Death of the Great Cholesterol Diet Fairy Tale, Familial Hypercholesterolaemia, BRCA1/2 Myths, Insulin 101, Cancer and 50 Shades of F_cked (Sorry, Y E S Again)

Sorry for the delay.... Old scathing editorial in QJM (hat tip: Peter D'Adamo), by D.D. Adams 'The great cholesterol myth; unfortunate consequences of Brown and Goldstein’s mistake.'



The Mistaken Implication of FHC and Elevated Blood Cholesterol

Abstract  Following their Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the defective gene causing familial hypercholesterolaemia, Brown and Goldstein misunderstood the mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of the associated arterial disease. They ascribed this to an effect of the high levels of cholesterol circulating in the blood. In reality, the accelerated arterial damage is likely to be a consequence of more brittle arterial cell walls, as biochemists know cholesterol to be a component of them which modulates their fluidity, conferring flexibility and hence resistance to damage from the ordinary hydrodynamic blood forces. In the absence of efficient receptors for LDL cholesterol, cells will be unable to use this component adequately for the manufacture of normally resilient arterial cell walls, resulting in accelerated arteriosclerosis. Eating cholesterol is harmless, shown by its failure to produce vascular accidents in laboratory animals, but its avoidance causes human malnutrition from lack of fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin D.

Unfortunate consequences of Brown and Goldstein’s mistake

Brown and Goldstein’s burst of fascinating information dazzled the medical profession, most of whom consequently accepted the false cholesterol hypothesis. This has led to unfortunate consequences that include:

• Waste of money on misdirected research.
• Waste of money on blood cholesterol tests.
• Waste of money on statins.
• Malnutrition from lack of fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,K,E) present in butter, full-cream milk and animal fat but lacking in margarine and skim milk (green-top bottles in New Zealand).
• Fear of eating eggs, contributing to unhealthy, starchy diets.
• Ricketts in middle-aged men from lack of vitamin D due to use of margarine and skim-milk.
• Distortion of the Dairy Industry, causing unnecessary marketing of skim milk.
• Distortion of the Meat Industry with unnecessary production of lean meat.

The author concludes 'The fact that of the thousands of people involved in achieving this spurious result did not include a single elementary mathematician with intellectual independence is in accord with the whole sorry story of the great cholesterol myth, starting with the false statistics used in analysing the Framingham data.10 The meta-analysis of Ray et al.,13 showing no prolongation of life by use of statins in randomized controlled trials involving 65 229 participants, is the final nail in the coffin of the great cholesterol myth.'



Insulin 101, Diabesity and Cancer Malignancies....

The lifetime risk of developing any invasive cancer is over 1:3 (males nearly 1:2) currently and by 2020, the WHO estimates, the stats will be 1:2 for both males and females.  The XX chromosomes no longer will protect us gals.

Why?

Does it have anything to do with 'Great Cholesterol Diet Myth' that the above authors have dispelled on unfounded, false scientific interpretations?  The refined whole-wheat-unhealthy-heart debacle may be nearing its end after this editorial, perhaps.

Is our diabesity and cancer epidemics related to the growth over the last few decades of 'low fat,' government-sanctioned, high refined carbs, grain-based propaganda and GMO (Bt-gut busting zonulin-opening lectins), pesticide laced grains and grain-fed commercial meat, poultry, dairy and eggs?  And the environmental havoc that plays out...?  Our original gut flora are nearly extinct much like most of the rainforest species.  Compound this with other endocrine- and gut-disrupting toxins like mercury and arsenic that  rain out from coal burners which still supply greater than 50% of USA energy.  BTW China is now #1 globally for coal utilization, eeking out over the USA in recent years. Go China for exceeding USA's giant industrial pollution footprints.

http://www.avonbreastcare.org/files/SusanLuckWebinar.pdf

BRCA1/2 and Chopping Off B**bies

Breast cancer is complex, yet it is quite simple. Is it necessary to contemplate IMHO surgical removal and reconstruction of any beautiful body part that may fall to cancer? Where does one logically start? Where does one end because everything that undergoes DNA replication and editing may fall to cancer and mutations...?  Ms. Angelina Jolie, I lurrv u, please stop. Your message is IMHO short-sighted and not sustainable.




