The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation

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A few months ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra’s Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India let alone corporate Asia. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner  ( in Feb 09, he ran the Chennai Marathon) the question arises as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumbs to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program ‘Boss’ Day Out’: Boss’ Day Out: Ranjan Das of SAP India.

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).

I have outlined the key points below in the hope it will save some lives.

  • Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.
  • Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.
  • Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.
  • Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!
  • Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.
  • Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. This part of sleep is when HGH or Human Growth Hormone is naturally generated. If you are not asleep, what happens is that you generate cortisol which is a stress hormone that has the long term effects of accelerating ageing and leading the production of toxic substances like IL-6, TNF-alpha and cRP.

In Chinese Medicine we have the concept of chi and its movement in different meridians at different times. The Liver Meridian is particularly active from 1.00 am to 3.00am. If you are asleep, your Liver Meridian can properly detoxify as well as your mesenchymal matrix. If you are not, then this function is perverted and your natural cellular detoxification mechanisms start shutting down. This prepares your body for the development of severe and chronic diseases.

The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type. For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance.

Two years ago, I developed a devastating infection called rheumatic fever and experienced heart failure (heart function dropped to 30%). This was a period in my life when I was eating well, exercising well (too well- averaging almost 12 hours in aerobics, weights and Martial arts) and sleeping 5 hours a day. There was one month when I worked right through non-stop and the infection struck. My blood profile was perfect except for elevated  CRP, Creatinine Kinase and the infection marker. All the other markers of heart disease like cholesteol, triglycerides, glucose, sodium and potassium were perfect. It has taken me almost two years to get back to normal.

Please forward this blog to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this blog, I would be the happiest person on earth.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Toxic Water

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Toxic Water

The Associated Press (US) has done a study, and they’re reporting today that all kinds of chemicals are found in your tap water, and this time we’re not talking about lead, mercury, pesticides, synthetic hormones, or anything like that. Today we’re talking about pharmaceuticals in your water.

Sounds pretty crazy doesn’t it? But it’s true. Pharmaceuticals are now found in 24 major metropolitan cities. I mean the water supplying those cities is contaminated with pharmaceuticals. Not just one or two either, but six different pharmaceuticals so far – that’s what has been found – including anti-depressant medications, anti-seizure medications, anti-inflammatory medications, painkillers, even caffeine. Yes, there is caffeine in the water. You don’t even need to drink coffee in the morning anymore!

Get up; slam some tap water, and you have your chemicals for the day! Well, that’s just an exaggeration of course. They’re not found in large amounts in the water, and we’re going to talk about that over the next few minutes – talk to you about the dangers of these chemicals found in the public water supply and reveal what you can do to protect yourself from these chemicals. All that’s coming right up.

Now this might be kind of a scary talk, actually. If you know where your water comes from you may not want to drink it anymore. In fact, I think anyone drinking out of the tap is probably not well informed yet. We’re going to help you get informed here in the next few minutes.

Here is how the water really works. Many cities take their water from the rivers. Now, this is where you get your water, and they just treat it. So whatever actually comes downstream to those cities is put into their municipal water supplies. Now many consumers have the misconception that these cities actually remove all the dangerous chemicals and substances from the water before they put it into the pipes that go into your kitchen and your bathroom and your home.

That’s not true. They don’t remove everything. Sure, they remove the dirt, the sand, and the leaves but they don’t even remove microorganisms and bacteria. No, that’s not their job. They don’t remove them. They just kill them.

Their only job is to sanitize the water so that what you get is drinkable. It will not kill you, but it’s not clean. They use chlorine for that usually. They dump chlorine chemicals into the water; chlorine kills the microorganisms, and then you end up drinking chlorine and dead bacteria at the tap.

Public water treatment systems rely on chlorine to kill harmful bacteria. Until recently, concerns about drinking water focused on eliminating pathogens. Chlorination of drinking water was a major factor in the reduction in the mortality rates associated with waterborne pathogens. The use of chlorine was believed to be safe until recent years, when halogenated organic compounds, such as chloroform, were identified in chlorinated drinking water supplies. Recent surveys show that these compounds are common in water supplies throughout the North America. These concerns about cancer risks associated with chemical contamination from chlorination by-products have resulted in numerous epidemiological studies. These studies generally support the notion that by-products of chlorination are associated with increased risk of cancer and other health problems. These risks arise from both drinking and bathing in chlorinated water.

Figures for the U.S. shows that in the 1880,the death  rate from typhoid was about 90 per 100,000 Americans.  Thanks largely to chlorinated water, the death rate today is only  about 0.1 per 100,000.   Recent research done in the 1950’s, has enabled scientists to establish a link between chlorine and arteriosclerosis’s in chicken.  It was also suggested that this was because of chlorine’s ability to destroy Vitamin E. Vitamin E promotes heart muscle function, strengthens capillary walls and dilates blood vessels. It thereby reduces blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. Vitamin E functioning as an anti-oxidant also protects against cancer.

In a 1988 survey, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that drinking chlorinated water increased  the risks of high blood cholesterol.  The survey which covered 1,520 residents of 46 towns in Wisconsin, found that both men and women who d rank chlorinated water had higher levels of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol.

