Some things from the Good Things Thread

http://www.acne.org/...ost__p__2630032

Check Blood Pressure frequently. More than once a year. It's the silent killer.

Circulation:

Press on your skin. This forces blood out of capillaries near the surface and your skin will appear white. But if circulation is good, it will return to normal within a second or so.

Birthweight - from a book called Diabesity by an endocrinologist that was one of the first to recognize the growing global Type II diabetes 'epidemic,' and has been or is the president of the ADA. It's an interesting book with great, easy to follow explanations on what food does to us/hormones and how it leads to these so many health problems. Because when you eat stuff, stuff happens.

Low and high birthweights of full term babies are of concern to doctors and may affect glucose metabolism. Babies with low birthweights (< 5 1/2 lbs) may be undernourished. This triggers a survival gene that helps the body store as much as possible, causing a problem later when food is plentiful. Can also happen in infancy and many ethnicities have the gene 'turned on' regardless. (genotype vs phenotype) This is the reason diabetes is rampant now in China, Latin America, among African Americans, etc., where lifestyles are changing.

High birthweights (above 8lbs 13 oz (4000 grams)) often mean the mother has diabetes and the baby recieves excess glucose stimulating the baby's pancreas to produce more insulin. They think this may damage the pancreas.

Waist Size - Abdominal fat doesn't just sit there. It causes inflammation and is considered a risk factor. Doctors like to say a waist size over 35" for women and 40 or so for men puts you at risk, but I would think that 35" is way too big for a lot of small woman. A waist to hip ratio (WHR) may be a better guide, but if you have huge hips...

QUOTE

A WHR of 0.7 for women and 0.9 for men have been shown to correlate strongly with general health and fertility. Women within the 0.7 range have optimal levels of estrogen and are less susceptible to major diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and ovarian cancers.[1] Men with WHRs around 0.9, similarly, have been shown to be more healthy and fertile with less prostate cancer and testicular cancer.[2]

From wikipedia. Note that this isn't just a measure of health, but can be a measure of attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Waist to hip ratio calculator: http://www.healthcal...s/waist_hip.asp

No fat just sits there, btw. Enzymes that affect and convert hormones for example are produced in body fat. Body fat is an active part of your endocrine system.

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Mercola article that illustrates one reason why you need to take charge of your own health -- because doctor's will just give you some drug with all kinds of side effects. And pharmaceuticals companies tops all other industries in the total amount of fraud payments for actions against the federal government under the False Claims Act. A total of 19 drug companies also made And drugs are one of the main reasons the U.S. ranks 49th in the world in life expectancy while ranking number 1 in 'health' care spending. We are doing it wrong.

http://articles.merc...11231_DNL_art_3

MDA blogs posts on Cholesterol and what use you can get from a Standard cholesterol test. Or rather tests, because they fluctuate and one test is useless.
These are the the useful things the tests can tell you:

• Trends Are your triglycerides going down over time? Thats great. Is your HDL trending up? Also good.
• Normal fluctuations Your numbers can jump around 20-30 points in either direction between readings without it necessarily meaning anything.
• TC:HDL-C ratio Lower is better and indicates fewer LDL particles.
• Triglyceride:HDL-C ratio Lower is better and indicates larger LDL (and, usually, fewer) particles. Ideally, this will be close to 1 or lower; one study (PDF) found that 1.33 was the cut off.

  Read more:

http://www.marksdail.../#ixzz1hs9L54kb

And another post about advanced cholesterol tests which will measure what you really need to know: LDL cholesterol particle size. Size Matters! You want big ones. However there are no standards for these tests and results vary wildly. So, they aren't ready for prime time yet.
http://www.marksdail.../#axzz1hmFNtsBv

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So then, I decided to search for info on what upregulates/downregulates LDL receptors. Because this is where the problem lies (along with particle size).

When the receptors don't take in the LDL, it goes back into the bloodstream and gets oxidized and stored as plaque on your arteries.

And I found that Thyroid hormone (T3) stimulates LDL receptors (and promotes uptake of cholesterol), therefore lack of thyroid hormone results in decreased LDL receptors and decreased LDL (cholesterol) uptake. So this should make hypothyroidism a huge concern. (so why isn't it? Why is it so notoriously underdiagnosed?) http://ahdc.vet.corn...hem/cholest.htm

Diabetes millitus/syndrome X also causes a downregulation of LDL receptors. Avoid those refined carbs and follow an anti-inflammatory diet!!! When the receptors don't take it in, cholesterol can keep circulating increasing the likelihood that it can become oxidized and cause damage and thus plaques to form.

http://blogs.webmd.c...ers-part-2.html

Diet, exercise, fibrates, niacin and omega-3 FA all shift LDL particle size from small to large, by decreasing TG synthesis. Statins do not shift LDL particle size (per se), they simply upregulate receptors which clear apoB particles.