Pardon, Let's Look at A Couple of BRCA1/2 Facts: 

BRCA1/2 is a defect in DNA repair and fails to fix 8OHdG (oxidative DNA damage product, 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine)

BRCA1/2 raises risk in men of breast, prostate, pancreatic, gastric and hematologic cancers

BRCA1/2 raises risk in women of breast (73%), ovarian (41%), colon (2-fold), pancreas (3-fold), stomach (4-fold) and fallopian tube (120-fold) cancers

BRCA1/2 like all mutation genes is under epigenetically controlled regulation -- for example, silencing of the gene occurs with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (pollution), insulin, and hypomethylation (lack of methyl donors -- either depletion or dietary deficiency -- or COMT, MTHFR, etc variants). Best food sourced methyl donors are methylB12, choline and methylfolates (free range egg yolks, liver, meat, seafood -- sorry no plant sources you crazy vegans).  Insulin 101: Insulin is a growth hormone and one function is to induce stimulation of female ovaries to increase testosterone secretion.  Unfortunately, in both men and women, normal levels and excess testosterone may be converted into estrogens under insulin induction by P450-aromatase (aka, CYP19), in many tissues including fat tissues, breast cells, endothelial cells and prostate cells.... Certain gene variants accumulate significantly more estrogens than non-carriers (COMT, CYP19).

• Compared with noncarriers, women carrying at least one CYP19 8r allele had 20% higher estrone (P = 0.003), 18% higher estradiol (P = 0.02), and 21% higher free estradiol concentrations (P = 0.01). Women with the COMT Met/Met genotype had 28% higher 2-hydroxyestrone (P = 0.08) and 31% higher 16α-hydroxyestrone concentrations (P = 0.02), compared with Val/Val women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers PrevJanuary 1, 2004 13; 94.

BRCA1/2 silencing may be epigenetically avoided by diet, resveratrol and other antioxidants

BRCA1/2 needs a genetic 'cofactor' like MTHFR, COMT, CYP19 (aromatase which converts testosterone to estrogens), CYP1B1 (pathway increases 16OHE1, estrogen carcinogen adduct) and CYP1A1 to be carcinogenic according to emerging evidence. These genetic polymorphisms are all related to raised toxic estrogen metabolites and creation of estrogen dominant states.

Functional Medicine and Tracking/Lowering 8OHdG

GDX/Metametrix Labs and other functional medicine lab testing centers offer a wonderful test that measures and helps practitioners to track oxidative DNA damage, the 8OHdG biomarker.  This goes up and down with oxidative damage. Many things have been shown to lower and raise 8OHdG.  Diet and supplements (melatonin, vitamin C, berry extracts, resveratrol, etc) have been shown to lower 8OHdG.  Please check out more HERE and HERE (p. 361 of 'Lab evals for integrative and functional medicine' 2nd ed, 2008).

In a hepatitis C trial in participants at risk for hepatic carcinoma and iron overload, a low-iron diet and phlebotomy lowered 8OHdG to near normal 8OHdG rates after 6 yrs. Additional observed benefits were improvements in liver function: lower ALT and liver function tests, improved scarring and hepatitis, no progression to carcinoma. Viral Hep C titers remained the same but cancer was avoided despite originally sky-high 8OHdG six years prior at trial onset.



Prior animal pharm:

Pesticides May Be Behind USA Diabesity, Disrupting Insulin and Tissue Insulin Resistance
50 Shades of F_cked Up (Cancer medical management in the USA)



Other Citations:

http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/files/2010/05/Functional-Diagnostics-Redefining-Disease.pdf
http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/files/2010/05/Cholesterol-AT.pdf
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/lifetime-probability-of-developing-or-dying-from-cancer
http://whattofeedyourkids.blogspot.jp/2009/10/xenoestrogens-and-breast-cancer-why-we.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=earth-talk-the-coal-truth