In 1989,researchers at the EPA’s Health Effects Research Lab (HERL) reported that mice showed “abnormalities” in fat metabolism when they were given chlorinated water and a typical, modern high-fat diet.  The mice too, had higher levels of “bad” cholesterol.

While links between chlorinated water and cancer are harder to establish, it is known that chlorine reacts with organic matter in water to form compounds called  trihalomethanes THMS) which are cancer-causing. Chloroform which one of the THMs was once used as an anaesthetic. It has since been banned by the US Food and Drugs Administration in 1976 because of its carcinogenic properties.   Recently, HERL scientists found that chlorine reacts  with organic compounds in water to form two other cancer-  causing agents: MX and DCS.  These substances both contribute to cell mutation and tumour growth.

So what can you do? Drink clean filtered water that gets rid of all the chemicals like chlorine.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Why Being Happy is a Choice

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Do you find yourself at the mercy of your emotions, a victim of reaction, behaving in ways that you’re not proud of and often regret? Are you one of the millions of people who avoid conflict and confrontation because you don’t know how to deal with other people’s emotions? Perhaps you avoid emotions entirely, not allowing yourself to feel deeply – out of fear or simply because you never learned how to experience, enjoy, and manage deep emotions such as love, joy, sadness, or happiness.

Perhaps you have become numb to emotions, not recognizing what or that you’re feeling something. Without the skills to handle them, you might “stuff” your emotions, exploding at some later time when you reach your breaking point.

Then there are those who were taught not to feel, who grew up learning that feelings were bad and you shouldn’t have them at all. And when you do feel something, you cannot let anyone know about it. Well, you’re not alone. Everyone has emotions and many people have no idea what to do with their emotions when they experience them. So, welcome to the Club.

Learning more about emotions, understanding what happens to you when you become emotional; learning to control yourself and your responses to emotions are your personal responsibility as an adult – regardless of what you may have learned or witnessed as a child – and they a big part of living a successful life.

Success cannot only be defined by what you do or what you have; it’s defined in your heart by how you feel about how you are living your life, the things you do, and the impact you make on others including how you make other people feel. Emotions are what make life grand. Emotions bring life to living.

What does it mean to be intelligent about your emotions?

It means being able to recognize and manage your emotions as well as control your behavior in response to emotion. It also means you are aware of the emotions of others and are able to manage relationships using empathy and competence. This is the practice of becoming emotionally confident and it takes time, vigilance, and practice in order to enjoy your emotions and respond to them appropriately as well as becoming more adept at handling the emotions of others and dealing with conflict.

Obviously, the better you are at knowing and managing yourself and your emotions, the better you become at dealing with other people’s emotions. The first step in learning about emotions is to become more conscious to what you are feeling in any given moment.

When your friend, employee, child or spouse doesn’t behave or perform in the way you had expected, it may seem natural to feel very angry, frustrated or resentful. But ultimately, will a strong flood of uncontrolled emotion get you the results you need? How do you find a better way?

A staff member doesn’t handle a problem with a customer well, and you, as the manager, are upset. You think to yourself, “Why on earth would he do such a thing? Doesn’t he know better? He should know that’s not how to deal with a customer!”

Your young child is playing upstairs. You decide to go and check on her and discover that she’s been drawing on the wall. “Look at my beautiful picture!” this small face smiles up to you. You, of course, are enraged and think before responding, “Haven’t I taught her not to draw on the wall? Doesn’t she know better?”

There are probably thousands of examples of these moments, moments when you think “What would make someone do that?” It is at this very moment when we reach a fork in the road and quite often, we get stuck. The stuck point is the assumption that the person knows better. This is the expectation. You have an expectation for how an employee should behave, how your children should behave, how things should function, even how you should be and what you should do. This the tyranny of the “shoulds”.

Expectations in and of themselves are not bad. We need to have some direction, some vision, and some idea of what we want. Of course, some expectations are unrealistic and this causes tremendous stress, anxiety, anger, struggle, and discontent. But other expectations are reasonable and realistic. Whatever the case, it’s not having the expectation that gets us in trouble; it’s when the expectation is not met that gives us difficulty.

When your expectations are not met, you can experience a psychological response including anger, resentment, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, etc. In fact, disappointment always points to an unmet expectation. This physiological response often causes people to choose the path at the fork that leads to what I call “The Ugly,” the inappropriate, unproductive, and unprofessional expression of emotion – loss of temper, yelling, conflict, bad feelings, name-calling, gossip, etc. In fact, this response leads to poor relationships, decreases morale, and can be deadly to a leader’s reputation as well as detrimental to the environment or culture of the workplace or your home. It leads to fear, causes shame, and requires effort to correct as well as time to heal. The opportunity for choosing a better response is at the stuck point, that moment when you feel the anger start or the frustration creep in. What are you assuming here? Take a step back and question your assumption. That is the beginning of running your mind. This is the beginning of making a choice to embrace peace and happiness.

The pursuit of happiness is not about embracing hedonism. It is about recognizing what matters to you. What matters to the others in your life. Then armed with this you pursue the outcomes in a way congruent with you and your values. Along the way, stop and smell the flowers. When you run into obstacles and road blocks embrace the leaning.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

http://www.biologyofbliss.net/

How Women are being Systematically Poisoned.

