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  15. Lightcan :)

    So good to hear from you! My adrenals improved last year however the progesterone just never came back online. Ikept waiting... Having progesterone 'offline' s*cks big time. Progesterone is the hormone that makes us have narrow 0.7 HAAWWWWT waist-to-hip-ratio shapes, besides neuroprotective benefits for the CNS/brain tissues.

    With the vitex chasteberry, continuing the adrenal stuff, and taking some intermittent OTC biohrt progesterone cream, the progesterone is BACK!! It has helped metabolism, thyroid, adrenals and even the gut too I believe because I am less bloated during those 'times' of the month.

    It's a lot of books I know. I'd pick Natasha Turner first -- her stuff is just awesome and fantastic for both guys and grrrrrrrls. She jokes about S*X ALL THE TIME which I appreciate. Plus she knows her stuff and is about our age. She also discusses her mom having liver cancer, her own thoughts on 'conventional medicine' and her PCOS, hair loss and hypothyroidism. It's paleo/anti-gluten but she concedes to those too (like, I believe, herself) who just appear to not be able to give gluten up.

    -G

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  16. Anonymous,

    Having normal (and lower) levels of CRP and liver metrics is a great thing but that hardly guarantees full protection from heart disease or cancer.

    The biggest reasons for cancer and heart disease are:
    --hormone imbalances
    --toxins (plastics, PCBs, dioxin, flame retardants, halides, etc)
    --infections (like POOP in your blood stream or bacterial seeping from a root canal or cracked tooth)
    --parasites
    --heavy metal toxicity (which lead to the above)

    Paleo is just a good start. Often not enough... If you go to paleohacks.com or any paleo type forum or go to comments of paleo bloggers, believe me, there are 'fail-eos'. You can do paleo and fail still. Why? It covers all bases however the damage from neolethal factors can be extensive to the point they need to be identified and addressed.

    You can do testing however my belief is that is for ruling out the rare things and to justify for those in utter 'denial'.

    For testing for the basics (coz I know you are gonna ask):
    --comprehensive stool analysis (Metametrix, Doctor's data, Genova, they all do it)
    --urine especially porphyrins and 16OH-estrone
    --salivary hormone test -- all of them -- cortisol, DHEA-S, T/free T/E1 E2 E3/Progesterone, thyroid panel including some autoimmune markers, omega-3/omega-6 index
    --Berkeley Heart Lab or liposcience lipoprotein particle analysis


    The problem with labs is typically they just reinforce what a clinicial/practitioner already suspects from a very close and thorough exam. So. I think something should only be ordered if it will impact the course of therapy or prognosis. Generally they don't.

    Start here:
    http://optimalhealthresearch.com/reprints/series/vasquez_2011_five-part_protocol_revisited.pdf


    G

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  17. Void*

    I can see why ur worried! Clenbuterol is a vet drug for anabolic bulking. Like pesticides and xenoestrogens, it hangs out in the fat tissues and liver. It's good your lean! I'd be more worried about the liver than the heart. Shrinking adipocytes is one of the best ways to detox out lipophilic toxins. Stick with wild elk, bison and grassfed/pastured/free range meats. Cytomel maybe kinda cardiotoxic if it is hyper-therapeutic to point of excessive cardiac stimulation.

    I think you are on the best course.

    Cheers,
    G

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  18. Anonymous,

    I'm not sure about the Rejuvenate plus. If you are gluten sensitive, no gluten-grasses should be considered in the therapeutic plan even though 'technically' wheatgrass is gluten-free.

    Autoimmunity issues stem from a variety of sources but the first and foremost is the perforated, 'hole-ey' and permeable gut. once the immune-complexes that the body produces (antibodies) bind and go up against our own tissues (peptides), those tissues are hosed.

    I'm sure you are probably taking digestive enzymes -- just make sure they are broad spectrum to include proteases. These can help by entering the bloodstream and chewing up the remaining immune complexes which literally last in the system for 9-18 months after stopping the food borne-targets (gluten, casein/dairy, whatever -- soy, corn, egg whites, nuts, etc).