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2012/nov2012_Epigenetics_Breast_Cancer_01.htm
Aromatase up-regulation, insulin and raised intracellular oestrogens in men, induce adiposity, metabolic syndrome and prostate disease, via aberrant ER-α and GPER signalling.
MTHFR Polymorphisms, Dietary Folate Intake, and Breast Cancer Risk Results from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study [hat tip: Todd Lepine MD]
Breast. 2008 Oct;17(5):441-50. Counseling for male BRCA mutation carriers: a review.
Methionine-Dependence Phenotype in the de novo Pathway in BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers with and without Breast Cancer. [need for methyl donors]
Epigenetic diet: impact on the epigenome and cancer.
Dietary phytochemicals, HDAC inhibition, and DNA damage/repair defects in cancer cells.
Epigenetic impact of dietary polyphenols in cancer chemoprevention: Lifelong remodeling of our epigenomes.

Babies and Mapping the Pollution in People: EWG's HUMAN TOXOME PROJECT

I think this is cool (...naught really).

This is a (user-friendly) compilation of the data collected in individual and large studies by the Environmental Working Group's Human Toxome Project. You can click on the right side on the study or an individual to review the toxic metals, pesticides, solvents, PCBs, POPs, and other chemicals found and at what level (low, mod, high).

The data below is from the EWG/Commonweal Study #1.

In each of these 9 adult participants over 150 chemicals, pesticides, solvents and heavy toxic metals were found. Fifty chemicals and metals that have been shown to cause dysfunction of the immune system were detected.  I talked about these factors above at AHS2011 'Rainforest of Your Gut' because not only do they disrupt our immunity but also intestinal barriers and permeability.  Researchers estimate that the intestinal system contains 70-80% of the immune cells.  Once chronic intestinal permeability occurs, all hell breaks loose.  Signs can be acute or terribly subtle....Bloating, dyspepsia, heartburn, hormonal disruptions (men become fem/moobies and grrrrls masculinize), inflammation, insulin resistance, suboptimal adrenals/thyroid, low HDL/high LDL, heart disease, endothelial hardening, penises softening, mental vulnerabilities, autoimmunity, autism spectrum, skin disorders, sinus disorders, candida overgrowth, allergies, oxidative DNA damage, and 50 Shades of F-Cked (cancer).

How do all these multiple industrial neolethal toxic factors influence our health?  From a systems biology perspective, do multiple factors amplify the depth of damage as each organ system one-by-one fails to accomplish what it is designed to do?

People eat whole foods, filtered water, organic, sustainable, ancestral, paleo, et cetera, but is it enough?  What if an individual has a low exposure but genetic variants for particular detox/antioxidant pathways which keeps an industrial toxin or metal hanging around? ApoE4, COMT, MTHFR, MT, and GST are just a few. Granted most of us have decent flux and adaptive mechanisms to survive most assaults but what are the thresholds for coping for multiple exogenous assaults combined with unique endogenous frailities?

On the other hand, what if a person just gets an accumulated butt-load of low exposure from frequent or daily soaked, arsenic- or lead-laced brown rice or heart-healthy omega-3 mercury/flame retardant- and selenium rich wild seafood?  Sorry -- I don't buy that urban mythology.

When I used to go for miles and miles jogging in the neighborhood, on weekdays I watched unprotected city workers spraying pesticides and herbicides on grass edges and around the municipal parks. Where does all the herbicide water run-off go? Where do contaminated water sources originating from Big Agro GMO Monsanto crop fields end up?  How is it tracked? Why not?

67% of the 9 individuals had 'high levels' of mercury detected and 22% 'low levels'.  Mercury used to be in our mouths; my kids and I are amalgam-free for one year now. We rarely eat wild fish with our histories and above is why.

Fukushima radiation is another now (here and here).

Before a first breath of air, 10 babies via cord blood lab analysis (EWG study #4) were found to have 287 heavy metals, pesticides and chemicals. All 10 had mercury (60% moderate levels, 40% low). 100% had dioxin. 100% had PCBs. 100% had organochlorine pesticides.