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At a clinical ecology seminar, Edward Winger, PhD presented two possible models whereby chemical exposure may lead to chronic disease;

1. Test-tube studies have been done with cells which contain genetic material of Epstein-Barr (infectious mononucleosis virus, in which the virus is in the latent or inactive  state. When certain chemicals were introduced into the test tube, viral proliferation took place and the virus was transformed to an active, infectious state. This may represent one of the common causes for persistent viral infections, such as chronic mononucleosis and   chronic hepatic infections, being recognised with   increasing frequency.

2. Basic to the second model to chemical sensitivity is that rapidly dividing of cells of the body are more susceptible to the toxic effects of chemicals than cells that divide more slowly.  The most rapidly dividing systems of the body are the gastrointestinal and the blood-producing (hematopoietic) systems.Our interest concerns the latter and its production of immune bodies, primarily various  types of white blood cells.   The capacity of white blood cells to respond to foreign antigens is impressive with a potential for approximately 100,000 types of responses.  We may assume that this system carries a large part of the burden of protecting   the body from potentially toxic chemicals.  But suppose a certain cellular line assigned the task for protection against a specific chemical is caught in the rapid cellular division, like a soldier being caught out of foxhole during enemy fire.  If there was significant toxic exposure at this time, this cellular line would be destroyed, leaving the individual unprotected against this chemical and possibly others.

The next time you buy tampons, you may want to check the labels of the sanitary pads or tampons that you are going to  buy the next time, and see whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in in this paragraph.. No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical cancer and womb tumors.  Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons?

Why would they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more, if you bleed more, you’re going to need to use more. Why isn’t this against the law since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all their wisdom(not), did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore wasn’t illegal or considered dangerous.

Tampons contain two things that are potentially harmful: Rayon (for absorbency), and dioxin (a chemical used in bleaching the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as women, need bleached white products in order to view the product as pure and clean. The problem here is that the dioxin produced in this bleaching process can lead to very harmful problems for a woman.

Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer-associated) and is toxic to the immune and reproductive systems. It has also been linked to endometriosis and lower sperm counts for men-for both, it breaks down the immune system.

In  September 1999,  the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that

there really is no set “acceptable” level of exposure to dioxin given that it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes from repeated contact (Karen Houppert “Pulling the Plug on the Tampon  Industry”).

Wouldn’t you  say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a month, for 38

menstruating years is “repeated contact”, wouldn’t’ you? Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a highly absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons are left  behind in the vagina (as it usually occurs), it creates a breeding ground for the dioxin. It also stays in a lot longer than it would with just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS (toxic shock syndrome) occurs.

Using feminine hygiene products that aren’t bleached and that are all cotton. Other feminine hygiene products (pads/napkins) contain dioxin as  well, but they are not nearly as dangerous since they are not in direct  contact with the vagina. The pads/napkins need to stop being bleached,  but obviously tampons are the most dangerous.

So, what can you do if you can’t give up using tampons? Use tampons, > that are made from 100% cotton, and that are unbleached. Unfortunately,  there are very,  few companies that make these safe tampons. They are  usually only found in health food stores. Countries all over the world (Sweden, German, British Columbia, etc.) have demanded a switch to this safer tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the dark about it. In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against chlorine bleaching. Six weeks and 50,000 letters later, the makers of sanitary products switched to oxygen bleaching (one of the green methods available). (MS magazine, May/June 1995).

Breast implants are now in their fourth decade of use, no regulations for pre-market safety testing having been in place when they were first marketed. Studies which should have been done long ago are only now being done, well after most of the approximately two million women had their implants. Of 1135 published studies in the National Library of Medicine database under the search terms “silicone implants” and “adverse effects”, 387 or only 34% were published between 1966 and 1989, a 24-year interval. 748, or 66% were published in the past 8+ years (1990 to now).

Less well-documented evidence suggestive of a link comes from a growing number of published cases in which women with otherwise irreversible autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma had significant improvement following breast implant removal.

Finally, Canadian plastic surgeon Walter Peters summed up these lines of evidence in the Annals of Plastic Surgery. While admitting there is yet no proven cause-and-effect relationship between breast implants and autoimmune connective tissue disease, he said “there is growing concern that immunological sensitization could potentially develop in certain susceptible patients and that this could contribute to the development of autoimmune connective tissue disease.”

Given what they are being exposed to, women definitely have to be the “stronger” of the sexes.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

The Soya Fraud

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The Cornucopia Institute (www.cornucopia.org) has just released a new report about organic soy products that’s sending shockwaves through the soy industry. By compiling information on the sourcing of soybeans, the use of toxic chemicals for soy protein extraction, and the use or avoidance of genetically modified soybeans, the Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Soy Scorecard that reveals which soy product companies are truly trustworthy vs. those that are not.

The scorecard (http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s…) takes into account:

• Where the soybeans are sourced from (many companies use “organic” soybeans sourced from China!)
• How the soybeans are processed (some companies bathe soybeans in toxic chemicals, then put the resulting extracts into infant formula!)
• How forthright the companies are in providing information to investigators.
• Whether the company tests for and avoids genetically modified soybeans.

