Newsletter August 2010
Dear patient, friend or colleague,It has been a while since we managed to get a newsletter out to you. One reason is that I have been working on a video about fats & oils. There is so much misunderstanding and misinformation out there about this, and more and more people actually suffer from a lack of fats. Look at this video to see why, and to understand more about something that is simpler than you might think. The impact on health is enormous. FructoseThere is also a new item about fructose here on our website; we used to think that this sugar was less harmful than ordinary sucrose - “sugar” - but it’s not! We say; “…the metabolic effects of fructose include as much weight gain as from sucrose, plus worse insulin resistance and damage to fat metabolism. Fructose leads to oxidative stress, and so increases LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol) and leads to high blood pressure and damage to arteries. …fructose also increases uric acid (which can cause gout, arthritis and kidney stones) at the same time as depleting ATP, the cell’s main energy currency”. The last point may be important for anybody with chronic fatigue or ME. A new study found that pancreatic cancer cells “can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation.” This item on mercola.com discusses that; Fructose on Dr Mercola Vitamin Dis in the news again in a big way. A big study looked at the effect of vitamin D on genes, and found that it altered the expression of more than 200 genes. Actually we knew most of this, but this study was authored by scientists in UK and Canada, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, so it’s seen as authoritative, and means that vitamin D just got a step more mainstream. Good! There were items in the Daily Mail; |
- in The Independent; - and even on NHS Choices; http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/08August/Pages/genetic-effects-of-vitamin-D-studied.aspx I must admit to being puzzled as to quite why this was news - we’ve known about the link between vitamin D and cancer, heart disease, depression etc etc for years. I wrote a book about it in 1988! It’s; Daylight Robbery. The importance of sunlight to health. Sadly it’s out of print, but you may find a second-hand copy on Amazon. The updated French version, written with my colleague Jean Celle, is still available; du bon usage du Soleil (Jouvence editions). Any publishers out there? Another study didn’t attract so much attention; this one looked at a condition called ABPA (allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis). It’s a nasty allergic reaction to a fungal infection, which particularly afflicts those born with cystic fibrosis. The most obvious effects of this disease are on the lungs and the pancreas; not surprisingly, sufferers are bad at absorbing fats (so see first item above), and therefore also fat-soluble vitamins - vitamins A, D and E. In the study, those with the allergic reaction as well as the infection had a lower serum vitamin D level. In vitro (i.e. in the laboratory) adding vitamin D suppressed the allergic response. The next question is whether that can be made to happen in real life. I know which way I’ll be betting Vitamin D and ABPA; - the scientific paper http://www.jci.org/articles/view/42388 - a good summary http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100816122122.htm Wishing you a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, Yours, Dr Damien Downing MBBS MSB |