Recently pesticides from Bt GMO crops were found in 80% of fetuses and 93% of adults (healthy pregnant) randomly tested in one Canadian study (Aris and Leblanc, Reproductive Toxicology, 2011). This herbicide is used as a topical spray as well genetically spliced into the DNA of GMO crops with promoters for high-copy amplification and expression of of a bacterial toxin bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bt toxin is also known as Cry1Ab protein.  It is a gut specific delta-endotoxin which exerts toxicity through increasing larvae/insect intestinal permeability causing the death of crop pests like leaf- and needle-feeding caterpillars (lepidopteran insects --butterflies, moths), beetles (coleoptera--weevils, ladybugs, beetles), and the larvae (e.g. babies) of leaf-beetles. It has been designed to be toxic to mosquitoes (dipteran)now.  Fun, no?

Has lateral transfer of Bt DNA to our gut bacteria and microbial communities already occurred (or at least the unborn and adult Canadians in Aris and Leblanc's study)?  Are we transformed? Mutant gut-hybrids of GMO experiments gone awry?

Like advising pregnant moms to avoid fish and seafood to minimize exposure to bioaccumulation of mercury and other pollutants, the American Academy of Environment Medicine (AAEM) issued a GM Foods Position Paper on May 8, 2009 for everyone to avoid all GMO foods in their diets.  Why such adamant recommendations for exclusive GM-free diet prescriptions?

For physicians and healthcare practitioners, they encourage looking at the role of GM foods in health disorders and diseases in integrated medical evaluations.  Why are we fat?  Why does USA obesity trends track and follow herbicide use?  Why are hypothalamus and brain reward centers so SO BROKEN?  How is the global use of herbicides and Bt gut-perforating pesticides related to our health woes and epidemic cancer and diabesity/heart disease/strokes?

In 1998 two scientists fed mice for two weeks potatoes (a) soaked for 30min in a dilute suspension of harvested Bt toxin (from bacterial spores grown in the lab; 1 g/L concentration), (b) transgenic Bt potatoes, and (c) control potatoes. Mild structural changes in the microvilli of the ileum of the transgenic GMO Bt potatoes were seen in.However in the Bt delta-endotoxin soaked potato-fed mice, the ileum changes were quite substantially greater in scale -- '...basal lamina along the base of the enterocytes was damaged at several foci. Several disrupted microvilli appeared in association with variable-shaped cytoplasmic fragments.' The authors further report 'in the group of mice fed on the delta -endotoxin-treated potatoes, the Paneth cells of the crypts of Lieberku¨hn were highly activated and contained a large number of secretory granules. These cells are believed to have an important role in the activation of phagocytes and controlling the bacterial flora of the gut (Ariza et al., 1996; Fawcett, 1997). They contain elevated levels of lysozyme in their large eosinophilic secretory granules, an enzyme capable of digesting bacterial cells walls, and antibacterial peptides called cryptdins (Junqueira et al., 1998). Ouellette (1997) revealed that Paneth cell secretory products seem to contribute both to innate immunity of the crypt lumen and to defining the apical environment of neighboring cells....The antimicrobial polypeptides of the Paneth cell secretory products kill a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and tumor cells (Aley et al., 1995).'  Lysozymes are 'cutters' -- they cleave and cut things, for instance, tumour/cancer cells and cell walls of pathogens that take a ride in our food.

Damage to the ileum and small intestines can lead to changes in microbial population and the disorder known as SIBO (small intestinal bowel overgrowth).  An expanding body of knowledge links SIBO with nearly every chronic systemic and skin disease seen in outpatient medicine (John Hopkins Turnbull, Mullin et al)

Bt toxin appears to induce self-digestion -- (increased Paneth cell and lysozymal activity) and damage from the inside out.  Lovely! And it is present in unborn children and adults.

References

Nutrient tasting and signaling mechanisms in the gut. II. The intestine as a sensory organ: neural, endocrine, and immune responses.
Furness JB, Kunze WA, Clerc N.
Am J Physiol. 1999 Nov;277(5 Pt 1):G922-8.