You can read the full report on www.Cornucopia.org

Here’s who came out on top:

The soy companies scorecard

5-star rating
• Eden Foods – 100% of their soybeans are grown in the U.S. and Canada.

• Vermont Soy (Vermont) – 100% of soybeans also grown in U.S. and Canada (mostly in Vermont). Low-heat pasteurization helps preserve soybean nutrients.

• Small Planet Tofu (Washington) – Buys solely from American farmers.

• FarmSoy (Tennessee) – Real tofu made from soybeans bought from American farmers.

• TwinOats (Virginia) – Buys soybeans from an organic family farm in Virginia.

• Unisoya / Green Cuisine (Canada) – They grown their own organic soybeans on 400 acres.

4-star rating
• Organic Valley
• Great Eastern Sun
• Fresh Tofu
• Wildwood
• Tofu Shop

3-star rating
• Harris Teeter

2-star rating
• Trader Joe’s – refused to disclose sourcing information

1-star rating
• Pacific Natural Foods – Buys soybeans from China and refused to disclose the name of the organic certifier in China. Refused to respond to questions about the certification of their “organic” soybeans. Cornucopia wonders whether Pacific Natural Foods is engaged in “a marketing gimmick” when it claims its products are “Certified to the Source.” (Certified by who?)

• Vitasoy USA – Buys soybeans from China.

• Westsoy / SoyDream (both owned by Hain Celestial Group) – Refused to share sourcing information.

• Silk (Dean Foods) – Refused to participate. Says the report: Since Dean Foods acquired WhiteWave, its founder, Steve Demos, has left the company, along with almost all of the pioneering management — those who believed in “green” values. According to Demos, the company is now all about “green, with the dead presidents on it.”

Phenolic food compounds are all somewhat related, having a common ring formation (phenyl ring) as part of their molecular structure.  There are literally hundreds of phenolic compounds in plants that are responsible for most of the odour, colour and other characteristics of the plants.  In recent decades, agriculturalists have selectively bred plants with increased levels of certain phenolic compounds to make them more resistant to fungus. In doing so, they have  created plant foods that may cause adverse reactions in  humans. For example soybean plants of today have 200 times the amount of phenylisocyanate as in soybeans of just 30 years ago.

There are multiple sources of exposure to aromatic compounds. Aromatics are in pollens, food additives,  toothpastes, tobacco smoke, drugs, insecticides, perfumes,  dyes, ink, carpeting, cleaning solvents, auto exhaust fumes  as well as foods.   The list of problems associated with these compounds is long. It includes hyperactivity and learning disabilities in children, the irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, ear infection  in children, arthritis and migraine headaches. Phenolics appear to affect mood so that a person can be cheerful or depressed, according to the presence or absence of phenolics in the brain.

In a earlier post I also wrote about Soya and brain damage in men.

“Why Soya is not good for you”

Soya anyone?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Why you should detox.

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You may wonder about the significance of looking at environmental toxicity and its relevance to your health. More than two decades of practice and eleven thousand patients later, I am convinced that apart from nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxicity is the biggest factor behind the modern day tendency for disease and illness.

We are living in times fraught with stress and tension.  We are living lives where the food we eat,the water we drink and the environment we live in could be poisoning us. The aim of this blog is not to alarm but to inform.  Given the  state of the world today, it is not really possible to run  away to a safe haven. Instead by a process of adopting an appropriate diet, simple safety pre-cautions and judicious nutritional supplementation, it is possible to reduce the  extent of damage.

What are free radicals? There has been a great deal of mention made about them. They are often treated like mysterious strangers in the night that cripple you, weaken you and accelerate your aging. What are they really? Oxygen is essential for basic cell-function in humans and most humans. However it appears that this is a mixed blessing. Although it gives us an evolutionary advantage over those life forms that do not require oxygen, it is simultaneously a threat to our survival. Oxygen can produce toxic substances in our body such as peroxide, superoxide, hydroxyl radicals and “excited state oxygen”.

To those who never had the benefit of chemistry lessons,I will briefly recap as follows. An atom or a molecule consists of a core of positive particles called neutrons and spinning around them are electrons or negatively charged particles. So long as the total number of positive and negative charges are equal, the atom or molecule is stable and all is well. However when we take in molecules that are not  electrically balanced and are capable of oxidising  substances by stripping electrons from other stable  molecules, we are dealing with a free radical.

When we say oxidation we are referring to the chemical reaction where a electrically unbalanced molecule takes an electron from a another balanced molecule.   We can see this destructive chain reaction occurring all around us as in metal when it rusts, rubber as it perishes, apples and potatoes as their cut surfaces turn brown. Similar processes also take place inside us, rapidly  when tissues are in contact with toxic substances such as  strong acids or more slowly when fatty substances in our  blood oxidise (become rancid) or as we age. For it is largely  free radical activity that causes our cells to age and  protein synthesising machinery to become less efficient. Itis this that causes skin to wrinkle and muscle tissue to harden.