Other things that stimulate/mediate LDL receptors
-Prostaglandin I₂ (PGI₂) and prostaglandins are inhibited by NSAIDs, corticosteroids and various inflammatory responses
-Conjugated Linoleic Acid

-ApoB levels - Apolipoprotein B is a protein which can lead to plaques that cause vascular disease. This keeps LDL circulating rather than binding to receptors. The longer it circulates the more likely it is to oxidize and form plaques in your arteries.

ApoB levels, along with it's ratio to apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) which is protective, is probably a much better indicator for cardivascular disease than the lipoproteins/cholesterol.

Diets high in fructose lead to elevated apoB levels. Just 2 weeks of consuming 25% of calories from drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup dangerously elevates levels.

Markers of Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation and oxidation are the causes of heart disease, not cholesterol. It's also a major factor in aging and most non-infectious disease.

-C-reactive Protein

-Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase Lp-PLA₂ - an inflammatory enzyme implicated in the formation of rupture-prone plaque associated with stroke. elevated levels associated with stroke risk.

-Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

-interleukin (IL)-6 - an inflammatory cykoteine

-serum amyloid A protein

-total homocysteine

-fibrinogen

This study on the effects of auto exhaust on the inflammation and antioxident biomarkers in the elderly lists several things that could be tested for:

http://ehp03.niehs.n...289%2Fehp.11189

For inflammation:

Blood plasma biomarkers were measured weekly over 12 weeks and included C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) and its soluble receptor-II (sTNF-RII), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its soluble receptor (IL-6sR), fibrin D-dimer, soluble platelet selectin (sP-selectin), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and myeloperoxidase (MPO).

Antioxidants: To assess changes in antioxidant capacity, we assayed erythrocyte lysates for glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) activities.

Article citing numerous studies.

http://www.cmaj.ca/content/174/4/479

Check blood pressure periodically. Hypertension damages arteries.

Test in both arms. A difference in the systolic of @15 or more points can be an indicator of increased risk for vascular disease. http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20120130/should-blood-pressure-be-taken-both-arms

http://www.iherb.com/Ethical-Nutrients-Zinc-Status-4-fl-oz-120-ml/3624?at=0

Serum Uric Acid - often used as a test for gout and kidney disease, but can be a marker of many more things. (they also test for uric acid in the urine which indicates different issues)

Elevated serum uric acid is a consistent feature of the insulin resistance syndromes,

Elevated levels associated with increased cardiovascular events/disease risk. Events such as stroke including sublinical stroke (that you aren't aware of but are damaging your brain) http://qjmed.oxfordj.../93/11/707.full

More from that journal article:

uric acid has been found to promote lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in vitro, a key step in the progression of atherosclerosis,^50,,⁵¹ and these effects are inhibited by vitamin C⁵² indicating an important interaction between aqueous antioxidants.

Note, LDL oxidation is what clogs arteries. Not cholesterol.

(Also possible fructose sensitivity or impaired ability to process fructose/marker of 'fructose damage.' from several Mercola articles. Fructose generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion. High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been long known that people with high blood pressure and kidney disease, and people who are overweight, often have elevated uric acid levels.)

Normal values range between 3.5 and 7.2 mg/dL, but good levels are lower than that upper range and vary between men and women.

I've been making a list of things to monitor for Vascular Disease as my mother has had 3 strokes in a little over a year despite not having any of the usual risk factors and seeming to be perfectly healthy and planning to live a long and active life. And while you younger people might not be concerned, be aware that these things are occurring in younger and younger people. Look at all the teenagers with type 2 diabetes now. That should be an old person's disease. Also, chronic inflammation ages you inside and out.

Check blood pressure periodically. Hypertension damages arteries. Test in both arms. A difference in the systolic of @15 or more points can be an indicator of increased risk for vascular disease. http://www.webmd.com...taken-both-arms

Blood Sugar/Insulin Metabolism - sugar floating around in the bloodstream pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidant and along with high blood pressure causes the damage to arteries that are repaired by cholesterol. And when you consume more sugar than your cells can take in, your body will keep releasing more insulin desperate to get that sugar out of your bloodstream. When blood glucose levels are high, glucose molecules attach to the hemoglobin in red blood cells. Persistent elevations in blood sugar (and, therefore, HbA_1c) increase the risk of long-term vascular complications of diabetes such as coronary disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, blindness, erectile dysfunction, neuropathy (loss of sensation, especially in the feet), gangrene, and gastroparesis (slowed emptying of the stomach). Poor blood glucose control also increases the risk of short-term complications of surgery such as poor wound healing.