Adult Women’s Blood Mercury Concentrations Vary Regionally in the United States: Association with Patterns of Fish Consumption (NHANES 1999–2004)
Kathryn R. Mahaffey, Robert P. Clickner, Rebecca A. Jeffries
Environ Health Perspect. 2009 January; 117(1): 47–53.

Blood mercury reporting in NHANES: identifying Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and multiracial groups.
Hightower JM, O'Hare A, Hernandez GT.
Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Feb;114(2):173-5.

Pesticides in Shanghai and Globally

Pesticides May Cause USA Insulin Resistance and Obesity Trends

Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. (FREE PDF)
Aris A, Leblanc S.
Reprod Toxicol. 2011 May;31(4):528-33.

Fine structural changes in the ileum of mice fed on delta-endotoxin-treated potatoes and transgenic potatoes [GMO Bt toxin] Free PDF
Fares NH, El-Sayed AK.
Nat Toxins. 1998;6(6):219-33.

Principles of Integrative Gastroenterology, Systemic Signs of Underlying Digestive Dysfunction and Disease, Turnbull, Mullin, et al.

Assessing Cumulative Health Risks from Exposure to Environmental Mixtures—Three Fundamental Questions
Ken Sexton, Dale Hattis
Environ Health Perspect. 2007 May; 115(5): 825–832.

Combined toxic exposures and human health: biomarkers of exposure and effect.
Silins I, Högberg J.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Mar;8(3):629-47.

Perils of Neolithic Plastics: MOOBIES, PCOS

Perils of Plastic: Chemicals in plastics and other products seem harmless, but mounting evidence links them to health problems -- and Washington lacks the power to protect us

TIME magazine (issue: April 12, 2010) featured a special report entitled 'The Perils of Plastic' HERE (or HERE or HERE). Below are are choice quotes I like by reporter Bryan Walsh [including my emphasis].

• "Since World War II, production of industrial chemicals has risen rapidly, and the U.S. generates or imports some 42 billion POUNDS (19 billion kg) of them per day, leaving Americans awash in a sea of synthetics."


• Those chemicals have a habit of finding their way out of everyday products and into the environment — and ultimately into living organisms. A recent biomonitoring survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans — including toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium, pesticides, flame retardants and even perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel. “It’s not the environment that’s contaminated so much,” says Dr. Bruce Lanphear, director of the Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center. “It’s US.”


• "As scientists get better at detecting the chemicals in our bodies, they’re discovering that even tiny quantities of toxins can have a potentially serious impact on our health – and our children’s future. Chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates – key ingredients in modern plastics – may disrupt the delicate endocrine system, leading to developmental problems. A host of modern ills that have been rising unchecked for a generation – obesity, diabetes, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder – could have chemical connections."


• " Invented in 1891, BPA has been used since the 1940s to harden polycarbonate plastics and make epoxy resin, used in the lining of food and beverage containers, among other products. Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling number 7 on the bottom of some plastics containing it. Other plastic ingredients – including potentially dangerous ones – are also indicated by the recycling number, known as the resin identification code."


• "BPA does its job well, and today some 6 billion lb. (2.7 billion kg) of the chemical are produced globally each year. The problem is, BPA is also a synthetic estrogen, and plastics with BPA can break down, especially when they’re washed, heated or stressed, allowing the chemical to leach into food and water and then enter the human body. That happens to nearly all of us; the CDC has found BPA in the urine of 93% of surveyed Americans over the age of 6. If you don’t have BPA in your body, you’re not living in the modern world."


• Epigenetics... "In 1998, Patricia Hunt, a geneticist at Washington State University, found that female mice dosed with BPA had serious reproductive problems, including defective eggs. More recently, she published a study showing that the offspring of mice exposed to BPA while pregnant can end up with corrupted eggs, a situation that leads to trouble for their offspring. “That’s a powerful effect,” says Hunt. “You disrupt three generations with one exposure.” "


• Xenobiotics, XENOESTROGENS... "As a synthetic estrogen, BPA can mimic hormones, those powerful chemicals, like testosterone and adrenaline, that run the body. "