A deficiency of specific nutrients may allow some toxins to produce severe damage to our cells by a process of free radical oxidation as we have already discussed above. Oxidation also occurs dramatically when fats inadequately protected by anti-oxidants like Vitamins C and E become rancid. Too much cholesterol/fat in your arteries causes oxidation, damage to their lining and eventually arteriosclerosis. On the obvious level, free radical damage can take the form of poor quality skin and lack lustre hair. It can aggravate whatever skin problems you may have. It can rob you  of your energy and leave you feeling lethargic, tired and  yes, even depressed.   Oxidising heavy metals such as lead, excessive iron or copper and cadmium produces similar damage; as do free  radicals in smoke and alcohol. Cells so affected can become cancerous or part of an arthritic or any other inflammatory process. In general free-radical activity can be held responsible for any if not all forms of degenerative disorders from cancer to diabetes. Symptoms of free radical damage can include the following;

Poor Skin                      Oily Skin              Weight Gain

Cellulite                         Fatigue                 Lethargy

Sore and tired eyes       Arthritis                Cataract

Infertility                       PMS                     Mood Swings

Cancer                           Fibroids                Tumours

Atherosclerosis             Heart Disease        Fibroids

Birth Defects                Endometrosis         Cancer

What steps should you take?

1) Drink clean filtered water

2) Eat clean (organic) food

3) Reduce your exposure to DDTS, PCBS and watch what you use in your household products, cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning agents. Also reduce exposure to radiation ie computer, handphones etc

4) Start internal detox programmes. Start with your blood type diet.

5) Start cleaning your gut. Try digestive enzymes and probiotics together with liver and gall bladder cleanses.

6) These can include replacing your mercury amalgams in your mouth and doing a heavy metal detox with oral chelation agents.

7) Start taking vitamins, minerals and supplements to correct deficiencies and reduce free radical stress.

8) Reduce stress in your life. This will reduce toxic hormones being generated in your body.

For quite a few years, we have been offering this programme to our clients. Its is called the “Cellular Rejuvenation Program”.

http://www.naturaltherapies.com/cell rejuvenation program.htm

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Death Begins in the Gut

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The human intestine maintains within its inner cavity a complex, crowded environment of food remnants and microbial organisms (called “the intestinal flora”) from which the body derives nourishment and against which the body must be protected. The relationship between the human host and her army of microbes is described by the Greek word, symbiosis, which means “living together”. When symbiosis benefits both parties, it is called mutualism. When symbiosis becomes harmful, it is called dysbiosis.

The first line of protection against dysbiosis and intestinal toxicity is strict control of intestinal permeability, the ability of the gut to allow some substances to pass through its walls while denying access to others. The healthy gut selectively absorbs nutrients and seals out those components of the normal internal milieu which are most likely to cause harm, except for a small sampling which it uses to educate and strengthen its mechanisms of immunity and detoxification.

Bacteria form the largest segment of the intestinal flora. The number of bacteria in the large bowel (about a hundred trillion) exceeds the number of cells in the human body. Intestinal bacteria perform some useful functions, so that our relationship with them is normally one of mutual benefit. They synthesize half a dozen vitamins, supplementing those which are obtained from food. They convert dietary fibre–that part of food which humans cannot digest–into small fatty acids which nourish the cells of the large intestine. They degrade dietary toxins like methyl mercury making them less harmful to the body. They crowd out pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella, decreasing the risk of food poisoning. They stimulate the development of a vigorous immune response. Four-fifths of the body’s immune system is located in the lining of the small intestine.

Bacteria are dangerous tenants, however, so that dysbiosis is a common problem. As powerful chemical factories, bacteria not only make vitamins and destroy toxins, but also destroy vitamins and make toxins. Bacterial enzymes can inactivate human digestive enzymes and convert human bile or components of food into chemicals which promote the development of cancer. Some by-products of bacterial enzyme activity, like ammonia, hinder normal brain function. When absorbed into the body, they must be removed by the liver. People whose livers fail this task, because of conditions like cirrhosis, develop progressive neurologic dysfunction resulting in coma and death. For them, the administration of antibiotics which slow the production of nerve toxins by intestinal bacteria can be life saving.

The immune reactions provoked by normal intestinal bacteria may be harmful rather than helpful. Inflammatory diseases of the bowel, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (ileitis), and several types of arthritis have been linked to aberrant immune responses provoked by intestinal bacteria. Two types of aberrancy have been described. First, intestinal bacteria contain proteins which look to the immune system very much like human proteins; they confuse the immune system and may fool the body into attacking itself. Second, fragments of dead bacteria may leak into the wall of the intestine or into the blood stream due to a breakdown in the mechanisms which regulate intestinal permeability. Circulating through the body, bacterial debris is deposited in tissues such as joints, provoking an attack on those tissues by an immune system trying to remove the foreign material.

Unlike bacteria, parasites appear to serve no useful function. The part of the immune system which they stimulate does not strengthen the organism to resist serious infection; instead it contributes to allergic reactions, so that parasitic infection increases allergic tendencies.