A1C - Glycated hemoglobin test which is a sign of frequently elevated blood sugar/insulin (which is inflammatory) and an indication of damage to the red blood cells caused by the oxidation of sugars (glycation). aka HbA1c & Hb1c

The longer hyperglycemia occurs in blood, the more glucose binds to hemoglobin in the red blood cells and the higher the glycated hemoglobin.

nce a hemoglobin molecule is glycated, it remains that way. A buildup of glycated hemoglobin within the red cell, therefore, reflects the average level of glucose to which the cell has been exposed during its life-cycle.

Markers of Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation and oxidation are the causes of heart disease, not cholesterol. It's also a major factor in aging and most non-infectious disease.

-C-reactive Protein
-Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase Lp-PLA₂ - an inflammatory enzyme implicated in the formation of rupture-prone plaque associated with stroke. elevated levels associated with stroke risk.
-Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
-interleukin (IL)-6 - an inflammatory cykoteine
-serum amyloid A protein
-total homocysteine
-fibrinogen

Ultrasound scan of carotid arteries to look for plaque. One of the main causes of stroke. There's also an artery coming out of the heart that's a common culprit, but it has to be scanned with one of the various machines involving radiation. Plaque forms where arteries are damaged by high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar and is caused by LDL oxidized due to chronic inflammation.

-ApoB levels - Apolipoprotein B is a protein which can lead to plaques that cause vascular disease. This keeps LDL circulating rather than binding to receptors. The longer it circulates the more likely it is to oxidize and form plaques in your arteries. Your ApoB level, along with it's ratio to apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) which is protective, is probably a much better indicator for cardivascular disease than lipoproteins/cholesterol.

Diets high in fructose lead to elevated apoB levels. Just 2 weeks of consuming 25% of calories from drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup dangerously elevates levels.

Flow-mediated dilation - FMD is the gold-standard technique to measure endothelial function. The endothelium is the lining of the blood vessels. FMD is considered a good predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.

Coagulation of the blood
PTT - partial thromboplastin time - Tests the time it takes blood to clot
Patients with a normal PTT test result will take 25 to 35 seconds for their blood to clot.
Platelet Count AKA: Thrombocyte count; PLT http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/aptt/tab/test

Serum Uric Acid
-Elevated serum uric acid is a consistent feature of the insulin resistance syndromes,
-Elevated levels associated with increased cardiovascular events/disease risk, increases LDL.

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About Cholesterol

A total cholesterol test is of little value unless it tells you your levels are over 300. Regardless, you really need to know your HDL, LDL & Triglyceride levels because its a ratio of those that provide useful information. And you need to test regularly as they fluctuate.

These are the the useful things the tests can tell you:

• Trends Are your triglycerides going down over time? Thats great. Is your HDL trending up? Also good.
• Normal fluctuations Your numbers can jump around 20-30 points in either direction between readings without it necessarily meaning anything.
• TC:HDL-C ratio Lower is better and indicates fewer LDL particles.
• Triglyceride:HDL-C ratio Lower is better and indicates larger LDL (and, usually, fewer) particles. Ideally, this will be close to 1 or lower; one study (PDF) found that 1.33 was the cut off.

Prevention

Chronic inflammation is caused by stress, environmental toxins (pollution), lack of sleep, lack of exercise, prolonged intensive activity like body building, running 10 miles,etc. And by Diet i.e. spiking insulin/blood sugar and too many inflammatory foods (hydrogenated/trans fats, Omega 6 fats (grain/grain oils) and foods to which you are intolerant/can't digest) in relation to anti-inflammatory foods (omega 3 fats, anti-oxidant rich plant foods, herbs, spices, teas).

Manage stress with yoga, meditation, walking or other relaxing activity; move around a lot every day; consume an anti-inflammatory diet high in fresh whole fruits, vegetables, spices & teas; sleep well at night and keep as natural as possible circadian cycle of exposure to bright outdoor light in the daytime and darkness at night.

Also, posted here, in probably edited & improved form: http://dietforclearskin.blogspot.com/2014/01/resolve-to-take-charge-of-your-health.html

Because I was recently talking to my sister about my mother's health (she has strokes) and the prescription drugs she's been given and couldn't very well explain why diet and lifestyle habits were a better treatment and why the drugs were focused on all the wrong things. I just can't memorize it all. So, I decided to type up some brief details in the hopes it organizes it in my brain and I can recall it better when I need to.