• "Tiny amounts of hormones produce immense biological and behavioral changes, so it stands to reason that a chemical that mirrors a hormone might do the same, especially if a human being were exposed to it during critical periods of development, like the first trimester of gestation. (Children are particularly vulnerable to chemical exposure, not just because their smaller bodies are developing rapidly but also because they eat and drink more relative to their body weight than adults.) "


• "That’s exactly what dozens of scientists have found in animal studies, linking fetal BPA exposure in rodents to everything from mammary cancer to male genital defects and even neurobehavioral problems. Nor is BPA the only industrial chemical in common use that may mess with the endocrine system. "


• "Phthalates – a class of chemicals used to soften polyvinyl chloride plastics, found in products ranging from shower curtains to cosmetics to intravenous-fluid bags – have been shown to disrupt hormones in animals and have been linked to reduced sperm counts and other marks of feminization in male rodents. Ditto for a class of long-lived chemical fire retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used in electronics, polyurethane foam and other plastics, though they’re being phased out. (PBDEs can remain in the body for years. BPA and phthalates are excreted within a day or so, but their ubiquity means we’re exposing ourselves anew almost daily.)"


• Codes of chemical contempt... picture of recycling codes courtesy of HERE.

Prior Nephropal from Dr. Tourgeman MD: Bisphenol A (BPA) lowers adiponectin, associated with insulin resistance, weight gain, fat gain, twisted testosterone metabolism, lower sperm count

Happy Earth Day... *contemptuous sigh*



Does This Affect Adrenals? Thyroids?

Possibly? Any hormone disruption and dysregulation at the cellular or macro-biology level affects adrenals. Heavy metals are implicated in the formation of free T4 to rT3, which is a useless form of thyroid hormone and not selenium or iodine-dependent (unlike activation of T4 to T3).



MOOBIES: high DHT, high Estrone, high Prolactin, low vitamin D

Boys becoming physically and metabolically like girls... that's called MOOBIES, higher prolactin, higher estrogen expression, erectile dysfunction, hypogonadism, testicular failure, andropause. Pollutants are highly associated with delayed maturation in adolescents and significantly interrupted hormone pathways. (Diagram, courtesy of health-spy.com)
"In 2002, the Centre for Environment and Health in Flanders, Belgium started a human biomonitoring program. For 1679 adolescents, residing in nine study areas with differing pollution pressure, hormone levels and the degree of sexual maturation were measured. Possible confounding effects of lifestyle and personal characteristics were taken into account. Participants from the nine different study areas had significantly different levels of sex hormones (total and free testosterone, oestradiol, aromatase, luteinizing hormone) and the thyroid hormone free triiodothyronine, after correction for confounders. Significantly higher hormone concentrations were measured in samples from participants residing in the area around the waste incinerators, while significantly lower values were found in participants residing in the Albert Canal zone with chemical industry."2


PaleoHacks Forum Thread: Middle-Aged Male Gynecomastia, aka 'Moobs'

Check out this thread HERE. Thank you Dexter -- forgot about my comments! Jae and Kevin Teague covered all the bases. Good job, boys! Eat paleo, do HIIT (to raise T), lose body fat (reduces DHT conversion), take vitamin D (lowers prolactin, raises T), eat fat, eat low carb, etc. This works. Current conventional medicine treatment includes... surgical options (moob-ectomy), aromatase inhibitors, or Tamoxifen (estrogen blocker): HERE.

P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c.



Males: Avoid Xeno-Estrogens

Xenobiotics are found in food, herbs and pharmaceuticals. These are chemical structures which our bodies need to metabolize and eliminate via our P450 enzyme systems in the liver and other tissues. Many are fat-soluble and require a healthy liver (phase 2), gallbladder and biliary system to conjugate and eliminate from the entero-hepatic cycling that occurs in our gut. Our body has evolved to conserve and 'recycle' the 'good stuff' from our skin and oral exposures like cholesterol, vitamins, steroid derivatives, endorphins, sex steroids, fatty acids and other constituents. Unfortunately, toxins get recycled too.

The best is to avoid toxins.