Our digestive system is perhaps the most significant system in terms of its importance to us. It is simply not possible to live and continue growing if we cannot digest and assimilate the food we take in. It has also been labelled the “brain” of the body. In Oriental Medicine, the abdominal area which houses the Hara for the Japanese and the Tan Tien for the Chinese is the reservoir of life force and vitality. It is also our early warning system. When we are feeling a little under the weather, we often feel queasy when we think of food. When we are feeling nervous and agitated, we say we have butterflies in our stomach.

Most literature on detoxification refers to liver enzymes, as the liver is the site of the majority of detoxification activity for both endogenous and exogenous compounds. However, the first contact the body makes with the majority of xenobiotics is the gastrointestinal tract. Over the course of a lifetime, the gastrointestinal tract processes more than 25 tons of food, which represents the largest load of antigens and xenobiotics confronting the human body. Furthermore, since most drugs are consumed orally, the gastrointestinal tract is also the first contact with many drugs. It is not surprising, then, that the gastrointestinal tract has developed a complex set of physical and biochemical systems to manage this load of exogenous compounds.

Several factors influence how much of a chemical ends up in the system, requiring detoxification by the liver. The gastrointestinal tract initially provides a physical barrier to exogenous components. As previously discussed, the gastrointestinal tract is the second major site in the body for detoxification. Detoxification enzymes such as Cyp3A4 and the antiporter activities have been found in high concentrations at the tip of villi in the intestine. Adequate first pass metabolism of xenobiotics by the gastrointestinal tract requires integrity of the gut mucosa. Compromised barrier function of the mucosa will easily allow xenobiotics to transit into the circulation without opportunity for detoxification. Therefore, support for healthy gut mucosa is instrumental in decreasing toxic load.

In the last 20 years of practice, I have found all allergies and complex chronic disease have their origins in some kind of gut dysfunction. Keep your gut healthy. For the last twenty years I have been helping people have healthier “guts”.

http://www.naturaltherapies.com/detox.htm

Be well
Dr Sundardas

Is Your Thyroid Happy?

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Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland fails to function adequately, resulting in reduced levels of thyroid hormone in the body. Cretinism is a type of hypothyroidism that occurs at birth and results in both stunted physical growth and mental development. Severe hypothyroidism is called myxedema.

There are many causes of hypothyroidism. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland, may lead to hypothyroidism. Some medical treatments, such as surgery or radiation to the thyroid gland, or certain drugs like lithium and phenylbutazone, may also induce this condition. Extreme iodine deficiency, which is rare in the United States, is another possible cause. Failure of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus to stimulate the thyroid gland properly can cause a condition known as secondary hypothyroidism.

Some people with goiter (an enlargement of the thyroid gland) also have hypothyroidism. Goiter can be caused by iodine deficiency, by eating foods that contain goitrogens (goiter-causing substances), or by other disorders that interfere with thyroid hormone production. In many cases the cause of goiter cannot be determined. While natural therapies may help to some extent, thyroid hormone replacement is necessary for most people with hypothyroidism.

Dietary changes that may be helpful: Some foods, such as rapeseed (used to make canola oil) and Brassica vegetables (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower), contain natural goitrogens that appear to act by interfering with thyroid hormone synthesis. Cooking has been reported to inactivate this effect in Brussels sprouts.Cassava, a starchy root that is the source of tapioca, has also been identified as a goitrogenic food. Other goitrogens include maize, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and pearl millet.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful: Preliminary studies have found an association between multiple chemical sensitivities and hypothyroidism. One study found a correlation between high blood levels of lead, a toxic substance, and low thyroid hormone levels in people working in a brass foundry. Of the 47 workers tested, 12 were considered hypothyroid; many of these individuals also complained of depression, fatigue, constipation, and poor memory (symptoms of hypothyroidism).

What is of great concern is not clinically evident hypothyroidism that is clearly testable and reasonably understood. It is sub-clinical hypothyroidism which is harder to detect and far more prevalent. Subclinical hypothyroidism can be detected or identified in the following ways:

1) Barnes Test: Measuring your temperature when rising in the morning on a daily basis.
If your temperature is consistently one degree centigrade or less, suspect your thyroid is under the weather.

2) Iodine patch test: Paint an iodine patch on your skin and watch to see how long it takes to disappear. If your thyroid is functioning well the patch will take more than 24 hours to disappear.

3) Blood Tests: Most physicians measure only T4 and TSH. However, T3 is a more sensitive marker for subclinical thyroid function. The T3 reading is often in the lower third range or clinically in the low range. Alternatively you can do both a T3 and reverse T3 test. In the presence of subclinical hypothyroidism, the reverse T3 will be high and T3 will be low.

Occupational exposure to polybrominated biphenyls and carbon disulfide has also been associated with decreased thyroid function. Nutritional supplements that may be helpful: The relationship between iodine and thyroid function is complex. Iodine is required by the body to form thyroid hormones, and iodine deficiency can lead to goiter and hypothyroidism.