And for you younger people who don't think you need to worry about these things yet, these 'old persons' diseases are occurring in younger and younger people these days. Even children.

Anyway, here goes:

Your body makes cholesterol for a reason. It is what hormones are made of. All kinds of hormones, including vitamin D. It's a vital component of cell membranes and is therefore necessary to produce new cells. It's a vital part of brain function and how memories are stored. And it is like spackle to repair damage to arteries. Arteries are damaged by high blood pressure & elevated blood sugar.

Plaque forms where arteries are damaged by high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar and is made of LDL cholesterol that has become oxidized due to chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is caused by stress, by environmental toxins such as car exhaust, by habits like lack of sleep and exercise, prolonged intensive activity like body building, running 10 miles,etc. and by Diet i.e. spiking insulin/blood sugar, too many inflammatory foods (hydrogenated/trans fats, Omega 6 fats (grain/grain oils) and foods to which you are intolerant/can't digest) in relation to anti-inflammatory foods (omega 3 fats, anti-oxidant rich plant foods, herbs, spices, teas). And high fructose consumption such as in junk foods and drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and 'health foods' sweetened with pure fructose sweeteners such as agave nectar.

Fructose generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion and uric acid promotes LDL oxidation.

LDL & HDL are not cholesterol, they are the proteins that carry cholesterol through your bloodstream : LDLto where it is needed to be used & then HDL too carry it back to your liver for recycling or elimination.

There are LDL receptorson your cells that accept the cholesterol. If the receptors don't take it in, cholesterol floats around in the blood some more where it can become oxidized and form plaque.

Things that downregulate the receptors include fructose (ApoB levels), corticosteroids and NSAIDs (both of which my mother was taking prior to her stroke.) The aspirin often prescribed as a preventative for heart disease is an NSAID. Don't do it.Also diabetes mellitus/syndrome X.

T3 thyroid hormone upregulates the receptors, so hypothyroidism can bea factor in plaque formation.

More about cholesterol testing and the statins that inhibit an enzyme that does many important things besides the cholesterolyour body makes for a good reason) and how tests that just measure total cholesterol are meaningless unless it's over 330.

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The ONLY subgroup that might benefit [from statins] are those born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, as this makes them resistant to traditional measures of normalizing cholesterol.
And, even more importantly, cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease.
If your physician is urging you to check your total cholesterol, then you should know that this test will tell you virtually nothing about your risk of heart disease, unless it is 330 or higher. HDL percentage is a far more potent indicator for heart disease risk.

Here are the two ratios that matter:

• HDL/Total Cholesterol Ratio: Should ideally be above 24 percent. If below 10 percent, you have a significantly elevated risk for heart disease.
• Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: Should be below 2.

I have seen a number of people with total cholesterol levels over 250 who were actually at low risk for heart disease due to their elevated HDL levels. Conversely, I have seen many people with cholesterol levels under 200 who had a very high risk of heart disease, based on their low HDL. Your body NEEDS cholesterolit is important in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol also helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function. There is also strong evidence that having too little cholesterolINCREASES your risk for cancer, memory loss, Parkinson's disease, hormonal imbalances, stroke, depression, suicide, and violent behavior.

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Well, first consider the role of inflammation in your body. In many respects, it's a good thing as it's your body's natural response to invaders it perceives as threats. If you get a cut for instance, the process of inflammation is what allows you to heal.

Specifically during inflammation:

-- Your blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding to death - BP goes up

-- Your blood becomes thicker so it can clot

-- Your immune system sends cells and chemicals to fight viruses, bacteria and other "bad guys" that could infect the area

-- Cells multiply to repair the damage

Ultimately, the cut is healed and a protective scar may form over the area.

If your arteries are damaged, a very similar process occurs inside of your body, except that a "scar" in your artery is known as plaque.

Cholesterol comes in because, in order to replace your damaged cells, it is necessary.

Remember that no cell can form without it.

So if you have damaged cells that need to be replaced, your liver will be notified to make more cholesterol and release it into your bloodstream. This is a deliberate process that takes place in order for your body to produce new, healthy cells.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/the-cholesterol-myth-that_b_676817.html

Testing for Excess Iron - which may be a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Your body has few ways to remove iron especially in men and post-menopausal women, as bloodloss is one of the main methods for ridding the body of excess iron.