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived xeno-estrogens; they are everywhere but some phytoestrogens have higher biological potency. Both plants and animals utilize estrogen phylogenically. Xenoestrogens vary in their effects. Some may protect against estrogen and xenoestrogen-induced breast cancer and other cancers but the downside for men are the ubiquitious estrogenic effects including breast tissue growth and penile reducing effects.

Some bind estrogen and progesterone receptors and potently or partially enact the below or some combination:
--inhibition of estrogen receptors (block)
--activation of estrogen receptors
--inhibition of progesterone (block)
--activation of progesterone
--inhibition of androgens (block)

Estrogen is producted by men and women (in the adrenals in both genders and ovaries in women). It feminizes however our understanding of estrogen has greatly expanded to include countless brain, neural and immunity related activities. Men need some, but not a lot. Women, we need a lot comparatively and it protects against Alzheimer's, infections and looking wrinkled. Important.

Progesterone is made by both men and women (again in the adrenals of both genders and ovaries of women). Progesterone has some androgenic action for fat burning, muscle building, mood, immunity, neuroprotective (give me 'P' if I ever have a cerebral edema) and well being. Progesterone is the MAIN hormone in pregnancy. It sustains the pregnancy and allows for exponential tissue growth. At high levels, tissues and collagen relax and cortisol and insulin go up (providing even sustained glucose supplies for the fetus). Women make ~20 mg/d of 'P' but during pregnancy, fetal adrenal and maternal production increase to ~200 mg/d. Fetal adrenal glands are 10-20x that of an adult. It shrinks after birth and post-natally.

Many xeno-estrogens block progesterone and lead to anti-adrogenic actions. In women, pomegranate, like RU486, was once used in ancient Greek as an abortifacient and to induce uterine contractions.

Below are known to raise estrogen effects and lead to gynecomastia should be limited in exposure by mouth, skin, or breath if you are trying to limit your moobie growth:
--soy SOY SOY (!OY)
--BEER (hops contains high phytoestrogens)
-- whisky in oak (per Paleo hacks)
--omega-6 (peanuts, sunflower, cottonseed, safflower oils) which increase inflammatory steroidogenesis including cortisol which raises DHT and endogenous estrogens
--pomegranate, red clover, yucca
--topical use of tea tree oil, lavender oil
--excessive caffeine (raises cortisol and depletes adrenals too; fibrocystic breasts)

Synthetic xeno-estrogens, unlike some of the natural, plant-derived compounds that exist in food and plants, are chemicals and therefore not recognized by our mammalian receptors for appropriate metabolism and elimination. Worse, they are stored in the fat tissues with extremely long biological half-lives. Synthetic xeno-estrogens and xeno-progestins may take weeks, months or decades to be excreted. Birth control, Provera (medroxyprogesterone), Depo-Provera, plastics, BPA, environmental pollutants are in this class.



Bisphenol A Elevated in Women with PCOS Compared With Non-PCOS Women

Girls. We are affected too. PCOS is the female version of moobies... females veering toward male dimorphic expression (hirsutism/facial hair, higher androgens (T, DHT), male pattern baldness/alopecia, masculinization, low estriol/estradiol, PMS, ovarian failure, sterility, early menopause). Takeuchi et al discuss the dose-related bisphenol A effect and how related to degree of hormonal dysregulation in women with PCOS. Obese women without PCOS also showed higher BPA levels compared to non-obese without PCOS. Not surprising. BPA, mercury and other pollutants have been shown to increase insulin resistance and body fat.

This study was performed to investigate the serum levels of bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor, in women with ovarian dysfunction and obesity. Fasting serum samples were obtained from 19 non-obese and 7 obese women with normal menstrual cycles: 7 patients with hyperprolactinemia, 21 patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea, and 13 non-obese and 6 obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). BPA was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. BPA was detected in all human sera. Serum BPA concentrations were significantly higher in both non-obese and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (1.05 +/- 0.10 ng/ml, 1.17 +/- 0.16 ng/ml; p < 0.05, respectively) and obese normal women (1.04 +/- 0.09 ng/ml, p < 0.05) compared with those in non-obese normal women (0.71 +/- 0.09 ng/ml). There was no difference among women with hyperprolactinemia, women with hypothalamic amenorrhea, and non-obese normal women. There were significant positive correlations between serum BPA and total testosterone (r = 0.391, p < 0.001), free testosterone (r = 0.504, p < 0.001), androstenedione (r = 0.684, p < 0.001), and DHEAS (r = 0.514, p < 0.001) concentrations in all subjects. These findings show that there is a strong relationship between serum BPA and androgen concentrations, speculatively due to the effect of androgen on the metabolism of BPA.