Sources of iodine include foods (iodized salt, milk, water, seaweed, ground beef), dietary supplements (multiple vitamin/mineral formulas, seaweed extracts), drugs (potassium iodide, amiodarone, topical antiseptics), and iodine-containing solutions used in certain laboratory tests. Many nutritional supplements contain 150 mcg of iodine. While that amount of iodine should prevent a deficiency, it is not clear whether supplementing with iodine is necessary or desirable for most individuals. People wishing to take a nutritional supplement containing iodine should consult a doctor. Experimental animals with severe zinc deficiency developed hypothyroidism, whereas moderate zinc deficiency did not affect thyroid function.

Selenium also plays a role in thyroid hormone metabolism. Recently, severe selenium deficiency has also been implicated as a possible cause of goiter. In one study, it was reported that giving 50 mcg of selenium per day to people who were deficient in both selenium and iodine decreased thyroid function in those who were already hypothyroid. Other researchers have suggested that selenium should not be given to people who are deficient in both selenium and iodine, without first giving them iodine or thyroid hormone supplementation. There is no research demonstrating that selenium supplementation helps people with hypothyroidism who are not selenium-deficient.

Desiccated thyroid, also called thyroid extract, is used by some doctors as an alternative to synthetic thyroid hormones (such as thyroxine and levothyroxine) for people with hypothyroidism. Thyroid extract contains two biologically active hormones (thyroxine and triiodothyronine), whereas the most commonly prescribed thyroid-hormone preparations contain only thyroxine. One study has shown that the combination of the two hormones contained in desiccated thyroid is more effective than thyroxine alone for individuals with hypothyroidism. One doctor reported that in his experience, thyroid extract works better than standard thyroid preparations for some people with hypothyroidism.Glandular thyroid products, which are available from health food stores, have had most of the thyroid hormone removed and would therefore not be expected to be effective for individuals with hypothyroidism. Intact desiccated thyroid is available only by prescription. People with hypothyroidism who want to use desiccated thyroid must first consult with a physician.

Be well
Dr Sundardas

Early childhood programming and brain development.

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Your brain has three parts: the stem or “reptile brain”, the limbic or “mammalian brain” and the neocortex. Researcher Dr. Paul MacLean has termed it the “triune brain” because of the three parts, each of which developed during a different time in the evolutionary history.

In the neocortex are all the higher intelligences that make human beings unique as a species. Psychologist Dr. Howard Gardner has identified many specific intelligences or “ways of knowing” that may be developed within a human being. Among these intelligences are linguistic, mathematical, visual/spatial, kinesthetic/tactical, musical, interpersonal and intra-personal.

Probably the highest of the intelligences and the greatest form of creative thought – is intuition. Intuition is the ability to receive or perceive information that is not available to our five senses. This ability is extremely acute in children between the ages of four and seven. Too often it is suppressed and crushed by authority figures who view it as irrational behaviour.

All of the higher intelligences including intuition are present in the brain at birth and over the first seven years they can unfold properly if nurtured. For these intelligences to be nurtured, several conditions must be met:

* the lower neurostructures must be sufficiently developed to allow energy
to move to a higher level;

* the child must feel physically and emotionally safe;

* there must be a model to provide the appropriate stimulus

Consider the timing of these developing intelligences. Linguistic ability unfolds while a person is still in the womb. A child isn’t taught its native language, if the mother has the ability to speak, she can’tprevent a child from learning it. In fact if a child is exposed during the first seven years, the liguistic intelligence will be activated.

In the first year of life, the sensory motor functions get going. This is accomplished through direct contact by the infant with its environment, by continual interactions with its mother and the things in its immediate world.

By age one or two, the sensory motor brain is suficiently advanced, and the baby shifts up to the next level of development. There is a great increase in neuron connections, and as the emotional-cognitive system fires up, the baby’s behaviour changes almost overnight. This is the period of the “terrible twos” and is dreaded by parents the world over. But consider this, this phase is essential for the higher development of the neocortex.

A traumatic event in a child’s preschool years may disrupt a key period when the brain is collecting and storing massive amounts of information, researchers say. A review of studies on animals, however,
suggests that extensive corrective experiences can help over time.

The report, “How a Child Builds Its Brain,” was based on studies that measured neural plasticity ‚ the molding of the brain ‚ in animals as they underwent training and learning experiences. It was one of several studies published in the March-April issue of Preventive Medicine, which was devoted to the
proceedings of a 1996 conference on the “Critical Period of Brain Development.”

Researchers at the conference agreed that a critical period exists when brain development is most ready for stimulation and synapse formation, and that a deprived child may never fully or healthily develop without careful and expensive intervention. They suggest mandatory preschool for all children.

The brain stores new information in systems ‚ one tied to its own developmental timetable and another that extracts potentially useful information for later use, said James E. Black, a physician and professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and visiting professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. at Urbana-Champaign.

In essence, Black said, “Experience alters brain structure to form persisting memories, not in a monolithic or rigid fashion, but rather utilizing multiple, flexible brain systems that can encode different types of experience and often on different developmental schedules.”

Animal studies ‚ particularly experiments on rats by Black and William T. Greenough, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the Beckman Institute ‚ suggest “positive, enriching experience will likely produce more synaptic connections in human children,” Black wrote.