    I (heart) ROBB WOLF TOO!!!! We both agree the gut is prime -- fix that with what he advises. I totally agree. The high dose EPA DHA omega-3 from a high quality, molecularly distilled product has especially benefits for you
    --controlling systemic inflammation
    --balances the immune system and particularly autoimmune disorders
    --targets GALT (in the gut) and other neurodamage
    --healing and regeneration via PPAR

    You won't need a super high dose forever but the integrative medicine protocols utilize for the above purposes.

    Good luck! Would love to hear your progressive later!
    G

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  19. Flo,

    Our genes since the dawn of time can only sustain so much adaptation... Hey that's so NEAT !!!! The 'I' mtDNA gene flow is pretty cool. Your mom is one of the 'eve's' *haa ah*.

    -G

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  20. Dan,

    Appreciate your kind comments! What part of China are your parents and ancestors from? We just returned from Beijing, Shanghai and Lake Wuxu/Huangzhoe visiting.

    I sincerely think RICE IS IN OUR GENES *haa ah* I've never stopped them except then going ketotic as an experiment, though, here on the blog I do sound kinda militant about anti grains, incl rice. We've never been that strict paleo but now we are probably more strict regarding ethnocentric habits and lifestyles like fermented foods (no stinky tofu! but fermented tofu, black beans/sauce, kim chee, (soaked) red/green beans and paste, ume/sour plum/fermented plum, rice rice rice is nice, rice wine are all fantastic), maintaining exposure to morning sunlight (which might emulate foraging/farming/tribal habits), and targeted supplements to fix neolethal damage.

    Particularly Chinese people are often stuck in their ways I've found (really they are no different than other ethnicities) and this is probably why they still populate the earth in hoards. A number of ethnic minorities still do not consume wheat or wheat products like the Mongols who are like the mighty Massai warriors when they consume their ancestral diet of raw freshly killed meat, marrow, soups, tubers and goat (and horse) milk/cheeses! Are we not ALL aborigines and their descendants?? Anyway DNA is at least.

    Choose your battles! Each my siblings and I have had an autoimmune disease (me undx'd Hashimotos; my sibs renal, Grave's, etc) which PubMed literature links HEEEYYGE, hard to ignore, associations with gluten and vitamin D and omega3 deficiencies.

    I'm inclined to not fall toward strict paleo -- even strict paleo fails out of the 'norm' of our experiences thus far (like 1-2 standard deviations). You can read about the blatant failures (fail-eo) on other bloggers comments areas and on paleohacks.com.

    Priority:
    --identify and fix the neolethal damage
    --this often reverses weird and strange reactions (like adrenal fatigue, metabolic low energy, hypothyroidism, SIBO, bloating/gas to weird foods, etc)
    --fix the hormones from neolethal damage
    --eat and see what you tolerate (it's dynamic but sometimes not so fun to figure out)
    --live anally but care-free (make sense?)
    --don't forget to laugh when your Chinese relatives want to set up you up with their rich and beautiful daughters and nieces because you are so hawwwwt *haa ah*

    -G

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  21. P.S.

    Northern Europeans and Chinese definitely have an edge on mortality/brutality and domination and survival. Probably longevity as well. These traits can be supported strongly since dairy has many immuno-protective benefits (immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, CLA, omega-3, etc) besides superior protein and probiotic aspects. Ghengis Khan and the Mongolians were the most globally dominant (continguous empire) on earth, and like other mighty warriors (Massai) who consume ancestral foods (raw meat, marrow/soups, goat/horse milk and its fermented products). They eat NO or rare vegetables or phytonutrients as the remaining parts of China do. My ancestors are not Mongol so I eat and do extremely well on some vegs.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for your suggestions. Reading all the recommendations from all the smart paleo/evolutionary bloggers out there can be very confusing, especially on hot subjects like dairy, carbs, omega 3 supplementation and rice intake.

    You are right that I need to wisely pick my battles.

    My ancestors are from Fujian. I am half Hakka, half Hokkien (I think). From the stories I heard from my grandpa, they ate lots of rice, tubers, fish and veggies there and very little meat. But they will devorer pork fat if they can get their hand on them. Coconut oil is also used if I am not mistaken.

