Dr David Williams’ Alternatives Newsletter for April was a comprehensive essay on “The Dangers of Our Antibacterial Lifestyles”, presenting the growing list of conditions related to disruption of our symbiotic relationship with this worlds bacteria, viruses and fungal flora by our use of antibiotics and other anti-life chemicals. (See www.drdavidwilliams.com/alternatives-newsletter for info) He starts with the Human Microbiome Project – the goal is to identify and characterize the microorganisms that are found in association with healthy and diseased humans. They are looking at over 900 species that make their home in us and on us, and what they might be doing for us or against us. We already know that our bodies generally know how to manage these populations and benefit from them, and that trouble often starts when the balance of these organisms is disturbed. More and more of this disruption is being caused by antibiotics use and the ever-growing burden of food additives and agricultural chemicals. He is encouraged that the medical world is finally starting to understand that these bugs need to be managed, not destroyed, and that our health is inextricably tied to fostering the relationship with our microbiome. We humans have been doing that with our choice of foods and medicines (mostly herbs and other plants) for a few hundred thousand years before we even knew there was such things as germs.

Avoiding Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Rowen’s “Second Opinion” on news about reversing the progress of Alzheimer’s Disease: A recent study showed that a drug analog of vitamin A clears the brains of mice engineered to rapidly develop amyloid-beta tangles, removing these clusters of amyloid-beta in just hours. The next big question is whether the mice got smarter as a result, and the answer is yes – their cognitive markets returned to youthful levels. Now Rowen is a proponent of vitamin A supplementation, and believes that the same sort of results will happen in humans with natural vitamin A; retinal palmitate to be specific. He referenced Science, Feb 9, 2012 as the source (I tried to find it but had no luck). You probably won’t find any studies on natural A, because the Pharma industry is interested in selling drugs, but keep your eyes open for studies from other countries. He points out that vitamin A competes with vitamin D in absorption and production from substrates, so use lab work to make sure to stay in healthy ranges.

Next, Dr. Shallenberger’s “Real Cures” reported mounting evidence of the dangers of low cholesterol. He reports a U of Minn. Study that showed 15% higher atrial fibrillation in people with LDL below 100 mg/dL compared to those with LDL over 160 mg/dL and even greater differences at increasing age. Since Afib is a growing problem with age, this study questioned the wisdom of using drugs to achieve these levels. Many studies over the last 20 years have shown that high cholesterol levels in those over 50 years of age have little measurable impact on heart disease, but are strongly and inversely related to all cause death rates. In 2005 Columbia U found that, in a group of 2,277 men and women between ages 65 and 98, those with the lowest quartile LDL had twice the death rate of those in the highest quartile. Shallenberger figures that the healthiest levels in old age are between 180 – 240 total C and 130 – 180 LDL. The more I read, the less I tend to worry about my cholesterol levels.

Good Living – Frank