While young mammals learn, an overproduction of synaptic connections is followed by a substantial decrease when information is stored or pruned and organized. If a species relies on the quality and timing of experience, Black said, the organization becomes vulnerable to disruption. On the other hand,
unique and individualized experience-dependent input ‚ where a squirrel hides a nut or a child’s mastery of a second language ‚ is stored in new neural connections. When a rat is exposed to an enriched environment, brain weight and thickness increase, and new synapses and new blood vessels form.

“While adults certainly retain neural plasticity and can be traumatized by experience, children are likely to be far more vulnerable to pathological experience, either abuse or deprivation, particularly during periods of rapid creation or modification of synaptic connections,” Black said.

The animal studies, he said, suggest that extensive and caring intervention can often break the cycle and heal the damage. Even if a critical period is misused or neglected, humans retain the potential to use corrective experience to make up for their early loss. By the same reasoning, he said, failure to
help abused or neglected children can lead to lifelong patterns of distress and dysfunction.

For the last 20 years I have been working with adults to process traumatic childhood programming
That was significantly impacting them with brilliant results. I called this program “Success Permission”

Be well
Dr Sundardas
http://www.fftcentre.com/spseminar.html

Losing Your Back Pain.

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If you are reading this section, you are probably suffering with pain or you may know someone who is.  Please continue reading, because this page contains very important information on pain.

Because the cause of pain can vary from patient to patient and effective treatment methods vary as well, it is important to have a wide range of treatment modalities available to you . Acute pain is the most common symptom for which patients seek medical evaluation. New pain complaints result in 40 million visits to the doctor annually, and 45% of persons in the United States will visit a doctor for pain at some point in their lives. The prevalence of various chronic pain syndromes in the United States is estimated to range from 2% to 40%. Approximately 75 million persons in the United States live with “serious pain,” and nearly 50 million are partially or totally disabled by pain.

According to Western science, pain is associated with complex inter-relationships between the nervous system, spinal cord, thalamus, higher brain, neuro-peptide substances and emotions derived from cultural and past personal programming. Traditional Asian medical systems relate pain more to short-term or longstanding blockages in the flow and integrity of Blood, vital energy (Qi). In either case, pain can be viewed as a kind of alarm, an urgent message from the body-mind-spirit entity that something is out of balance in the system, and must be corrected to maintain health and homeostasis, or even life itself. In this way pain is useful, in fact a lifesaver at times, when it alerts us to take urgent action for survival and self-care. Yet in a lot of cases, pain becomes a self-perpetuating experience that remains long after the actual damage to the body is resolved. In some cases, such as with fibromyalgia or some neuropathies, severe pain can arise when there is no apparent injury to the body. It is these chronic pain cases that most challenge the Western pain paradigm.

One of the great contributions Oriental Medicine has made is the understanding of the Root and Branch of pain (and other disorders). In its simplest form, the Root refers to underlying causative factors that pre-dispose a patient to pain. These may involve longstanding emotional upsets and repression, viral or parasitic effects, organ imbalances, unresolved old injuries, or hereditary influences. The Branch of pain refers to the actual sensations of pain, restricted range of motion, joint degeneration or vertebral mis-alignments. The sensation of pain can be associated with any dysfunctional bodily system, not just the nervous system. Different types of pain are handled differently.

Pain is the #1 reason people go to the doctor, and one of the top reasons they seek out an complementary medicine practitioner. It is easy to find treatment for pain symptoms, but when pain becomes chronic, lasting   several weeks or more, people want answers and will seek out practitioners who will listen and help.

So any pressure that is placed on the emerging spinal nerve will create challenges both at the surface of the spinal segment (ARTT) as well as affect the visceral organs or other tissue. This gives rise to the Facilitated Segment. A facilitated segment results from trauma — either an accident of some sort or continued misuse. Whether or not the alignment of the vertebrae shifts, there is almost always a loss in range of motion. You might experience stiffness, soreness, or lack of flexibility in your back and neck. You might have some pain, or you might not.

Regardless, your body will be affected in some way! But facilitated segment are complex, and the problems they cause are a little bit more widespread. When the vertebrae are out of alignment, the ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and muscles — what we call connective tissue — is also affected. Damage to the connective tissues, mostly in the forms of very, very small rips or tears, usually is painful and does result in inflammation.
The following approaches to Pain Management in my practice has proved invaluable:

1) For acute injuries use an ice pack
2) For chronic injuries use an heat pack
3) Homeopathic remedies and creams that contain Arnica, Ruta can be very useful
4) Body work that involves Spinal manipulation ( for vertebral joint involvement) or Dorn, soft tissue therapy, trigger point therapy or Strain-Counterstrain methods, or even craniosacral if the injury was related to whiplash type trauma can be useful
5) Specific nutritional therapies to reduce inflammatory response like pancreatic enzymes and herbs like ginger and curcumin
6) Acupunture for pain mangement and balancing the meridians
7) Pulsating electromagnetic fields that send pulses of electromagnetic energy to switch off pain and accelerate healing.
8) Following the blood type diet can reduce inflammatory responses and reduce pain. (Look at previous posts on Blood Type)

Be well
Dr Sundardas

Under the Free Reports Section you can get: “ Pain Free Living”

http://www.naturaltherapies.com/pain/treatment.htm

http://www.naturaltherapies.com/neck n back.htm