Boys and Girls: Avoid BPA and other Xenoestrogens

• Avoid plastics for food containers
• Avoid drinking water from water bottles (esp heated) -- use metal
• Never heat up food in plastics (even BPA-free) -- use glass or pot on the stovetop
• Minimize/avoid Starbuck and Peet's coffee cups (I KNOW! I don't follow)
• Buy local and organic and avoid pesticides, especially for the Dirty DOZEN
• Leave your shoes at the door (very ASIAN *wink*)
• Avoid consuming synthetic hormones fed to and pesticide-exposed, mass produced chickens, pork, beef, dairy; eat grassfed and local
• Avoid/minimize wild seafood (heavy metals, PCBs, flame retardants)
• Avoid inferior produced omega-3 fish oil or cod liver oil (heavy metals, PCBs, flame retardants)
• Avoid consuming synthetic hormones fed to and pesticide-exposed farm-raised salmon, tilapia, catfish, shrimp, and other seafood
• Avoid certain cosmetics
• F*CKIN AVOID BIRTH CONTROL (oral, insertable, injected), Premarin, Provera, PremPro, Ergocalciferol (D2), Accutane, and ALL synthetic Big Pharma non-bioidentical steroid hormones

Detoxification

I've had to deal with synthetic progestin toxicity for the last 2 years. There was not that much I could do but what helped the most in excreting the xenobiotic I found was the below. Whenever I gained body fat (holiday eating, stress, stopping vitamin D, etc), I found the symptoms I was having were exacerbated and acutely worsened. When I dropped body fat with exercise and yoga, then the symptoms curbed down again. Body fat for me has been the biggest factor I can vary which affected symptoms and the control symptoms.

--exercising frequently to lower body fat and control insulin/cortisol/leptin (cardio 50-70% max HR four to seven hours per week) (leptin RAISES aromatase)
--HIIT 1-2x/wk (NONE unless rested/relaxed; don't over do it;BSS rocks)
--yoga, massage (relieves stress, prevents injury, resets adrenals which produce cortisol and hormones, moves lymph and circulation)
--hypocaloric high protein diet with carb cycling (900-1200 kcal/d -- I'm ~120 lbs)
--fiber -- this removes bile acid conjugates (metamucil, non-starchy vegetables dominated diet, cruciferous, seaweed, leeks, green apples, etc)
--fat (coconut milk, grassfed meat eggs, etc), omega-3, flaxseed oil
--cilantro, garlic (helps glutathione which uncouples toxins from binding), NAC (glutathione precursor, keeps liver/kidneys strong), Vitamin C, tocopherols/ tocotrienols, chlorella (antioxidant and removes toxins), coenzyme Q10 (tags proteins and DNA for proper disposal or recycling), pycnogenol (antioxidant and removes toxins), silymarin (helps glutathione and keeps the liver strong), trace minerals (metal detox and detox enzyme functions), lipoic acid (increases glutathione in WBC RBCs)
--normal bile conjugation, synthesis and elimination (fermented foods, digestive enzymes, betaine (TMG), indole-3-carbinol/DIM, taurine/glycine (and/or raw grassfed or uncontaminated-seafood), egg yolks, low carb/high sat fat diet) (when my adrenals were shot x6-12 months, I couldn't tolerate much taurine which made me dizzy and ataxic; need a modicum of decent adrenals)
--GUT, thyroid, adrenal and vitamin D optimization (affect temperature and metabolism of enzymes, P450 detox enzymes, liver, steroidogenesis and neutrotransmitters)





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