 

Separate research also showed that reducing excess iron in your brain can alleviate Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice,² while measuring brain iron has been suggested as a way to detect Alzheimer's disease in its early stages.³
Iron is also known to accumulate specifically in brain regions associated with memory and thought processes, which are gradually lost as Alzheimer's progresses. At this time it's not entirely clear whether the excess iron is the result of external sources, such as supplements or metal pans, or due to a genetic predisposition to absorbing too much iron or biochemical changes that cause an imbalance internally -- likely it's a combination of factors.
What is known is that too much iron in the wrong places is clearly toxic, and when accumulated in neurons may be a "final end-stage event in neurodegeneration."⁴

How do You Know if Your Iron Levels are High?

Checking your iron levels is done through a simple blood test called a serum ferritin test. I believe this is one of the most important tests that everyone should have done on a regular basis as part of a preventive, proactive health screen. The test measures the carrier molecule of iron, a protein found inside cells called ferritin, which stores the iron. If your ferritin levels are low it means your iron levels are also low.
The healthy range of serum ferritin lies between 20 and 80 ng/ml. Below 20 is a strong indicator that you are iron deficient, and above 80 suggests you have an iron surplus. The ideal range is between 40-60 ng/ml. The higher the number over 100 the worse the iron overload, with levels over 300 being particularly toxic and will eventually cause serious damage in nearly everyone that sustains those levels long term.
Fortunately most premenopausal women lose iron every month when they menstruate. As a result, menstruating women rarely suffer from iron overload syndromes, as removing blood from your body is the most effective way to lower iron levels. However, most adult men and postmenopausal women tend to be at a high risk for iron overload and all of its toxicity, as they don't have this monthly blood loss.
Additionally, some people also have a genetic predisposition to absorbing too much iron, which is called either hemochromatosis or hemosiderosis. Interestingly, one of the most common causes of excess iron is the regular consumption of alcohol. Alcohol consumed on a regular basis will increase the absorption of any iron in your diet. For instance, if you drink some wine with your steak, you will likely be absorbing more iron than you need. Other potential causes of high iron levels include:

• Cooking in iron pots or pans. Cooking acidic foods in these types of pots or pans will cause even higher levels of iron absorption.
• Eating processed food products like cereals and white breads that are "fortified' with iron. The iron they use in these products is inorganic iron not much different than rust and it is far more dangerous than the iron in meat.
• Drinking well water that is high in iron. The key here is to make sure you have some type of iron precipitator and/or a reverse osmosis water filter.
• Taking multiple vitamins and mineral supplements, as both of these frequently have iron in them.

My grandfather had alzheimer's. And he spent the last 30 or so years of his life drinking well water that had a lot of iron in it. And almost all of his life eating food prepared in cast iron, but I doubt that had a significant impact compared to the water.

Supplements for men should have little iron in them. And of course, I hope you are all avoiding the fortified processed foods.

Measuring Your Methylation Process (for epigenetics )

To find out if your methylation process is optimal, ask your doctor for the following tests:

• Complete blood count Like our friend Mr. Roberts, large red blood cells or anemia can be a sign of poor methylation. Red blood cells with a mean corpuscular volume (MCV) greater than 95 can signal a methylation problem
• Homocysteine This is one of the most important tests you can ask for. The normal level is less than 13, but the ideal level is likely between 6 and 8
• Serum or urinary methylmalonic acid This is a more specific test for vitamin B12 insufficiency. Your levels may be elevated even if you have a normal serum vitamin B12 or homocysteine level
• Specific urinary amino acids These can be used to look for unusual metabolism disorders involving vitamins B6 or B12 or folate, which may not show up just by checking methylmalonic acid or homocysteine

From Dr. Mark Hyman article.

The theranos.com. New testing service at Walgreens. Uses new method which requires blood samples a fraction of the size used in most lab tests. Drops really.

This is a press release announcing the partnership last November. http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5820

Looks like they are only in California and Arizona so far. You'd think that if the testing was so simple, they could expand a lot faster than this, especially since they are going into existing walgreens.

Link to the menu of tests and low prices. They don't describe any of the tests, though. http://www.theranos.com/test-menu?ref=footer

List includes IgG, IgA, IgM, etc for a couple dollars each.

Thanks for starting this thread, alternativista (alternative life or living!)

And we have a famous person here! @ Tangerine, wow! I didn't know you lived in Canada. That explains why you're so happy and peaceful.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-using-your-recent-ancestry-to-determine-your-optimal-diet/?awt_l=OFQc_&awt_m=Jx8zLJgNDhWvYa#axzz3wa87GRST

Look to your ancestry for clues to finding your optimal diet. A few tips.

@Alternavista, what type of linoleic oil do you use for acne scars?

I use Napa Valley Organics grapeseed oil, or safflower, but no supermarket carries a good brand anymore.