    I will not forget to laugh if my relatives tried to set me up with their daughters (still not that hawwt yet haha). But I admit I have reached an age where my families and relatives are starting to be busybodies and trying to get me to settle down with a girl. It's quess this is one of the ethnocentric habits of the chineses..sigh. And I am only in my very early twenties.

    I have some questions regarding porc and chicken. Should their intake be limited? I ate quite a lot of them cause my families and relatives love eating those meat. Ruminent meat and fat is just not their cup of tea.

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  23. Hi Dr. B G. I would like to get my testosterone levels up pretty high. If I ever get rid of my hypothyroidism and high estradiol I maybe able to get up to 800 pmol/L (free). 900-1000 would be great. Would you have any suggestions for long term supplements I could take, i.e. whole food type things, and nutrients that tend to be deficient in the developed world? Thanks for any help :)

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  24. Do you think the level of mTOR of people on paleo diets make them more susceptible to getting cancer later in life? This is what Dr. Ron Rosedale seems to think.

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  25. Dan,

    Chi is cool stuff :) We're all entangled in an energy field that most individuals are not even aware of. It's not paranormal/x-files gibberish. Actually I thought it was all hoookey until the House of Flying Daggers came out (BESTmovie on earth, 2nd only to G-L-A-D-I-A-T-O-R-S). (all of my favorite friends list this movie as their favorite i dunno why) Yeah... chi.

    Anyway both my parents are Hakka from Taiwan (I think that is Taiwan Han on mtDNA map but I haven't verified that yet). Our dialect is a little different than the Fujian Hakka but we are SIBLINGS, Dan by brother *h aaa ah!*

    Industrial, feedlot pork is pretty bad stuff but I would say pork is probably in our DNA as well like white rice... Personally I am big fan of lamb but I don't think too many Chinese eat it except the Mongols and muslim, though I could be wrong.

    Our people were poor thus they ate in actuality very little meat and more carbs like rice and yams. However, given the context, our people were busy with mild cardio in the form of farming, foraging and gathering so the carbs didn't have any dent on insulin resistance as it would now in the neolithic, motorized and mechanized millenia.

    My grandmother slaughtered a goose without hesitation on our wkend farm when I was little (which traumatized my youngest lil sis to become a vegetarian later)! I think chicken and other fowl are great. Peking duck is our favorite dish!

    Good luck fending off the busybodies who are busy on your hawwt paleo body!

    G

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  26. Anonymous,

    Achieving testosterone levels which are normal and natural for hunter gatherers' requires a discipline which would emulate a H-G's lifestyle and organ status, namely the BRAIN and everything below the neck.

    The gut-brain-gonad axis cannot be underestimated. It rules and it completely blows when it is f*cked up...

    Read:
    http://coastherbal.com/web_standard/adrenal_stress.html
    http://robbwolf.com/2011/01/24/my-training-at-39/

    Focus on:
    1) brain (hypoth,pit) -- getting AM sunlight/workouts in to reset melatonin and cortisol rhythms which are aimed at acetylcholine and the parasympathetic nervous system which is the healing nervous system. Stop staying up late reading lame-o blogs (like this *haa*). Relax. Get massages. Have s*x. More. (unless ur an addict then curb ur enthusiasms and get thyself to rehab)

    2) adrenals -- stop toxic stuff like xenoestrogens, scented body lotions/cleaners/etc, hormone-infested livestock meat and eggs and dairy, etc. Take omega-3, adaptogens, minerals, vitamin C, vit A D E K2, amino acids, and B-vitamins (natural, no synthetic CR*P). Read Robb's post. Avoiding taxing people and activities. Cut them out. No MetCons. No Xfit if that is appropriate.

    3) gut -- read Robb. Fix your gut which is your brain below the neck. Take glutamine, greens, probiotics, enzymes, betaine hcl, small freq meals is best (no fasting). If ur gut is really f*cked up then take slippery elm, marshmallow and other support. Thorne's GI ENCAP is good. If you have chronic candida, then fix it. No sugar/fruit and take garlic, oregano oil and olive leaf extract (NOW brand has a good one) and Candex enzymes. Eat fermented foods that your ancestors ate to crowd out pathogenic flora (chocolate and wine are fermented however these should be minimal if you are healing adrenals; limit norcal margarita binges *haa!*).

    4) gonads -- everything should fall into line by now... Higher T, lower E2! You've transformed from a grrrrl back to a paleo BOY!

    5) thyroid -- if not fixed by now, talk to an integrative physician for evaluation. If there is enough undamaged tissue, one should produce enough on its own eventually. If not, replacement is prudent.


    I'd love to hear your progress later. Or put in paleohacks.com with pictures and send me the link here!

    -G

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  27. RE: mTOR

    Tourgeman and I have written about mTOR. It needs to be balanced so yes Rosedale is absolutely correct. http://nephropal.blogspot.com/search/label/mTOR

    I don't think paleo predisposes to 'high' mTOR but in fact is one of the best ways to normalize and optimize mTOR for reversal of all chronic diseases, cancer, neuroendocrine and target organ damage.

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  28. Re: Testosterone
    I have very limited money for supplements right now, but I will do my best so I can provide a decent update. Thanks again!

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  29. Hi Dr BG,

    Thanks for sharing your story. I was really into Wuxia when I was younger. Reading about the amazing feats and abilities of the heroes in these stories were very inspiring for me. I wish I can also glide on the water and jumping on trees by using my "chi". Haha

    Your story about the slaughtering of a goose by your grandma is a bit like my experience. I winced every-time I see one my relatives slaughtering a chicken or a pig in their home village. But luckily, i did not turn into a vegetarian.

    I discovered the paleo diet by accident actually. I gained about 15 pounds rather quickly after I started my undergraduate studies (from all those pizza, burgers, softdrinks, stress, obsessive eating..etc). Surfing the websites, I found blogs like MDA and freetehanimal and since then I lose most of my extra fat that I gained. But i still have some inflammatory issues like the occasional acne. Vanity can be a good motivator to make the sacrifices to be hawwt but I try not to be too anal during social events.

    By the way, do you have any opinions on why many young asians need glasses(myopia)?

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  30. Mitochondria transfer for healing degenerated intervertebral discs by using male educated biological transformations by Cristian Muresanu, cristim23@yahoo.com

    Abstract.
    The hypothesis refers to a personal experience of healing an advanced lumbar bilateral degenerative discopathy. The paper describes a presumable new and yet undiscovered cell transformation mechanism (called “biological transformations controlled by the mind”) involving mitochondria transfer from healthy cells to those which needs new mitochondria. From earlier research it is already known that: mitochondria can exist in the extracellular environment (due to their ancestral origin of being prokaryote cell); they can circulate through the recently discovered (and Nobel Prize awarded) vesicles, from one cell to another and inside the cell itself; they are the “power plant” of the cell. The extracellular matrix integrity of the intervertebral discs depends upon the ATP reactions produced by the mitochondria of the cells which are contained in the disc annulum. When reactions stop, the matrix disintegrate and the disc slowly degenerates over time. The hypothesis aim to show that the ATP reactions might be restarted (through mitochondrial transfer automatically produced after triggering the biological transformations). MRI analyses (taken before and after biological transformations) confirms the following: a) a degenerative lumbar process had been present, b) the degenerative process had been stopped and even more, an intervertebral disc regeneration process started and c) the disease had been reversed to its earlier subclinical asymptomatic stage. The new hypothetical biological transformation mechanism is purely of physiological origin and can be started using five main attitudes (which needs to be educated in advance) and some muscles control exercises (which creates the conditions for starting the process) or it can be induced by electrostimulation. However, we hypothesize that male and female cytotransformation is a natural biological and physiological process, potentially present in every human being but with particularized differences on male and female. A detailed research protocol of experiments and measurements which might provide most plausible explanations for this cellular biological transformation and possible application for the regenerative medicine, telomerase research, pharmacogenomics and other personalized medicine developments in the near future.

    Keywords: biological transformations, transmutations, mitochondria transfer, biology, telomerase, genome, pharmacogenomics.

    ReplyDelete